Child of Mist.

Character: Child Rydia (Sprite Version)
Source: Final Fantasy IV
Seamstress/Model: Tess [~cupcake-rufflebutt]
Photography: Laurel Joly [*EnchantedCupcake]
Location: Otakon 2012

Construction Notes:
A week or so before Otakon I realized that I had a predicament: My "big costume" (Sakizou Terra) was almost finished (YAYYYYY!) and I was ready to start on another costume, but all of my secondary costume projects were a little too time-consuming to kick out in a week. (I swear, snails could sew faster than me. T___T) So I started looking for an easy costume, something I could make in 2-3 days, and I kept coming back to Child Rydia from Final Fantasy IV. Now, what with my slightly unhealthy preoccupation with making Terra costumes, you'd think my favourite Final Fantasy would definitely be VI, but I have to confess that I ABSOLUTELY ADORE IV, and it's been bugging me for a while that I haven't cosplayed from it yet. So, despite not being anywhere remotely near 7 years old, I somewhat foolishly settled on Child Rydia. >//////< Anyway, I modeled my costume off of the teeny-tiny gashapon figure that was sold when the game was re-released on the DS, and I really tried to embrace the simplicity of the design, rather than "soup it up" with a bunch of details from other Child Rydia illustrations and fanarts. (This was actually hard for me, because I love details!) The leotard and shoes were purchased and modified, and the wig is a Claudia from Arda that I teased for more volume. The sarong and sashes were dyed and bedazzled (okay, I did add a few extra details here and there) and the flower hairpiece, earrings, bangles, and pauldrons were all made from craft foam, which I sealed with copious amounts of Modge Podge and painted/bedazzled. I also started work on a mage staff, but was unable to finish it before the con. All in all, this costume proved two things to me: 1) I can make a costume in 3 days! This was an exciting revelation for me, since I usually get so caught up in tedious details that even the simplest costumes take weeks upon weeks. 2) I really can't pull off kiddie costumes and should probably avoid them in the future. I mean, I knew going into this project that I wasn't going to look 7 years old, but YIKES, I look so creepy and old in 99% of the photos I got back from the con, LOL. If I ever do wear this again, I'll definitely shorten the wig and poof it out a bit more -- I LOVE her crazy fly-away hair -- and invest time into some upper arm workouts. (BLECH.) Hopefully my next foray into FFIV cosplay will be something a little more substantial (Rosa, perhaps? Or UNF UNF UNF Cecil?) but I'm just glad I finally got to cosplay from my favourite game!

Special Request:
Please no critiques; I'd like to keep this gallery happy! <3