CosDown 1: Cosplay Cards

9:00 am HelenLJohnson 1 Comments

Myths of Cosplay

1:00 pm HelenLJohnson 3 Comments

As cosplay expands and becomes a popular pastime for a global audience it appears as though, for some, that the fun has gone out of cosplay. Unspoken rules and expectations are set up that are discussed within forums and social media and rather than enjoying the process of creating and being, it is more of a competition both online and on the convention floor.

Well, stop right there because it is time to dispel some of these myths in cosplay.

nerdcaliber.com

 1. You need a Facebook page.

Ah, the ever popular Facebook page, while admittedly it can be useful if you are meeting with photographers and other cosplayers at conventions, does every cosplayer need one? Nope. If you feel uncomfortable sharing pictures or it feels like too much of a responsibility, you certainly don’t need a page. Many cosplayers have fallen into a trap of trying to become a brand which can, for some, take a lot of the enjoyment out of creating costumes. Personally, I feel a lot more comfortable on Twitter and only made a Facebook page a few months ago because I was working with Crystal Dynamics and they needed a Facebook page. I’ve grown to appreciate it, but it certainly doesn’t need to be a priority.

2. Every costume needs to be made from scratch.

Do you want to make a t shirt? Brilliant, go ahead. Can you buy one from Primark or Target and modify it? Fantastic. Does it matter which one you do? Not at all. For many characters, their clothing are based upon traditional garment shapes and most of the time it is cheaper to buy a basic t shirt or pair or trousers and modify them. Don’t feel bad about buying off the rack, just the sheer effort of all that research and hunting around for the perfect garment is an achievement in itself. Also, you have lesser chance of item ripping at a con because the seams may be more sturdy than if you constructed it yourself. Only in competitions does it matter if you have made everything, otherwise just buy those £3 gloves from eBay!

 3. You need to be authentic and true likeness.

We all love it when somebody looks like the walking version of something that previously existed as a bunch of pixels or ink. However this should not be the be all and end all of cosplay. You don’t need to have everything 100% correct to be a true representation of a character if all you are doing is going to a convention, meeting up with friends and photographers and enjoying the day. It is fantastic when people put little spins on characters and inject a little bit of their personality and appearance into their representation of the character.

 4. You need to endlessly make costumes or multiple costumes a year.

Let me tell you something your probably already know. Cosplay is expensive. From fabric to tools and convention tickets. The price of the hobby quickly mounts up. You are not Yaya Han, or need to be, there is no need to skip meals to pay for worbla for your fifth costume of 2015. In a way this links with the social media branding side that is emerging from the cosplay culture, you may feel the need to endlessly make new costumes because you need new content. I’ve been hit by this too, feeling sad because I only made two costumes one year, a lot of cosplayers feel like this. It honestly doesn’t matter though, go for quality and invest in costumes you want to make and that can be updated and improved upon in the future. You’ll not only feel more comfortable but also reap greater rewards from the money you invested in your hobby. Do what you can with the amount of time and money you can afford. For some this might mean one costume, for others it might mean six, don’t focus too much on quantity and just do the best you can.

geekandsundry.com

 5. You need to progress from simple costumes or shouldn’t even consider them.

Want to know a secret? Sometimes the simplest looking costumes are the damn hardest to make. The reason being that every mistake is highlighted, every missed stitch, every wonky hem EVERYTHING! Sometimes they even defy physics because they are too simple. On the flip side, simple costumes that are mainly bought may mean you get enjoy cosplaying while bringing up a family or travelling. Of course you should push yourself if you feel you want to make more intricate costumes, but that is a decision left to the individual not the community as a whole.

 6. You should wear a cosplay only once.

If you enjoy wearing a costume and it is structurally sound, you damn well wear it until it drops off your body! Like I did with my reborn Lara which is my cosplay baby who now has all her arrows broken or lost, multiple fixed straps on the holster, many washes and three different pairs of boots!

retrenders.com

 7. You can give up your day job if you become well known.

The cosplay dream, giving up the 9 to 5 office job to be hot glued to the wall and drowning in taffeta. For some, it has happened, but for most of us it just isn’t going to happen, sorry :(. However, don’t let it stop you doing things on the side such as Etsy, prop commissioning, photo editing, YouTube, eBay store with materials, Twitch streaming etc. It might not be your full-time job but you can certainly learn extra skills and opportunities by doing side activities. To be honest, it is all the fun of having a cosplay ‘job’ without as much admin or stress.

So there are seven cosplay myths dispelled! Know of anymore? Let me know in the comment box below or tweet me.

