Wednesday 12 February 2014

My motivation to cosplay

So, I've been cosplaying for little over a year now. What got me into it you ask? An extreme obsession with a particular video game. Borderlands to be exact. Going through a rough time in my life, this game was my saviour of sanity! Then... THEN! ... I heard there was to be a second game. Yay! More Borderlands awesomeness to waste my life away on. I followed the Gearbox Forums quite closely, and when the game finally came out, I made a tonne of new online friends who shared in my obsession with the game.

It all started out with comments like 'which character would you most want to be?', or 'If you could have one of their skills...' And so forth. Every now and then, a new Borderlands cosplayer would post a picture of their new costume on the Forums, and my buddies and I would all discuss it. I couldn't help but think about how much fun it look like, and how cool it would be to actually dress up and be that character even just for a little while.

I felt kind of silly at first, when I first admitted I wanted to cosplay Maya the Siren from the second game. But I received so much encouragement from fellow forum members and online gaming friends alike, I began feeling a little overwhelmed. And then I decided. Yes, I was definitely going to do this!

At first I wasn't sure what to do, or how to begin. I am by no means a seamstress! But my passion for the game and the character drove me to want to make this costume the absolute best I could achieve. 

Many, many months were spent researching, watching tutorials, speaking to and receiving advice from fellow cosplayers (many of which I now call dear friends). There were definitely times of despair, when something didnt turn out the way I wanted it, and certainly times when I thought I had bitten off more than I could chew.

But I preservered! And I was so happy with my end result. Almost 12 months of a constant learning journey of experimentations and many late nights. It was all worth it for me in the end.

Did I learn new things? Absolutely! Would I do things differently next time round? Most likely! Did I have a heap of fun wearing the costume for the first time? Hell yes!

Anyway, my motivation.... That's simple.

My motivation, the thing that drives me the most when constructing a costume? 

An obsession!  A passion and admiration for the character I am trying to portray. That's what it is for me. Bringing a part of the fictional world that i had spent so much time with, to life. Not to mention the encouragement, excitement and support I received from my friends was also extremely uplifting.

My first real costume was definetly a wonderfully positive experience for me, and was also the beginning of a new obsession for me. Cosplaying!


Now my drive extends beyond the love of these fictional characters, in an effort to expand and push my skills to the limit. Since beginning my cosplay journey I've attempted things I've never dreamt were possible. Im attempting characters I never thought I would be able to bring to life. I've learnt now that anything is possible, and where there's a will, there's a way.

And, I'm loving every minute of it :)


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