Dion Rogers version

Have you been seeing girls cosplaying Rinoa who are showing major skin and sporting a gunblade? They're using the Dion Rogers version.

Dion Rogers (screenname: MUNCH) is a 3D artist in the gaming industry. In 2003, CgChat.Com held a character designing contest for computer graphics artists. The challenge was to "remake a Final Fantasy character with a FFX-2 theme". Dion Rogers submitted this quick redesign of Rinoa and posted it on a discussion thread to show. From there, it spread across various video game forums. The fanart became fairly popular in the cosplay crowd, as many choose to design their costumes like the Dion Roger's version, rather than like Rinoa's canon game outfit.

This version is clearly Yuna-inspired. Rinoa retains her general color scheme and necklace. The blue duster has become a two-piece outfit. Angel wing emblems are seen on the bottom duster and on her back. Black and white lace accents have been added in various places. The shoes are brown boots that stop below the knee. Dion mentioned that he gave her a shotgun-blade to parallel how Yuna sometimes wielded Tidus' blade in the FFX sequel.

pictures

             

my thoughts

I love this version, especially the lace. It keeps the motifs and bases of the original design, but modernizes it into a playful and sporty version. One plus is that is it would be great for warm weather, so conventions in summertime be can very hot and uncomfortable for layered cosplayers. Another thing I like about it is how flattering this outfit can be. For the original version, it was easy to lose the cosplayer's waist in their silhouette if the duster was not sewn correctly. Lastly, Rinoa gets a gunblade! Rinoa IS badass - she has the strongest stats and sorceress powers. She should have a design to reflect that she is a potent fighter. I don't know if this version does that completely, but a big sword doesn't hurt. It's a definitely fresh and inspiring remake.

links

Rainy Blue Day		CG Talk Thread
Dion Roger's homepage & portfolio.		Forum thread by MUNCH.
Final Fantasy Wiki		AC Paradise
FF Wiki's page on this version.		Gallery of Rinoa cosplayers.