#you ever seen how much foam etc gets used for cosplays

[calletion]

idk i feel like AI is more complex than just. never use it or always use it. like idk i genuinely do not give a fuck about the small local fast food places or restuarants that use AI for what would other be stolen stock photos poorly photoshopped together. i cant really gaf about a teenager using c.ai for self-inserting ship rp, cos who the fuck would want to be on the other side of that rp. idc if someone wants to make funny goku images with it or create design ideas.

the shit i care about is people using it for misinfo and scams, thats the stuff thats actually worrying. like how am i meant to care abt any of the above when you can so easily create lies and fool people who can't distinguish AI from photos and "real" art. its so much easier to scam people now - you can't really do the old trick of asking someone to take a weird photo, but you can spam listings for products that could never exist.

[cosplayinamerica]

I had the opportunity to send some questions to Andrew Liptak about his new book Cosplay: A History so I asked him about his cosplaying days first.

1) What was your first cosplay and what are you working on currently?

My first “real” costume after Halloween costumes was an Imperial Stormtrooper. It was a costume that I’d coveted ever since seeing A New Hope in theaters in 1997, and I’d spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to make one. In my final year of high school, my high school band played music from Star Wars (I played trumpet), and we were able to get a member of the 501st Legion to come and join us.

His costume blew me away, and that summer, he sold me an FX kit (the then-standard Stormtrooper costume that was out there), which I then assembled and wore for a little over a decade before I replaced it with a more accurate version. I still have it: it’s on a mannequin in my basement.

I’ve got a couple of random projects in the works now that are in pretty early stages. I have a Shoretrooper kit from 850 Armor Works that I’ve been piecing together. I’d originally bought it for my wife, but she sort of lost interest, so I’m planning on doing it up as a Captain variant of that particular costume. I also have a First Order stormtrooper kit that I want to put together to replace my existing FOTK (this new kit is plastic, so it’s much, much lighter than my current fiberglass costume.) And finally, I have a 212th Airborne Clone from Revenge of the Sith that is done: I just need to get it to fit me.

2) Has cosplay impacted your life personally?

Cosplay has impacted my life considerably: it provided a community at a time when I most needed it in the years after college. After graduating, I had disposable money and a car, so I was frequently out and about throughout New England trooping with my local 501st garrison. I’ve made some of my best friends in the world through the group, and it’s still a big part of my life.

But it’s also imparted an element of what I call “practical creativity”. I grew up in a household that had a workshop and I learned from my dad how to do things like cut wood, construct things out of it, change my own oil in my car, and generally do things on my own: working with my hands. Cosplay reinforced that: it’s helped me realize that with time, patience, and a little research, you can do a lot of things on your own: I’ve painted houses, redid my bathroom, fixed leaks/cracks/carpet/siding, etc at my house, and found creative solutions that I might not have arrived at if I hadn’t spent time building costumes. I know more about glue, paint, cutting materials, and whatnot, because of that experience.

3) What trends have you seen in cosplay from when you first started till today?

There are so many things that have changed! I think the first is just how popular science fiction and fantasy franchises have come since I started back in 2003: Star Wars has always been a mainstream thing, but the act of cosplaying has come a long way along with that growing popularity. Those films and genres have always been popular for good reasons: they’re exciting and interesting, and it’s good to see people reacting to it more and more, and with less shame than they might have before.

There are two other big trends that come to mind: the advances in how we use materials to build costumes has changed quite a bit. Materials like EVA foam and Worbla weren’t nearly as popular when I started, so the adoption of those materials makes it easier for cosplayers to start in on this hobby. Things like 3D printing and YouTube tutorials also really help.

The other is logistics, helped along by big online platforms like Amazon or Etsy: it’s easier than ever to buy a costume or the components. When I bought my first set of armor back in 2003, I had to know a guy who know a guy. Now, you can just click a couple of buttons.

4)  What's the process like in writing this book?

Long. The pitch for me to write it first came in 2016: the earlier version would have been entirely about the 501st Legion. But as I researched, I realized that I couldn’t just tell the story of the group: I had to expand it out beyond its borders to talk about the context of where it came from, which is what this ultimately became.

From there, it was a matter of coming up with an outline, which guided what I had to research: there was a lot of work in finding early examples of cosplay, looking through documents and records from older conventions and fan groups to try and get a clear story for how this hobby evolved over the decades.

The other component of that was interviews: I attended a whole bunch of cons in 2019 before the pandemic, and interviewed a whole bunch of folks about their experiences and history as cosplayers, and photographing them at cons. It was a lot of fun. It was also the tip of the iceberg: there are so many people in the cosplay field, with so many stories, and while I got a good cross-section of folks, there were so many rocks that I’d tip over to find a whole new thread of stories and people to talk to. But, the reality of the book is that there are deadlines and a finite number of pages, so you take what you can get and work with it.

5)  Has the book changed from the original conception to how it is today?

