_________Husky
_________Costume Stats
Character Name: Husky
_________Reference
Series: +Anima
Specifics: random image from manga volume 4
Cost: $75
Time: 45 hours
Started: June 2005
Completed: July 2005
Worn: Toronto Cosplay Picnic 2005
_________Information
For the past two years, Becky has been asking me to cosplay as a +Anima character. Almost two years ago, I agreed to cosplay Husky and bought the materials and wig I needed for his costume. The thing is that I could never motivate myself enough to finish the outfit I had chosen. I didn't actually start his costume until I switched what costume of his I was going to make. When flipping through the manga, I landed upon this image of Husky that looked like Roman-inspired armor. I fell in love with it, and for the Cosplay Picnic, finally made my Husky costume.
_________In Progress
Since the costume only exists in a single image, I had to do a bit of guesswork about how it looked and what colors it would be. Since Husky is a water-element character and most of his other outfits are blue, I decided to make Husky a blue-aqua color. I found some blue-green scaled vinyl that was perfect and bought it. I used a relatively thin aqua fabric and white denim for the majority of the costume. The light blue "wings" were made from fabric I got for my Nuriko costume and that I've had and not used for ages.
For the black undershirt, I altered a black shirt and added white piping to it. It's not the exact same shape as the reference image, but I wanted to be able to wear the costume without my bra showing too much, so I made some adjustments. ^^;
I made the top white part like a pair of overalls and connected it via velcro in the back. I made a smaller version of my pattern in aqua and sewed it overtop the white to get the right effect. I used metal buckles to attach the straps. The "petals" were made in the same fashion, were sewn to the top piece to make the skirt.
The armcuffs were made the same way I made the cuffs for Mystel. I cut out the base band out of a heavy vinyl and then carefully glued the scaled vinyl overtop. I had to use vinyl glue (which I hate... FUMES!), and they took forever, but I'm happy with the result. I added white piping and velcro to complete the cuffs.
The belt was made in the exact same way. I coasted a heavy vinyl cut in the right shape with the scaled vinyl. I also made a belt out of white fabric and then glued the vinyl piece on top of it.
The "wings" were challenging. I originally wanted them to stick out like they do in the reference image so I spent a lot of time making a wire harness, only to realize that it wouldn't work the way I wanted it to and scrap it the day before the picnic. Instead, I cut out the fabric for the wings and used a technique Amanda taught me to zigzag the ends. Amanda then helped me get them to sit right on my shoulders and I sewed them in place.
I made the little "shoulder armor" out of model magic, paint and some piping, and then glued them to the costume. They look really cool if you consider how simply they're made in comparison to the rest of the costume.
The boots were DEATH! I made a pattern for them out of left-over "Floreda" foam and made a way for them to attach to white sandals. I cut them out of more foam and glued them together. I glued pieces of white vinyl to the tips of the spikes of the boots.
I keep forgetting I can't sew vinyl, so when it came time to glue the vinyl to the boots, I ran into problems. To glue them properly would require more use of vinyl glue and more time than I had at the time, so I decided to just hot glue them together. It worked, but I got frustrated partway through and kept making mistakes. I really really really hate the way they came out. I could've done so much better if I had tried/cared. ><;;; Ah well. I know better for next time.
The staff was made out of a wooden dowel and two light bulbs. I know. I know. Light bulbs were a bad idea, but they worked. I covered them in duct tape and papier-mâché, so they won't break/shatter. I then painted the staff and added details with sponge painting and cording.
I bought the wig a year prior, and Blue Rose cut it for me in a law office... anyway, the wig was ready to go. ^^; As a final random detail (because no one knows or cares about what this costume should look like), I added some beading to it with the help of Amanda. And then I was finally done.
This costume was challenging and probably slightly above my skill level, so it's not the greatest thing in the world. It still turned out nicely though. The colors worked surprisingly well together. ^^
_________Misc
I wore this costume to the second annual Toronto Cosplay Picnic at Center Island. Besides the lack of pants thing, it was actually quite comfortable and fun to wear. I had a lot of fun running around dressed like Husky, and a lot of little children stopped to talk to me. ^^; Amanda dressed up as Husky's mother, and since our costumes went together, we took some photos together. I also took many photos with Becky, who dressed up as Nana from the same series.
_________Images
I also wore Husky on the Sunday of CN Anime 2005. On that day, Sakura wore Becky's Nana costume so I have a few photos with her that were taken by Blue Rose.
Overall, for a costume I rushed, Husky came out nicely. ^^
Toronto Cosplay Picnic 2005
CN Anime 2005
