For a more in-depth explanation and some nice examples read this article by Matt Geary:
My Cosplay Journey Begins
I first noticed cosplay as I was reading an article and saw someone dressed in a very impressive costume of Sephiroth from final fantasy. I was impressed but after 5 mins of reading I realised. These people create the costumes themselves, now I really was impressed.
I spent the next few months reading various articles on cosplay and researching the techniques used to create such impressive costumes.
"What could I build?" I thought to myself. Now, I'm not a small man in any imagination so any lanky characters were out of the question. But while looking through my collection of games I stumbled upon Gears Of War 3. "Now that would be awesome, I could be Baird!" I thought to myself. A bit ambitious for my first cosplay you might think but this didn't phase me, I could only but try.
I decided to build the armour out of foam so after searching for the cheapest materials I came upon garage/playground floor mats. Perfect!
Using reference pics I began my build.
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| Front of armour |
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| Side of armour |
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| Back of armour |
Many cut/burnt fingers later I eventually finished the whole build including: Chest armour, Belt, Boots, Leg straps and accessories. I decided my first expo would be Play Expo in Manchester.
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| Boot |
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| Painted boots |
Here is the end result:
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| Me as Damon Baird from Gears of War 3 |
The expo was a huge success. I met some amazing people and I was treated like a celebrity. Every 5 seconds I was being stopped for a photo.
I would recommend trying cosplay to anyone and everyone. It is an escape from the everyday monotony of life/work. To be able to walk into a building with thousands of people and to be admired and respected is a feeling everyone should experience.
After such a amazing experience it has caused me to think even bigger and better, and I have just begun to create myself some Halo armour... so watch this space.