Very much so. As I noted a moment ago, I had originally set out to put together a book about the history of the 501st Legion. That didn’t end up happening for a variety of reasons, but I repackaged and repitched it as a history of cosplay as a whole. (The original title was Knights in Plastic Armor). I’m happy that I did that, because the larger story of cosplay is rich and fascinating.

But even while writing the book, we made some significant changes. I had originally outlined the book in three parts: When We Cosplay, Why We Cosplay, and House We Cosplay, which has been reorganized a bit for this final version (it’s much stronger now). There were also some interesting topics that I came across while researching: a picture of a reenactment in the 1800s led me down the path of living history and military reenactments, which I included. A chance encounter with a book about Jules Verne led me to track down details about a costume party he threw, and things like that: every new revelation brought with it new details to uncover, and every new interviewee brought me new fidelity to the history.

A good example here is a woman named Astrid Bear, who was heavily involved in the science fiction fan community. She was party to a lot of those early developments from an early age, and she outlined something really interesting to me in my interview with her: Star Trek had a huge impact on the cosplay community, because the costumes were relatively comfortable. When the show arrived, costuming at cons was largely restricted to designated times for specific events. When Star Trek arrived, it brought in new fans, but also new attitudes: fans started wearing the costumes in the halls (there was some friction from long-term con goers about this!) and that change in culture helped to bring about the con environment that we see these days.

6)  Were there topics cut from the book that you hope to revisit one day?

Not so much things that were cut: we made some cuts for length and clarity where I got a little too into the weeds, but there were some things that I’d hoped to have gotten to that I didn’t end up covering that much: I wanted to do a chapter about Furries, but just didn’t get to that. I also wanted to put together a chapter about the KKK and how they used masks to convey their horrible views, and the repercussions that came with that: masking laws and whatnot that still are on the books today. Author Arthur Conan Doyle liked to dress up as his character Professor Challenger, which I learned too late to include as another early example.

I’m hoping though, to actually write those chapters (and some others — I have a short list) up, and release them to my newsletter, Transfer Orbit as a series that I’m thinking I’ll call the “Lost Chapters”, which should be fun to do in the coming months.

7) Advice for first time cosplayers?

I think the best advice that I have is to make characters that you love: don’t pay attention to the cycle that we’ve found ourselves in where everyone rushes to make the most popular character of the moment (and by extension, don’t get sucked into the world of social media likes and churn). Make that obscure character that you’ve always wanted to do, take the time to make the costumes that you want to make, rather than rushing to meet a self-imposed deadline or to stay relevant.

Also, make sure you use proper ventilation when you’re using chemicals / sanding / painting, etc., wear safety equipment, and so forth. Safety first!

[cosplayinamerica]

The response at Dallas Fan Days was more than I could have hoped for.  I truly expected for maybe one or two people to understand who I was since I had chosen a scene from the Little Mermaid that only had a few seconds of film time.  I was beyond surprised when people would call out my character's name or grab my attention for a picture. I would have been happy if one person understood my costume but the fact that many did was the cherry on top. I would love to say that the Vanessa cosplay I came up with was 100% original, but I was actually inspired by another cosplayer who had done a similar variation online. I unfortunately do not know their name but I loved what they did and wanted to try my own version of it.

I love seeing cosplays at conventions and always found joy in the ones that weren't as "mainstream". I like to choose side characters that maybe don't get as much love in the con world and really show a light on them. (For example, the matchmaker in Mulan, Pain and Panic from Hercules, etc... ) That is why I decided to go with Vanessa. I have seen many versions of Ariel and Ursula but hardly any Vanessas at conventions.

The first step, which was the most difficult, was finding the "perfect" wedding dress for Vanessa. Since the movie originally came out in 1989 that dress was very inspired by the time. I hunted for the dress for probably a solid year before I found the one that I envisioned in my head. The next steps were adding the purple and sea life! Most of the items I found, I had to tweak before adding it to the dress. I wanted to make it as close to the movie as possible while still making it recognizable to those who were going to see it. The headdress was probably the most time consuming as it involved the most hot glue and foam.  I started going to conventions as soon as I moved to Texas (about 5 years ago) as where I was before, I never really had that opportunity. From the first time I went, one of the main things I found joy in was seeing different people cosplay as characters I recognized. I knew how much happiness I found in it and wanted to be the person that gave it to other people. Ever since that first convention I have been cosplaying as different characters I have always looked up to, or those that I wished I would see more. It definitely brings out my crafty side and seeing the reactions I get from other con-goers just makes it all worthwhile.

I love hearing ideas from those who maybe don't have the tools or resources to cosplay themselves and want to give them a voice. I also talk a lot about my cosplays and conventions on a podcast that I share with my best friend who is also a con goer and fellow cosplayer. There, people can write in their stories and we can share them with those who listen. Our website is www.hearditbothwayspodcast.com and you can also find us on Pod Bean at www.hearditbothwayspodcast.podbean.com.

--- https://www.instagram.com/mooziween/