Miroku Costume

Miroku_wannabe · Post by **Miroku_wannabe** » Fri Aug 27, 2004 8:17 pm

Ok guys, heres a few questions for ya!

1. Since I'm going to be Miroku, I'm going to need the staff. Now at first I thought to make it out of PVC pipe and metal rings, then paint. Only problem was that it was rather difficult to carry around. Any ideas on a lightweight substance that isn't too soft(You know, so I can swing it around and bonk any Inuyasha's on the head that I see ^^)

2. I'm going to be down in Miami for this con( meaning it'll be hot hot HOT), so what type of fabric do you think I should use? I was thinking possibly silk for the purple sash(but its too shiny and too expensive). Also size plays a big role here, there seem to be alot of folds in the sash thingy, so it would have to be rather long I assume(Unless you use like saftey pins at certain parts instead of tieing the whole thing together).

So then, any ideas?

wingruby · Post by **wingruby** » Fri Aug 27, 2004 9:41 pm

cotton will do for hot weather

Hemuloki-sama · Post by **Hemuloki-sama** » Sat Aug 28, 2004 2:42 am

Gah, I looked everywhere at cosplay.com because I remember seeing a Miroku staff guide there but I just can't find it at the moment!

Hm, always remember that if you're in a hot area for a particuliar costume that you can enslave nearby congoers if they love your costume enough into being your fan bitch.

I had that when I went to Expo and someone loved my Hiro costume a bit too much. She noticed I had a fever and fanned me for the better half of the day o.O Even though my costume wasn't very special, someone loved it that much.

Funny thing is, she became my fan bitch at Expo and when I got better later on, I became her bitch! I'm still indebted to her.

You rock, girl, whoever you were!

Miroku_wannabe · Post by **Miroku_wannabe** » Sat Aug 28, 2004 9:50 am

Ok, I managed to find a Website that has some fairly good pictures and ideas of a good Miroku costume. Now sadly it doesn't say what they used for the Kimono or how they sew'd it. However, looking over at E-bay, it seems near impossible to find a plain black kimono. Now in the website it says they used a 'cleverly wrapped sheet' ...what is this^^;;?

(And a fan-bitch would be rather nice now that you mention it)[/url]

Dark_Tiger · Post by **Dark_Tiger** » Sat Aug 28, 2004 11:23 am

okay, Miroku's staff is one of my pet peeves, so I'm going to expound on it a bit.

First off, the head peice is about the size of your hand. It's a very tradional staff carried by buddist monks, and everytime I see one made 12 inches wide, I have to go lay down for a bit. I'd also make the staff out of wood (you're kinda stuck with weight there). The head is supposed to be of bronze, but since none of us have a forge, doing a composite mold and making it out of plastic would work.

On the subject of overheating, I assume this is for Otakucon? If so, I wouldn't worry, it's not that hot in December. The only other con I know of in Miami isn't until next August.

Miroku_wannabe · Post by **Miroku_wannabe** » Sat Aug 28, 2004 3:38 pm

It is indeed Otakucon Mamai Beach!(for some reason I always get the Mamai heat song in my head when I say that) Anyway, how exactly does one make composite mold and make it out of plastic? I've never done something like that before. Although the head I could do I think with copper. Get some copper wire and hammer it untill it bends into a circle shape, then do some melding. The middle piece would be rather hard, but I assume a small copper rod melded at both ends would work. If the copper is too shiny, I could always get some broze dull paint and and fix it up with that. Also, you said 'It's a very tradional staff carried by buddist monks', so would I be able to find picutres of a real one you think?

Edit:1
On the subject of his outfit, I was looking through some stuff and found a yukata, which seems to look more like what Mirokus black clothing looks like, although I'm still not sure if I wanna go with that or a kimono. Also, what type of sandal's does he wear, you never really get a good shot of them.

Edit:2
In my travels on the internet I happened to come across this. Whoever did this had alot of time and did everything VERY well.The way the staff is so exact is really impressive ( I was just going to have a bar^^;;). This sort of costume is what I'm going, very exact, (I really want to win an award!) but the way this is so exact makes me think that perhaps this outfit was bought, sorta like a holloween costume. Anyone know of such a site that would sell a Miroku costume?

