The Witcher 3 Yennefer DLC Alternate Outfit Cosplay Help

Hey everyone! It has been a while since I blogged anything and usually its for tv shows and movies, but this time its my own cosplay guide. I have been putting together the costume myself and I thought I would share the resources that I found and used for creating Yennefer's alternate costume. I will also post the images I used for reference to create this outfit. As for the sewing, I only did a little myself as I found a local seamstress near me who is affordable to make some of the parts. Here is some of the links that I used as reference for on to start.

- https://www.ravenstarcosplay.com/2015/09/15/yennefer-of-vengerberg-dlc-costume-tutorial/
- https://fjalladis.de/en/making-of-2/yennefer-dlc-outfit-making-of/

First for my version of the outfit, I decided not to go for the scarf as when I would be wearing it was in August so I didn't want to overheat myself. The fabrics I got from fabricland that related the most to the colours that is in the outfit. Please note that the top colour is hard to match unless you dye it. It is just easier to find something that matches instead.

So the fabrics you use will have to use your judgement on what you want to spend on it and how close you can get it to match. For me I got most of it on sale and the fabrics where around $60 CDN for me. I did later on add some more stuff which added another $20 CDN for the total cost.  I also got some bias tape for the outside of the skirt, to cover the feathers on the top, and for the ribbons around the forearms. You will probably also need some Elastics to connect some parts together and to give you that movement you need. You need at least 3 different colours of thread, one being heavy duty for the corset. The wig, you can pick up from ebay. Just search "the witcher yennefer wig".

For the corset, this is based on what you want to do and what you are comfortable in. It is hard to find one that is similar to what Yennefer has, in addition to being affordable. So I opted to make my own instead due to I can control how it fits on me and its cheaper. I did buy a very close leather for the corset and boot covers. In addition I did get some leather string for the corset as well. I found that my local fabric store at them at a decent price and I could get the length that I wanted. You can get cheaper on ebay if you can't find the leather string at a location near you. You will also need a pattern if you don't buy it or have someone make it for you. I found this video helpful, in addition to one of the links I posted above.

Next is the Top. As I mentioned above, I did find a local seamstress to make the top part for me, but I can at least say what she did. For the fabric, I got the closest match I could get without having to dye it as I am not comfortable dying fabric just yet. I believe I have about 2 meters of fabric for the top and it was barely enough to finish it. So I would recommend getting at least 3 meters to be safe.
 For the feathers, I found some on Amazon that were affordable, but they took at least 1 MONTH AND 2 WEEKS to get here in Canada due to being stuck in customs. So order your feathers first and plan to wait awhile for them to arrive. Even if the seller has an express option, they CAN'T control how long customs holds them. I personally ordered 2 packages and that seemed to be enough plus extra. Here is a video on how to sew feathers on.

The necklace I ordered from Amazon as well and it arrived in good time. You can also order from ebay, but I personally like ordering from amazon when I can.

For the Skirt, make sure you get a good sturdy fabric that isn't too light. You don't want it blowing everywhere. When it is sewed together, make sure the fabric is on both side to give it that look and durability you need. You can get bias tape to outline the skirt, which is about 2 -3 meters, but ask someone at your local fabric store for assistance if you are not sure. The number above is a guess as I can't remember how much I got. You will need hooks for the skirt so it is easy for you to take it on and off. My skirt starts at my waist and goes to my knees. There is a front panel and 2 back ones that meet at the butt. As for the black skirt, this is where you can save money if you want. There is 3 options for this. 1, make it yourself so it fits the way you want. 2 - buy it brand new from a store or the internet. 3 - buy from a thrift store. I got my skirt for 4.99 CDN plus tax from a thift store and it fits perfectly. In addition, if you buy from a thrift store, you don't spend a lot and then won't feel like you wasted money if you have to cut or fix it to fit what you want.

image from https://www.deviantart.com/isavien/art/Yennefer-boots-WIP-609734834

Now the Boots. This is where you have to decide what you are comfortable with spending and wearing. You can choose to buy a pair of boots that are similar to what Yennefer wears, modify an existing pair, or make boot covers. I did a combination of boot covers and modify what I already had from my previous cosplay. I used the same fabric from the corset and used it to create the base for the boots covers to go onto of my existing boot. I had leftover black leather from a previous cosplay what I used for the top part and the black strips. You will need to buy some black leather like fabric for the boots covers if you plan on building it. The covers also require elastic for some movement and to keep it attached to the boot. For mine, the elastics went at the heel and under the boot. In addition to around the ankle so it is easier for me to put on. Please note that it is important for the cover itself to have space around the knee so you can still bend your knee and sit comfortably. I found with this way, I could still walk but I didn't have complete full range movement of my leg. As for the black strips, I sewed it in various places to hold it in place. You can use the image above as reference for placement.

