“Embody the character, craftsmanship comes later” – Swansea cosplayers geek out over their art

Believed to have originated in the 1970s, cosplay – a portmanteau of ‘costume’ and ‘roleplay’ – is the act of dressing up and embodying characters from anime, games, films, books etc. During his visit to the recent Swansea Comic & Gaming Convention, Gwil Williams spoke with a few fellow cosplayers about their love of the art.

So, what got you into cosplay?

Noel Taylor, Taylored Makes: My nerdiness! Literally, my nerdiness. I mean, when I was young, I loved dressing up. Any excuse to dress up, like Halloween or birthday parties, anything like that, I would dress up. As I grew up, cosplay developed into a thing.

Karolina Jones, Karoinna: I’ve always liked dressing up and being someone different then myself. For some odd reason, it gave me confidence and courage and the performance helps me escape my daily life.

Harry Stone, Ranger Of Krieg: Harry: My friend got me into the steampunk style and I went to my first con which was the Cardiff Film & Comic Con. We went as a steampunk group, called the COGS – Carmarthenshire Organisations of Genteel Steampunks. That’s what got me into cosplay in the first place. That lead to Ghostbusters which eventually lead to the Space Marines. So, it’s been a busy few years!

What sort of characters do you go for? What’s your style?

Noel: The first ‘big’ cosplay I did was ‘Fluffy’, my alien cosplay. I like monsters and things, especially with the big head, so it’s not me. I can completely take in the character. And the kids love it! It is quite out of character for me to wear costumes where I’m the focus.

“You make new friends doing this. You find people who are just like you. It’s amazing.”

Cosplayer Harry Stone

Karolina: I like very badass women. Sometimes evil women. But I also have a special place in my heart for elves, because I started with them. Now, it’s mostly fantasy and computer game characters that I go for and strong female characters.

Dyfrig, Iron Warrior Cosplay: For me, it’s the Warhammer. I do have the steampunk but I haven’t brought that out in a while. I do a good Ghostbusters. But the main one is my Space Marine.

Harry: I’d say the same. Warhammer is my main focus but I do have other favourites including Jurassic Park and the SCP Foundation, stuff like that. But it’s mostly militaristic. [Warhammer] 40K definitely.

Do you think the rise in fan media has contributed to this hobby?

Noel: Yeah, 100%. It’s coming out more and more and we all know 20 years ago, everyone would say, “Oh, you’re going to a convention. You’re a bit of a nerd…” It’s so different now, everybody’s doing it. This really feeds people’s love for something and their creativity – feeds their confidence. It doesn’t matter how you go about doing it, you’re part of the character. I just love seeing people cosplay, I really do.

Karolina: I think so. Most costume shops have now increased their availability of character outfits, and more people are very excited to perform and dress up. I also think the pandemic has helped – over lockdown, so many of us had time to watch and read so many pieces of media and delve into the fanbase.

Would you recommend cosplay as a hobby? If so, how would you suggest starting it?

Noel: Absolutely. Just find your favourite character, buy an outfit and go to a convention and try and embody that character. This is what cosplay is for me. The craftsmanship comes later, at least it did for me.

I’ve always made models and I’ve never really been able to afford stuff, so hence, I make most of my costumes. But this isn’t true for everyone, as some don’t have the time, skillset or resources to put much effort into their construction.

Karolina: I would recommend it, although people do need to be prepared as it can be quite expensive. It really depends on if the person wants to just perform or do crafts; if craft is included, then they need the space to work. The best thing for me was to begin with easier projects: very simple sewing or foam making, just to find out what I lacked. You don’t want to start too strong and end disappointed.

Harry: Oh, definitely! It’s a great sense of achievement if you make your stuff and go to a con and have people absolutely lose their minds over what you’ve made and brought. You make new friends. You find people who are just like you. It’s friggin’ amazing.

What is your dream cosplay?

Noel: Fluffy was a big dream that I managed to do. I loved that. But what I would love to do, would be a full-size velociraptor costume, and just walk around being a dinosaur. A proper, silicon, articulated with LEDs and sounds, dinosaur. I have also thought about doing Groot too. It would be fun to walk around as a tree.

Dyfrig: Ohhh, probably Perturabo. The prime mark of the Iron Warriors. I wouldn’t mind doing Perturabo. But right now, I’m limited on space.

Harry: My ultimate would be Colonel Radec from Killzone, but I keep looking at it and going, “No, that’s too expensive”.

What do you consider while constructing your costumes? Materials, costs, time?

Noel: I like upcycling. I prefer to make things out of ‘stuff’ – things I’ve found or I’ve got lying around. I tend to buy things only if I’m running out of time. I also consider how much I’m going to enjoy making it, and how rewarding it’s going to be when I wear it.

How long does this take you to make this?

Dyfrig: Money-wise it’s, uh… a lot. Time-wise, it took me about four years to make my Iron Warrior. That wasn’t the construction of it – that only took a weekend – but it wasn’t wearable. It needed to be edited – that took time. Even today, it’s still a work in progress.

words GWIL WILLIAMS