Convention Fans

One of the great aspects of the World of Warcraft (WoW) community, is that it is global. You can find WoW players all across the world, and that means you can also find WoW cosplayers from all over the world. I had an opportunity to talk to a German Warcraft cosplayer who calls herself °Kamui°, who has some absolutely incredible Druid costumes. Thanks to some translation assistance from her boyfriend, we were able to have a chat about her costumes, and what the cosplay scene is like in Germany.

Note: I have done a bit of editing to this transcript for language clarity, which is designated by brackets.

°Kamui°, how did you get into cosplay?

°Kamui°: I first came in contact with cosplay by reading AnimaniA, a German anime and manga magazine and later the community of animexx.de. Later, when I ordered my ticket for AnimagiC 2003 I was already determined to try it myself. I didn’t know many animes or mangas at that time but one series got me hooked. Dragonball. My favourite character was The Great Sayaman, so naturally I was eager to cosplay him. I’ve never sewed before, nor did I know how to start, so what I did was buy some cheap cloth, take my fathers sewing machine and just start.

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With all the buzz about BlizzCon 2009 this past weekend, I thought today would be a good time to highlight another World of Warcraft cosplayer. World of Warcraft cosplay presents costumers with a lot of unique challenges.

Not only are there an almost infinite number of inspirations for costumes in the game, but so many armor sets are iconic and well known by the players. And these aren’t exactly costumes you can buy off the shelf. Many require some skill in sculpture as well as sewing.

One WoW cosplayer I came across on Cosplay.com was derelict_, who has a Blood Elf Paladin Tier 2 costume, and a Blood Elf Rogue Tier 6 costume. Both of these costumes required an extensive number of hours to complete, and she’s still working on improving them for future use. I asked her what advice she would give to fellow costumers who wanted to attempt a World of Warcraft Tier armor costume:

WoW Model Viewer helps a lot because you have access to all the armor/weapons in the game and you can rotate your character to see the different angles. Choose something you really like to cosplay and don’t half ass it like me and my rogue costume, lol.

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I love talking to cosplayers in other countries! It’s fascinating to me how cosplay has taken hold in countries all over the world, and not just in Japan. I recently got in touch with Cosplay.com member Angelphie, who happens to reside in the United Kingdom. We “sat down” and had a chat about her cosplay and convention experiences, and what makes the anime convention scene in the UK so different from the US. It’s a really enlightening read, so take a look!

Angelphie, thanks for doing this interview! First of all, when was your first convention, and how old were you?

Angelphie: My first convention was in 2004 (AmeCon, in Leicester, England). I was 16. Most UK cons have an age limit due to insurance reasons, and AmeCon doesn’t accept under 16s. That meant that even though I’d been interested in cosplay and the convention scene for a while, waiting until I was 16 was easiest. Although there were a couple of other cons that would accept younger people, I was most excited about Ame, since it was a far larger event. It also probably made my parents happier about the trip that I was older! (Almost every event I go to involves serious traveling; usually I fly).

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I have another great interview with a cosplayer for you all today! Cosplay.com’s london2191 has a ton of beautiful costumes, and I couldn’t help but stop and ask her about them. She has some advice on vendors for wigs, materials, and make-up, as well as some tips on wing construction. This is definitely a cosplayer who knows how to take it to the next level, and she has some awards under her belt to prove it!

When was your first convention, and how old were you?

london2191: My first con was Dragon*Con, an amazing popculture convention in Atlanta. I believe I was 13? I had no idea what cosplay was then and the only reason I went was so my dad could go see Mr. Sulu and so I could go see Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, haha.

How did you get into cosplay?

london2191: I don’t remember all too much about it, but I do remember there being a cosplay group down in Texas by the name of JAC (they still exist if I’m right…?) and they would make their cosplays and film funny skits. I was really inspired by it and I thought it’d be really cool to do something like it.

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I had a the good fortunate of finding Cosplay.com member Milk-tan during one of my costume searches, and got to take a look at some of her amazing costumes. This is a cosplayer who has learned to make some killer props, work with tricky fabrics, and style wigs in order to create wonderful costumes. Read on to learn about some of her convention and cosplay experiences, as well as get some insight into her prop creation!

When was your first convention, and how old were you?

Milk-tan: My very first convention was Sakuracon, in 2003, back when it was at the Sea-Tac Hilton hotel. I was thirteen and went with my best friend and her mom!

How did you get into cosplay?

Milk-tan: I had been aware of cosplay before going to my first convention, but didn’t get very involved in it until after going to Sakuracon and seeing all of the amazing costumes. Before that, my only experience with cosplay had been hunting for a Sailor Moon costume to wear on Halloween.

What was your very first costume?

Milk-tan: My veeeeeeeeerry first costume was Misty, from Pokemon! I’m a natural redhead, and at the time, I knew nothing of wigs, so I figured that I ought to make a costume that would match with my hair. And by “make costume”, I mean buy a yellow tanktop and suspenders from Value Village and cut up a pair of jeans, lol. I think that was for Halloween in 2002? I probably still have the costume somewhere…

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