Hainrihi's Discoveries

Birthday-related Post + Busy Week

3:51 AM

Finally able to post again!

These past weeks have been so busy because of work, cosplay, freelance, personal stuff and, haha, my birthday. Unfortunately, things stacked up and I have many things to finish or do up until now and I’ve been busy doing that. My “things to do” have been lessened but I will still be full in the next weeks. So hopefully, by the first week of November, my hands are a bit free. XD

Anyway, before anything else, I would like to take this opportunity to just say that I had a wonderful birthday week last September. I spent it with friends and my other half and both had a great time with them. :D

On my actual birthday, I decided to try the birthday promo in Vikings Restaurant in SM Marikina and my boyfriend, Marc and I had my birthday dinner there. It has been a long time since I ate in Vikings (like 2 years ago) so I was looking forward to eating there.

Click on the image to know more.

Well, since I have a small stomach, I did not eat much before dinner and it was a good idea because I made the most out of the buffet. Despite my food being free because it’s my birthday, I wanted to try most of the food there.

Also, as part of the birthday promo, I was given this small cake with a candle from Vikings. I just bought the cake home and ate it there (and blew the candle with Marc).

All in all, it was a great birthday dinner and spending it with my boyfriend just made my birthday happy and memorable. J

Another birthday celebration I had was with my cosplay barkada in my birthday weekend. It was also the time that I bought my birthday gift to myself: my Holy Grail of Toushiro figures, Megahouse GEM Series Toushiro Hitsugaya.

I bought it in Greattoys Online (GTO) Greenhills, but I already had it reserved before getting it. I was also happy to know that GTO was on sale and I got Toushiro at a discounted price. After that, I met up with friends and treated them in KFC.

I also got the greatest gift from them: a new Sony Cybershot DSC W710 digital camera. I did not expect this gift so it was really surprise to me. Apparently, they contributed on the camera and I was super touched by what they did. I was so happy they made my birthday memorable and enjoyable. Now I can take more pictures for this blog as well as take photos and videos of events J

So yeah, that was what happened in my birthday week and I consider it one of my best birthdays, thanks to my lovable boyfriend and cosplay friends. J

As I mentioned awhile ago, I was also busy with work, freelance and cosplay. Marc and I were doing his cosplay plan and making sure everything was complete in time for Cosplay Mania 2013---which was held last October 5-6, 2013. The one assigned to me was styling his wig because I had to make the ponytail part thicker since his character, Jiraiya, has thick ponytail hair. I was able to make it a BIT thicker but I needed more wig wefts and a whole white long wig for it to make it thicker than normal. Since wig styling is still new to me and am on the trial and error stage, I still have to improve the Jiraiya wig. Hopefully, next year, when we plan to have a photoshoot, I can make it better.

Here are some pics of the WIP (work-in-progress) of the wig.

Without hair extensions

With hair extensions sewn to the wig

It took me a long time to sew the wefts but at least I know better now and hopefully, when I improve the Jiraiya wig, it will be much better.

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10/28/2013 UPDATE: I got sick for one week and needed to have bed rest in order for me to recover. I’m okay now, though I still have a lot of mouth sores. Hopefully, everything will be back to normal soon.

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Anyway, that’s all I can update for now. I will be doing a mini post on Cosplay Mania 2013 and what we did there. Also hopefully, I’ll be able to blog more. J

~Hainrihi

anime event

Big Cosplay Event: Cosplay Mania 2013, October 5-6, 2013

10:46 AM

asami sato

Quick Important Blog Post: "Legend of Korra Book 2: Spirits" will premiere tomorrow!

11:47 PM

Asami Sato cosplay

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on Cosplaying

9:15 AM

For the first official post in my newly re-launched blog, what better way to start it than introducing one of my loves: cosplay. When I was starting in the hobby, questions from various people started pouring---especially those who aren't that much familiar. So for my readers here who are still not familiar and wants to know more about it, I prepared a FAQ. Most of the questions here are those asked to me when they find out I cosplay.

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What is cosplay?

