Costume Designers Guild draws the lines at Comic-Con

A sea of close to 150,000 Comic-Con attendees will swarm the San Diego Convention Center July 21-25, dressed in costumes they made impersonating their favorite idol, action hero or theme. Of course, most of these costumes were originally designed and illustrated by professional costume designers and costume illustrators for movies and television shows. In its sixth year at Comic-Con, the CDG continues to create an exciting Comic-con experience for costume enthusiasts.

Costume designers and costume illustrators from the Costume Designers Guild, Local 892 (CDG) will present three panels to discuss the collaborative design process of transforming comic book characters and creator’s visions for the big screen.

The CDG costume designers and costume illustrators scheduled to appear on Friday’s panel, “Costume Designers: Designing For Television Production” (Room 32AB/11 a.m.) are Audrey Fisher (True Blood), Ane Crabtree (Justified), Shawna Trpcic (Firefly), Pamela Shaw (assistant costume designer, Vampire Diaries), Jennifer Eve (assistant costume designer, Glee). Moderator is Kristin Burke, costume designer, and creator of her own costume design website www.Frocktalk.com.

Saturday is costume-packed starting with the film panel entitled, “Costume Designers & Costume Illustrators: Designing For Feature Films” (Room 5AB/12:30 p.m.) featuring a cast of blockbuster-film CDG members Michael Wilkinson (Jonah Hex), Phillip Boutte, Jr. (Inception), Christine Bieselin Clark (co-designer, Tron: Legacy), Ha Nguyen (Priest), Laura Jean Shannon (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), and Shawnelle Cherry (10,000 Days). “10,000 Days,” is 12 eight-minute webisodes of the world 10,000 days after a comet strikes the earth in 2011. The moderator is Susan Nininger, costume designer, (Bodyguard).

After the autograph session in the Sails Pavillion, the adventure continues at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, just south of the Convention Center with “The Design Process for Film and Television” (Indigo Ballroom/4:00 p.m.). This is a combined panel of the Art Directors Guild (ADG) and CDG illustrators who will discuss the fundamental importance of illustration, as well as the cohesiveness in building a holistic world for the character. CDG members Christian Cordella (The Last Airbender), and Brian Valenzuela (Star Trek), and ADG members Benton Jew (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides), Phil Saunders (Iron Man 2) and dual CDG/ADG member Robin Richesson (The Last Airbender) are scheduled. Moderator is Harrison Ellenshaw, filmmaker/visual effects artist (Star Wars: Episode V- The Empire Strikes Back).

This year the CDG is proud to present its first costume illustration exhibit at Comic-Con in conjunction with the ADG at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. Visitors can see the artistry and craftsmanship of fascinating costume and set/concept illustrations from various genres of television and film projects. The exhibit opens Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m in Aqua Level Room 311, through 5p.m. on Sunday. In addition, CDG is excited to introduce an exclusive, interactive CDG Hall Costume Award Contest this year. Thursday through Saturday of the convention, CDG Members will roam the halls seeking their personal favorite costumes.

Saturday evening, three celebrity guest CDG members will judge the annual Comic-Con Costume Masquerade and present the stunning CDG “Favorite Costume Award” to a talented winner, along with a gift certificate to International Silks & Woolens, a terrific fabric/notion source used by industry professionals in West Hollywood.