Monday, October 29, 2012
The Joker Will Not Abide A Zelda Gangnam Style Parody
Seven days down. Eleven of the best pieces of cosplay in the world. One terrific Master Chief. One amazing Wonder Woman. One regrettable popular culture parody.
Hats off to the lady in the Monster Hunter 3 outfit, too, for cosplaying as, well, someone from Monster Hunter 3. It’s always nice to see people skip the obvious franchises and choose the ones with the colourful costumes and the ridiculously over-sized props.
To see the larger pics in all their glory (or so you can save them as wallpaper), right-click on the “expand” icon on the main image above and select “open in new tab”.
Fancy Pants is a look at the world of cosplay (costume play), where people dress up as their favourite video game characters. Sometimes it works! Sometimes it…yeah.
As seen on Narga-Lifestream.
Cosplay Evolved at EB Expo 2012
Every major convention worth it’s salt makes way for a bit of
cosplay. The EB Expo 2012 was no different, holding a cosplay
competition on the last day of the event. After a preliminary round
early in the day, seven competitors were invited back to the EB Arena to
take part in the Grand Final of the Cosplay Evolved competition. The
arena was packed out for the event, which was part of the closing
ceremony for the entire show, so after an extra heavy dose of dub step
gaming themes, things got underway…
Every participant was preceded by a video short introducing themselves as their cosplay character, and then proceeded to strut their stuff for the audience and the panel of judges.
First
up –Clayton Carmine from Gears of War 3. This was one of the most
impressive costumes around the Expo and looked great on the big stage. A
decent video introduction was followed by a skit that quickly shot
through Gears of War 3, throwing in some props and some humour. The
second entrant changed the tone of things as a Walking Dead Zombie; the
usual zombie shuffle spiced up with a quick rendition of Michael
Jackson’s Thriller.
Deadpool was keen to play up the fourth wall breaking with a brave comedy skit, but despite a few giggles didn’t quite manage to pull it off – props to that competitor for having the nerve to try and make a huge audience laugh. An Uncharted skit featuring Drake and Elena also brought a bit of the bizarre, bringing in a strange crossover in the form of the Joker from the Dark Knight – of course sporting the famous nurses outfit, complete with a dangerously short skirt!
A fierce representation of Dragon Age II’s Flemeth showed off a highly detailed costume, with an impressive bit of hairstyling and a bodice littered with studs. A young Ocarina of Time Zelda provided a bit of sweetness and light, posing her way through the end sequence of the game.
The best was certainly saved till last, with a witty and confident skit from Megaman’s Plantman (technically a Plantlady). Everything fell into place for this participant, a vibrant costume, a funny skit, and a great bit of charm and personality.
After a brief interlude to conclude the results, the judging panel returned and the top three were announced. Walking away $250 in third position was Flemeth, followed by Clayton Carmine in second place, picking up a cool $500 in EB vouchers. The biggest prize of them all went to the clear favourite, with Plantman walking away with a massive $3000 worth of EB vouchers – surely enough to keep even the most avid gamer supplied for quite some time.
Congratulations to all the participants and of course to the winner – enjoy blitzing your local EB games store…
Every participant was preceded by a video short introducing themselves as their cosplay character, and then proceeded to strut their stuff for the audience and the panel of judges.
First
up –Clayton Carmine from Gears of War 3. This was one of the most
impressive costumes around the Expo and looked great on the big stage. A
decent video introduction was followed by a skit that quickly shot
through Gears of War 3, throwing in some props and some humour. The
second entrant changed the tone of things as a Walking Dead Zombie; the
usual zombie shuffle spiced up with a quick rendition of Michael
Jackson’s Thriller.Deadpool was keen to play up the fourth wall breaking with a brave comedy skit, but despite a few giggles didn’t quite manage to pull it off – props to that competitor for having the nerve to try and make a huge audience laugh. An Uncharted skit featuring Drake and Elena also brought a bit of the bizarre, bringing in a strange crossover in the form of the Joker from the Dark Knight – of course sporting the famous nurses outfit, complete with a dangerously short skirt!
