Travelling to Conventions

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A few weeks ago I attended a convention in Edinburgh called Capital Sifi Con.

Just like any over con day starts off I was sitting alone awkwardly on public transport dressed as if I am in the American army in the 1940s.

After I met my three friends, who were also attending the convention, in Glasgow City Centre we then preceded to spend nearly two hours on the train to Slateford, Edinburgh.

As my friends are not cosplayers I was still getting strange and confusing looks from every member of the public who saw me.

Journeys to conventions can be long, so I would always suggest bringing card games.

My traveling to convention game is top trumps, as it is fun to play in pairs or a group but it is also really funny.

As usually the cards make no sense and it is it is funny to laugh at the person who wrote the cards, as they have probably not seen the show or movie and is just guessing the character traits based on a bit of general knowledge and the pictures of them.

Note to the maker of star wars tops trumps: Chopper is the least reliable character in star was rebels why on earth is he the most reliable in the pack.

Anyway, moving on, another way to spend your time as you sit about looking insane on public transport is to play a portable video game console.

Make the whole squad bring their old Nintendo DS’s or bring a switch and all sit on the train kicking each other’s asses at Mario kart or smash bros.

Overall traveling to conventions on public transport can be a bit embarrassing but, you will look fabulous and you might as well own your amazing geeky side and flaunt your awesomeness.

Why We Love Cosplay

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The last convention I attended was Capital Sifi con on the 15th of February 2020.

During this con I met so many kind and talented cosplayers.

I was interested in finding out the reasons why people love to cosplay so much so I interviewed a few people.

A cosplayer who was cosplaying as 9th Doctor from Doctor who and goes by superjackdc_cosplay online said “It’s fun, you get to meet a lot of different people. You get to be your favourite character for a couple of days….”

Another amazing cosplayer who cosplayed Peggy Carter and goes by goblintidddy online said “I like tom cosplay as it channels all my creatively into a character that I know and love.”

The last cosplayer was a girl who goes by emma.mcghie._ online who was cosplaying a hex girl groupie from Scooby Doo said “…It gives you a chance to meet people and express aspects of yourself you normally wouldn’t get to.”

My view on why cosplaying is that there really is something for everyone. Everyone has a fictional character they love no matter what genre or media they are from and representing them and paying homage to them is a fun why to feel confident have fun and express you geeky interests.

If you would like to listen to the entire interviews click here.

emma.mcghie._ https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I4Bmlc587OtcZ_jn-EmMn6Jg6ZOBnPKG/view?usp=sharing

superjackdc_cosplay https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-AnkuXvHSRoC2bqAoDDgpSC94BnF7h2A/view?usp=sharing

goblintidddy https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oaru2A3PH0jvjULcbydQONm_14qM7vH-/view?usp=sharing

Credit to

https://www.instagram.com/superjackdc_cosplay/

https://www.instagram.com/goblintidddy/

https://www.instagram.com/emma.mcghie._/

Closet Cosplays

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Conventions are very often, and sometimes can sneak up on you and your busy life.

One moment a convention is months away and within the next moment it is tomorrow and suddenly you have no time to plan, buy or make a costume.

I know we would all love to show up to every convention on everyday dressed too impressed in the most fabulous costumes, however sometimes that just is not possible.

So a solution is a ‘Closet Cosplay’.

A closet cosplay is a costume you can make or a character you can dress up as with just the normal everyday clothes within your wardrobe.

I know this may seem like a throwback to primary school book days where all the boys wore their normal clothes and said they were Greg Heffley from Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but it is fun, quick and easy.

An example would be Clark Kent or Kara Danvers, also known as Superman and Supergirls secret identities. The both were normal white shirts and formal business wear with sleeked back hair and a short front curl for Clark and a tied back low pony tail for Kara, then throw on some glasses and call it a day.

Other well-known closet cosplays include any member of the scobby do gang or the power puff girls, these are especially good if you have a whole group to cosplay with.

