The art of cosplay

Students cosplayers share their experiences in cosplay, from their original inspirations to the preparations of their costumes

BY ALIA GAMEZ, STAFF WRITER AND ISABELLA MORALES, CO-ONLINE EDITOR

After hours of putting on makeup and meticulously deciding what to include in the perfect outfit, it is finally time. Walking out the door with their costumes, cosplayers are proud to display their passion for dressing up.

Cosplay — being a combination of the words “costume” and “play” — is an act of individuals wearing costumes and accessories to represent a certain character of their choice. Although the most common cosplay characters are from the anime and Marvel universe, many individuals use their individual interests as inspiration for their costumes.

The final costume brings a sense of satisfaction to cosplayers because of the overall experience that is brought with it, making their adoration for this activity even stronger.

Finding inspiration in elements of life as well as their own personal interests, many cosplayers dedicate time to putting together costumes since it often provides a personal platform to carve their individuality. Additionally, participating in cosplay brings together a welcoming community of individuals who have similar interests and encourage one another to continue dressing up.

Escaping to a world of their own, seniors Carolina Blanco and Emellie Ferrer have developed a passion for cosplaying, where they express their love for portraying their favorite fictional characters by using their inner creativity to create costumes that are uniquely their own.

Carolina Blanco

Rushing to put on a blonde wig, a green dress with white puffy sleeves and a large bow, senior Carolina Blanco no longer looks like herself. Instead, standing in her place is Sonia Nevermind, a character from the multimedia story “Danganronpa.” Fueled by her fascination with Japanese media since her preteen years, Blanco shares her individuality by cosplaying her favorite fictional characters.

When Blanco completed her first cosplay as Nevermind — a character she often comes back to — she tried to keep this pastime a secret from those around her. Now a senior, she has mastered the art of disguise, spending the last four years practicing how to better her work; letting cosplay motivate her to push forward. Blanco first picked up a costume in middle school after seeing it often on social media and thought it would be a fun way to practice her makeup skills and grow her confidence.

Labeling herself a “casual cosplayer,” Blanco uses budget-friendly materials to transform herself from a typical student at the school into a selection of characters from all sorts of storylines.

“At first I just did it because it looked super fun, but as time passed, I saw myself growing more passionate about cosplay; which has made me slowly gain professionality,” Blanco said.

Putting numerous hours into her costumes, she has improved her skills tremendously. She watched dozens of tutorials, interacted with others in the cosplay sphere and practiced consistently. Blanco has promoted her skill set and engaged with the cosplay community through Instagram and by attending conventions. She posts the costumes she puts together on her Instagram @_pastelcaro.jpg_. Her interest in characters is only a part of what motivates her to perform. If a character becomes popular, Blanco will cosplay them if not for herself, for her fans.

“Through social media, I am able to share something that has allowed me to grow into the person I am today; I want to inspire others just like I was inspired years ago,” Blanco said.

With dozens of character portrayals under her belt, she can bring to life a more accurate version of her desired persona. She has learned that to not break the bank, she should buy versatile pieces. Whether it be wigs, skirts or shoes, Blanco believes these staples be worn while depicting more than one character.

Blanco gets the ideas for which characters she will portray through her many hyperfixations, anime, videogames and Japanese comic books called mangas. Blanco meticulously plans her cosplay weeks ahead. In an action called “cosplans,” she chooses the character that she wants to bring to life and goes on to see what pieces she will need. Blanco searches her closet for accessories similar to the character’s and if she does not have any, she will order from online sellers or ask her friends to borrow pieces. Given that Blanco wants to do the character justice, she searches for the closest copy and is not afraid to experiment with hand-making her pieces.

Cosplay may be a portal to another world for Blanco, but that is not its only purpose. The confidence she has garnered through makeup as well as ensembles, originally done by others, have helped Blanco become a person of her own. She plans to continue with her passion as she graduates from the school next year by crossing off cosplays from her dream list.

Emelie Ferrer

Inspired by Disney and Marvel characters, senior Emellie Ferrer combines her creativity and deep admiration for fictional icons in designing her cosplays. From Peter Pan to Captain America, Ferrer has dressed up as many fan-favorite characters and hopes to continue dressing up as many more.

Since starting cosplay four years ago, Ferrer has used the creativity forum as an outlet to express and understand more of herself as a person. By dressing up as a character, Ferrer sees this as an opportunity to portray her favorite personas all while finding pleasure in feeling like another individual.

“Cosplay to me is being able to express myself and overall just be happy in my costumes and outfits. I am able to dress up as whoever I want, which I just absolutely admire and I find much enjoyment in it,” Ferrer said.

Unlike many cosplayers, Ferrer prefers to participate in Disneybound cosplay, which is a form of cosplay that involves incorporating certain aspects of a character into regular outfits, rather than fully representing a character with a costume.

“I really like cosplaying using cuter outfits and since I am not really one to cover my entire body with a costume, I just Disneybound a version of the characters. I wear clothes that, when combined, are a good representation of who I am cosplaying,” Ferrer said.

Using the Disneybound style of cosplay allows Ferrer to expand her options of who she can dress up as. Additionally, it allows for less expensive costumes and a wider variety of stores she purchase from.

Regardless of the expenses, Ferrer still devotes a lot of her time and dedication toward making these costumes and putting them together to see the best end-product. Whether it is choosing the right color-scheme or creating hand-made parts of her costume with colored cotton fabrics, it takes hours and often days to prepare for a cosplay.

“The preparation time really depends on the costume I am doing. The most difficult cosplay I have ever done was Mary Poppins. It took my mom and I over a week to find the right skirt and shirt,” Ferrer said.

In addition to taking pride in cosplaying, Ferrer also dedicates a lot of her time to the makeup aspect of cosplaying.

“I love doing my makeup; it is a huge part of my life. Whenever I dress up and put everything on, I feel so much happier in my cosplay outfits. It truly does make me joyous,” Ferrer said.

Ferrer’s happiness when cosplaying is not only fueled by the cosplay itself but also the community that is consequently brought together. On many occasions, Ferrer is complimented for her cosplay, which makes the overall experience wonderful and leaves Ferrer feeling satisfied.

“When people compliment my outfit or just encourage me to continue doing cosplay, it leaves a warm feeling in my heart. It is amazing to see people with happy expressions telling me that they love what I did,” Ferrer said. “I truly appreciate all of it because sometimes people do not realize how long or how much effort is put into cosplay.”

For Ferrer, cosplay goes beyond just dressing up as a fictional character, but the experience that is brought with it. Using this hobby as a way to express her admiration for these characters, Ferrer hopes to continue doing cosplay for as long as she desires.

How to cosplay:

1. Choose a character and create a plan.

2. Gather the staple pieces to the outfit.

3. Wear it out and enjoy yourself!