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After the dust had settled following BlizzCon 2010, we invited the three costume contest winners to write articles on their experience – from crafting their costumes, to attending the event itself. This is the first of those articles.
 

Hello, my name is Brenna Bozanic and I wore the Ysera costume for the BlizzCon 2010 costume contest. While I have attended every BlizzCon, this was only my second costume. Last year I dressed as my blood elf character in a set of mid-40s-level gear that I simply liked the look of. Cosplay to me is about making something that looks cool, showing it off, and having fun. BlizzCon provides a
really great atmosphere for just that.

Individual dragon scales for the 'tail' section.

When I decided to make a Ysera costume her updated model hadn't been released, or even mentioned, yet. Since I felt this was an opportunity to make something really cool, I went the furthest I thought I could go with her design. I really wanted to move away from the idea that your clothes had to be the coolest thing about your outfit. So I tried to make her appear partially transformed into her
dragon form.

Ysera outside the convention hall, BlizzCon 2010.

Personally, the gloves are my favorite part of the costume. I decided to go for chainmail even though I had tried it before. The gloves were the bane of my existence for about six months. It gets very tedious linking together tiny metal rings and scales for hours on end. But this is what cosplay is about.
Putting in those hours and creating something amazing.

Dragon claws mid-production.

Keeping with the dragon design I made a tail, wings, and horns to compliment the hands. These were all attempts at materials I had never worked with before: craft foam, PVC pipe, and paper clay. Sitting down was highly important to me, so I had to make the tail moveable. As a result, each scale had to be made and attached individually to allow the tail to be flexible. Unfortunately, I was so busy at BlizzCon I never got the chance to sit but once!
 

I had a great time making and wearing this costume -- thank you to everyone who has helped me along the way. BlizzCon is a yearly tradition for me and hopefully attending in costume will become one as well.