It's here
I am not a cosplayer, or interested in cosplaying, however I was always incredibly interested in getting clothing/merch of my Ocs done! And I LOVE one of a kind crafts with a passion! My characters are special to me and they will always be. For some of them, I designed jackets over the years my brain decided to include at one point. Actually not even too many years a go. And since their designs evolved more and more I got very interested in eventually getting something of it done in real life!
If you know my characters at least a bit, you already know who this jacket belongs to. Right it's my beloved dragon guy! Lui was the first character which I gave a solid jacket design and it was also the one which I of course was the most interested in getting. The blue inferno form was, and still is something very important in my character world after all, and is still something I focus on a lot. Hyperfixation stuff y'know.
Now.. before anything else, I drew a clear view of his jacket from all angles. I also had a "glow in the dark" version but I threw that idea in the bin shortly after because my idea wasn't possible the way I wanted it.
Who is the maker?
I of course haven't made this jacket myself (I could never), instead I searched on Etsy. Etsy is full of great opportunities if you are looking for custom items of all kinds. (and it's a place I love shopping on.. if I have money lol) The shop that make this for me was PixelStrix, who specializes in hoodies, hats and clothing overall. And luckely for me, they are located on Poland, which is right next to me. Because nothing is more pointless than getting shops recommened outside the EU... Once.. and never again. If you know.. you know.
I commissioned Pixel back in March, so as you can already tell, it took a very long time. I was expecting to wait, but it became so long that I poke for updates here and there. As there was just silence for months over and over again. Not too bad, I got the jacket after all, however communication is very important to me when I buy a custom, and especially expensive product.
Well, that aside I would love to show some pictures, talk a little about the jacket, quality, my happieness and overall opinion on it.
My Opinion / Review
Comfort and Quality:Literally 1000/10. (10/10) There is not a single flaw or quality issue. Honetsly I don't think you can get better quality than that. I've never really bought clothing made from cratch from a tiny company (as in no mass production or a simple print) so I have nothing to compare it to. But even without it, I would totally recommend them for the quality and comfort. The Jacket actually has some weight to it, but at the same time is super light when you wear it.
Accuracy:This is the section in which I'm going to give a few less points. But Accuracy, as in accurate to the design I provide, is generally something that always kinda fails when I commission people for crafts or art in general. But here, I have much much less an issue with it. Most things are perfect, and a few things that I am a bit nitpicky about aren't. But It would still be great to get something for once where the artist did it exacly as pictured. ;w; Of course, this is a piece of clothing, nothing that can be ripped appart if something is slightly off, however a few more progress shots, questions and communication could have avoided this.
Prints (dragon, logo(s)) : 8/10, the colors for the dragon aren't 100% how I wanted them but the colors I could choose from where limited. I was looking for something a little more alive, and less pastel for the lighter part of the dragon. The logos are great, but for the label I wanted black on white. not sure why it ended up being white on blue without any reason? But I actually don't hate it. It looks good, which is why I also didn't wanted it changed when I got the pic of the prints.
Fabric/Colors: 8/10. Here a very major thing was just left out, which I was already worried about. (I also got zero updates anymore after the prints, which were actually the only visiual update I ever got in the first place). What was left out? well, the blue stripes left and right, right next to the zipper. which are very clearly visible on the design I provided. I am not sure why this is always ignored. I am saying always because when I get art done, the exact some thing happens in 7 cases out of 10... I am a bit sad about that... but there is not much I can do about it. I can't just glue on two blue fabric pieces lol. Aside from that, the colors are amazing! I love the blue fabric I picked for the hands, inside and bottom too. As well as the arms, which are supposed to be darker than the body. All this is correct and very nicely done. The stripes are the only thing why I remove two points here. However only two, because I actually draw Lui without these sometimes as it looks slighly better depending on the feel and style of the artwork. However on the real jacket, I would have loved it if they were included. The extra kick of color in the middle is quite nice.
Which makes this a total of 26/30
Summary: Am I happy? Yes I am! I don't regret getting this stunning piece of clothing and I am going to wear it all day long! Would I recommend PixelStrix? Yes I would, especially for the quality. Maybe be extra clear when communicating with them, as there is not a ton of communication going on after the basics have been noted at the start. I personally was expecting a bit more of that in the process.
Ow yea, by the way, for those curious, my specific wishes were a total cost of 305€. I was expecting 150€-200€ which was originally on the etsy listing, but it ending up being so much more. If you are interested in getting custom work done, always expect things like that. Especially if 'start cost' is mentioned. Worth for the price? well, it's a lot of money, but yes!