For my second STEAM fair project i decided to create a cosplay from scratch. using my own patterns that i modified, 3d printing and modeling head pieces, and styling everything i had.

My cosplay was of the virtual singer Hatsune Miku. she is a virtual singer who was created in 2007 and she is my favourite thing ever. i have parts of the website dedicated to her. i wanted to make my project something that i was really excited about and not exactly something that i knew would get me a good mark. i wanted to do something that i will cherish for a long time. and as a cosplayer on my own time, i decided to create a costume.

this was the concept for my outfit.

the first image is of the costume i ended up making, that is the variant called “salamander Miku” from the song “salamander” by artist DECO*27. this version of Miku only appears on the cover of this single.

the second image is of the classic 1st version of Hatsune Miku. i need this as a concept so that i can remember what parts of her should stay the same and which i should creatively change.

i started with my mentor, Terry Chui. i reached out to him in hopes that he would be able to help me with my planning. Terry is a talented artist and costume maker, he is the owner of Panda Props and Costumes. I knew him through my mother and she was able to help me form a letter to reach out. through out my project we had met up and discussed various different approaches to the project and formed a plan.

i then set out times and dates in a calendar and worked from there. estimating the time it would take for each piece of the project. breaking everything down by hour.

then i collected materials for the dress. i started with the dress because sewing is my strong suit. i’ve been sewing since i was 7 or 8 so i am relatively comfortable with sewing, it was best to start with the main part since i was able to get it done the quickest.

after finishing all of my sewing i went to go pick up materials for the props. i picked up EVA foam (5mm), contact lenses, and contact cement. i hand cut out all the pieces for my shoulder pads and glued them together, and painted it all.

i ordered my wig and styled it the day it showed up, adding a few accessories.

i reworked the dress and then was bale to sit down on a call with my mentor and terry helped me learn how to model horns for my head piece. we did some trial and error for how we wanted it to look and then terry was kind enough to print it himself.

finally, i practiced the makeup, re-did the wig, added final adjustments, and i was done.

i showed up to the fair in my full cosplay, showing off my outfit fully.