Finally all the little details that go into the costume itself. This refers to the belts, lace on top of boot, the metal things on the knees, and gloves. For the lace, there is 2 options, one you can buy stockings with lace on top, or buy Elastic Lace Anti-Slip Thigh Bands. Personally I don't like the feel of stockings so I went with the Thigh bands instead. Try to get the size you will think best and then use hooks or safety pins to help it fit correctly. I also sewed mine to size to help hold it to my leg as it moves around a bit when you walk and wasn't sure if the safety pins alone could do it. I did have a little trouble with the lace as sometimes the silicon on the top of the bands wouldn't hold and it would slide down. So I was fixing it here and there. For like 70% of the time it worked once I found a good spot it would stay. 

For the arm bands, I got a black satin bais tape, about 1 - 1.5 meters and sewed the edges together to give me a solid band. For the runic symbols on the band, I choose to go with a white fabric paint from Michaels. I found that amazon didn't have much affordable options, you might want to go to your local craft store for this item. To paint it, all you really need is a thin paint brush which you can get from your local dollar store. For the runic symbols, I got an image from one of the link above that I posted in the beginning. I saved the image and used it for reference. Once painted and dried, you can sew it to the forearms of the costume. It is important to pin it in place while wearing it before you begin sewing to get that shape it has when you are wearing. You don't want it too tight and placed nicely. You will need an extra pair of hands to help you place it. You can also use the images to reference below on how it's placed on the arms. Once pinned, I hand sewed it in at various points to hold the shape and decrease the chances of it moving on me.

Next is the more tricky part, the silver parts on Yennefer's outfit. There is a lot of different ways you can do it, but in the end it is what is possible in your budget to make it. In addition to what is your comfort level working with this stuff. Me, I don't know what to work, so craft foam seemed like an easier option. I actually haven't worked with craft foam before, so this is my first attempt. I got some sheets (about 2) of craft foam from my local craft store Michaels, in grey since what was my base colour for all the silver items. I bought a silver metallic paint for paint it with to make it seem more metal like. Since my craft foam is thin, I had to attach the 2 sheets together to get a certain thickness. For more help on how to do the designs on the knee pieces, this video by JakCosplay is really helpful and includes a template you can use to make it. Mine didn't turn out as great as I painted it, but I did use a grey marker to help pop the details out. To attach to it the boots I used double sided Velcro, attached horizontally. This gave me the movement I needed and held it nicely.

For the diamonds on the belt, I used a single sheet on the craft foam and cut the shapes out using scissors and painted them. I put on 2 coats of paint to make sure it really shined. Same process for the circles on the boots as well. Similar process for the circles but I painted the sheet of foam first in 2 layers of paint before cutting. I cut out strips first and then cut into pieces where I proceeded to cut circles out by hand. Once I had the circles cut out, I hot glued it to the boots and the black strips I made for them. This actually came out nice to look at, but not the strongest to stay on. I had issues with the circles falling off if something banged into them. Glue might have worked better.

With the belts, I found that 1 I could buy and the other needed to be made. The belt that goes around the waist and corset, I actually found at a thift store that looked similar enough and was the right size for the price of $9.99 CDN. Thrift stores are your friend when doing cosplay. For the brown belt around Yennefer's hips, I had no luck finding one that looked similar or at a good price. So I had to resort to buying the fabric and belt buckle and have it custom made. I did glue craft foam at the end for the metal part.

For the gloves, I just used the same fabric from the skirt and used this video tutorial to help me make it. Just give yourself extra time and space for these as it is tough to get it right. It can be either too baggy or too tight. Also remember that her gloves are a bit open at the bottom, so leave room for that when tracing. I didn't do much details on the gloves because I was running out of time and mine were a little tight around one of my fingers.

I hope this helps you when working on Yennefer's outfit for your cosplay. I am in no way a professional cosplayer, I just enjoy doing it once a year for Fan Expo and I know for someone trying to make it, guides do help give you an idea. I did have the help of a seamstress to make a lot of the parts, which is great if you are good at sewing or using a sewing machine. The price point for all the materials is about max $150 - 160 CDN. If you don't want to make it and looking for someone to make it, there is options on etsy, or you can use the link for reference when making the outfit as they do take a lot of photos from different angles. I will leave additional images below you can use for reference. Good luck!