Cosplay is short for “costume play” where cosplayers such as myself wear costumes and accessories and hold props or weapons to represent a specific character from a work of fiction. But I want to emphasize that it is not just about dressing up and looking like the character. For most cosplayers (if not all), cosplay is about giving tribute to our favorite characters by not just dressing up but by ACTING as them--- down to every detail, if possible. I am not talking about undergoing surgery to look exactly like the character, but rather, to act him/her as if you are really that character and portraying can be done through great research and resourcefulness.

Jim Raynor and Sarah Kerrigan (Starcraft II)
Photo by: Dang Nabit

Irisviel von Einzbern (Fate/Zero)
Photo by: Jovi Heartilly

Why do you cosplay?

The main reason I cosplay is I get to be my favorite character and portray him or her even for just one day. It wasn’t enough that I just watch the character from the series or games.I want to feel as if I am him/her and, at the same time, I am giving tribute to my favorite character---which is, for me, the core of cosplay. I cosplay my favorite characters that I love so much. It doesn’t matter if the built is not right for me; I know I can make it look good with the things I learn like makeup, wig styling, and more.

Asami Sato (Legend of Korra)
Photo by: Lian Tablan

So, how do you do cosplay? Like, do you make your own costumes and props or do you let others do your whole costume?

Well, that depends on the cosplayer. For instance, I am still not an expert when it comes to sewing costumes and creating props and weapons. So depending on the costume, I usually have them made by our great seamstress. For the accessories, props and weapons, it also depends. My boyfriend and I have already made some few props, accessories and weapons but those are just simple ones. For the complicated ones, we usually have them made---especially when busy. But this does not mean it will stay that way forever.

I am learning other cosplay skills now such as sewing, styling wigs, making props and weapons, make-up and more. Why? Because nothing beats to at least having a personal touch on your cosplay. In fact, in every cosplay, I make it a point to at least have one part of it done by myself---whether it be an accessory, a prop, styling a wig or doing my make-up. It’s just a matter of being resourceful and researching. After all, I know cosplay will help me enhance my skills in arts and crafts. J

My boyfriend and I did the sword and medallion of Mulan here
Photo by: Peppy Salita

Do you cosplay on your own or do you have a group?

I cosplay with my boyfriend and with my close cosplay friends because I get to bond with them. Aside from my high school and college group, it is in cosplay that I have found the greatest people I can truly trust and love. My boyfriend and I always look forward to cosplaying with them in anime/cosplay conventions and photoshoots. I also love them because we also bond with each other EVEN outside of conventions and photoshoots.

What do you do with your costumes, accessories, props and weapons after you have cosplayed the character(s)?

When it comes to costumes, we usually store them in our cabinets because you never know when you will use them again---especially in conventions. For the wigs and accessories, I put them inside a big plastic container that can be bought in any supermarket and malls. As of today, I have 2 big boxes that contain my wigs, accessories, and crafting materials. For the weapons and props, they are just displayed in my room.

I want to borrow your costume for a company event, birthday party, Christmas party, etc. Can I borrow one of your costumes?

It depends on each cosplayer. But in my case, I don’t let anyone rent my costumes---even to my relatives and non-cosplayer friends. For one thing, we already heard a lot of horror stories who borrow things from cosplayers and bring them back in bad condition/state. We put a big effort and do our very best to take care of our costumes, weapons and accessories, so we don’t want them to get damaged. So as much as possible, we don’t let other people rent our costumes. Instead, we just recommend them to other cosplayers who rent theirs out.

Another thing, the costumes are made/customized according to our built---which means most of the time they won’t fit perfectly with other people. And of course, we won’t allow them to alter the design.

I usually see cosplayers in TV and print as well as in company events and parties nowadays. Do you also do that?

Again, it depends on the cosplayer. But in my case, we are not fond of that. Cosplayers are not mascots and we do not want to be treated that way. And this is a hobby; we do not expect to be paid and do our cosplays out of our love for the hobby.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying those cosplayers who expose themselves to the media are doing things wrong. As I said awhile ago, it still depends on the cosplayer. I am not just comfortable doing that because I would rather do my cosplays in conventions and photoshoots with friends than appearing in print, TV or in company events.

