{"id":9292,"date":"2019-12-03T12:34:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-03T12:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/?p=9292"},"modified":"2019-12-03T15:16:03","modified_gmt":"2019-12-03T15:16:03","slug":"9292","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/?p=9292","title":{"rendered":"The World of Cosplay"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row parallax_content=”parallax_content_value” parallax_content_sense=”30″ ult_hide_row=”ult_hide_row_value” ult_hide_row_desktop=”desktop”][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”The World of Cosplay” font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:70|text_align:center” google_fonts=”font_family:Alfa%20Slab%20One%3Aregular|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][vc_column][vc_column_text]C<\/span>ostumes are making a comeback, and this time it\u2019s not just for Halloween. Cosplay artists are making their way into the mainstream and are doing it in character. According to FanExpo, one of Toronto\u2019s largest cosplay conventions, over 125,000 people attend the event each year.<\/p>\n

Alexa Morgan, 22, is an avid cosplay artist. She has spent the past four years cosplaying and began to cosplay at conventions like FanExpo and ComicCon since 2016. Dressing up as a fictional character is not a new thing for Morgan. She began this hobby as a birthday party entertainer, dressing up as Disney characters for children\u2019s parties. Her first cosplay character was Ariel from the Disney princess movie the Little Mermaid.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got into cosplay because I was originally a birthday party entertainer. So I used to dress up as Disney princess and generic characters and attend birthday parties. It created a lot of joy for me and I wanted to create more joy,\u201d says Morgan<\/p>\n

Being fairly new to the convention cosplay scene, Morgan has a fairly large following on social media. Many of the followers consist of fans of her cosplay work and other cosplay artists both in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and outside of the GTA.[\/vc_column_text][vc_text_separator title=”A look into Alexa’s cosplay” border_width=”2″][vc_gallery interval=”3″ images=”9342,9343,9344,9345,9346,9347,9349,9348″ img_size=”large”][vc_column_text]\u201cMy social media has always been me showing my artsy stuff. So when cosplay became a big part of my life, essentially all I post these days are all these cosplay stuff,\u201d says Morgan.<\/p>\n

When it comes to deciding what character to cosplay next, the decision is not hard for Morgan as she chooses \u201ccharacters that [she] wanted to emulate as a child.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cosplay costumes, according to Morgan can be a mix of hand-made pieces and store bought pieces. Morgan herself likes to outsource material from both when creating the look of a character she is cosplaying. Morgan\u2019s cosplay outfits are sourced from comics, movies, and television shows.<\/p>\n

However, she never really likes to stick to just one specific look as she says, \u201cI like doing my own version on most things.\u201d<\/p>\n

To this day, Morgan\u2019s favourite cosplay character that she has done is \u201csnow white because [she] loves doing her voice and seeing the smile on all the children\u2019s faces.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=XzKTtk619Ik” align=”center” title=”Alexa Morgan: The Process of Becoming Pixie”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_height=”yes” equal_height=”yes” content_placement=”middle”][vc_column][vc_text_separator title=”Trevor Lyn” border_width=”3″][vc_column_text]Trevor Lyn, 52, has only been cosplaying for approximately three years, since he started in 2016. Lyn works as a supervisor for UPS, and cosplays as a hobby. His inspiration stemmed from his son, who is an active Spiderman cosplayer himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy son got me into it really, he was cosplaying as Spiderman. And I went to FanExpo and I saw him having all sorts of fun and I wanted to try it,\u201d says Lyn.<\/p>\n

Lyn began his cosplay journey dressing up as Marvel\u2019s Deadpool.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith me and Deadpool, the movie had just come out so it was very popular. I knew nothing about cosplay but I liked Deadpool,\u201d says Lyn.<\/p>\n

Over the years, Lyn\u2019s Deadpool costume has evolved. According to Lyn, he \u201cstarted out as Deadpool with one of those red morphe suits.\u201d From this material, he created the look of the character and used it as his costume at conventions. Now, his costume resembles the movie\u2019s design a lot better.<\/p>\n

