Cosplay photojournalism project

T he C osplayer A n insiders Guide to Cosplay T he C lown Prince of Cosplay reveals all

Joining The Cosplay C l u b

Snow White with apple.

Photo by Carris Boast

Jessienoochies as Ellaria Sand from Game of Thrones, thinking about her love, Prince Oberyn

Photo by Carris Boast

THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE FAMOUS Everything you need to know about cosplay

C

osplay by definition is a performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character or idea. It is a highly creative hobby that allows people to make costumes to look like the characters they idolise in film and TV. Once in costume, cosplayers will gather in full force at conventions such as London’s Comic Con where they will be able to enjoy talks from guest speakers, get photos with ‘the stars’ and ponder over classic movie memorabilia. The first ever Comic Con was in the 1970’s in San Diego where Comic-Con International was trademarked. Hundreds of cities now play host to annual film and comic conventions.

Cosplaying can be an expensive hobby; making costumes takes time and money, but it is all an act of celebration when the convention comes around. Jessienoochies knows this all too well: “Once you try on your costume after months of crafting and see the reaction from fellow con-goers coming up to you and wanting to take pictures, it makes it all worth it”.

Noochies has been an active cosplayer for over a year and has already been involved with many sponsored photo shoots showing off her hand crafted costumes; she adds: “I’d say that the best thing about being a cosplayer is getting to embody characters that I adore, whilst still being incredibly creative with the costume-making process itself ”.

There is a sense of hierarchy when it comes to the cosplay community. Cosplay fame is a growing phenomenon which comes hand in hand with the growing network of online activity. Famous cosplayers such as Yaya Han and Jessica Nigri have over 100,000 followers on Twitter and are regularly paid to travel the world and go to conventions for photo opportunities. Their

Bronte King as a goddess from God of War, hiding from her enemies. Photo by Carris Boast

“The

most important thing about thi

not take yourself too seriously... we

running around in costumes, it shoul Bronte King as a goddess from God of War, thinking about her next move for battle.

Photo by Carris Boast

massive following is less surprising when some of their costumes leave little to the imagination, however this could be down to how women are represented in the source material.

Jessienoochies explains: “If you look at comic-books, video games and even movies, the majority of the women wear skimpy outfits or can often be over sexualised. That’s not to say that they aren’t strong in their characterization, quite the opposite actually; but for a long time the majority of geek culture was catered to a male audience. I think that due to this, it’s a lot easier for women to gain recognition for their cosplay than men.”

Cosplay famous or not, the sexualisation of women in comic books can have a damaging affect on female cosplayers which is not necessarily caused by other cosplayers.

Jessienoochies explains: “The worst thing about

being a cosplayer, I would say the harassment you can get from the general public. If you are walking to the convention you will get sexual slurs shouted at you in the street and sometimes, even groped. I think it’s just disgusting that people think it’s ok to act that way simply because you might be wearing a costume.”

Jessienoochies giving Ellaria Sand’s meddling gaze. Photo by Carris Boast

At the heart of cosplay are the conventions which are about the fans who come together because they share a love for a particular franchise. Networking plays a massive part in the cosplay culture. A lot of the social aspect, like meet-ups, are organised online through social media where collaboration and team costumes are often created. There are lots of different sub-cultures in cosplay like crossplay and a lot of creative opportunities to interpret a character. It should be fun, exciting and a great way to meet like-minded individuals who obsess over films and characters you love.

is should be to simply have fun and

e are all geeks after all

ld simply be fun!”

Olivia Newby as Snow White watching birds.

Photo by Carris Boast

- Jessienoochies

B r ad y G aga : “There was one who had been C onvention to person following me around r e p o r te r Brady Gaga AKA The Clown Prince of Cosplay is charismatic, confident and owns a large self-portrait which he has hung proudly in his office. He is popular for his YouTube reports at conventions for Nerd Caliber. Gaga interviews, jokes and even gathers a few admirers along the way.

P

eople just assume I am like the Joker, like I have the same sense of humour and I am going to be their violently dark Casanova.

Even with the little cosplay fame I have, I will have one of my body building friends who does martial arts come with me around the convention to impose people off. This is because I will talk to one person, do a joke and move on and then

Brady Gaga weclomes you to read his story.

Photo by The Portrait Dude

and I kept on seeing like Slender Man just popping up in the background of the video footage.”

people will follow me around assuming we are already friends. It is cool you enjoy what I do, but at the end of the day I’ve got a job to do and you can’t follow me around the entire day. Those situations are rare but they do happen and they are very memorable.

