There’s Halloween, and Then There’s Cosplay
Maddy Lawler is senior and forensics major at Penn State. She started cosplay in 2015 after she saw YouTube videos on how to get started with cosplay. Lawler said her family has been very supportive of her art, and sometimes travels with her to conventions. Ironically, she said her housemates aren't even aware she does cosplay.
All the costumes customized and worn by Lawler are based on manga and video game characters. The process is intricate, it involves building the costume up in layers, starting with the bodysuit. The cosplayer then dresses up in the clothing associated with that costume, with the armor attachments being put on last.
The amount of time it takes for Lawler to construct these costumes depends on the complexity of the character. For instance, creating the costume for a character who simply wears a dress depends on one’s sewing speed, meanwhile, a knight who wears a large set of armor may take longer because glue, paint, and other materials need to set. Much of Lawler’s time is spent on research. She determines a character’s appearance, the shapes and patterns of a character, how she’s going to wear the costume, how she’s going to put it together, and how it’s going to remain on her over time.
Lawler prefers to do sketches and lists when brainstorming. She draws a basic human figure to get a visual of how the costume would look, or places a human figure over a character to see how that would fit. If it’s a bigger project, she uses sculpts to make larger masks.
Lawler chooses which characters she wants to cosplay with based on personal preference. This can vary from having a personal connection with the character, or simply wanting to go for that “wow” factor to impress the judges. She typically stays faithful to the original appearance of the character, replicating any type of jewelry or artifact they wear into her own rendition. Although other people may add embellishments to their costumes, she’s not the type to add her own personal flair.
One of Lawler’s more famous cosplay characters is Ah Puch. He’s a character from the video game Smite and the Mayan god of the underworld. Lawler says he gets his popularity primarily from his extraordinary design, which involves a moving jaw.
“It’s really fun to act as him,” she says. “In games, he’s crazy and sporadic, so it’s really fun to just act all crazy like him, spook people with the mask.” According to Lawler, Ah Puch took the longest amount of time to build because it was a steep learning curve for her, she had to learn how to make bodysuits, install zippers into armor, and incorporate tiny details into the costume. All 70 feathers for example, are scored to look more like realistic feathers.
Other characters she cosplays are Pokémon, such as Blaziken, and Tokoyami from the superhero manga series My Hero Academia. Lawler is currently working on Anubis, who is the Egyptian God of the dead.
“I want him to be my most authentic costume yet, I want it to look like he stepped out of ancient times. I want him to look really detailed,” she said.
Lawler’s first convention was AnimeNEXT, which was a relatively small convention. These can either be really big like New York Comic Con or relatively small local cons. These conventions have panels hosted by people in the communities of anime, video games and cosplay, along with cosplay contests and artist alleys, where artists will set up galleries for public viewing. Contestants at cosplay conventions are judged based on skill level, which has a novice, intermediate, and a master’s category. The criteria include how well the costume is put together, the types of materials used, and how well a cosplayer brings the character to life.
Lawler has been entering cosplay competitions since she started. Every year she’s gone to bigger conventions such as AnimeNEXT and has won several awards. Her first cosplay earned a novice award, one for best performance, a couple best-in-shows, and a few honorable mentions.
“When I’m at a convention, sometimes I’ll try to act in character. If I’m royalty or a god, I’ll walk around and act like I’m so much more important than you, peasants. If I’m someone scary, I’ll stalk around or walk the way they do to look scary. If someone’s edgy or cool, I’ll lean up against the wall looking too cool,” she said.
The type of cosplay convention and the duration helps Lawler determine when to put her costume on. If she’s only going for a day, she’ll put on “bits and pieces” of the costume, which typically includes a bodysuit. If she’s there for more than a day and she’s staying somewhere, she’ll just wear something light or nothing at all during the first day and then get changed the second day. She will spend the entire day of the convention in costume.
Lawler has handlers accompanying her because she has limited visibility depending on the costume. When she’s Ra or Blaziken, she sees out the character’s tear ducts and her vision is pretty clear. However, with Ah Puch, this becomes difficult and she needs to be pulled along.
Balancing school and her hobby can be tricky, but Lawler views cosplay as a work from home approach.
“Balancing school and cosplay are a bit of a challenge. You’re your own boss and you need to make a schedule for yourself, like this time this day, I’m going to work on school stuff, this time this day, I’m going to work on cosplay stuff, this time this day, I need to take a break,” she said.
Lawler wants to continue working on cosplay after graduation.
“I really enjoy the process of building these costumes. To me, it’s really a lot of fun to just sit down and get to work on something I’m really passionate about,” she said.
Video: Why Did the Cosplay Chicken Cross the Road?
“When I’m Blaziken, I don’t act the same way I would as a person because I know I’m more of an animal," Lawler said. And she has the dance to prove it.
