Dragon Con 2012 Cosplay

[Talon]

Impressive costumes. Thought I'd share:

Epic Cosplay

[Mixxi]

Wow! Fabulous video. So many great costumes! The guy in the wheelchair with the arrow in his knee--genius. And I adore the twisted Disney princesses.

You really miss part of the fun of a con if you're not in costume. It's been years since I've done it, but next year, whatever con we go to...definitely going to be in costume. I'm thinking Quaggan.

What would you all be if you were a cosplayer? (Pinkie, I'm looking at you. I still remember you as Gogo Yubari.)

[Corsair]

Very very cool. I too liked the zombie Disney princesses. Loved the Three Amigos, I would totally get in on that with partners. The "easy button" power armor costume was a cute idea. Lots of very impressive efforts there.

It would be fun to try to do Kermit the frog as a Jedi knight.


Pinkie right now might choose to go costumed as "Pinkie Pie"...but that seems too obvious...

[PinkRose]

I have a hard time Coplaying.
It just doesn't work for me.
When i go to a Con, I'm there to play games. And that's about it.
I've seen the people that just go and parade in the entry way, (or the zombies (from Plants vs. Zombies) that breakdance out on the street corner) and that just isn't for me.
So My costume would have to be functional and disturbing. I like to make people question my sanity.
Maybe an Amy Pond or Pinky Pie(anthropomorphized).
EDIT: (I wrote that while Corsair was typing. You all know me too well)

I completely forgot that I have costume pictures (of others) from GenCon 2012.
I'll post them tomorrow.

[Catri]

I would probably be Yomiko Readman from Read or Die. I had fun cosplaying her years ago. I would have to get a wig this time, though, because my hair is not as long as it was the first time.

I might also try to come up with a River Song costume.

[Mixxi]

I have been "Space the Final Frontier" at a Trek con. Of course, that was in 1974...

Scotty kissed me, though.

[Corsair]

Mixxi, we need pics! How does one dress up as Space, the final frontier one wonders?

Kissed by Scotty though...that's pretty cool eh?     


Oh and Pinky...this might help you out: http://www.ebay.com/itm/70cm-long-pink-My-Little-Pony-Pinkie-pie-wavyCosplay-wig-RW148-/140787504573?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20c796d5bd
(I hear you too...if I go to a Con, I wanna mostly play games and hang out with friends doing so. Costuming is secondary. But I can see dedicating one day to a group effort. It'd be a hoot.)

[Mixxi]

I have a hard time Coplaying.

Those of us who have seen your Halloween costumes think otherwise. 

[PinkRose]

Corsair, you have no idea how much I just squeed!
I'm glad my wife wasn't around!
Pictures will be posted within the year, of me and my niece Cosplaying.
I guarantee it!

[Talon]

The closest I've come to cosplay would be my visits to a medieval historical re-enactment festival held annually, down south. It's for an entire weekend. There are photos but they are a closely guarded secret.

If you aren't dressed for the period you really lose a lot of the fun so I'm glad i was encourage to dress up.

As for an actual convention and dressing up, hmm... Obviously GW2 characters appeal. One of my outfits for Abbey (the medieval festival) could double as a mesmer from Guild Wars 1.

I have no talent for costumes, myself, so my wonderful designs in my head end up looking ... Dreadful. Recognisable but not as good as one would hope.

In the video, I really liked the group efforts along a theme.

[Askari]

If I can achieve a point in the future where I am slender and have spare money, I will have a high-quality, oldschool Battlestar Galactica uniform tailored for myself. I've wanted one ever since I was ~10 years old.

Like the one Apollo is wearing in this picture:
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm4132345856/tt0076984

[Gith]

If I were to cosplay I would be Zell Dincht from FFVIII. Meet me in person and you will know why Or Vincent from FFVII. He is cool too.

I could also be talked into putting together a Lord Raiden costume. Johnny Cage would be fun too while we are on the topic of Mortal Kombat.

If I wanted to spend a lot of money I would buy an entire suit of Iron Man armour or perhaps N7 armour and be Commander Shepard. Or maybe make a suit of Space Marine power armour; I would probably go Emperor's Children or Alpha Legion if I did (pre-heresy).

And I could also be David Bowie's character from Labyrinth because I apparently look like a young Bowie (before he got all drugged up and stuff).

Those are what came to mind right away. Lots of cool stuff to dress up as, just not enough time and Cons in Canada suck. Maybe sometime in a year or two when the new job settles down I can take my vacation time during one of the big Cons in the US that many of you are going to so I can meet some of you and perhaps dress up.

[Mixxi]

If I can achieve a point in the future where I am slender and have spare money, I will have a high-quality, oldschool Battlestar Galactica uniform tailored for myself. I've wanted one ever since I was ~10 years old.

Like the one Apollo is wearing in this picture:
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm4132345856/tt0076984

Askari--such good taste. BG had a lot of flaws, but the men did look fine in those uniforms, especially if you take it in the context of the 70's. I can remember as a teenage girl gritting my teeth through the Boxy stuff just to see Apollo and Starbuck.

And I could also be David Bowie's character from Labyrinth because I apparently look like a young Bowie (before he got all drugged up and stuff).

Also a great choice, Val! Such a great-looking character. Temus and Antronna will probably kill me for saying it, but in their Homecoming prom group of friends, one of the guys was in full cosplay as Jareth and looked great. We also have a Saga member who was named after that character in RL.

