Posted in: Comics, Recent Updates | Tagged: body image, conventions, cosplay, entertainment, Photography, True Believers Festival 2015

Ground Rules, Body Confidence, And Fan Advice: The Cosplay Panel At True Believers Festival 2015

By Olly MacNamee

One phlegmy, chesty cold and a hectic week at work later and I have finally got round to sitting down and writing up the wonderful fan run cosplay panel from Cheltenham's True Believers Festival over a week ago now.

Hosted by veteran UK cosplayers, Kuromogrox, Trish Trinket, Lime Green Jelly and Ms Luna, all in costume of course, the discussion was presented as a basic 'how-to' guide for anyone in the room considering cosplaying for the first time, while also talking about their own experiences and finding time to take in the current online debate around cosplayers and comic cons. All in all it was a great panel and a great inclusion to the festival too.

Starting with some ground rules, the caped cosplaying crusaders reminded the audience you really need to choose a character you love and adore. It's not just a suit you'll be wearing, but an attitude too, capturing the essence of the character and sustaining it over the course of a day (or even a weekend) can be exhausting. Another essential for any cosplayer is having a 'buddy' who can keep you hydrated, carry your stuff and, more importantly, look out for you in the event of any undesirable attention from the guest. Or even, desirable attention too with many people failing to realize that even trying to warmly embrace someone could cause untold damage to these often-precarious creations. And don't forget hidden pockets, either. You're not going to be able to hand everything over to a friend and a carefully secreted pocket in a cape, boot or utility belt can be a godsend.

Onto the issue of body confidence, the panel agreed that they created the costumes to make themselves feel good and, if your favourite character has a costume that could be considered 'skimpy' (far too many we know, given the male-dominance of the comic scene back in the day), then adjust it! Some of the best cosplayers I've seen are of this mindset and besides which, it can offer the cosplayer an outlet for their creativity if they create a 'mash-up' of their favourite four-coloured character rather than a tried and tested exact replica. I mean, how many Deadpools do you need to see in one venue anyway? I use Deady as an example, because these guys are often the most ostentatious, imaginative and downright crazily creative cosplayers on the day. Have fun with it seems to be the message here.

From the fan's point of view, there was good advice too: ask for a photograph, don't just assume, and always ask the cosplayer for a card. If you are uploading photos to social media – give 'em credit where you can. While I don't tag each and every picture I post here on Bleeding Cool, I do reach out to as many as I can on social media as possible, figuring that while I have taken a quick snap (trust me, I know I ain't going to win any prizes for my photographs) they have created a costume from nothing, putting hours and hours into their creations. Following a few that I have met only reveals to me how dedicated many of these people are, with many trying to create a new costume for each and every con of the year. Even with a bit of basic Photoshopping (as you can see accompanying this post) you can create a nice memento of the day and it can be a nice way of giving something back too, I find. Something I have started doing more of and no doubt, will continue to do so from time to time.

As for the cosplayers and their place at cons, the answer given to my question by the panel was wonderfully simplistic but insightful nonetheless. Why aren't the few artists who have griped in the past not employing these guys (many have worked professionally at cons internationally, so speak from first-hand experience) and cross-pollinating? Aspen do it in America, but then over here in the UK the cosplayers seem to be less commercially minded, with no-one I've met charging for photos (suggesting that this can be the practice in the USA?). Cosplayers are as much a part of the spending public as anyone else and if I were launching my own funny book I would certainly consider this welcome partnership between fans and fiction; a win-win situation, surely?

Rather than a disgruntled artist, you could even create a renaissance of sorts for these artists if they looked into including cosplay in their con experience. Who knows, could this be the solution that pleases all parties?

Olly MacNamee teaches English and Media, for his sins, in a school somewhere in Birmingham. Some days, even he doesn't know where it is. Follow him on twitter @ollymacnamee or read about his exploits at olly.macnamee@blogspot.co.uk. Or don't.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!