6 Things I Learned From my First Cosplay Competition
Walking out of the 2017 Power Rangers film, I turned to my best friend (who I had seen it with) and said “I need to cosplay as Rita Repulsa for Comic Con”. I can’t remember his exact response, but it was something along the lines of “oh yeah, that would be awesome”. To this day, I’m not sure that he really believed me, but experience should have told him that when I say I’m going to do something, I’m sure as hell going to do it.
On top of attempting an incredibly elaborate cosplay with zero armor-making experience, I also decided to sign up to compete and have my craftsmanship judged by professionals (I am nothing if not completely unaware of my own limits). So, on July 1st, 2017, I took part in my first ever cosplay competition, in my first ever suit of armor. It was one of the bigger learning experiences of my creative life, and for any of you thinking of giving it a shot but are unsure of what to expect, here’s what I learned:
- Cosplay, much like Dark Souls is an exercise in failure.
I may or may not have cried on more than one occasion while constructing my costume. Near the end there was a point where I genuinely thought it just wasn’t going to work out. But failing multiple times throughout the process didn’t equal a failure in the end. The suit came together and honestly looked better than I thought it would. Much like the Dark Souls loop, I had to learn that the process is what makes you better in the end. Taking a breather and coming back with fresh eyes doesn’t hurt either.
- YouTube is a godsend.
Having no experience making armor (or really anything beyond a leafy leotard) YouTube was a fantastic resource. Watching Alexa Poletti’s Rita Repulsa cosplay tutorial is the sole reason I was able to get this costume off the ground. She only did the upper front portion of the armor in her video, but that was still enough for me to pick up the skills I needed to create the rest of the pieces myself, along with painting and attachments (I did deviate on how I did the colors and weathering, but techniques are techniques). Even if the character you’re doing is really obscure, someone out there has probably taken a crack at some form of it. And if no one has, you can still take advantage of the more general tutorials to pick up new skills and ideas to apply to whatever you’re making.
- You’re not just dressed as the character, you are the character.
This was something I hadn’t really thought about until I was preparing to actually get on stage. I had been so focused on getting the costume itself constructed, I hadn’t put any thought towards performing as the character. But that’s a pretty huge part of the competition. At least at Denver Comic Con, your presentation is judged and awards are given out for it. In the end, I was able to improvise an act that I think captured Rita’s character pretty well, but I know that I could have done better had I been more focused on portraying her. I would highly recommend consuming the media that your character is in, and practice being them. Doing this definitely would’ve improved my performance. Speaking of performance…
- Music makes the act!
No performance is complete without music. This is another thing that I really underestimated going into this competition. I knew that I could have music, and that it was strongly recommended, but the stipulation of finding non-copyrighted music and the prospect of recording my own voice audio left me overwhelmed in the sea of work I already had to do for the costume. Luckily, the kind staff of the competition provided music for me, but I know my performance would have been enhanced if I had taken the time to find/commission some music to customize my act and make it more memorable. The acts that garnered attention and praise had great audio that clearly had a lot of thought put into it.
- Find a handler you can trust, and never let them leave you.
If you’ve never heard the term before, a handler is basically what it sounds like: a person who helps you with any difficult to manage parts of your costume, gets you on and off stage, etc. Basically they take care of you while you’re in costume and make sure you can execute every part of your performance. I nailed the first part of this, bringing my best friend who helped me in every possible way. He was my purse, my hands, my eyes, my photographer, and my moral support. I couldn’t have spent the day at the con without him and I’m beyond grateful for him. The snag I hit here was that he didn’t stay with me until I went onstage. Due to our misunderstanding the directions from staff, he went to his seat in the crowd before the competition started, so he wasn’t able to help me with the one performance idea I was planning (I was going to eat a doughnut, and it was going to be rad). Unless staff are actively telling you that your handler has to leave you, do not let them go. Their whole job is to stick with you and help you succeed, so they shouldn’t have to go anywhere until you’re offstage.
- If it’s your first time, don’t expect to win.
This one was a hard pill to swallow for me. After putting in so much work, and having it come out better than I thought it would, I really thought I would win something. But I didn’t. Honestly, I don’t even think I came close. But that’s totally okay. Looking at the other contestants, I didn’t deserve to win. The people around me were clearly more experienced and skilled than I was and their costumes were amazing. I can’t say for certain since I didn’t talk to every single person there, but I think I was the only first-timer competing. Underestimating the competition was a mistake, one that I’ve certainly learned from. A little dose of humility never hurt anyone, and seeing the heights the other competitors had achieved showed me what I could be capable if I keep pursuing this path.
Hopefully my insights here were helpful, or at least entertaining. My only other advice if you’re interested in cosplaying would be: just try it. You’ll never know how much you like it if you don’t give it a shot. Start with something simple that you’re interested in and see how it goes. I fell in love with it and will definitely be trying again next year. Maybe you will too.