Overall a closet cosplay is funnier than not cosplaying and could even be better than a normal cosplay as you could always do a closet cosplay in your everyday life and not many people would question it.

Buzzfeed have a great article on some fun and easy closet cosplays. https://www.buzzfeed.com/jadayounghatchett/play-dress-up-everyday

Cosplay Credit to https://www.instagram.com/011cosplay/ and https://www.instagram.com/simple_spells/

Revamping Old Cosplays

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After you have done a few cosplays you may look back on past cosplays and want to give them a revamp.

For example the first time I cosplayed Peggy Carter I thought I looked amazing, however comparing pictures of the first time I cosplayed her to the most recent pictures of me cosplaying her there is a huge amount of progress, especially with my hair and makeup.

My hair is styled in a way which more accurately represents Peggy and her 1950s pin up style and my makeup also more accurately resents the time period Peggy is from.

Another personal example of a cosplay revamp that I have done is my ‘Hufflepuff Student’ cosplay.

In early 2018 I started off with a hufflepuff tie and scarf and white shirt, however I used black socks and a black skirt and wore a black plain cardigan rather than a Hogwarts robe.

However a year and a half onwards in late 2019 I had redone my hufflepuff cosplay to include grey socks and a grey skirt and a proper Hogwarts robe, which made the character a lot more realistic to the uniforms the students wear in the Harry Potter movies.

Overall revamping an old cosplay can be funnier, quicker and cheaper than buying or making a whole new cosplay and spending more time/money on a new costume. I love revamping my favourite cosplays and improving them each time I wear them to make them more accurate and better representing of the character I am cosplaying.

Diversity within Cosplay

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The cosplay community is full of a wide range of very diverse people.

No matter your age, gender, sexuality, religion, race, if you able bodied or not, body shape/size etc, no matter who you are, you can cosplay.

A question that is debated about a lot within the community is ‘Should a cosplayer cosplay a character who is not a member of that cosplayer’s race?’

The two usual arguments on each side of the debate are, that it is racist to represent a character who does not share the same race as you and the other side of the argument is that race should not matter to what character you cosplay.

I think that, if people are not painting their skin a different colour, to pretend to be a different race and no one is saying anything racist or trying to pose as someone of a different race, then there should be no problem.

Cosplaying is about representing a character not becoming them, so any character can have any skin tone.

People do not think twice about cosplaying someone of a different gender or age.

If we all had to cosplay characters that characteristics had to perfectly match each and every part of our identity, then no one would be able to cosplay anyone.

For example one of my favourite characters to cosplay is Elastagirl, we share the same race, hair colour and gender, but not much else. She is married, a mum, older than me, American and has superpowers, none of which I can relate too.

Over all the cosplay community being so beautifully diverse, means that anyone should be able to dress up and have fun being any character they love. No matter who you are and what you look like.

Featured Cosplayers – https://www.instagram.com/fezinavortex/ https://www.instagram.com/kellicosplay/ https://www.instagram.com/cosplayrebecca/ https://www.instagram.com/bulldog_cosplay/

Signature Cosplays

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Featured Cosplayers:
https://www.instagram.com/kuroshit.cosplay/
https://www.instagram.com/kellicosplay/
https://www.instagram.com/simple_spells/
https://www.instagram.com/lil.miss.riss/
https://www.instagram.com/ellocosplay/
https://www.instagram.com/cosiakicosplays/

Once you have cosplayed some different characters you may feel like you have found your favourite character to cosplay.

This could be for many reasons such as you relate the most with this character, the costume is the best quality, you look like that character the most, it is the costume you feel most comfortable in, you get the most attention from convention goers in this cosplay or another reason all of which are completely valid.

Chances are if you post a lot in your favourite costume or go to conventions in it a lot people may start to recognise you based on that character alone.

For example I went to the Saturday of MCM Scotland in 2019 cosplaying as Elastagirl for the first time and I had at least 6 people who know me from social media or had met me at previous conventions that wanted to know if I was coming on the Sunday as Peggy Carter.

