Welcome to
Mythical Reality Cosplay
It all started with my parents…
No, I don’t mean when they gave me life, although that is a big part of why I’m here now. What I mean is that I grew up with parents who always valued handmade crafts. One of the ways they did this was by creating elaborate, homemade Halloween costumes for my sister and me. Every year we would explain what we wanted to dress up as and they would get straight to work on making it. The year that really takes the cake for me is when I asked to be a dragon.
Halloween of 2010, the first year I wore the dragon costume my parents made me.
My dad got straight to work on the headpiece, using my favorite dragon stuffed animal as a reference. My mom began working on making the body, finding a fantastic shiny scale fabric to use. I observed the entire making process, my curious eyes were glued to every task that my parents performed. I think this is when I realized how costumes could be more than just some clothes, and that incredibly elaborate costumes could be made at home, not just in the movies.
I wore that dragon costume for three years in a row, the fourth year I had grown too big for it. In the following years we continued to construct homemade Halloween costumes, and every year I became more involved in the process. This carried on for a while, until one year my dad decided to attend PAX West with his geek friends…
I was awestruck by the pictures and stories he brought back with him; I don’t remember for sure, but I think prior to that trip I wasn’t even aware that conventions existed. This was my first introduction to conventions and cosplay, and I wanted to get involved so badly. Unfortunately, at that time I was under the age limit for PAX West. My dad promised to take me when I came of age so I could experience PAX for myself, and he kept that promise.
Wearing my first cosplay, the Tenth Doctor | AngliCon 2017
When it came time for me to prepare my first real cosplay, I was extremely into Doctor Who. Even though PAX was a gaming convention, I decided I wanted to be the Tenth Doctor (my personal favorite). At that time my sewing skills were next to nothing, and in an effort to make a nice, completed costume my mom helped me buy one of those “complete cosplay” custom made outfits from somewhere in China. I worked on buying the props and styling the wig separately, and when the suit & trenchcoat arrived I was shocked by their quality. They weren’t top notch, but they were decent enough to look well-made and professional without close-up inspection.
Attending PAX West in 2016 was a pivotal moment in my life. I found a new obsession, a new hobby: cosplaying. After that, I started teaching myself how to sew (with the help of my mother) among other things. I did some minor EVA foam work after attending my second con, Rose City Comic Con, in 2017. That year I made a lot of new connections, learned how to do makeup, and attended three cons in total (Rose City, PodCon and AngliCon). Because I did so much, I ended up tiring myself out a bit. 2018 was a slow year for me; I didn’t attend any cons, but I did make a cosplay account on Instagram, made some new simple cosplays (Wirt and Dipper), and started working towards building a Tracer cosplay.
Wirt from Over the Garden Wall | Oct 2018
That’s when I began to work on the biggest and most career-defining cosplay yet—you saw her at the top of this page. Tracer marks a milestone in my cosplay journey. Before her, my cosplays consisted of thrift store finds that I modified, things I bought specifically for their character, or small things made from scratch (like Taako’s bracer or Wirt’s cloak). When it came to Tracer, however, I wanted to make her from scratch. I wanted to use Tracer’s diverse design as a way to learn new skills, to challenge myself in my cosplay-making abilities. Ever since my first day at PAX I had watched other cosplayers being absolutely bombarded with photographers and fans because they wore incredibly elaborate, awe-striking costumes that they had made on their own. I wanted to be one of those people, so Tracer is how I went about doing just that.
Between her clothing and props/accessories, I found myself exploring and learning everything. Sewing, wig spiking, working with EVA foam, designing screen-accurate life-size pieces, 3D printing, priming, painting, finishing, soldering, programming LEDs; Tracer had it all. I spent over 7 weeks of nonstop daily work building her cosplay. Of course I learned a lot of practical skills, but I also learned a lot about myself and my motivation. Waking up everyday in the middle of summer break and driving to a separate studio space to work for 10 hours isn’t easy, even when I was only on week 2. I had ups and downs; I made mistakes that made me want to break down into tears, but I also experienced the pure joy that came from finally putting on a finished piece for the first time.
Tracer from Overwatch | Spring 2020
I was debuting Tracer at PAX West, returning to my first con 3 years later with new experience and knowledge. When the night before we left for the con arrived, I was crunching to finish Tracer’s lights. I think it was almost 2am before I drove home and went to bed that night, but it was all worth it. Two days later I was up early, putting on my Tracer makeup in a tiny, badly-lit bathroom. A couple hours after that I was walking on the street in full, finished regalia with a smile plastered onto my face as people I passed me with smiles of their own, giving me a thumbs up, or asking for my photo.
I had made it. I had taken a personal challenge and not only beat it, I owned it. That PAX was the most fun I’ve had in a while; unlike previous cons I was now one of the cosplayers that people flocked to. One person would shyly ask me for a photo, and as soon as I stopped, everyone else would diverge from their paths to get a quick snapshot as well. Typing it now, it sounds self-centered, but for me it was confirmation that I had put in all of that labor for a good cause; it was validating. I hadn’t wasted a summer on a personal obsession, I made something awesome, and what I made was making everyone else happy too. People saw me as their favorite character and, as if we were in Disneyland, wanted to interact with me. It helped that I always maintain character when I am in cosplay. In fact, that’s one of my favorite things about it, being able to have in-character interactions with other people, and have them play along. I remember when someone who had stopped me asked how Winston, Tracer’s friend, was doing. Of course I answered as Tracer would, British accent and all.
For me, cosplaying isn’t just about wearing some cool clothes. It’s about pouring your heart and soul into something and then sharing it with the world. It’s about learning to craft something incredible with your own two hands and be proud of the hard work you’ve done. I’ll never forget the times where I’ll be walking around a con and make eye contact with another attendee, only to watch as pure joy spreads across their face upon recognition of my character. Knowing I brought that joy is a feeling I can never describe with words, but I will continue to create cosplay for that reason: to spread the joy to others. ◈