Tia · Post by **Tia** » Mon Aug 30, 2004 8:57 am

Yeah, it's well done. I expect that would sell for $250 easy, though. But if you want it cheap, you're going to have to deal with poor quality. In all honesty, that is the only good Miroku cosplay I have ever seen. The other problem is that I know a lot of cons frown on entering storebought costumes, and that makes me think they probably wouldn't like it if you bought it from somebody else who made it either. But you have to state that somebody else made it if you try to enter it. Otherwise, it's the equivalent to plagiarism, which is a serious offense anywhere. I really don't think you're going to win any awards for Miroku, though, because he is simply done too often and not original enough.

Hemuloki-sama · Post by **Hemuloki-sama** » Mon Aug 30, 2004 9:16 am

It really depends though Tia on her entering and not getting any awards. Personally, if I made her costume, I would not allow her to enter any craftsmenship contests but if the costume was used along in a skit, I wouldn't mind. She would have to sign an agreement though and send all awards to me if she did win something for just the costume. If she got something like a Judge's Award for her Miroku costume, I would require her to send it to me but not if it was a Best Skit thing.

But like Tia said, that is a very good Miroku cosplay and the staff is just lovely. But she might win something because I know if I was a judge, I would give an award if I saw a common or overdone cosplay done well.

We've all seen Inuyasha's before but when we really see a great Inuyasha, don't we all feel our heart leap in our chests?

Oh, and to answer your question a while back. A cleverly wrapped sheet is just words for a really well wrapped sheet.

Miroku_wannabe · Post by **Miroku_wannabe** » Mon Aug 30, 2004 12:05 pm

After checking some stuff, I don't think I'm going to buy it becuase I do want to win awards for it other than skits.(Which I don't think I'm doing anyway)As for the common Miroku thing, a friend of mine won an award for some con up in the NW for a really really good Miroku, which is what inspired me to do this^^. I think if mine was a good as the one in the picture 0.0...I'd think I would just be proud. Anyway, do they not let you in if even one piece is bought?

Tia · Post by **Tia** » Mon Aug 30, 2004 12:21 pm

It's a bit... complicated. Some cons have methods of checking with their rules or the judges can just tell. For Miroku, though, I wouldn't actually buy anything itself. You'd have to make everything by hand and just buy the materials for it. As for Inuyasha cosplay, one of my friends is the best Inuyasha I know of. But I've never seen her get that kind of reaction. More often, cosplayers get very low respect from the people running contests. Some cons have very stupid rules or the staff working there are just plain mean. People really underestimate everything that goes into good cosplay.

These are some of the reasons I never enter contests. Also, the judges really are biased. They want to see the little size 2 girl wearing nothing. I also don't agree with a lot of the corruption I see around in my fellow cosplayers. I think it's wrong to, at three consecutive cons very close to each other, compete with the same exact costume and take best of show at all three. I also think it's wrong for somebody to think that the fact that they won an award once because something was original the first time they did it means that they will when they do it twenty more times. I think this kind of crap is not only inexcusable, but it only continues to lower the respect that cosplayers have. I mean lets be honest, we're still regarded by many people as "freaks wearing weird clothes".

We say a lot about the way the other groups at the hotels at the same time as cons treat anime fans, but you know what, I was not bothered once by the Christians at AFO. And even some of the cheerleaders at Megacon came back to hang out with us. The biggest problem with abuse I've seen here in florida was redneck horse people (I'm sorry if that term offends anyone) who were afraid of us because they didn't understand us, so they just started shit with people for no reason. And they were young girls, too. But that is only one small group. We face more tribulations from our own kind than anything else. It makes me sick what goes on at some conventions, between the stupid fighting with weapons that their security should be doing a better job to prevent from happening and the derogatory things I have heard and heard of people saying to and about cosplayers and just anime fans in general.

Enough is enough. We need to stop looking for our own personal gain and prizes and start thinking about what's been happening to cosplay in general because of what people are willing to do to win. Now, this isn't necessarily true for all cons, but I'm just saying that I see these things happening a lot. These conventions aren't going to shape up unless forced to. Maybe that's what it's going to have to come to. I don't know if it would actually happen, though. Most people just see the problems with the way these conventions are run and think "someone should do something about that" and forget about it.

I think some people need to grow up and realize that even though a convention is a place to enjoy yourself, it's also still a place where you need to show some maturity. We should be showing our best sides here; not our worst. It takes a lot of effort and personal strength to put yourself out there when there is a good possibility you could get harrassed for it. I just think that people should think about why they cosplay in the first place. If you're not doing it because it's something you really love and enjoy, then maybe it's not right for you. Cosplay is for its own sake, not for the sake of winning another award for your collection.

Always remember the honor of the cosplayer.

Sorry about the rant, it kind of got away from me there.