Akasha cosplay (final results)

Ayla's Akasha cosplay

This is the finale for the Akasha cosplay, as seen at Connecticon.  It was a success, but there were some intense final days.  The trapezoid shells on the belt were originally square.  This seemed fine until placed on the belt (one of the last pieces to be finished).  That meant putting a cutting disc on the rotary tool and putting on a breathing mask again.  Cutting seashell is not a fun process.  The sewing went well, despite it being my first time, and everything fit properly.  The final work on the crown was attaching the 3 coins that connect the main piece and the wire across the middle of the points.  I forgot to take a picture after the crown was completed because these were left unattached until the morning of the con.  While the epoxy is rated at a couple thousand pounds of force, I didn't want to leave the coins strung between the two wires in case the long-term stress caused a problem.

And here is the real final result of the work.  We entered the costume into the novice craftsmanship competition and received the first place prize.  I'm glad it all came together so well.  I owe a lot of that success to Ayla, her knowledge of the jewelry involved, and the idea to use this costume at all.

Akasha cosplay Necklace

Akasha cosplay necklace

Now we have the necklace for the Akasha cosplay.  This is pretty straight-forward compared to a lot of the other pieces. There is a lot of the same middle-eastern jewelry seen in the crown, and a lot of little spacers that had to be strung on bead wire.  The center-piece had to be made from a bracelet (flattened) and pendant soldered together.  The round discs are made from clay beads available from the crafts store, and then painted gold.  Several pieces had to be drilled so that jump rings could be attached where needed.  Overall, this was one of the easier (although more expensive) pieces of the cosplay.

Akasha cosplay crown

Here is the long overdue update on the Akasha cosplay.  There were a busy couple weeks to get it ready for Connecticon, so I only have a few process photos.  The blue-green points are made from glass mosaic tiles, which were put into a clay mold and coated with a think epoxy.  The original idea was to use a casting resin to hold the pieces, but it wasn't strong enough in the thin layers needed.  An important step was coating the mold in petroleum-jelly to keep it from sticking.

The jewelry are middle-eastern tribal jewelry, which are consistent with the original costume.  Many pieces aren't yet attached in the photos, but you can see how all the pieces have been adhered to a hair band for support (also using a thick epoxy).  The final touches for the crown are some soldering and wire-work (bronze wire for its strength) to link all the pieces together (and the crown points).