My version of the outfit.

'The Player' Is Good, Crazy, Fun

You know, this year I haven't paid much attention to shows that were coming out in the 2015-15 season since most didn't look that interesting. I do however read the reviews and bits that come out about these new shows on tv.com. The one that caught my eye this year was The Player, a show about a man named Alex Kane, former FBI analyst turned security consultant. He soon finds himself involved with a dangerous game as "the player" for rich people to bet on crime. Tv.com had said positive things about it, so I decided to check it out and was rewarded with a crazy action packed tv show that was pure entertainment. 

The Player is like a crossover between Person of Interest and Burn Notice with a side of fun.You have the brains and tech similar to Person of Interest and the explosions and pure bad ass moments that Burn Notice was. It is a pity that there is only a small part of television that devotes itself to action instead of pure drama for the sake of drama. As Tv.com mentioned, The Player knows that the premise is not realistic and milks it for all it's worth. Also helps to have a great cast to sell it to you and make you invested. Before The Player, I hadn't known who Philip Winchester and his characters Alex Kane was and for me, he was the one who sold The Player to me. He is able to do the action, emotions, and the comic relief with excellent timing. To be honest, after I watched The Player, I went and watched all of Strike Back, which I also enjoyed. What also makes The Player worth watching is the underlying story, or rather mystery of where is Ginny, Alex's ex-wife, who was presumed dead at the beginning and the House itself. In addition to what is Cassandra's connection to all this. The Player proves that you can keep it simple, have fun, and have an over arcing story line.

So what about The Player is not selling it to people? Like I mentioned before, the premise of The Player is a bit strange of a game that rich people bet on crime that operates outside of the law and is all powerful. You can even see in the Pilot that even Alex doesn't believe it when Mr. Johnson and Cassandra explain it him. The Player is an action show basically as Alex Kane does the impossible and tries to stop bad guys from hurting people and such. This is not a show if you want love triangles or something like How To Get Away With Murder. There is unbelievable action scenes and explosions, which truth be told is awesome.

It is a pity though that The Player does not have the ratings to keep it alive. NBC announced that it "trimmed" the episode count of The Player down to 9 episodes instead of the 13 originally ordered. At the time, The Player was filming episode 9 and filming shut down soon after. So what went wrong exactly that NBC pretty much cancelled it as they did with Constantine? First, there wasn't much advertising about The Player. I had heard that Wesley Snipes got a show, and hadn't cared at the time. It wasn't until I saw it on tv.com that I gave it a try. Second, the time slot it is in at 10pm on Thursdays competes with some big name shows that draw in viewers The Player could have potentially gotten. I would like to see The Player live on somehow and maybe somewhere than NBC, which in my experience is not the greatest channel. In fact, I really don't watch anything from NBC other than Constantine (which they unfairly cancelled), and The Player. Who knows, maybe The Player can live somewhere that better suits it, or get a better time slot to draw in viewers. For now, I intend to watch the remaining episodes of The Player and watch Philip Winchester kick some more butt.

What do you think of The Player? Do you want to see it go on?

Can I see a trailer? Yup.

There Is Potential in 'Constantine'

It has been a couple of months since NBC's Constantine signed off it's first season leaving many things in the air. Including the fate of Constantine itself. Not only was the episode count cut down short, but the writing was uneven leaving NBC and fans to wonder what the fate of the show was. I would like to state I was not a fan of Hellblazer comics since I had never read them. I had only heard of it when Constantine was first announced. So why exactly did I tune in every Friday and drew me into Constantine? In addition, why should anyone really watch it? Not to mention should NBC renew it?

First, what is Constantine about? Constantine follows John Constantine, an anti hero of sorts and master, sorry dabbler, of the dark arts. He is armed with his wits, arcane knowledge, and charm. Not to mention aided by friends, and enemies on occasion. We first meet John Constantine in an asylum, where he has checked himself into after the events of Newcastle. Word of the Darkness Rising comes his way, and checks himself out to investigate. In the Pilot he meets Liv (a character later cut out after the Pilot), and Manny (an angel who was sent to point John in the right direction). He is also joined by Chas, an immortal cabbie, and Zed, a woman with physic abilities. With the odd guest appearance of Papa Midnite, Spectre, and other characters, Constantine benefited from excellent character interactions, except with the odd episode they left Zed or Chas out. To be honest, the first few episodes of Constantine weren't the greatest, but they slowly improved. By the time The Saint of Last Resorts rolled around, Constantine was in it's element and showing it's potential for more.

