Fanime Con 2002 had a whole slew of panels, discussion groups, classroom gatherings, industry sessions, and Guest Q&As to attend to throughout the weekend. Whether you were into cosplay or just wanted to chit chat with your favorite Guests of Honor, the panels and discussions were a great way to educate yourself and see all the work that happens in the anime fan and industry communities. For this report, LLNN was able to capture some of the highlights of Friday and Sunday panels while we were up in Seattle for Saturday's Sakura Con 2002.

Fanime Con 2002
 Panels and Discussions 4

Cosplay Workshop: Stitchin' Babes Cosplay: A source of great inspiration for many cosplay fans, these two ladies were quick to answer numerous concerns about planning, construction, attention to details, and dedication to the arts and craft of an exciting visual performance both in hall and stage cosplay.  Topics covered cosplay resources like Faerie-Fingers, difficulty of sitting in complex costumes, wearing corsets, choices of petticoats, hats, headdresses, extensive use of hot glues, prop-making, emphasis on practicality, research and fabrication of iridescent jewels, taking advantage of the wide range of resources found at Tap Plastics, and advanced application of resins and jewels to enhance more complex costumes.
Computer Graphics Workshop: Having the best computer hardware is not enough to achieve CG success. Much success heavily depends on practiced skill and being able to adapt to new software technologies and learning from mistakes. Technical features included direction on polygon creation and splicing, overlapping layers, gradient filters, using advanced features of Adobe Photoshop, use of Flash animation with sound, creating masks with various tools, and proper application of airbrushes for specific visual effects.

Shitajiki Pencil Boards Collecting: Moderator and experienced Shitajiki collector Abel Sollis led the discussion on the pencil board arena with topics including updates into online resources (new shows and new releases from older shows), looking into EBay for Shitajikis and being smart about prices, doing research on where to buy, learning techniques to separate the fake boards from the real products, and noting particular personal favorites.
Cosplay Props and Hardware: The awesome Jin Roh cosplayers dominated the audience attention as they arrived with a host of hardware props to carefully look over and learn from.  Advanced topics featured resources found at Tap Plastics, using various forms of battle armor, being practical, use of different glues and cements, choices of fabrics, and attention to visual accuracy with respect to military weapons and armor.

Japanese Cosplayer Tips on Costuming: As with all forms of cosplay, it's the initial visual excitement and first impression that makes it so challenging and panelist were on hand to provide direction.  Highlights included use of colored bootcovers, attending various cosplay events, noticeably larger costumes for guys, the love to dress up like the movie stars, and personal preferences of using digital versus film cameras for cosplay pictures.
Additional panels throughout the weekend also included: MPS Designs, The History and Quality of Anime Dubbing, Q&A with Angora Deb, A Reviewer's Life: A. "Batjew" Goldstein Q&A, Radio DJ Panel, New Generation Pictures Industry Panel, U.S. Producers Panel, GAINAX Panel, Anime Music Videos, Q&A with Mari Iijima, So You Want to be a Voice Actor Workshop, Import Gaming, Introduction to Japanese Culture, How to Create Digital Anime, Anime Club Summit, U.S. Directors Panel, The Game Show, Early Student Works, Introduction to Acting Workshop, Q&A with Kunihiko Ikuhara, Bandai Entertainment Industry Panel, Whose Line is it Anyway? (Guests of Honor Edition), Q&A with Tiffany Grant, ADR Scriptwriting / Editing, Viz Communications Industry Panel, Fandubs Studio Sokode, Studio Ironcat, Fansubs, Tampopo DDR, Yaoi-con Party, How to get the Bishounen of your Dreams, Q&A with Sue Ulu, Manga Entertainment Industry Panel, Q&A with Spike Spencer, FanFiction, Web Comics with Megatokyo, Garage Kits, A Fan's View, I My Me Strawberry Eggs, Studio Proteus Industry Panel, Shitajiki Pencil Boards Collecting, DDRSpot.com, Introduction to Anime for Parents, Sakura Taisen Fan Panel, Anime / Manga Web Design, Cel Collecting Classroom, ADV Film Industry Panel, Mythological Anime with Crispin Freeman, Agent and Voice Actor.

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