Beneath The Masks Website

Roll VT Productions

The website for the cosplay documentary is up! Please go have a quick look, it will be updated throughout 2015, as we work on more filming and several other secret parts we are planning!

Project: Tekken - Ancient Ogre

What: you thought Project: Tekken was over? Nope! So I've finally got around to finishing another one of these: Ancient Ogre! He was one of my favourites from Tekken 3 and I loved his updated look for Tag 2! For this one, I decided to emulate the look of a chalk, cave painting. This is fitting with the 'ancient' theme and the seemingly aztec/mayan style of his outfit. The look is intentionally mismatched, with overlapping colours and shapes, layered with a grimy texture to add to the weathered feel.

I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream

I read the classic short story by Harlan Ellison: 'I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream.' The story is about a post-apocalyptic world in which a super computer called 'AM' keeps a small group of humans alive and constantly tortures them. I made a collage in my sketchbook featuring Ellison himself, with the title spelt out in mismatched, uneven letters which I cut from newspapers. These were placed over Ellison's mouth and a background photo of several people in gas masks.

The page on the right is a simple typographic piece of AM's famous speech about how much he hates humans. The font I used was the standard 'agency' style, which fits with the retro-futuristic style of computer that AM is. I then decided to alter this page in Photoshop, adding various stained and crumpled textures, to give a real sense of damage and weathering, much like the world featured in the story.

Game of Thrones Dragon Eggs

These were made back in November, December, January time for a fellow cosplayer's birthday! I'll not embarrass her here by saying her name, but she's the biggest Game of Thrones fan that I know! I have been editing the photos on and off since then, but have finally narrowed it down to 10 that really show off all the necessary details. The large basket was a hamper one that I bought online. I then wrapped some twine around it to add to the outer decoration and threaded some ribbon through the slats to hold it all in place. The Targaryen House Emblem was traced, then cut out and also stuck down across a ribbon weaved design on top of the basket. The eggs themselves are simply polystyrene ones, with every scale cut out individually and held in place as the PVA glue dried in. The sheet inside is simply a table cloth bent and creased to hold the eggs in place. Just to finish it all, I typed up 

Daenerys Targaryen's full title from the series, but with my friend's name instead. This is only the third prop I have ever made and I am really happy with how it turned out! The silver egg is still pretty rubbish to me, but it was very well received by who it was made for!

My First Cosplay Interview!

Agent Delta Cosplay Interview

OK, so as well as my interview for 'Beneath The Masks' with ROLLVT Productions (coming 2016!) I was also interviewed by some friends of mine at Terror-Byte Gaming! I first met these guys back at MCM 2014 and at every subsequent con since! They are a really cool bunch and are always willing to take loads of pics and have a chat anytime I bump into them. They sent me some questions and the next day I was online! So here it is, I'd be very grateful if you could have a quick look!

Beneath The Masks: Cosplay Documentary

OK, so I think here would be a good place to share with you my other main hobby apart from illustration: cosplay! For the uninitiated: cosplay is the art of making, wearing and displaying costumes of famous characters from a range of media.

Still with me? Good. So I have had an interest in this since I was 11, but always thought it was something I would never get an excuse to take part in. Two years ago I was told about a convention called 'Q-Con' that takes place every summer at Queen's University. I went along as Dipper Pines from Gravity Falls and was hooked! Fast forward almost a year and I made my first proper costume as Ash Williams from The Evil Dead and I went to MCM Comic Con, held at King's Hall. This was the first big con I attended and realized that there was a massive audience for this hobby: across all ages, despite popular belief. Not long after, I attended Q-Con once more and made a massive number of new friends. Then I was invited to perform in a parade as Ash Williams. It was here that I made even more friends and met Tommy Maguire.

Although there was only a small group of us actually performing, Tommy really gave it his all and performed as Bane from the Dark Knight Rises. It would be Halloween when we next met at the Showmasters Con at the Odyssey Arena, where he had updated his Bane costume even more! It was at this convention that I debuted my updated Ash Williams costume, as well as my Ace Ventura. Both costumes were very well received and I was stopped by countless people for pictures!

A few months later, Tommy got in touch with me about a cosplay documentary that he was working on and asked if I would be interested. I jumped at the chance! I recommended a few other friends and Tommy went out to recruit a handful of others. The above picture shows our core team and they are an amazing group of people (and me!). MCM Comic Con 2015 was where we first worked as a team, performing, interacting with crowds, conducting interviews and overall just having a really good time!

I am so honoured to be a part of this project and it is one I will be helping with throughout 2015! Tommy is bringing attention to the local cosplay community, which still confuses and odds people out. So I am grateful to do anything to bring this to light! Tommy is an absolute gentleman and I encourage you to check out his company ROLLVT Productions on Facebook and Twitter. For more information, be sure to head here:

https://rollveetee.wordpress.com/

MCM Belfast Comic Con Poster

This was my poster made for MCM Belfast Comic Con 2015, highlighting my two cosplays! I decided to make it like an old fashioned marquee on the front of an old cinema, as both cosplays are movie characters. I added an old, faded texture to the background, to make it look weathered and staggered most of the letters, to add to the uneven style of individual lettering. This was made relatively quickly and I am happy with how it turned out, as it served its purpose for telling people who I was going to be each day!