It all happened at once, 2013 was the year, Brady was the name and handsome was his game. It was after the dark knight rises in 2012 I decided to dress up as the joker, I had no idea what cosplay was. I was born and raised on a horse ranch, with no internet and just a bunch of comic books and a television. It was my mum who is pretty good at sewing, who taught me how to make my first outfit. My first convention was in Indianapolis where I stayed for like 30 minutes. My thoughts were; I’d met a few people so that’s fine I will leave. Afterwards I got in touch with some of the people I met and went with them to a convention in Ohio where I was interviewed. They referred to me as the joker so I was under a lot of pressure as I didn’t know anything about being in character.

I went on some tirade about the batman comics and I’m not even sure if it was funny. A guy then got in contact with me from Nerd Caliber to do a test shoot, I just rolled with it and came up with material on the spot. It seems the more pressure I am under, the more inclined I am to make a joke.

Ever since then I have been interested in reporting, I love making those videos.

Cosplay is a real tight knit community; the idea of cosplay fame is a bit weird, but then again I am a big fan of the showcasing aspect to it. When I go to conventions I’m sure to give everyone a show; I will fight batman, do stand up shows and different panels. The entire time I will be interviewing, talking to people and living out the character. I never really went into it for the need

to be the biggest on social media, that doesn’t really make much sense to me. I would like people to watch my YouTube videos because I like to make people laugh. Cosplay fame is good to a certain degree, I have enough of it where people will be like “hey it’s you”. I’ve seen people who have got less fame or even a tad bit more fame than me and it goes to their heads. They think that they are the next big thing and when you have all those egos at one convention it doesn’t turn out well.

For some reason I get a lot of anger from some people for doing what I do, there is like a dark side to conventions. I had a girlfriend who was also into cosplay, she got over 30 death threat emails from an account called Brady’s one true lover. I get people who are totally obsessed and will add me on Facebook or talk to me outside of character. I don’t let a lot of people meet me out of character when I go to these things as it is inconvenient. I like to entertain them and I don’t really feel necessary to bring up my personal life.

My Joker laugh is totally my laugh; I’m a very silly person and that’s why my Joker doesn’t really come off scary. This does mean I get to go to children’s hospitals and different charity events. I do like a Cesar Romero joker where I wear a pink suit and kids really respond well to that. Andy Kaufman is one of my favourite performers and he would always say, “as long as I make one person laugh it was all worth it,” that is pretty much my motto.

Cosplayer Harvey Ewen looking into a mirror with a smile from hell.

Photo by Carris Boast

.

.

H ow to be a C os p l a y e r C

osplaying doesn’t need to be difficult, with a little help

Brady Gaga AKA The Clown Prince of Cosplay, here is a quick from

step by step guide on how to get the most out of your cosplay Why so serious?

Photo by Carris Boast

experience.

Brady Gaga as the Joker.

Photo by The Portrait Dude

Step 3: Embody that character

There is more to cosplay than the costumes. Study the characters walk, how they talk and their stance.

Become the character and be confident playing them.

Brady Gaga’s tip: “The best jokers that I have ever seen don’t really have the best outfit but are real clean with their makeup and really embody the character. If you want to act like the character find what links you to that character; find the personality traits which are similar.”

Step 1: The Character

Find the character you want to play. This can be a daunting task as there are so many great characters out there. Whether it be Batman or Jessica Rabbit it is important to choose the character that is right for you.

Brady Gaga’s tip: “Find out what makes that character that character and what makes you, you and then find a happy medium.

Acting natural is key, photographers and people will respect you for it”

Step 2: Costume

Now for the hard part, the costume, makeup and hair.

It can be useful to see how long you have till until the convention and work within a realistic timeframe. Heavy detail in costumes may be costly but you don’t have to spend a lot to enjoy the cosplay experience. Remember you will be wearing the costume all day at a convention so make sure it is comfortable and not too heavy.

“The make up is the Joker”Cosplayer Harvey Ewen from Leeds

Photo by Carris Boast

Step 4: Enjoy yourself

You spent months working on a costume and got up extra early to prepare yourself for the day. You waited in line for what seemed like forever and now the shiny, silver doors are opened and you see the hundreds of stalls before you. It is important you have fun at the convention because if you are not having a great time you are doing it wrong.

Brady Gaga’s tip: “My motto, I have this on my business card is ‘Brady puts the play in cosplay, anything else is just costuming’. If you are going to be cosplaying opposed to costuming then play! Be that character.”

Step 5: Be nice to

people

Conventions can be an overwhelming place. You will meet lots of new people, some of whome may not be that

handy on a sewing machine. Even if

you don’t like someone’s costume, don’t

be negative. There is a sense of pride that comes with making a costume, so remember everyone is

there for the same

reason as you

are; to

have fun.

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All hail Ellaria Sand!

(Featuring Jessienoochies) Photo by Carris Boast