Although Lyn started as Deadpool, he has also cosplayed as other characters such as Batman, Captain America, Starlord from Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain Hook.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t pick a character that I really have to think about. Deadpool is sarcastic and I\u2019m sarcastic,\u201d says Lyn.[\/vc_column_text][vc_gallery interval=”3″ images=”9409,9410,9411,9412,9414,9415,9416,9417,9418″ img_size=”large”][vc_text_separator title=”The Deadpool Mobile” border_width=”2″][vc_column_text]Not only does Lyn dress up as Deadpool, he has completely designed his Ford Flex to be, what he calls, the \u201cDeadpool mobile.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I bought the car, I bought I used. It started out as a Ford Flex,\u201d says Lyn, \u201cWhen I started cosplaying I said \u2018Deadpool needs a car.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Most of the detail on Lyn\u2019s vehicle is done by himself, minus the technical work in which he calls in professionals. \u201cAll the detail work, I try to do as much as I can by myself,\u201d says Lyn. His hard work doesn\u2019t go unnoticed since his car has granted him several invitations to many conventions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was asked by ToyCon to have [my car] featured,\u201d says Lyn.<\/p>\n

He has taken the Deadpool mobile to the conventions he attends and has been invited down to the United States a couple of times, so his car could be featured at other cosplay conventions.[\/vc_column_text][vc_gallery interval=”3″ images=”9420,9421,9422,9423,9424,9425,9426,9428,9430,9429″ img_size=”large”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_text_separator title=”Daron “Elfie“ MacQueen”][vc_column_text]Daron MacQueen, better known as Elfie amongst her fellow cosplayers, has been a part of the cosplay scene since the spring of 2011. MacQueen works as a university library assistant and participates in cosplay as a hobby.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d always been interested in costumes, so I used to for Halloween and stuff do my own costumes and original characters,\u201d MacQueen says. \u201cI actually got involved because a friend of a friend, was starting up what\u2019s now a fairly popular Facebook and website, Geek X girls, and she was looking for people to do events and do photos and it just sounded like fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Balancing her hobby of cosplay and working full didn\u2019t happen with ease. Finding a balance for MacQueen comes with placing one title over the other.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard sometimes, I\u2019ll admits that my production of costumes has gone down since I started working full time, as opposed to being a student.,\u201d says MacQueen. \u201cCosplay takes a back seat, since it\u2019s a hobby and not my main source of income.\u201d<\/p>\n

MacQueen has noticed a rise in cosplays popularity as she\u2019s \u201chad people make comments about [her] being a cosplayer. People that [she] expected didn\u2019t even know the word, let alone be able to identify it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s moved from being a geek subculture thing, to being its own culture that is showing up in shows like the Big Bang Theory where everyone knows what it is,\u201d says MacQueen.<\/p>\n

When it comes to conventions like FanExpo, MacQueen believes that this is a place where cosplayer can be in costume where it\u2019s \u201csocially acceptable.\u201d However, for MacQueen, these conventions are not just about being able to dress up in costume.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me going to conventions is almost like a social activity,\u201d says MacQueen, \u201cI\u2019m just socializing with other cosplayers and having an opportunity to dress up where it\u2019s completely socially acceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

MacQueen\u2019s current favourite cosplay she has done is Disney princess Merida, whose costume she made in two days, spending eight hours each day.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_text_separator title=”Cosplay Community” border_width=”2″]

\n
\n\t<\/i>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>[vc_column_text]Alexa Morgan: “The community has been great and is super supportive. I only became a part of the community part of it around this time last year. They\u2019ve been nothing but supportive, friendly and encouraging”<\/p>\n

Trevor Lyn: “With anything you got the bad as well as the good. The group that I hang around with, we’re very inclusive, we encourage people to be part of [the community].”<\/p>\n

Daron MacQueen: “The community is kind of disjointed to me. I don\u2019t think there really is one big large cosplay community. There seems to be a very in group behaviour. They are supportive of their group and their type of thing, but when you get outside of that they\u2019re not as supportive, they\u2019re more judgemental.”[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_gmaps link=”#E-8_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” title=”FanExpo and ComicCon”][vc_column_text]The next cosplay event will be Toronto ComicCon and will be hosted at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from Mar. 13-15 2020.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row parallax_content=”parallax_content_value” parallax_content_sense=”30″ ult_hide_row=”ult_hide_row_value” ult_hide_row_desktop=”desktop”][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”The World of Cosplay” font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:70|text_align:center” google_fonts=”font_family:Alfa%20Slab%20One%3Aregular|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][vc_column][vc_column_text]Costumes are making a comeback, and this time it\u2019s not just for Halloween. Cosplay artists are making their way into the mainstream and are doing it in character. According to FanExpo, one of Toronto\u2019s largest cosplay conventions, over 125,000 people attend the event each year. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":9348,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[452],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9292"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9292\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gh360.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}