A fierce representation of Dragon Age II’s Flemeth showed off a highly detailed costume, with an impressive bit of hairstyling and a bodice littered with studs. A young Ocarina of Time Zelda provided a bit of sweetness and light, posing her way through the end sequence of the game.
The best was certainly saved till last, with a witty and confident skit from Megaman’s Plantman (technically a Plantlady). Everything fell into place for this participant, a vibrant costume, a funny skit, and a great bit of charm and personality.
After a brief interlude to conclude the results, the judging panel returned and the top three were announced. Walking away $250 in third position was Flemeth, followed by Clayton Carmine in second place, picking up a cool $500 in EB vouchers. The biggest prize of them all went to the clear favourite, with Plantman walking away with a massive $3000 worth of EB vouchers – surely enough to keep even the most avid gamer supplied for quite some time.
Congratulations to all the participants and of course to the winner – enjoy blitzing your local EB games store…
20 Cosplay Photos from New York Comic Con 2012, part 1
Last year New York Comic Con (NYCC) drew over 100,000 attendees, and although the numbers aren’t out yet, this year looked equally packed. These con-goers came to meet the pros and the people who love them, and many of them were dressed for the occasion. That means it’s time for cosplay.
Cosplayers brought their A-game to the convention, and friend and gamer Marco Lemos was there with me to record the action. We were dazzled by the craftsmanship that went into these costumes. See for yourselves. (Some photos by Marco Lemos, used with permission.)
Cosplayers brought their A-game to the convention, and friend and gamer Marco Lemos was there with me to record the action. We were dazzled by the craftsmanship that went into these costumes. See for yourselves. (Some photos by Marco Lemos, used with permission.)
Frag Reel Friday: EB Games Expo 2012
This week, Frag Reel Friday takes a look at footage from the recent EB Games Expo in Sydney's Homebush, Australia's largest gaming convention.
The EB Games Expo has developed into Australia's largest trade show for video games, but the event wasn't always the big public affair seen at Sydney's Showgrounds earlier this month.
For a majority of the last decade, EB Expo was a largely similar experience to what gamers came to experience in Sydney and the Gold Coast last year - but the event was held for EB employees only. Trent Weekes, national events manager for EB Games, last year said the internal conference was already Australia's biggest gaming fair.
And in truth, Australians have been crying out for years for an event to match the scale and scope of something like the E3 Entertainment Expo or the Penny Arcade Expo (the latter of which will debut in Australia next year).
But it wasn't all about the new games: there was a tonne of other events on show, including a series of tournaments for the local competitive gaming communities, a large Cosplay exhibition, forums on gaming and more.
We'll start the coverage in reverse order with footage of the Ladies in Gaming Panel hosted by Geek Bomb. The forum featured Stephanie "Hex" Bendixen and Janet Carr from the ABC's own Good Game; as well as the Asian regional PR manager for Electronic Arts, Snezana Stojanovska; founder and editor-in-chief Tash Richards; Convict Interactive CMO and programmer Rebecca Fernandez; and Swinburne University professor (and avid cosplay fan) Kirsty Sculler.
The Australian arm of gaming media outlet Gamespot also hosted a few panels of its own, including one looking at whether Australian gamers were being overcharged on games and one talking about the local professional gaming scene. Panellists include former managing director of Sega Australia Darren Macbeth, Polygon's Tracey Lien, former 2K developer Bryan Ma, Derek "Dox" Reball from professional gaming Team Nv, Steve "PyroZero" Androu of The Shadowloo, and eSports consultant Craig "pandan" Warren.
The Cosplay fans turned out in force for the weekend, with stage shows across Saturday and Sunday showing off some amazing - and some unusual - costumes. Plenty of people were happy to strut their stuff despite the crowds, whether it be in front of the lights or just on the floor in front of random people. There was even a set of cosplay-themed skits screened at the final
The EB Games Expo has developed into Australia's largest trade show for video games, but the event wasn't always the big public affair seen at Sydney's Showgrounds earlier this month.