And I have proof that cosplay is genetic. This thread got me digging in my photoalbums, and I pulled out pictures of my parents and me back in...oh, around 1975. My dad is one of Sir Francis Drake's sailors, my mom is a wench who picked up Sir Francis Drake's sailors, and I am basically Viola from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. I did not have the equipment for wench costumes, so I went the boy route. So if people who were born in 1920 and 1925 can cosplay--so can you!

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u269/Itsamyth/renfairemomdad.png

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u269/Itsamyth/renfairedadcarol.png

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u269/Itsamyth/renfairedadcarol2.png

I love the fact that in that last picture my dad and I both have that "Take the freakin' picture, Mom and stop embarrassing us" look on our faces.

[PinkRose]

All I'm saying is that I don't go to a Con to Cosplay.
It appears that your family (you look a lot like your mom) were at a Ren Faire. I've done Ren Faires and dressed up for those. I dress up for Halloween. But for a convention, I'm there to play games and chew gum, and you can't chew gum in a costume.
My Neice is a Cosplayer, Hitalia if anyone knows or cares, but it isn't something I enjoy.
Dressing up and Cosplay are two different things, to me.
Great pix. Thanks Mixxi.

[Mixxi]

Dressing up and Cosplay are two different things, to me.

I think they are, now. In a way, it's because dressing up has become more accepted and mainstream. I think it has been an evolution, though.

Back when those Ren Faire pictures were taken, you didn't just dress up. You had a character, and you stayed in that character while you were in costume. It really was LARP with feuds and backstories and intrigue. I knew people as "Drake" or "the Sheriff" and never did know their RL names (they stayed those characters for years). The Black Point Ren Faire was kind of an alternative culture rather than a tourist attraction at the time. People went through weeks of workshops in accents, culture, and history and totally stayed in character (we weren't that hardcore, but I eventually fell in with that crowd in college). My parents and I had to each write a complete sonnet that we had to recite to Drake to get into the Faire that year. Not many "tourists" came to the Ren Faire. Remember, this is the group that invented the Ren Faire and that was back in the very first few years.

Cosplay is a variation on that, I think, because the character is often of someone else's invention, but you are still that character when you cosplay. But it's more performance than pretending to live as that character. Cosplayers like to be watched. 

When you LARP or cosplay you ARE that character. Remember the term "mundanes"? (and I know some people find that term offensive) When the "mundanes" started coming to things in costume, I think people thought of them as just "dressing up", but the hard-core fans were doing something else. So there came to be terms to distinguish the different kinds of dressing up. The term cosplay has only been around since the 1980's, but people have been dressing up for a long, long time.

So were all of us trekkies running around in costume at 70's cons cosplaying? Or were we dressing up? And were the original Ren Faire participants LARPing or dressing up? None of those terms were around. We were just escaping and living out fantasies.

So how about we go to a con as ourselves but dress up for part of it? You on for that, Pinkie?

[Talon]

Gith, Raiden would be fantastic. I wanted to do Raiden but it was too complicated. I did sub-zero for a costume party and it was adequate but the costume could have been loads better.

I was also a mummy for a horror-themed birthday party. That went well.

I agree. Cosplay, to me, suggests some form of character and role play while in costume rather than just dressing up for the event. Sub-Zero was dressing up. Mostly, so was the mummy.

It would depend upon who I'm with but a convention would be more dressing up to me than roleplay in costume considering the purpose, as Pinkie said. That being said, cosplay would be fun but I don't think it'd be a 24/7 thing at a con.

At Abbey I was my character. My first year I was a thief and got in a little trouble for being too good at it. The woman that made my costumes is brilliant and every year I went people thought we worked as part of the festival and took photos of our characters. Seriously, I sat down for a drink on some hay and heaps of people just kept coming up and snapping me.

[Gith]

Cosplay to me means boobs!

Or skillfully and artfully made costumes worn by enthusiasts that like to bring their favourite characters to life? I am confused. I forget which one is the correct answer.

[Mixxi]

I think boobs are the most important component. Although butts come in a close second.

[Corsair]

There is just so much to comment on here...

@ Askari - Dude. Classic BSG warrior outfits. I am 100% all in. (I didn't mention doing a Firefly thing either..seems too obvious. I would of course be all in on that also.)

@ Pinky - A squee is a good thing! Do you like cupcakes?

@ Mixxi - I love those pics. And dang, your folks took you to ren fairs? And got into it themselves? Just wow. Your dad flew Corsairs and took his kid to ren fairs. He might be my hero.

@ Val Gith - I thought of the Bowie Labyrinth gig too. So awesome. But I don't think I could pull it off. That would be wicked cool though. I am also a truly huge Iron Man fan...I mean a late 70's through mid 80's one. I always thought that'd be a great if pricy costume I would love. But now you cant swing a dead cat without hitting an Iron Man, so I lost my desire a little short term. A good Doctor Doom would be equally awesome and I imagine very spendy to put together.

@ Talon - Maybe people came to take pictures because you are just super good looking?


Con gathering. Dressing up or no...I'm in.

[PinkRose]

https://picasaweb.google.com/115921261019770587317/GenConPAX2012?authkey=Gv1sRgCIqivMuAvcWH5wE

GenCon 2012 & PAX 2012.