Cosplay is becoming more and more popular every year, and more and more people are becoming fans of it. What is «cosplay» and is it easy to be in the topic, cosplayer Victoria Hlan shared with Zhytomyr.Travel
«For me personally, cosplay is an opportunity to break away from real, everyday life, transforming into a favorite character. This is an opportunity to feel not human, but superhuman. The point is, you can be an actor without playing on stage. That is, you are transformed into an image, you experience the feelings of the hero, you convey them with facial expressions, gestures, clothes. All this helps to separate oneself from routine affairs and negativity»
«In 2018, my husband and I were thinking about how to celebrate the fifth anniversary of our marriage. What could we do crazy and interesting? We saw the announcement that Comic Con will be held in Ukraine for the first time (ed. – grand cosplay show, comic book exhibition, video game zone, competitions, artists’ alley). Since we are both delighted with comics, Marvel and DC movies, we were very excited about the idea of going there. When we got there, the tingles on the body ran from the level of cosplay in Ukraine. People create detailed costumes, weapons with lights and sound effects with their own hands»
«It turned out that there is a company in Kharkiv that makes helmets based on the movie Star Wars. They have a whole shop, where a large number of people manually create them in detail, and then sell them abroad. We have a lot of talented people who know how to do interesting things and make money on it»
«A month after Comic Con, I decided that I needed to create something for myself. I had been thinking for a long time what the image would be. My first global project is Star Wars Knight. I started assembling this costume in pieces, buying something, doing something myself. Later I bought a helmet»
«At first it seemed really hard. I did not understand where to start and what to do. I decided to first understand what details of the suit are needed. I wrote «Star Knight» and then listed what I needed. I ticked off what I have. I looked for different sources: sites, Instagram pages that created craft or where you could find a similar thing needed to buy and refine it. For example, the main elements that distinguish the Star Knight are his blaster, helmet and jacket. I had a problem: how to make the blasters that would stay in the holster and not fall out, do not break, and at the same time I had to have my hands free. We developed this technology together with my father: we measured special hooks, which he bent, made metal lids to close the blasters. They are glued together, so when they fall, they break. So I advise those who make the costume themselves, be sure to bring glue and tape»
«Cosplay is a costly hobby. In any case, requires funds for materials, fabric. If you can not sew something yourself, you must contact the studio. I have six ready-made costumes. I choose images from which clothes can be used in everyday life. For example, I always wear a silver Quicksilver jacket in the spring, as well as a Star Lord jacket»
«My parents are golden people who never forbade me to do what I like. When I wanted to be informal, I dressed and painted as I wanted. They knew I was a creative person and I needed to express myself. When I said I wanted to do cosplay, they supported me. There were no questions like «does it bring me money and how much will I spend on it». They, on the contrary, help. It’s great when there is support from family, because not even all my friends understand me. So I’m grateful that my family is my support group»
«As a teenager, I took everything to heart, but later I realized that it is impossible to please everyone. Some will look at me as a deity, and some will look at me as I am nobody. There is nothing that you can do about it. You don’t have to try to impress everyone. I do what I love and it makes me happy. Why should I be bothered by the opinion of people who are not interested in me? They probably have such a sad life that they are watching me. I feel sorry for them: they have time to follow others, and there is no time to make their lives more interesting»
«My son is delighted when his mother sits at the mirror and «paints herself.» He takes the brushes and repeats after me: he draws his eyes, his nose. When I paint him like a bunny, he is very happy. He can wear my hat, gloves, mask, helmet. He tries everything on. He likes it – I don’t force him. Some parents specifically sew costumes for their children for competitions, and I will agree that with him when he grows up. I’ll ask if he likes it, if he wants to do it. If so, we will go to competitions and create images for both of us»
«I took part in the second Ukrainian Comic Con and Akari Fest as a newcomer, for the sake of experience. But to participate on a competitive basis, to win, I have not applied yet. This year I wanted to go to Comic Con, but the quarantine changed my plans. I also planned to visit Hanifest in Kharkiv (editor’s note – a multifendom event for of anime, comics, TV series, video games and other cultural phenomena for audiences of all ages). If all goes well, Akari Fest will hold an online festival, where I will participate, because a month ago I joined the festival team. I hope to continue writing scripts for speeches, helping as a journalist and presenter. My creative ideas are considered, and usually the organizers like them. But so far this is an intrigue: we are still developing a plan, considering different platforms to use»
«When I started running a personal cosplay-style Instagram page, I met many interesting people from all over the world. We speak mostly in English, but sometimes they even write to me in Ukrainian – they want to make me happy. There are very cool cosplayers in Italy and America, but ours are the most popular. When you express your admiration for the work of a cosplayer with 60-80 thousand subscribers, and he responds to your comment, it is very inspiring»
«Because I do cosplay, I’m sometimes asked if I have a baseball bat, a toy revolver or a blaster. Not everyone has such things at home, and I do. Now my room looks like an exhibition hall or a museum. And although it takes up too much space, but it’s fun»
«Because of the cancellation of festivals, I’m not in a hurry with the images, but the plans to finish Zatanna – to sew a tailcoat, the image of Harley Quinn from «Birds of Prey.» I also have ones that are only 40-50 percent ready – for example, I do not have a wig. But it’s money. I think by next year I will gradually have up to five ready-made images»
«I dream of flying to San Diego and visiting the largest Comic Con in the world, because that’s where all the movies, TV series and games are announced. Game developers, actors and directors are invited there. I hope to make my dream come true»
