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/