I have other friends that have the same thing happen to them, if you cosplay enough of the one character and get enough feedback you can be labelled as that character.

I understand why this happens though, as much as I love cosplaying new characters Peggy Carter is my favourite.

I feel the most confident as her and wearing that costume makes me feel like I am about to kick some ass and run the whole damn world and this obviously shows to everyone else I am around.

Plus I am never going to turn down a compliment that says I look like Hayley Atwell.

Another plus is after cosplaying Peggy at many different conventions is that I have met multiple other Peggy cosplayers, which is great as I have met people that share my love for her.

Overall having a signature cosplay is fun, especially when it is your favourite character.

I am going to be at Capital Sifi in a few weeks hope to see some of you there https://www.capitalscificon.co.uk/

The Stigma Around Cosplaying

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Overall in society there is a stigma around cosplaying, many people feel as though they would get made fun of or be seen as ‘weird’ if they dress up as their favourite character.

A recent survey I conducted showed that 87% of people said they felt as though there is a stigma around cosplay.

I understand pressure that comes with telling non-cosplayers you cosplay, as people do judge cosplayers.

However on the other end of the spectrum people within the cosplay community love cosplayers.

If you cosplay at a convention, there is no weird looks just people in awe of your costume. People ask to take pictures with you and want to talk to you about the fandom you character is a part of.

Another Reason why people may choose to not cosplay is, people are sometimes more likely to face sexual harassment when in cosplay, especially women.

It is no surprise that many cosplayers may choose to represent their characters in a way that shows more skin than they would normally on a day to day bases, which is badass and empowering. However it is no excuse for stalking, unwanted touching or inappropriate comments no matter in cosplay or at any time.

– If you are at a experiencing any of these issues please report it to someone who works at the convention/center or the police. –

The last reason out of many reasons why someone would not want to cosplay is that they feel they are not confident enough or are too shy to bring attention to themselves.

However if you are a person who does not cosplay out of fear of judgment, harassment, or confidence, I would say at the end of the day the self-joy and self-confidence you get out of cosplaying makes everything all worth it.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/stories/SM-GHNC6WN7/

CREDIT TO FEATURED COSPLAYERS – https://www.instagram.com/ellocosplay/ https://www.instagram.com/princeofheartscosplays/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/gabbieabbie0_0/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/sophiedrew1501/

Beginners Guide to Cosplay

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Images of cosplayers
Featured Cosplayers https://www.instagram.com/duckdueler/
https://www.instagram.com/simple_spells/
https://www.instagram.com/beth_drummond_cosplays_/

People develop an interest in cosplay because they have seen cosplayers on social media or at conventions.

It  can seem intimidating as many experienced cosplayers  have  amazing costumes that are massive works of art and look like they have  just came straight off a movie set.

However buying costumes and tweaking them to suit your image is the option most people start off with. Never the less if you know your way around a needle and thread and understand sewing patterns, I am extremely jealous, as this will definitely be a massive bonus to cosplaying as a hobby.

If you are nervous about doing your first cosplay, I would suggest doing a group cosplay with friends. This will give you more confidence when you turn up for your first convention.

Group cosplays are always fun as you get to share the experience with other people and you know you will get some really awesome photos together.

When I first started cosplaying at conventions I was nervous that someone would quiz me on the character I was cosplaying and I would automatically be cast out from everyone at the convention, if I did not know all the answers.

However this has only happened in nightmares, the people who talk to you about your cosplay are just cosplaying characters they like, they are there to make friends and buy merchandize the same as you.

Another misconception of cosplay is that you have to cosplay a character that looks like you, which is not true in the slightest.

I know some awesome cosplayers who have chosen to do gender-bent cosplays, cosplays of characters of different ages and different body types and they still looked amazing.

Cosplaying is not just about looking like the character it is more about taking a characters attributes and having fun. Looking like the character your cosplaying is just a bonus.

For more cosplay tips go to https://vocal.media/geeks/cosplay-tips-for-beginners