Orphea (Casual) - Heroes of the Storm



Cost: $125
Time to Make: 2 hours
Timeline of Construction: November 2018


Pictures




Information

The idea for this outfit came to my mind instantly when I was at BlizzCon 2018 and the shop for the con added a super cute Orphea Cosplay dress after the opening ceremonies. When I saw it, I knew that I wanted to get a wig and commission a crown so I could Cosplay a casual version of Orphea. I was aware that after the convention my Orphea costume, that was made by Henchmen Studios, would be either put into storage by Henchmen or would be kept by Blizzard so the chances that I would ever get to Cosplay as Orphea again (at least in her default outfit) was pretty much non-existent. I definitely soaked in as much of the experience at the con as possible and really appreciated the costume and came to love Orphea so my desire to Cosplay her again just kept growing. Kyle from the Henchmen crew was kind enough to wait in the shop line at the con to get me the dress and the Orphea shirt Blizzard was selling since I didn't really have time to shop myself with my costuming obligations. I wasn't sure how the dress would look on me given that it's printed with character designs and the smallest size was a small, but I was pleasantly surprised by the fit.

I decided pretty quickly that I wanted to maybe wear the Orphea dress to the Toronto Fan Days Holiday Show since it's a pretty casual event and was only a little over a month after the con. Just a few days after I got back from BlizzCon, I put in an order with Arda Canada for the priscilla wig since Arda was having a sale. I purchased the wig in silver because that's the colour Henchmen used and it was pretty flattering on me. I wanted a wig that would work pretty much right out of the bag without a lot of styling since I wasn't sure the timing of getting the wig with the Canada Post strike that was going on at the time. I also really didn't want to make this casual outfit a huge production. The wig was actually pretty nice right off the bat. A week before the Fan Days Show, I visited my friend Pan for help with the wig. She only had to trim the back and the front sides a little bit, but it was only a few strands and the length was already pretty good for me. I know this wig is a little more layered so it doesn't hang quite as straight for that bob look that Orphea has, but it was still really flattering. Pan also fluffed up the bangs to give it a cute look. At the Fan Days show she actually feathered the bangs a bit while I was wearing it. That last minute wig surgery gave it such a nice look and I really appreciated her help with the wig!

Just after BlizzCon, I asked my friend Adrien if I could commission him to make a crown for me. Adrien has made a number of really nice props for me including my Sailor Saturn staff and my crown and brooch for Princess Peach. His work is the highest caliber. He agreed to do it, but he sounded like he wasn't sure if he could get it done in time for the Fan Days event. He was asking me to figure out a hair comb to hold it in place and I was losing hope that I could find something in time. That's when he surprised me with an early Christmas present. It was the completed crown, which he gave me two weeks before the event. XD He trolled me so he could make it a present. He gave it to me just a few days after asking me to print out test paper crowns so he could get the sizing on it right. He worked fast! He was able to find a model for Orphea online so he could render the crown and figure out the proportions for 3D printing. His clean-up work on it was stunning! It looks pretty flawless and he sprayed it with super pretty sparkly clear coat. It was the perfect finishing touch to the outfit!

I decided to pair the dress with some black short boots. I struggled a bit to figure out what shoes to wear with it since the dress falls to my knees so knee high boots looked a little severe. At least the short boots were comfy! I also busted out some red contact lenses. Blizzard told Henchmen that Orphea's eyes were pink and the lenses that they bought me for the costume were Vassen Cloud Nine pink. I will be ordering that style of contacts later, but what I had on hand at the time was Venus Eye wine red contacts, which were a nice medium between red and pink. They ended up being a bit dark on my eyes so they weren't very striking. I had never tried that brand or colour before, but I'll probably avoid it in the future since it's not a very strong colour over my hazel eyes.

The final element of the costume was my makeup. I've had 3 different looks for Orphea: the original test makeup when I tried Orphea on as a whole for the first time, the Blizzard approved makeup at BlizzCon and then my own interpretation for this casual look. I'm not going to lie. I'm not very good at doing makeup. Every year I get a little better, but I really only wear basic makeup on a regular basis (concealer, powder and some eyeshadow) so my makeup experimentations only happen on special occasions or with Cosplay. I've only ever had my makeup done professionally once before working with Henchmen so it's a pretty intense experience to work with a professional. It was pretty intimidating following that up. I figured, though, with my casual outfit can come a casual look. I felt so epic and ready to battle at BlizzCon, but surely Orphea can't fight her dad all the time, right? XD I did my makeup in the same basic way I do makeup for teen characters like Sakura Kinomoto and Madoka Kaname since Orphea is 16. I tried to emulate some of her darker makeup look but I kept things a little lighter with a purple tone. I gave up on doing false eyelashes because I just can't apply them easily and I avoided lipstick so as to not make myself look mature. I wish I had gone a little heavier with some of the purple makeup and layered on more mascara, but the final look was still pretty cute.

I had a fun time putting together this homage to Orphea! I was really happy to find that Blizzard was selling a dress for her and I hope to continue buying all of the Orphea merchandise that I can in the future. I absolutely adore her character design and I care a lot about how the character evolves in the future. I'm super grateful for my friends who helped me out with this casual outfit. Thanks to Adrien for surprising me with my beautiful Orphea crown and for Pan for helping to trim my wig. I also have to thank Pan for the super cute plush Chomp that she whipped up for me in an hour and a half after we worked on my wig. I was asking her if I could borrow a Gengar plush because Gengar reminded me of Chomp, and she asked me about character designs for it. Then she started brainstorming options for a plush. The little ghost design she created with big teeth is so cute! It's another element of the costume that I appreciate and with all the help that I got from my friends on this outfit, it makes me appreciate Orphea even more. :3

I had a nice time wearing this outfit at the Fan Days event. It was lovely to work with my friend Amanda on a mini shoot of the dress. I was trying to channel a softer version of Orphea after my more intense portrayal at BlizzCon. Amanda knows my angles well and she took some beautiful and cute photos of me that I really appreciate. I can't wait to see more skins for Orphea and perhaps I'll be working on an Orphea costume of my own to further honour the character in the future!

Events/Conventions this costume was worn to
Toronto Fan Days Holiday Show 2018

Photo Credits
Pan & Elemental


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