Enter the Decade~

The title of this post is a a borrowed phrase, not sure if anyone recognised it straight away. It is the title of one of the opening themes of Kamen Rider Decade, probably my favourite of all the Kamen Rider series, it reminds me of Megaman(Rockman) also my all time fav.

Is is really here, February of 2011, well looks like it is, and just like last week that we had the new year fireworks. It has been five years since Yu first appeared, a total of 10 years if including when I first encountered kigurumi in 2000 and started plans to make a mask.


100 shots of history.
I decided to be nostalgic and write up a summary of what happened that brought about Kigurumi Cosplay Society today since even before my first kigurumi mask appeared. It all began about 10 years ago. I'm not trying to write a grand father's bedtime story, I think it might be more interesting than you think, so why not give it a read. I have included a centennial number of images thus the 100 shots.


Early 2000s~ First encounter with the kig kind
My first encounter with kigurumi was of an Asuka character in her red plugsuit in the early 2000s. Then I was watching anime rather frequently and have looked through out the internet for cosplay images. No surprise, eventually found a kigurumi cosplay. It really captivated me as being able to see an anime character appear in real life was something new. Even more captivating was the fact that a living person is able to be transformed completed into an anime character, a level which simple cosplay and make up just can't reach. Somehow it felt different from normal cosplay and I have thus thought about wanting to try it some day.

During that time, I haven't even seen how a kigurumi mask look like. I don't have the slightest idea how one can be made too. I just kept visiting the same sites and collecting the pictures of kigurumi cosplays together with normal cosplays. As the size of my exposure to the art grew, so was my understanding on how a mask can be made. Fast forwarding to around 2004, I decided to try and make my own kigurumi mask.

2004~ Want Kig got Masquerade

First picture of 100, I think most people have not seen this before. The picture on the left is of the first prototype I made, the very first attempt of me in making a mask. Yes indeed it is a mask, well... turns out that its very similiar to a masquerade mask. It is small and thin, nothing like that of a kigurumi mask haha~ I actually made two of them, the one on the right doesn't have holes cut into it while the one on the left does. Eventually, it is the one of the right which gets turned into the base for the Yu mask and gets a remodeling.

2006~ Prototype and Yu mask began
It isn't until about 2 years after the first prototype has begun that I spent some time during a holiday break to give mask making another attempt. It really takes time and money to make a kigurumi mask. Without my first attempt, I would never had known that a handful of 1kilogram bags of clay is far from enough. I made at least 2 additional trips to the art store to purchase more clay and eventually more than a handful of trips to get all the other supplies such as lacquer and sand paper. Tried a number of craft materials never used before too and even redid the mask a few times.

The pictures above are of the Yu mask. I kept the unfinished sculpture soft and modifiable at various stages using wet cloth and plastic wrap to keep the moisture in. People who had read my mask making tutorials will have seen the shots above. I purposely took a long time in sculpting the Yu mask as I didn't want any mistakes. The mask was designed in mind to use normal wigs at first. Just any wig purchased can be put on the Yu mask with very little modification. Far from today's dual core(wigs pun) designs. On most days, I would have sculpt a little, and left it for a day before returning to try and look for mistakes from yesterday.

2007 March~ Kigurumi with Yu
Between the first picture and the later 3 I actually left it for a year before resuming hehe~ Just too much work, lost interest for a while and had other issues to take care of. Well, abiding the law of attraction, it did eventually finished and the above was how it looked like. At this stage, I am no different from many of the members in the forums whom just completed their first attempt. I have no real experience in taking pictures and also no experience of cosplaying in kigurumi. My first few kigurumi cosplay pictures emerge in 2007.

From here on, I started acquiring costumes for Yu and started taking pictures. The early pictures were horrible looking and the poses were awkward lol... Well, after some time, things tend to improve. My first few images were of Yu in her High Priestess costume from Ragnarok Online. Then there was the pink cheongsam and the Chun Li costumes.

During that time was kind of full on, taking pictures nearly every day and having updates nearly every day as well for quite a few months. I ever had Japanese visitors tell me that I update my website more frequently than any other kigurumi cosplayer they know of. Hehe, of course that isn't the case now. Wanting to make more kigrumi cosplayer friends, I emailed a number of people and asked if they can place a link to my website on their links page~ For old friends, they might remember the name of my website was originally called Kigurumi with Yu. That is also the the name of my links still left on some of the kigurumi websites which I asked to be linked from. Everything just grew from there.

