vCOSPLAYING continued from page 15
lot of attention from fans of the game.” Caitlin had a lot of fun at the
convention and enjoyed taking pictures of other cosplayer, as well as
getting her picture taken so she started to sew more. The more she
sewed the more she wanted to make outfits of her favorite characters
and bring them to life.
The process for Caitlin varies. Some characters take longer than
others on deciding if she wants to cosplay them. There are some
characters that have been on her list for years and she hasn’t gotten
around to them. Once she has decided on the character, the process
consists of finding a costume that will work with her budget and
sewing skills. Caitlin uses an app called Cosplanner that helps organize
and keep track of her budget and materials. She also has to get many
shots of the costume at all angles as most characters have an already
planned out costume. She screenshots episodes or finds 3D models
of the character to help with this. Caitlin has a hard time picking a
favorite character because many of the characters she has cosplayed are
or were her favorite. But she has high hopes for her future cosplays. She
has a few on a list and hopes that with the experience of making those
costumes she’ll finally have the courage to make her dream cosplay
come to life. “It has so much detail to it that I have never been able to
get to it.”
Caitlin’s favorite memories come from the Omni Expo convention
in Orlando, FL. It was the convention’s first year so it wasn’t very
big and the hotel has other events going on at the same time. She
was hanging out with a friend and his group who were cosplaying
characters from the movie Frozen. They were doing a mini photoshoot
and a parent from one of the other events came up to the group and
asked if they could take a photo with the Frozen characters, thinking
they were hired Disney characters. Caitlin quickly corrected her by
telling it was part of a convention going on but everyone took it as
a compliment to their hard work on making the costumes. Another
memory from that same convention is when she was dressed as Sasha
from Attack on Titan. The character eats a potato during a really
awkward moment in one of the episodes and it’s a running joke with
fans of the show. Caitlin made baked potatoes and brought them with
her into the convention so she could be silly with them. She eventually
found another Sasha and was able to give her a potato so the pair could
be silly together in photos. “Most of the people that day knew me as
‘Potato Girl’ the character’s nickname, even the voice actors for the
show that were invited called me it.”
Omni Expo 2014 – from Caitlin McGrew
Caitlin has also competed in a cosplay competition. This is where
you’re judged on how well you created a costume for your character.
The standard is to bring pictures of your construction progress and
try to have a thorough explanation about the time spent making your
costume, with the hard work put into the costume there is a good
change winning an award or being recognized as a judges’ favorite.
You also have time to meet and chat with others also participating
so it’s a good way to make friends. In smaller conventions it’s a faster
process but some conventions you can lose pretty much a whole day
waiting around. Caitlin has done Page to the Stage Contest which is a
part of Dragon*Con in Atlanta, GA and actually got to meet Voltaire,
a musician, and Elvira one year because they were the MC. Another
year she was able to meet George Perez, a famous comic book artist,
because he was a judge.
Going to conventions for some fans is a great way to meet new
people, be creative, and also feel connected to the things they love.
Conventions connect the creators to their fans in a fun atmosphere
where people can feel free to express themselves freely. “Go to a
convention. You don’t have to cosplay at your first con, you can go and
talk to the cosplayers about how they made it. A cosplayer will always
love to talk about their cosplay especially if they made it themselves,”
Sally said. Sally also said that sometimes conventions will have
discussion panels on cosplaying or different pieces of cosplaying such
as makeup techniques or adding electrical elements to your cosplay.
“Join a group and go to a meet up. I know I wouldn’t have actually
started if I wasn’t taken to a con with my roommate. Try to surround
yourself with people who do it and it will be so much easier to get out
of your bubble,” Brittany said of getting
started on cosplaying.
Caitlin agreed, adding, “Do it! Honestly
just try, even if it’s something really simple.
It doesn’t matter if you buy your costume
or make it from scratch, the whole point
to cosplay is to have fun and cosplayers
supporting others with their projects. And
never be afraid to ask others questions
about their costumes or inquire about
advice that can help further your passion
about wanting to cosplay. Like I said
before the cosplay community is all about
helping one another bringing our favorite
characters to life.” So who knows, maybe
cosplaying is your next new hobby. n
26vHERVOICEvSEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018