LGN Presents: EXPO Cosplay DIY Tutorials

Cosplayers descended upon this very special LGNYEG meeting to showcase their unique skills to our lucky attendees! With the Edmonton Comic Expo coming up at the end of September it's time to get serious about your Cosplay hopes and dreams! So, to help inspire all levels of Cosplayers we hosted a DIY Tutorial event that included several different Cosplayers.

First up we had Alena adorned in her badass Huntress costume fully equip with her weapons, cape, and gorgeous mask. On display were other costumes made by her partner in cosplay-crime Heather, master seamstress and fashion designer extraordinaire. Along side was trusty globe trotting photographer Star of Acts of Beauty Photography.

Alena, single mother of four children, shared her relatively recent discovery of Cosplay. She fell in love with it after volunteering at the Edmonton Expo to welcome convention goers while in costume. She explained that she began her search by researching characters she was interested in. Alena also relayed how empowering Cosplaying has been and that it took a lot of bravery to sport a superheroes garb. Heather Bouchier spoke about her profession of being a seamstress and explained how she designed and executed the costumes on display. 

Acts of Beauty Photography

Next up, Cheryl, known as Miss Chezza in the Cosplay community talked about closet Cosplay and how it's a great way to experiment with characters and designs without breaking the bank. Cheryl was dressed in her dapper Steampunk Rocket Racoon complete with a retro-fitted gun to compliment her stylized outfit. She mentioned that the more she Cosplays the more she loves it and appreciates the people she has met through this unique hobby. Miss Chezza Cosplay is one to watch as she tries out new Cosplays. 

The badass gals that are Naytay Cosplay and Kitnip Cosplay we very generous in showing us not only their impressive Cosplay build but gave us some live demonstrations of their skills. 

Natasha, of Naytay Cosplay, gave us the basics when it comes to dealing with LED lights. It was surprising how simple the concept is but Natasha warned us that it takes good planning and proper placement to get the effect that you want from LED lights from them being bright and direct or soft and subtle.

A bulk of our time was spent actually crafting armour! Yeah, that's right armour! Alison from Kitnip Cosplay, with the help of Natasha, showed us exactly how she creates her impressive armour builds using foam. The process was seemingly straight forward but again it took experience and creativity to draft and create the gauntlet she made for us.

It was a really fun event and I think everyone who attended took away a special tip, trick, or new skill. Thank you to all the talented Cosplayers and attendees!

Intro to Netrunner

The "Intro to Netrunner" Event was a Hit

On Sunday August 16th, LGNYEG ventured to Variant Edition Comics (Suite 102, 10441 - 123 St) with Edmonton Netrunners to host the event "Introduction to Netrunner" and it was a blast.

Many came to the store, some forming a line before the store opened to play Netrunner with beginners, novices, and advanced players.  The people who came to the event were unfamiliar entirely with the game, having only learned about it via the Facebook event pages.

The afternoon saw to many matches and individuals becoming hooked on this 2 player "living" card game. Edmonton Netrunners brought raffle prizes while LGN funded a timbit run, the afternoon was a delight.

Some photos below:

Lots of people playing, official mats out, and more. Those who had never played enjoyed the experience and hoped there will be more gaming events at Variant soon.

All in all, a great day to be had. If you want more events like this hosted by LGN let us know via Twitter @LGNYEG or the comments section of this blog.

Special thanks to Laury and the Edmonton Netrunners group and Brandon at Variant Edition Comics.

LGN at HEXAGON CAFE

On a warm Tuesday night, LGN's finest came out for a bit of board gaming at the modernly appointed Hexagon Cafe. 

LGNYEG set up a board gaming event at the Hexagon Board Gaming Cafe on Whyte Avenue in hopes to bring together intermediate players and beginners to the world of board gaming. The food and drink was spot on with piping hot meat pies and frothy good cappuccinos. The Hex staff were personable, helpful, and involved in teaching some of the first comers the game Monster Boss. Other LGNers set up a round of Lords of Waterdeep and Dominion. Some were beginners to the games, others were well versed and wanted to play with new people. It seemed that with a packed house, the environment to play was everywhere and made for a wonderful full night of gaming.

Planning for a night out with friends? Why not try the Hexagon Cafe for a bit of gaming. For a few hours, it's still cheaper than a movie.

http://www.thehexcafe.com

December Craft Market

December Craft Market with LADY GEEKs uNITE!

On December 8, 2014 LGN hosted a unique geek driven craft market. Ladies sold things like dinosaur accessories, superhero mugs and scarves, buttons and greeting cards, and tasty baked goods.

We also had a few packages from BioWare and Laila Aslund to raffle off if attendees donated to the Edmonton Food Bank. We just about filled the entire donation box that evening! Thank you to everyone who donated!

Since we got such a positive response at the event you can bet that we will be bringing the craft market back! Right now our plan is for a summer time garage sale in our rear parking lot. Stay tuned for details!

 

 

BYOBG August 7th

BYOBG with LGNYEG!

(Bring Your Own Board Game with LADY GEEKs uNITE) too much with the abbreviations?

August 7^th we, the lady geeks, converged at Happy Harbor for hours of board game shenanigans! We encouraged people to try games that were new to them with one or two other experienced players. Groups broke off and the games began: the classic Settlers of Catan had players cursing the dice and the surplus of bricks, the sorrowful yet hysterical card game Gloom was perfectly miserable, Pirate Flux seemed to be addictive and had players itching for more, and Smallworld took a little more set up and learning but was a success once everyone got going.

Sylvia Moon also provided a diverse sampling of Indie Comics she has collected over the years from conventions as well as Happy Harbor Comics local comics section..

INDIE COMICS, WHAT DO?

Artist Alleys, creator booths, small time vendors; all places to find indie comics. Indie comics bring a new taste to the reading palette which can be inviting if you've only been downing fatty junk food superhero comics. Indie comics have no specific genre, they can be about anything and paced at any speed. Creators of indie comics are doing it for themselves, your direct contribution to their endeavour is a bigger gesture to the local comic community than buying another New 52 title. These stories are personal, they take you on journeys into the scene of where ever the indie comic came from, the collected thoughts and manifests of artists, the experimenting they tried. They give you a humanist perspective because these comics are made with love, with no other intention but to tell the author's story. If these reasons alone are not enticing enough to try finding indie comics at the next convention you attend, maybe you're journey into comics is not as deep as you wanted it to be. Indie comics make great additions to collections because maybe that indie comic you picked up from an artist will be the next big read. They're affordable, fun, and unique. 

Some types of indie comics are:

- Ashcan: a short comic printed on standard size paper, folded, with a few staples in the middle

- Booklet: similar to the ashcan but much longer

- Coil bind: with either a plastic coil or metal coil, looks like a scribbler/notebook

- Perfect bind: glued spine, just like a paperback book

So the next time you see an artist with a comic book, give it a flip and maybe you'll see a comic worth reading sans the hype department.

Thank you to everyone who came out and played games with us! We’ll do it again sometime!

Coming Up Next for LADY GEEKs uNITE…

Come and enjoy a free screening of Sailor Moon Crystal on September 4^th at 7pm. The beloved story of the celestial Sailor Scouts has been rebooted to follow the source material, the original manga, more closely. Using modern animation the series is being brought to life once again for fans and new audiences to experience. Many adults have fond memories of these heroines who were each unique in personality, strengths, and weaknesses but each relatable on some level to everyone, especially young girls. This free screening is open to life long lady geek fans, lady geeks who have never heard of Sailor Moon before, and junior lady geeks that want to attend with a parent. As always, lady geeks can bring a guest along if they wish! See you in September: Moon Prism Power!