2007 June~ Winter arrived
Things continue, and more costumes and a new wig is obtained. Upon having the new wig a new character is born. Winter first made her appearance sometime in June of 2007. It was winter season when she first arrive, that which inspired the name.
The first image is of Winter (Yu mask) with her hair left as it is when it arrived, in the second and third pictures Winter's hair has been restyled a little, it is much neater looking. Notice that all instances of hair on the Yu mask is soft, no hair styling or fixing products are used as they are just wigs pulled over the mask directly.

Kigurumi cosplays exploded even more from here on. A lot of new costumes and custom orders are made. In a sense, I realised that Yu will be able to cosplay all the characters that I adore and somehow wanted to have Yu cosplay it all and I wanted it with full on excitement. A pink wig is obtained and Yu is transformed into Meer Campbell.

2007 October~ The bustline technique
Meer Campbell sure took a lot of pictures, there are altogether 6 galleries of her in the gallery section where 5 of the are done in the Yu mask. I think thats the largest number of galleries for any character. There was a number of videos as well.

It was through this period of time, the bustline technique was developed. It is very easy to achieve and costs nearly nothing, and it can be removed and reused on different costumes unlimited times. In the past, tight fitting costumes all obey real world physics and that included kigurumi cosplayers. Bustlines are nothing like in anime where breasts appear as two separate droplet shaped objects hanging from the chest. In order to get that effect, actual molded shapes have to be attached onto the chest or non reversible modification have to be made to the costumes. It can take a lot of time to make and can even cost a fair bit. I plan on writing a detailed explanation of the bustline technique shortly, I've even taken pictures of the steps recently.

From then on, Yu became sexier than ever. The effect of a deep rack on the chest and the appeal of its sexiness must have inspired others perhaps, common it is today to see sexy looking bustlines on kigurumi cosplayers.

2008 October~ Tess
Aw it sure brings back memoirs, with a year of kigging done on the Yu mask, a desire to create once again emerges. A new mask is made in the image of Yu. Oh boy and I thought I knew how to make a mask. The result were slightly different from my expectations. Well, there isn't a big deal of a problem with it. It is still a cute with a latino sort of tan sporting high brows. This is when I first came up with the understanding that "The outcome is unknown all the way until it is in a picture". Proved to be right time and time again, thus the mask making marathon aka maskathon (I made that up).

Like the Yu mask, the Tess mask retains the ability to use normal wigs and use only one wig at first. Eventually it too became a dual core(wig) version. I am very grateful that I made two commissions on the Tess mask, I still am, no regrets. The proceeds enabled me to progress to make future models which is otherwise not possible. In a sense, the Tess mask got quite a large amount of fame and exposure than most of my future styles. I think a lot has happened, I will regard it as good memory.

With Meer Campbell cosplayed, a new character which I adore came about. She is C.C. or also called C2 from the TV series Code Geass. Ordered a green wig and once again swapped around Yu's hair with the new green one. Got a few new costumes and got Yu to cosplay C.C. for me. It is shown in the first picture on the left below.

2008 November~ The C.C. mask

Somehow, Yu's large blue eyes though looked good in green wig, she didn't quite resemble C.C.'s doe golden eyed look. This made me decide to make a new mask in the likeness of C.C. The next two pictures on the right of Yu as C.C. were of the C.C. mask in the making.
And Alas, the C.C. mask was made. It has the little girl look on her, very different in air in comparison to the Yu mask. This marked the beginning of the use of newer masks and less of the Yu mask.The C.C. mask managed to pull off the C.C. cosplay fairly well, no doubt it definitely takes the combination of costume and props to complete the whole picture. For this purpose the Cheese-Kun plushie was made. Its hand sewn from a yellow cotton sack and filled with styrofoam beads hehe.... until today, Cheese-Kun is still lying around lazily.

Th C.C. mask was used quit a fair bit. It is the first model to use dual core(wigs pun) perfectly and also eventually styled for a good hair fix.  It is used interchangeably with the Yu mask as some costumes still looks better with the Yu mask. However, I was not satisfied and wanted to make a better fitting and cuter looking mask. The C.C. mask was big, it is not as close fitting as the newer masks. It is the same mold that eventually lead to the Saya mask. And so, leaving the C.C. original sculpt alone, I bought materials for another mask. This time around I wanted to make a smiling open mouth kigurumi mask. The pictures below of C.C. are some of the last few, she sure has a mysterious air around her. The new owner posted a few pictures after obtaining her but was never heard of since, I hope she is living a good new life somewhere now. The first picture in the second row is the next mask produced in line, the Yoko mask.


2009 January~ Yoko cosplays Meer
Fast forwarding ahead about a year, the Yoko mask is now mainstream. The last of the C.C. masks have been sold and the original head form sculpt has been modified for the upcoming Ignis mask. I shall come to Ignis shortly after this. The Yoko mask and original head form mold is still around today which is why the Yoko mask is still available for commissions.

