Updates!

I apologise for the lack of updates. I will try to be better. :) Alot has happened since I last updated my blog. Things have been going well with Cosplay Ireland. We done a Halloween Cosplay shoot in a lovely park in St. Annes just outside Dublin which went well and we had three fantastic photographers and many cosplayers come along!

Thanks alot to Úna from the Irishpress for doing a blog post on Fiona and I with Cosplay Ireland. It can be read here - http://worldirish.com/story/14451-meet-amy-king-of-cosplay-ireland-an-organisation-based-in-dublin

Also earlier today I done a photoshoot with photographers Lisa Tiffany Gellar and Steve Dempsey in Pheonix Park. They took more photos of my Little Red Riding Rei cosplay and this time thanks to Nora Fox who makes my costume and helps me, she made my cloak and made my basket more the part. The setting for the shoot was beautiful and very well suited to Little Red Riding Hood with alot of leaves and a lake. I had alot of fun with Lisa and Steve.

Here is one photo from the shoot from Steve. :) Looking forward to seeing the rest!

I had such a great day today! I guess it was very eventful. RTE which is Ireland's national TV channel production company contacted my partner in crime Fiona about Cosplay Ireland getting involved with a lip syncing video with different groups that bring colour and excitment during the recession. We used the song Brewing up the Storm. I really felt I was an extra in a movie as it was very professional and well down, even though we were all very tired with the standing around which we were doing for most of the day, I actually really enjoyed it as I felt I was on set.

We did abit of rehearsing and we met lots of different types of people from all over Ireland in amazing costumes and dress! I spoke for a few minutes to a TV crew about my character C.C. and we got to meet Ryan Tubridy who is a big TV personailty here and hosts the nationwide Late Late Show. A really nice guy. I am really looking forward to seeing the finished project and really hope it will be on TV or even if it gets on to youtube that would be a great experience! It may have been a long and exhausting day but we got cosplay out there and hope more will come our way. Jay Mechanic Geisha -[link] helped out again being our make up artist so it was very good of her to give up her day and help out.

We hope with Cosplay Ireland to do second round of the CosArt exhibition shoots very soon.

There we all are posing with Ryan Tubridy.

The video we danced to.

Then on Sunday I will be C.C. in the Black Knight costume again for the Dublin International Comic Expo. We are trying to encourage cosplay at nany events like at the big Comic Con in the US. Shoud be a fun day!

I am featured in the Sunday Times!

While I was in Budapest I got an unexpected call while on the tour bus from the Sunday Times Newspaper which is a big nationwide newspaper in Ireland. They wanted to do a quick interview on the Cosplay and convention scene in Ireland and on Cosplay Ireland.

Here is the article. :)I will get better pictures of the text tomorrow.

Anime Fandom

I watched this video a few years back and would like to share it. I watched it a few years times and it leaves me with a fuzzy and warm feeling and why I seriously love being involved with conventions and the scene.



This is a good video I found on Youtube of convention life. :)

The World is like a book and those who do not travel only read one page.

I just wanted to say that I really think the internet is really a fascinating place! We really are living in interesting times. It was just after Nomcon I realised the Anime community in Ireland has really come together. We really went from scattered fans to a tight nit community.

I recall at the age of 17 when I was only new to anime and there was a small Irish Anime forum named Eirtaku, then in 2005 came Eirtakon the first proper anime/manga convention in Ireland, then after Eirtakon came Nomcon, Arcadecon and Akumakon and the anime fandom exploded. Due to the scene getting bigger and cosplay getting more popular Cosplay Ireland was created, then came along other communities on Facebook and these all brought the Irish anime/manga community together.  I have been meeting alot of cosplayers which I have never met before. We all really came a long way. It is not only in Ireland but I feel thanks to the Internet I have met great and artistic people through this fandom. I even feel closer to manga artists who seemed light years away when I was younger and now with Twitter and social media we can become connected sharing art pieces and commenting. To takes things on a broader scale thanks to Twitter and Social media we are kept updated on what is happening in the world. Back in the 1960s people wowed over the birth of the television which was an open to day to the world and now we have the Internet.

If it wasn't for the Internet I would have found it harder to express myself, meet like minded folks and it would have been very difficult for the anime communities to come together.

The world is really in your bedroom or at the palm of your hand. The video below is Eric Whitacre Vitual Choir which was a video I used for my Social Media presentation in college. The video was a worldwide virtual choir of 58 countries worldwide taking part in this project in unity. It really potrays the world being connected. It really is amazing how we can work on projects when we are many moons away when it wasn't possible a good few years ago.

 


It really is incredible.

The Tall Ships Festival 2012

During the Nomcon weekend I attended the Tall Ships Festival which is a large festival in Dublin exhibiting pirate ships and military ships from all around the world.

I only attended the Friday night but had a great time! They were lots of people around and a high buzz, also very athmospheric.

Unfortunely it was raining so the picture didn't come out too good.

 This was really cool, the performers were very dramatic and really fast paced dance music was played.

 This performer was gorgeous it really looks like she is flying. Her cape was flown down to the audience. Also spot the mermaid on the sea horse on the right. Stunning costume.

 These were floats going around the festival and people could join in.

 Here are a few images of the Martime Festival (the old name) two years ago. A big difference in the weather!

It is tradition for me to wear my sailor outfit to this festival every year.

Also unfortunely I never really got a chance to volunteer at the Darklight Festival due to work but I heard it was really good so glad it went really well! Also Lorraine Scanlon who I know from the con scene is running a worldwide animation convention named Aka-Con in Dublin around April if anyone is interested.

Nomcon 2012

Nomcon was good fun! The hotel was really nice. Everything was very central.

So I leave you with pictures! :)

 The Tiffany Grant and Matt Greenfield signings. A good few turned up.

 Thanks to attendee Timothy Tang who is a massive Asuka fan for taking this picture. This was when we were queuing to get to meet the guests and get our stuff signed. Tiffany and Matt were nice to talk to and down to earth and Tiffany commented on my cosplay. ;)
  

 

 The cosplayers from the Cosplay Masquerade, lots of great cosplays!

 Lara Garnermann who organises the Cosplay for a Cause charities and Mitsue Jimi who is a poet from Japan and wrote a Cat Soliloquy both conducting this panel on Japanese poetry. It was very enjoyable.

 I love art books and I am a fan of Tony Taka, was very tempted to buy but I am going to Budapest next weekend so need to save! Next time I will get some artbooks.

 A selfy I took after the con. I am kinda happy with how I done Asuka's make up as I do look more vicious but I am little worried that I look kinda heavy as I am wearing too much make up? Feedback and opinions are always appreciated (if constructive)

The charity auction pictures. This was at the very end twas great fun and I am imagine a lot was raised for the charity. Tiffany was great flaunting her goodies to get buyers to auction. They were some really nice gems as you can see in the images below.

 and lots of DVDs...

Nomcon really had fantastic skits and the Nomcon committee done a comedy Evangelion fandub which was hilarious! It can be seen here. Very well done.




In the masquerade pictures above you will see a really good Merida from Brave cosplay by Lorraine who done a very good skit which she won best skit. It was very entertaining and well done. Well done to her and Kathryn for writing it!



Listening to: Hole - Celebrity Skin