Catching up with a cosplayer
Playing dress-up appeals to children on a very basic level: they can pretend to be anything from princesses to cowboys. But there seems to come a point in everyone's life when their parents tell them, "Enough, it's time to stop playing dress-up." A growing number of people, from children to teenagers to older adults, have taken a stand and continue to indulge in a form of dress-up — but what they choose to do is so much more sophisticated than donning a simple child's costume.
Cosplaying (short for "costume play") is the act of bringing a character from a comic book, video game, TV show, film or other media to life through costuming and skits. This new art finds its origins in activities like medieval fairs, fancy costume balls and Live Action Role-Playing (LARPing). Cosplaying is an increasingly popular activity and a growing number of conventions dedicated to the art are developing. These conventions are becoming more frequent, involved and competitive places where individuals can express themselves through intricate costumes and role-playing.
Stephanie Sandrock, a former Fanshawe student who graduated from the Fashion Design program in 2009, owns the cosplay costume company Too Much Sugar in Guelph. TMS offers costumes and commission work for various characters and events.
Sandrock explained her hereditary predisposition towards cosplaying. "My parents have always been Trekkies. They've always gotten dressed up to go to Star Trek conventions." She finally tried cosplaying for herself in 2003. "I was part of the anime club during high school. I was invited to go to Anime North for a day with the club and I thought it would be fun." And just which character did Stephanie become for her induction into the world of cosplay? "I dressed up as Kiki, from Kiki's Delivery Service (an anime movie). I even had my hair cut like hers," she said. "I've been doing it ever since."
It may seem difficult for some to understand the appeal of cosplaying, but a large part of what makes it so much fun is getting the chance to be someone other than yourself for a while. "I love the chance to be someone else for the day," explained Sandrock. "I like the attention ... I mean, you get to receive all this attention, but as someone other than yourself."
Sandrock enjoys the creative process that goes into creating a costume. "I love making the costume from scratch. Taking something like a 2D drawing and making it 3D is really fun for me," she revealed. This can be quite a time consuming process. For a simple schoolgirl costume, Sandrock estimated it takes about three hours from start to finish. She has also worked on some costumes so complex they took around 100 hours to complete.
All her hard work is not for nothing, as cosplaying is turning into quite a profitable business. Sandrock divulged that the most she's ever profited from creating a costume for a client was somewhere in the area of $1,300.
For Sandrock, cosplay is a serious thing. "Personally, I go all out," she said. "I enter a lot of competitions. I've won master level awards that are recognized by the International Costumers' Guild at Anime North." Her usual costume entails handmade undergarments, clothing, shoe or boot covers, wigs, contact lenses and false teeth.
Anime North and FanExpo in Toronto and Con-G in Guelph are the most popular area conventions for cosplayers to strut their stuff. Anime North focuses heavily on anime, while FanExpo and Con-G offer a wider range of "geek culture," including fantasy, science fiction and comic books. These conventions are gaining in popularity so much that heavyweight stars such as Adam West, Nichelle Nichols and Robert Englund have made guest appearances over the last few years.
For Sandrock, cosplay is more than just a hobby, it's a passion and a big part of her life. As far as her favorite cosplays go, she said, "Edward Cullen, Yoko from the anime series Gurren Lagann, and Fai D. Flourite from Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles." With no signs of slowing down soon, both Sandrock and the world of cosplay continue to become more involved and complex, allowing people everywhere the chance to live out their fantasies for a day or two at a time.
For more information, check out Sandrock's cosplay design company at toomuchsugar.ca; Anime North at animenorth.com; FanExpo at fanexpocanada.com; and Con-G at con-g.com.
Cosplaying (short for "costume play") is the act of bringing a character from a comic book, video game, TV show, film or other media to life through costuming and skits. This new art finds its origins in activities like medieval fairs, fancy costume balls and Live Action Role-Playing (LARPing). Cosplaying is an increasingly popular activity and a growing number of conventions dedicated to the art are developing. These conventions are becoming more frequent, involved and competitive places where individuals can express themselves through intricate costumes and role-playing.
Stephanie Sandrock, a former Fanshawe student who graduated from the Fashion Design program in 2009, owns the cosplay costume company Too Much Sugar in Guelph. TMS offers costumes and commission work for various characters and events.
Sandrock explained her hereditary predisposition towards cosplaying. "My parents have always been Trekkies. They've always gotten dressed up to go to Star Trek conventions." She finally tried cosplaying for herself in 2003. "I was part of the anime club during high school. I was invited to go to Anime North for a day with the club and I thought it would be fun." And just which character did Stephanie become for her induction into the world of cosplay? "I dressed up as Kiki, from Kiki's Delivery Service (an anime movie). I even had my hair cut like hers," she said. "I've been doing it ever since."
It may seem difficult for some to understand the appeal of cosplaying, but a large part of what makes it so much fun is getting the chance to be someone other than yourself for a while. "I love the chance to be someone else for the day," explained Sandrock. "I like the attention ... I mean, you get to receive all this attention, but as someone other than yourself."
Sandrock enjoys the creative process that goes into creating a costume. "I love making the costume from scratch. Taking something like a 2D drawing and making it 3D is really fun for me," she revealed. This can be quite a time consuming process. For a simple schoolgirl costume, Sandrock estimated it takes about three hours from start to finish. She has also worked on some costumes so complex they took around 100 hours to complete.
All her hard work is not for nothing, as cosplaying is turning into quite a profitable business. Sandrock divulged that the most she's ever profited from creating a costume for a client was somewhere in the area of $1,300.
For Sandrock, cosplay is a serious thing. "Personally, I go all out," she said. "I enter a lot of competitions. I've won master level awards that are recognized by the International Costumers' Guild at Anime North." Her usual costume entails handmade undergarments, clothing, shoe or boot covers, wigs, contact lenses and false teeth.
Anime North and FanExpo in Toronto and Con-G in Guelph are the most popular area conventions for cosplayers to strut their stuff. Anime North focuses heavily on anime, while FanExpo and Con-G offer a wider range of "geek culture," including fantasy, science fiction and comic books. These conventions are gaining in popularity so much that heavyweight stars such as Adam West, Nichelle Nichols and Robert Englund have made guest appearances over the last few years.
For Sandrock, cosplay is more than just a hobby, it's a passion and a big part of her life. As far as her favorite cosplays go, she said, "Edward Cullen, Yoko from the anime series Gurren Lagann, and Fai D. Flourite from Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles." With no signs of slowing down soon, both Sandrock and the world of cosplay continue to become more involved and complex, allowing people everywhere the chance to live out their fantasies for a day or two at a time.
For more information, check out Sandrock's cosplay design company at toomuchsugar.ca; Anime North at animenorth.com; FanExpo at fanexpocanada.com; and Con-G at con-g.com.