Yoko was originally designed to cosplay Yoko from the TV series Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. hehe, that would be so epic. I really like that character, but funding and time is scarce then, so the project was never taken up. I wouldn't want to do a partial cosplay without Yoko's famous rifle and the books are quite expensive too.

Nevertheless, Yoko pulled of the character of Meer Campbell fantastically. Till today, the Yoko mask is the happiest looking cute type mask I have (T-fa is the other cute type mask, she's more of a demure beauty design). The Yoko mask being the new dual wig designs, have a more anime looking hair style compared to the Yu mask. That made the cosplay more alike to anime and Meer by far has the most galleries to date. As I do not keep multiple masks for self use, I eventually sold them all but they can be remade as the original mold is still around.

Quite satisfied I am with the Yoko mask, more so than the C.C. mask at that time, so I decided to make a new mask. So the next mask in line produced is the T-fa mask.

2009 April~ the T-fa mask
The T-fa mask is made from fresh clay and sculpted from nothing. Imagine the number of headforms and masks lying around at my place now taking up room, not very tidy.

The T-fa mask is modeled after a figurine of Yagyuu Jubei from Hyakku Ryouran Samurai Girls. As most people can guess, the first cosplay I had in mind for the T-fa mask was Tifa from FF7(To be exact, the FF7-AC variant).

The Tifa mask turned out much cuter than I could have ever imagined. Hehe, once again the "The outcome is unknown all the way until it is in a picture" is true again. Don't get me wrong, that theory I came up with was never about how good or bad a mask was, it is just a good rule of thumb I keep in mind of. T-fa's cuteness went on and cosplayed in several other costumes such as Sailor mars and the only wedding gown shoot so far.

2009 May~ Yu's last few appearances
By this time, the new masks bearing their own high level of cuteness are becoming used more and more
often.

The main reason to this is also because the new masks are easier to maintain and put on/off. Also, the new wigs are not compatible with the Yu mask as the new masks uses 2 wigs while Yu only 1. And lastly, the Yu mask is aged, and the paintwork fading in comparison to the freshly painted new masks. And so, the Yu mask eventually stopped appearing with the nurse and bunny girl being the last proper shoots taken.

There is also a black PVC bondage suit shoot of Yu and a black latex shoot but those pictures have not been fully released yet. The Yu mask really served me well. She lead a whole line of kigurumi cosplays and proven herself a success. To put a finger on how much Yu did for the website, even till today, over 50% of all pictures ever taken were of the Yu mask. That ratio will decline with time, but she sure left a lasting impression. The newer masks just hasn't gotten enough exposure and most were sold within months while Yu stuck around for about 2 years. The Yu mask has been sold to a forum member Oreh, and hopefully will be brought back to life and become active again.

2009 June~ Ignis
Ignis is the name of a female warrior figurine I often see on the net. I thought its a rather pretty name so decided to call the new mask Ignis.
The Ignis mask was initially customised to the C.C. look. That style lasted only a few shots hehe, then a brown wig was attached and the Ignis mask is used to cosplay an original character. In hindsight, the C.C. mask and the Ignis mask are actually quite attractive looking, yet I sold them all without retaining the originals. I wanted to reduce the size and make the face slimmer, and so I took it apart. I think there were altogether 3 Ignis masks sold, definitely sexiest looking piece of work I had.

2009 July~ Asuka
This period of time in 2009 sure has a large number of kigurumi mask making activities. Looks like almost every other month a new mask model is emerging. The Ignis mask is a modified C.C. mask and now, modifying the Ignis mask I made the Asuka mask. I did a few shots of Asuka in her red plugsuit and the lolita dress. Perhaps the most time spent on any character I have is Asuka, with 5 plug suits to date and 3 masks made and used to cosplay her.
It was a fairly busy period of time, when the Asuka mask is around, so I didn't get a chance to take too many pictures. There was a yellow sun dress shoot and a chinese gown shoot as well and I had to pack it away to attend to other matters. I then sold the mask to make room for a new mask project, the funds also helped me in getting the new project going. Come to think of it, I think the new mask owner has been busy, I hope they will post some cosplay pictures of the Asuka mask when they get to use it.

By this time, I learnt hat I can save money and resources by using the same original head form to make new head form designs. That is why I haven't had old designs kept too long with me, in a sense,that makes the earlier mask models unique doesn't it~ I started on the Saya mask project.