For a majority of the last decade, EB Expo was a largely similar experience to what gamers came to experience in Sydney and the Gold Coast last year - but the event was held for EB employees only. Trent Weekes, national events manager for EB Games, last year said the internal conference was already Australia's biggest gaming fair.
And in truth, Australians have been crying out for years for an event to match the scale and scope of something like the E3 Entertainment Expo or the Penny Arcade Expo (the latter of which will debut in Australia next year).
But it wasn't all about the new games: there was a tonne of other events on show, including a series of tournaments for the local competitive gaming communities, a large Cosplay exhibition, forums on gaming and more.
We'll start the coverage in reverse order with footage of the Ladies in Gaming Panel hosted by Geek Bomb. The forum featured Stephanie "Hex" Bendixen and Janet Carr from the ABC's own Good Game; as well as the Asian regional PR manager for Electronic Arts, Snezana Stojanovska; founder and editor-in-chief Tash Richards; Convict Interactive CMO and programmer Rebecca Fernandez; and Swinburne University professor (and avid cosplay fan) Kirsty Sculler.
The Australian arm of gaming media outlet Gamespot also hosted a few panels of its own, including one looking at whether Australian gamers were being overcharged on games and one talking about the local professional gaming scene. Panellists include former managing director of Sega Australia Darren Macbeth, Polygon's Tracey Lien, former 2K developer Bryan Ma, Derek "Dox" Reball from professional gaming Team Nv, Steve "PyroZero" Androu of The Shadowloo, and eSports consultant Craig "pandan" Warren.
The Cosplay fans turned out in force for the weekend, with stage shows across Saturday and Sunday showing off some amazing - and some unusual - costumes. Plenty of people were happy to strut their stuff despite the crowds, whether it be in front of the lights or just on the floor in front of random people. There was even a set of cosplay-themed skits screened at the final
Cosplay different from Halloween costumes, requires more attention, skill
Have you ever had a friend slip into a startlingly accurate costume of the “Harry Potter” series’ Lucius Malfoy, straight down to searching for hours for the rings he wore and ensuring their costume materials were made of 100 percent real velvet (as Lucius would not want anything lesser), only to suddenly start praising the Dark Lord and calling you a filthy muggle?
No?
This, my friend, is a good example of the differences between cosplaying and a Halloween costume.
Cosplay is considered a type of performance art where fans dress as a fictional character from an anime, manga, book, movie, video game or comic, and aims to become that character. Cosplayers aim for accuracy and incredible detail in the costumes, trying to make them look as realistic and plausible as possible (no 7-foot Final Fantasy Buster Swords that break at the handle here). They might also adopt the mannerisms, behaviors, body language and speaking style of said character.
It is a hobby for most, but one they care deeply about, and no wonder — the amount of time and resources it takes to make an accurate costume of almost any fictional character is intimidating.
Costumes at their cheapest are $50 to $100, and prices go up from there. Generally speaking, there aren’t many costumes that are simply shirts and skirts, and while you can find cheaper versions of the costumes online, they won’t be anywhere near the level of detail and quality cosplayers typically want.
Most cosplayers make their own costumes. This means buying many different fabrics, ordering specialized jewelry, patches, footwear, hair decorations and importing high-quality wigs made of real hair instead of the horrid cheap ones. Sometimes, even the use of prosthetics, body makeup and different colored eye contacts are employed. When they can’t find the proper color for wigs or fabric, they dye them on their own.
The amount of time its takes to make different costumes can range from hours to months or years. It is a hobby that takes great passion, not only for the series and the characters, but also for fashion and fantasy.
The reasons people cosplay can include but are not limited to feeling connected to the character, liking their style or admiring a quality of the character that the cosplayer themselves doesn’t possess.
Cosplay has its own community filled with people modeling the characters in photoshoots, going to conventions and winning competitions. There are even celebrities among the community who are deeply revered for the level of quality and time that goes into their craft. However, cosplayers are often looked down upon outside of their community, seen as geeks who need to get a life.
Halloween offers them a safe zone where they can parade around in their costumes without anyone thinking worse of them. They can be the stars of the show, showing off their extremely detailed costumes and scaring or impressing the general public with mastery of the character’s ticks. It’s the one time a year they can go into a bar and share their hobby with people who will be open to it, or even appreciate it.