There are also other reasons, but I will not delve into them now as this post will get longer. Maybe I will make a separate post on that.

I want to cosplay or one of my friends/relatives want to cosplay? Can you help them? What advices would you give?

I’ll just put here the advices I gave when my friend PinayOtaku asked me about it:

For those interested in cosplay, here are some advices I can give:

Always watch the series or play the games first because I can assure you, you will have a favorite character that you want to cosplay.
Don’t cosplay someone just because he or she is popular---always cosplay your favorite character no matter what because that is the basis of how you will portray him or her well. This is also the best way to give tribute to them. And I know if you love them, you will give justice to them.
While there are online shops and stores out there that cater to cosplay things, you must learn to be resourceful and research. The Internet is right at your fingertips, you can find anything you need there. And being resourceful also helps in lessening your expenses, especially when you’re on a budget.
Don’t rush your cosplays and plan early as much as possible so you can make your cosplay perfect and exact.
And lastly, enjoy! Cosplay is a hobby where you should be having fun, not being too stressed about it.

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So, these are the FAQs that some people ask me when they find out I cosplay. I may have gotten a bit biased in most of the questions, but at least you know my view about the hobby. If you want to know more about my cosplaying, check out PinayOtaku’s feature of me here or drop by my Deviantart.

Now if you have questions about cosplay that I did not cover in this post, feel free to ask me in the comments section below or PM me in my FB page here. I will combine 2-3 questions and make a post about it. I will be happy to answer your questions and even give tips and advices if you want. J

~ Hainrihi

anime

Quick Important Blog Post: FB Like Request on my Friend’s Art Contest Entry

2:43 AM

anime

I’m Back! :D

5:52 AM

After 6 months of hiatus from blogging (man, that was long), I am finally back and ready to relaunch my new blog!

My blog's new look :)

As you noticed, I changed the look of my blog, but not only that. See, in those 6 months, I “studied” a bit on blogging and how I can make Hainrihi’s Discoveries better and more informative instead of just being more personal and looking like a diary. I realized it needs to have a niche to not leave my readers and myself confused. Having a niche will also help me write blog posts and articles better and know what to write exactly. After a long time thinking and fixing, I decided to write about the things I love most: cosplay, anime/manga, figure collecting, beauty/makeup and shopping.

Of course, the theme of Hainrihi’s Discoveries is still discovery and I believe I will still discover things through the categories mentioned above. For instance, in my two years of cosplaying, I discovered and learned things I have never learned before and I want to blog about those. All mentioned are inter-connected with each other so, for sure, I won’t sidetrack from what I should really concentrate on. Maybe my other readers will disappear once they find out what my niche is because it is not much of their interest, but I don’t mind. As long as I write informative posts on what I really love, I’m good. With that, I am excited to write more posts and articles on them and I already have a list of the entries I want to blog.

Cosplay

Figure Collecting

Anime/Manga

Online Shopping/Shopping

Beauty/Makeup

But aside from Hainrihi’s Discoveries, I realized I also have another love and that is writing my thoughts and opinions on anything that comes to mind. In other words, more on the serious and in-depth writing where I can truly practice my writing skills. At the same time, it will help me write my opinion on issues and events. So, I created a separate blog for that entitled Hainrihi’s Thoughts (I could never leave out the “Hainrihi”, I’m sorry XD)

http://hainrihisthoughts.wordpress.com

I placed more about it and and will write an introduction in the main blog itself, but be sure to check it out. It will be introduced later this week, so watch out for it. I will place some articles I have written before in print publications and will improve them to make it look and sound better.

Also, I changed my comment software to Intense Debate. Disqus suddenly didn’t work in this layout despite trying to get it back, and so all the comments before have disappeared L. I think I still have a record of those in my Disqus account. After much research and great reviews, I went with Intense Debate. I apologize in advance for the inconvenience and the sudden change.