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lstvo · 6 years

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Star Guardian Urgot is the one skin concept that I have been dying to see come to life since the Star Guardians first arrived in League of Legends. Urgot is notorious for being this grotesque, unpopular character in League – both in lore and in gameplay. The thought that Urgot could become a Star Guardian– a beautiful, graceful, magical defender against darkness – was so absurd that Riot Games swore it would never be a thing beyond community memes. I disagree completely! Urgot is a half machine, barely alive monstrosity, but he is still very much HUMAN. If the First Star called upon Urgot to wield the powers of a Star Guardian, I am confident he would accept. The human nature of Urgot would desire strength, confidence, power, beauty, all the things that becoming a Star Guardian entails. I can’t stand the idea that Urgot will never be a Star Guardian because Riot decided he can’t become one. If he is human, he has dreams. If he dreams of becoming a Star Guardian, I would hate to be the one to tell him that he can’t!

I started designing the skin myself by trying to picture what Urgot’s Star Guardian skin would look/feel like if Riot were to sit down and ACTUALLY make it happen. Most of the memes depict SG Urgot being drenched in pink, ruffles, bows, etc. But I wanted to find a 100% believable spot for this skin within the Star Guardian universe. I studied the visual language of official Star Guardian skins for months to guide his armor design choices and primary color palette. There were no Guardians with a yellow-ish, acid green color scheme, which fits Urgot’s aesthetic and lore perfectly.(I did throw a little pink into the armor as a nod to the memes though :D) I got to have extra fun with the design because I did a female version, which gave the baldy badass Urgot an excuse to rock a skirt and some epic pigtails.

Star Guardian Urgot is constructed almost entirely out of EVA foam, Wonderflex and PVC pipe. Due to its size, I needed to prioritize lightweight materials. I struggled to find a solution to turn my two legs into his six! My solution was constructing a “skirt” out of sturdy ABS and aluminum for the legs to attach to. Again, because of the size, I needed to make sure everything could break down as small as possible. I made so many trips to Home Depot looking for bolts and PVC joints, the employees know me by name now. I also incorporated my favorite part of costuming: LEDS!!!!! Star Guardians should shine brighter than all others, so there are 254 animated LEDs on Stargot, and over 9000 rhinestones!

Because this design came 100% from my heart and imagination, I was TERRIFIED to bring Urgot to Anime Expo. After obsessing over the costume for years, I felt like I was about to share a very intimate part of my soul with people who either wouldn’t get it or would flat out reject it. I am very shy about sharing my work with others, and overall really bad at social media, so I was floored at how many people ran up to me at the con to say they had been following Urgot’s progress on Facebook and Instagram. I even had one person approach me and ask me if I was THE Leah Stevo, because he was a huge fan! That was MINDBLOWING. People actually were liking my crazy costume idea!!

It turns out that not only did AX attendees ABSOLUTELY LOVE the build, but Riot loved it as well! More than anyone else, Rioters were so supportive and just plain excited to see the build in person, because apparently they had all been following my progress forever. Thank you Riot <3

I also was interviewed by Anime Expo for the AX Live stream on Twitch, and I was shocked when my friend pointed out that the interview with Star Guardian Urgot had more views on Twitch than any of AX’s official guests and programming. Holy crap!

A couple standout moments from AX: I am proud to say that after years of trying, I finally constructed a costume that was dubbed a Fire Hazard by AX Staff. The crowd around Urgot was so huge that I had to be moved repeatedly to not impede traffic. I also remember a very, VERY heated argument on Friday that took place behind me, where two friends were arguing about whether Urgot was a character from World of Warcraft or a Pokemon. I feel bad that I was not able to intervene because I’m fairly certain that friendship ended over it. Sorry guys.

Before I discovered the art of costuming, my life was paralyzed by severe social anxiety and depression. I literally could not bear to leave my house, even to check the mail. Video games became my most beloved hobby and pretty much the only way I was able to make friends. I loved these games so much that I wanted nothing more than to experience them on a corporeal level, and discovered that cosplay and propmaking was something that fused ALL of my passions together! Developing the skills to fabricate and design armor slowly but surely built up my self confidence, and from the second I finally set foot in a convention covered head to toe in yoga mats the community has embraced me, lifted me up, and become my family. Because of cosplay, I discovered my worth as a person, found my calling and for the first time I can look at myself in the mirror and feel incredibly proud of who I am. I’m THE Leah Stevo! WOO!

As cosplayers, we have the power to express passion for our fandoms that screens and pages cannot. Cosplay is not only a way to faithfully recreate characters that we love, it is the PERFECT medium for making your original ideas for those characters come to life! Do not let yourself be fooled by the idea that you have to be a certain gender, skin color, or body type to do these characters justice. I am an average girl with only two legs and I think I made a great Urgot. I know it sounds so cliche but I cannot stress enough that the only person who has any right to say how you cosplay is you.

— Leah Stevo

Photo : https://www.instagram.com/jprizick/

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lstvo · 8 years

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