So what is this potential I am talking about in Constantine? I first took note of Constantine back when the trailer when the internet and was drawn in by the character of John Constantine and the supernatural elements to the show. I'm a bigger sucked for shows with mythology and arcane stuff, most of the time. I am also a Supernatural fan, but I didn't feel the need to compare Constantine to Supernatural since they are both different shows. I am personally drawn in by John Constantine, and how Matt Ryan portrays the character is fantastic. Considering I only know him from Assassin's Creed: Black Flag. It's his cockiness, inner darkness/pain, sarcasm, and willingness to do what no one will do that makes Constantine worth tuning into. It works even better when John, Zed, and Chas work together. Just makes you wonder why the writers didn't play on this more.

Unfortunately, Constantine is on the bubble right now between getting cancelled and renewed for a second season. It could go either way at this point. Due to Constantine's rocky start, NBC cut it's episode order down to 13 after renewing it for a full season before the Pilot had even aired. That and the ratings. There was only a couple of episodes that I didn't really enjoy, but I pretty much liked most of season 1. The issue is now the open questions that haven't been answered and the potential Constantine has to do more. There are questions about the Rising Darkness, Manny, and even Newcastle. Further more, I want more of John Constantine to grace my screen. So the questions is now will NBC take the chance? There is a movement called "Save Constantine" right now where fans, actors, and writers are taking to social media to show their support for the show. Heck there was even rumors that the show would move to syfy, although this proved unconfirmed.  There won't be any word until later this month when they pitch season 2 to see whether NBC decides to renew it. I for one, hope Constantine is renewed.

Do you think Constantine should be renewed? Can I have a preview? (Yes you may. Below)

Supernatural "The Hunter Games": We All Have Our Issues

Nothing welcomes you back to Supernatural in the new year with a healthy dose of angst for everyone. Everyone seemed to be having some sort of issue to deal with this week. Castiel dealing with Claire being rebellious. Sam dealing with Dean having killed all those people. Dean dealing with the effects of the Mark of Cain. Crowley dealing with his mother. Claire dealing with everything she loves being gone and the angel wearing her dad won't leave her alone. Metatron, oh ya hes back, dealing with being a prisoner. Yup, problems all around for The Hunter Games. Though I could live without Crowley's mom being around.

The Hunter Games was a unique episode as there really was no monster of the week case as the episode focused getting rid of the Mark of Cain that is slowly revealing Dean's dark side and very well sending him back on his way to becoming a demon again. Considering the events of the previous episode where Dean murdered everyone in a room. I like that the Winchesters are admitting they have a problem and aren't lying to anyone about it. I mean usually one of our heroes is in the dark about a problem, but this is not the case this time. Both Sam and Castiel team up in order to figure out how to remove the mark. Which brings Castiel to his brilliant idea of asking the scribe of god, aka our favorite douche, Metatron. Back again, Metatron takes the opportunity to stick it to the Winchesters. Although we all knew that it was going to end up with Dean beating the crap out of Metatron.

On the side story part of The Hunter Games, Castiel is still dealing with an angry teenager who is very angry that Dean murdered her "friends". To be fair, Claire should be upset that people she knew got murdered by a man, who was involved in her father's disappearance. To his credit, Castiel does point out that her friend was just using her. We all know that when you are on your own, you want someone to care about you and notice that you exist. This could have been Claire's case, and at least by the end of The Hunter Games, Claire realized that she needed to change something.

The weakest part by far is Crowley and his mother, Rowena. I mean we all know she is up to no good, but I honestly just hate her. I wish she would become the big bad already and not tip toeing around everyone. So annoying. That storyline is by far the dullest. This is Supernatural, not another drama. We have bro angst and family issues. If we have to get into why Crowley trusts her (or maybe/ hopefully playing along) due to the whole human blood ordeal he went through last season. Ugh that storyline needs to stop.

So I liked how The Hunter Games finished everything up giving everyone but Crowley and his mommy issues a solution. Sam told Dean he needs to fight his own demons since Cain seemed fine. In addition to looking on the lead Metatron slipped. As for Claire, at least Castiel got closure on his human host's problems. Although Castiel seems to have a lot of people leaving him this season. First Hannah, and now Claire. At least he can text one of them since he likes texting (I think your Misha is showing there). The Hunter Games was an okay start for Supernatural in 2015. Which reminds me, Supernatural got renewed for a season 11. Not sure how I feel about that since I think Supernatural needs to end at some point. Go out gracefully, instead of getting your butt handed to you.

Do you think the Crowley/Rowena storyline needs to stop? Do you think Dean can handle the mark?