2009 October~ Creating the Saya mask
As usual, there is no way I can tell how a mask will turn out before its totally finished and a picture of its cosplay will tell. Below are the beginning steps in the making of the Saya mask.
At this point, we are looking at picture 64 of 100. To reuse an existing mask head form to make a new one, firstly the paintwork has to be sanded off. Its quite hard a task. The sanding machines can only help work on the wider sides. Narrow and closer edges still require the use of hands. The pictures above show the brief steps where the Saya mask is made.

After about a month of tinkering with the head form, the new mask is complete. The Saya mask is currently my latest model. It takes time to remake head forms and there has been too many things to do to allow for new models to appear. The first character the Saya mask got to portray is Hitagi Senjougahara from the TV series Bakemonogatari. Pictures of her can be seen below.
The pictures above is showing hair in the process of being attached to the mask. She did a number of shoots including a very cute bunny girl cosplay and a black gown cosplay. There are quite a few anime characters I wanted to try at that time and so not before long, the purple pony tail wig has been swapped with a light blue on to cosplay Natsuru Senou from the TV series Kampfer.

December 2009~ Natsuru after Hitagi
Many would have heard of the gender bender anime TV series Kampfer. I took fancy of the lead character quite a bit and brought the character to life.
I simply love Natsuru's look, check out how she look in the smooth red latex catsuit~ yum. She probably appeared in more shoots so far than any other character cosplayed by the Saya mask. She even took part in an offline meeting with Yukari and Yuki. Well, at the moment, her customisation has been taken apart, it will take some effort to restore her look. And because she sports a ponytail hair style, it is actually more difficult to style such hairstyles compared to straight flowing styles. As long as I can find time, that wouldn't be a problem, but its not a priority now.

It appears that there will be another season of Kampfer airing soon. There are currently no plans on making another Natsuru Senou custom, but I amd more than happy to take a willing kigger's commission for a Natsuru Senou mask if need be~

2010 January~ Shikinami Asuka
I have come to the conclusion that keeping a single mask while switching the hair is the most space economic way of keeping kigurumi masks and cosplaying multiple characters. And so some time later, I decided to change the Natsuru Senou hairstyle and cosplay Asuka Shikinami instead.
The Asuka custom highly resembles Sonsaku Hakufu from Ikkitousen when the red hair clips are not worn. I recall some members in the forums also noticed the resemblance. Perhaps I should try a Sonsaku cosplay if there is a chance in the future. Most of the costumes I can think of for Asuka has been tried such as the official artwork pink top, the lolita dress and the yellow sun dress. The rest of the are just original costumes like the nurse and the blue camisole.

I suppose I'm probably in love with Asuka, I actually tried making another red plugsuit for her this time using latex material. I would imagine it will turn out super hot. Unfortunately, the plan has been scrapped as the suit has been damaged by my inexperience lol.

2010 September~ Aira the Natsuru clone
Not satisfied with the first Natsuru Senou hair, I ordered a couple of ocean blue wigs to try and make the Natsuru mask again. Well, I'm sure if you have been following the website, you would know I'm referring to the Aira mask.
Aira made her first appearance at live chats in stickam, irc and msn. No photo shoots were done during that time but thanks to a helpful friend, some screenshots have been taken and they were posted up before. From the frequency of my updates during this time(about once a month or less) I must say that I've been super occupied along the lines of business, relationship and vice versa. There were a number of mask commissions during that time too so it was kind of hectic(but it was fun of course).

Manage to take a few photo shoots of Aira for Halloween and posted them up almost before it is too late. The Christmas and New Year shots on the other hand were not as fortunate, didn't managed to find time for those.

2011 January~ Shikinami Asuka Test plugsuit
As of currently, the Aira mask has been taken apart. And because she's a pony tail model as well, it will be very hard to revive her. As the test plugsuit for Shikinami Asuka is completed, I decided to change the Saya custom into Asuka again to do a proper cosplay.
With this, the tour into the history of Kigurumi Cosplay Society is near its end. I still have a large number of unposted images of Aira and Shikinami Asuka. not to mention while digging up pictures to write about this history, I found a ton of unposted pictures of all former characters too, including risque looking attires.

This write up took me about 4 hours from 3 separate days to write up. Haha, just decided to write it for fun at a whim. Its been interesting recalling the past happenings. Hmm I hope if you did read through the whole thing that you enjoyed the information. It is a really really summarised version of events that took place. It will be too tedious to write everything recorded out. For that, go to the forums, most of my key work have been written up and discussed in high detail haha... not that anyone would read it all.

If you have any feedback, do let me know. Some of the pictures above are never been posted before ones. I'll be putting up the new pictures mentioned above shortly after this. For now, I'll go take a break~^_^
Have a great day~<3

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