Most importantly, enjoy your hobby, because it is your hobby and you can treat it however you want :)

Turning a Trekkie to the Dark Side of Star Wars

11:37 am HelenLJohnson 0 Comments

Here is my, perhaps, terrible confession; until November 2015 I had never seen a Star Wars film. Despite my better half owning a complete set of Jedi robes and having to carry his lightsaber across London one time (never again!). I also giggled along to the usual Star Wars memes, knowing the gist of the content matter but maybe not wholly in context. Thing is, I grew up in a Star Trek family. My dad had collector decorative plates of all the crew hung up on the landing (I wish I was joking), my mum had a Star Trek cook book and I had a tribble as a Christmas present one year. As my Dad would say, ‘there is non of that space fantasy in this household! Star Trek is the future of science’. So I completely missed out and have zero nostalgia with the series. However with the new Star Wars film on the horizon I thought that I should probably at least try to watch them.

Right?

Well I’m blaming my better half again for making me watch them in episode order, not machete order. Episode order. I ended up falling asleep towards the end of episode one and two. I tried, I really did and while I did admittedly enjoy two a lot more than one, oh my, they dragged on. Everyone told me, they get better. I was slowly losing the will to live as pieces of chicken in my chicken madras became more interesting than the unfolding space opera in front of me. Though I do understand the hatred for Jar Jar Binks now, I’m with you all on that. Episode three came around and I settled myself down with another curry (a different night I should point out, I like curry but even I can’t eat two in a row!) and expected more of the same from what people had told me, as it seemed, because I was a newbie to it all, various friends took great pleasure in telling me how much I’d hate such a thing, or such an episode.

However, I quite liked episode three. It’s far from perfect admittedly, but from halfway through I really quite enjoyed it. Main reason, was Ewan McGregor as Obi Wan Kenobi who fitted quite nicely in those robes…you know what I mean.
McGregor’s acting also seemed more genuine, reflecting roles he had acted in previously such as Moulin Rouge! and Trainspotting. And you know what, props to Hayden Christensen, he had certainly improved and while over dramatic at times; I didn’t mind too much. I already knew before starting my run through that Darth Vader was Anakin Skywalker, that came as no surprise to me. I’m not sure how I knew, it just seems to filter through life as common knowledge, like something I always knew from school. What was surprising was how little time it took at the end, for me anyway, it felt like a piece shoved on to the end because the costume department asked what the hell are we doing with this thing and Lucas was like, oh shit yes! Let me wrap up the council meeting, then I will get to you. Overall though, I enjoyed episode three and would happily watch it again.

And now we move on to the classics. Oh boy, my expectations were pretty low at this point which I supposed, made my enjoyment that much sweeter.

Episode four and five, I loved them. I really did. The humour worked so well and I adore Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones. So having another variant of a sarcastic yet charming character from him as Han Solo was brilliant and refreshing after the overbearing misery of the prequels. I never set out for realism, but the lack of over the top, and dated, CGI made me believe in the world a lot more. I also felt the original trilogy has dated far better than the prequels despite being made decades before. It just goes to show that sometimes substance works better than style. I cared about the characters more, I wanted to see them succeed. More importantly, each one of the main characters had a purpose and made an impact into the storyline. I don’t feel I can say that for the prequels.

Episode six I was looking forward to, if only to see how slave Leia fitted into everything…pun not intended… So I was quite surprised how that scene was over pretty quickly and was a tamer than I imagined. I enjoyed six, however out of the classics wasn’t my favourite as I felt it went a little too frivolous towards the end. I am not even sure if that is the correct term to use; however referring back to how I began to believe that this highly fantastical world was something that existed with the previous two films, it seemed to unravel a bit in episode six.

And so I was ready. I had caught up and bought my ticket to see Force Awakens and I loved it. I even felt some faux nostalgia, because you know, you can’t really have nostalgia from two weeks ago. It had the humour mixed with drama that I think made the classic trilogy timeless and read like a love letter to the series. I also quite like JJ Abrams as a director and the Force Awakens certainly got the special JJ Abrams lens flare of approval. So I am interested to see how everything moves forward and develops now with him at the helm. I have also now turned to reading fan theories, looking up costume and prop builds and considering playing KOTOR because my backlog isn’t big enough already. I understand why a lot of people invest so much time, love and dedication into the series now. I get it now.

You are still not getting me to watch episode one again though. Sod that.

Finally, I will say my main annoyance over all the films bar Force Awakens WAS THE GODDAMN EDITING CUTS. Let’s have a left sweep here, a right sweep there, let’s go from the centre then ten seconds later a diagonal sweep from the left. It was as if Lucas had just found out all the different powerpoint presentation slide transitions and used them all at once. Stop it! I beg you for a jump cut! 

So this was just a brief account of Trekkie who had been slightly turned to the dark side, so please excuse me while I finish my dark Rey costume design ;)