Welcome to My Creative Corner [An Introduction of Sorts]

Misa and Light Yagami cosplayers from DeathNote, a Japanese anime and comic book

My name is Ashley, and I've always been attracted to art, and the various forms it takes. I'm a very artistic person ever since I was young so it's no wonder why costuming is included in my hobbies list. This blog will be dedicated to my endeavors in costuming, or "cosplay." Cosplay has a very deep history with me, as it's one of my favorite time-consuming hobbies. I've been part of the cosplay scene since the early 2000's, and I have over 10 costumes made for me and other people. For the duration of this blog I plan to complete a costume via updates as a chance to show my audience a peek of this cosplay phenomena.

Tifa Lockheart cosplayer from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children movie adaption.

What Exactly is Cosplay?

Easily put, cosplay is a combination of the words "costume" and "play." Cosplay is considered a costume art, and not only just exhibits dress and prop work, but sometimes acting as well, just like theater. This is a hobby for enthusiasts of cartoons, movies, comic books, video games and so on; any type of media can be remade by someone else's hands into a unique reconstruction. So cosplay is a kind of theatrical spectacle to beheld. Cosplay is usually exhibited at convention centers for the most part. These convention centers are usually weekend events held for the anime or sci-fiction genre. At these conventions there are hallway costume contests, varying levels of craftmanship competitions, casual and professional photoshoot time slots, and can also vie as a social networking event to meet up with other enthusiasts. The convention populace can range anywhere to a small crowd of 300 attendees to the massive AnimeExpo in California which houses 105,000 attendees just of 2010! Some conventions held on the East Coast are Anime Boston (hosted in Boston, Massachusetts), Connecticon (Hartford, Connecticut), Portcon (Portland, Maine), Otakon (Baltimore, Maryland), Dragoncon (Atlanta, Georgia) and so on. Additionally I would like to add that cosplay is considered a very well-kept secret, and part of a less known sub-pop culture.

Example of how amazingly accurate a cosplayer can replicate the unreal.

So, Why Cosplay?

This kind of tangible reconstruction not only shows one's love for a specific game or cartoon, but also showcases the cosplayer's artistic talent as well. There have been costumes I've seen in the past that are absolutely, breathtakingly perfect replicas of their original character. It's almost as if the character just walked out of the TV screen, or off the comic book page. Children and adults alike get a thrill whenever they see a favorite character of theirs, or meet a group of enthusiasts. Every cosplayer has their own reasons why they are inclined to construct costumes, wear them, and act in part of a living, breathing resurrection of characters. Some people find the aesthetic side very appealing (the professional photographers), others want to continue reliving their childhood (an adult playing dress up), and then there are the people who use it for social networking (the social butterfly of the convention).

Alice from the video game Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of a New World.

My Honest Efforts

As I mentioned I plan to work on a costume for the duration of this blog to demonstrate what cosplayers go through. I've chosen a character named Alice from the video game "Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World." The character design is by Kosuke Fujishima, a very well-known and talented Japanese artist and creator. As I create more progress on the costume I will share it here. Hopefully by the end of the school semester I will have my costume finished, and have successfully given new understanding to what it is to be a cosplayer.