"These cosplayers haven't had any experience with cosplay, so I'm very impressed with how they've done in the past month," said senior Emery Cartwright, club president. "They've gone from creating concepts of their cosplays to doing advanced techniques such as darts, shaping and coming up with their unique spins on their characters."
Cosplay Club members will enter the Awesome Cons kids division for this competition. They will be judged against other beginner cosplayers as they take to the stage for the first time. Freshmen members Sam McIff and Olivia Goutay have applied to go as a group cosplay. Their cosplays come from a popular Disney series called The Owl House.
Goutay has chosen to go as Eda Clawthorne, an eccentric main character nicknamed “The Owl Lady” and McIff as Eda's adopted demon son, King Clawthorne.
"We chose The Owl House because we all liked it and wanted to cosplay properly with characters we knew about," McIff said.
Cartwright has helped new members navigate the process of meeting requirements and keeping track of what they need.
"I know what to expect from the cons. I know what judges are looking for, and I know the timeline that it takes to make a cosplay and this has helped me guide the cosplayers on their journey," Cartwright said. "It’s not only technical skills that are necessary, but also confidence and speaking skills.”
As per the competition’s requirement, any potential participants must have 50% of their cosplay done by the time they submit their application and their costumes have to be 75% handmade by themselves. They also need a minimum of three group photos and must attend a prejudging session where they explain how they made their cosplays to the judges and submit their build book, which is a collection of their cosplay-making process.
These cosplayers are excited to start their costume-making journey in the world of more professional cosplay. They are embracing these new experiences and working together to support each other in the cosplay community.
"I'm excited to talk to people who have done this many times and get advice from them," Goutay said. "It's cool to see people who do this professionally and are good at it.”