At the same time, it is hard to imagine the disgust serious cosplayers feel when they see a girl with cat ears on her head and whiskers badly drawn onto her face calling herself “Catwoman.” Seeing their favorite characters imitated by others who don’t understand or care about them on a deeper level is hard to deal with. Walking into stores that sell Halloween costumes and seeing the cheap fabrics, inaccuracies and awkward sexualization of characters they respect can be enough to get their blood boiling.
Even more than that, consider what it is like to go to a Halloween party and have people treat your extremely expensive costume carelessly because they do not appreciate it: accidentally spilling things, stepping on capes, playing around with authentic replicas of the Master Sword and tugging on wigs.
If you happen to have the good fortune of seeing someone in a professionally made costume and wig re-enacting a character previously seen only in your fantasies, approach them with the respect that their craft deserves. And maybe, just maybe, consider putting a little bit more effort into those cat ears and whiskers this Halloween. After all, costumes are serious business.
No?
This, my friend, is a good example of the differences between cosplaying and a Halloween costume.
Cosplay is considered a type of performance art where fans dress as a fictional character from an anime, manga, book, movie, video game or comic, and aims to become that character. Cosplayers aim for accuracy and incredible detail in the costumes, trying to make them look as realistic and plausible as possible (no 7-foot Final Fantasy Buster Swords that break at the handle here). They might also adopt the mannerisms, behaviors, body language and speaking style of said character.
It is a hobby for most, but one they care deeply about, and no wonder — the amount of time and resources it takes to make an accurate costume of almost any fictional character is intimidating.
Costumes at their cheapest are $50 to $100, and prices go up from there. Generally speaking, there aren’t many costumes that are simply shirts and skirts, and while you can find cheaper versions of the costumes online, they won’t be anywhere near the level of detail and quality cosplayers typically want.
Most cosplayers make their own costumes. This means buying many different fabrics, ordering specialized jewelry, patches, footwear, hair decorations and importing high-quality wigs made of real hair instead of the horrid cheap ones. Sometimes, even the use of prosthetics, body makeup and different colored eye contacts are employed. When they can’t find the proper color for wigs or fabric, they dye them on their own.
The amount of time its takes to make different costumes can range from hours to months or years. It is a hobby that takes great passion, not only for the series and the characters, but also for fashion and fantasy.
The reasons people cosplay can include but are not limited to feeling connected to the character, liking their style or admiring a quality of the character that the cosplayer themselves doesn’t possess.
Cosplay has its own community filled with people modeling the characters in photoshoots, going to conventions and winning competitions. There are even celebrities among the community who are deeply revered for the level of quality and time that goes into their craft. However, cosplayers are often looked down upon outside of their community, seen as geeks who need to get a life.
Halloween offers them a safe zone where they can parade around in their costumes without anyone thinking worse of them. They can be the stars of the show, showing off their extremely detailed costumes and scaring or impressing the general public with mastery of the character’s ticks. It’s the one time a year they can go into a bar and share their hobby with people who will be open to it, or even appreciate it.
At the same time, it is hard to imagine the disgust serious cosplayers feel when they see a girl with cat ears on her head and whiskers badly drawn onto her face calling herself “Catwoman.” Seeing their favorite characters imitated by others who don’t understand or care about them on a deeper level is hard to deal with. Walking into stores that sell Halloween costumes and seeing the cheap fabrics, inaccuracies and awkward sexualization of characters they respect can be enough to get their blood boiling.
Even more than that, consider what it is like to go to a Halloween party and have people treat your extremely expensive costume carelessly because they do not appreciate it: accidentally spilling things, stepping on capes, playing around with authentic replicas of the Master Sword and tugging on wigs.
If you happen to have the good fortune of seeing someone in a professionally made costume and wig re-enacting a character previously seen only in your fantasies, approach them with the respect that their craft deserves. And maybe, just maybe, consider putting a little bit more effort into those cat ears and whiskers this Halloween. After all, costumes are serious business.
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