Why I didn't hate Heroes of Cosplay

I am not a big TV Watcher, and I can proudly say I have never had any interest in anything remotely defined as "Reality TV". I have zero tolerance for senseless drama and when I DO choose to watch TV, I am doing so to escape from reality, not to have it shoved in my face. As such, I spent the later part of last summer frantically finishing small details on Cosplays for Dragon*Con, and ignoring my newsfeed as it was inundated with people raging over Heroes of Cosplay.

Once the "hype" died down and the cons were over, I sat down and watched it, determined to formulate my own opinion. The only impressions I had gotten from the show via other peoples feedback was the Yaya Han/Jessica Nigri drama, the Merida Wig being coloured with marker (improperly apparently)and something about some Dr. Who Cosplayers being mean. I can say with confidence that I did not hate the show. In fact I took a lot from it. I know I am in a minority, and I am not justifying why I like it, I'm merely presenting the facts of how the show came across to me.

Let's start with "The big controversy" where Yaya Han supposedly sets a double standard and cuts down Jessica Nigri's sexy Cosplays. Everyone who lost their shit at that did exactly what the network wanted them to do. Sorry to say it, but it's true. I saw no double standard in what Yaya was saying. She was asking Monika to focus on Craftsmanship, but not once did she discourage her from also doing sexy Cosplays. The fact remains that the cosplay Monika produced showed zero craftsmanship or creativity beyond her sewing abilities. The way I see it, when you Cosplay, craftsmanship represents "the extra mile". Once you've made it and it looks like the character, you take it the extra mile to bring it to life. Whether that means beading, embroidery, or crafty details to make it suit the character, you take it that extra mile to make it something amazing. To me, that is what Yaya was referring to. All you have to do is compare her sexy cosplays to Jessica Nigris cosplays and you can see the difference in Craftsmanship and the amount of thought that goes into it. It's the difference between sewing a costume and creating a work of art.

Having said that, I love Jessica Nigri and see nothing wrong with what she does. Cosplay is Cosplay and we all do it our own way. She's hilarious, she's hot and she's a geek. There's no such thing as "cosplaying wrong".

Next Subject: The Merida Wig, or less specifically, the craftsmanship in the show. I saw WAY TOO MUCH smack talk about how people on this show chose to make and do things. I'm sorry, but once again, that is exactly what the network wanted. For starters, everyone has their way of doing things, and everyone has more to learn. Who are we to be elitests and judge someone else's methods when there are undoubtedly MANY things we ourselves can improve on? This community prides itself on being supportive and inclusive, but I was extremely dissapointed in peoples' behaviour on this particular matter. Cosplay is an evolving hobby, and no two costumes are alike. If I met someone who said they knew how to make and do everything there is to do regarding any Cosplay possible I would call them a liar to their face. If we continue to turn on eachother and judge eachother because they don't do something the way we ourselves would, we are all doomed to fail. We all had to start somewhere, and we all need help sometimes. There is no crime in getting someone to help us make something or show us how to make something if it's out of our comfort zone. It's how we ourselves learn and get better at our trade.

Lastly, the Doctor Who controversy. After having read both sides' online posts about this controversy, as well as seeing the show, I sincerely feel like the Doctor Who Cosplayers were off-side. What do you expect when you cheer in agreement to such a negative comment? Cosplay is not by any means geographically limited, and if someone has enough drive and the ability to send themselves to a convention across the country, power to them. If you enter a competition, you have to expect to compete. Period. You can't be upset because someone takes it more seriously than you thought to, that is the point of a competition.

To summarize, I personally found that the publics' reaction to the show was a FAR WORSE representation of our community than anything that actually happened in the show. So many people ate up the manufactured drama and turned on fellow Cosplayers, tearing them apart and making a mockery of them. For the first time in my life as a Cosplayer, I was actually embarassed to be one, and not because of the show. After digging through the manufactured BS, I actually took a lot from the show and it encouraged me to push myself and my craftsmanship skills further than ever before.

Does anyone else share my opinion? If you disagree with me, let me know! I always like to hear other peoples perspectives regarding the things I post.

My beginnings

My name is Tarah-Rex, and I am a Cosplayer.

I've been cosplaying since January of 2012 when I started working on Lilith from Borderlands 1. Little did I know that Lilith would be the beginning of a tedious, labour intensive, tear jerking, beautiful, addictive obsession.

To me, Cosplay is a bittersweet, love-hate obsession in it's purest form. There have been several costumes I have started and never finished for various reasons (ex. tears, blood, tantrums and obsenity) and plenty that I have powered through because it just seemed worth it.

Now I'm rambling.

Backing it up a little bit as to why I actually got into Cosplay. For years, throughout highschool and in my very early 20's I would admire cosplayers and their ability to make beautiful reproductions of all the characters I love so much. I've always been artistic, but I never really "dabbled" in the art of sewing. I am clumsy, and if you give me the means to injure myself (a sharp fast moving needle perhaps?) I most definitely will injure myself. SO I resigned myself to being a life-long Cosplay admirer and observer.

Fast forward to November/December of 2011. I was bored, plugging through facebook because I had nothing better to do in my spare time apparently. I stumbled across a post with a picture of Lilith, titled "Do you look like Lilith? If you do, check this out". I had been told repeatedly by friends that I had a strong facial resemblance to the foxy gun weilding siren, so for kicks, I clicked and read onward. This is where I discovered that Gearbox was holding a casting call for someone to be their Live Action Lilith for footage in the anticipated Borderlands sequel, Borderlands 2. Expecting absolutely nothing, I submitted some photos and went on my merry way, forgetting the whole thing.

A few days later I got an email asking for more footage. I was shocked. After a few more emails back and forth, as well as a skype session, I didn't end up getting the role (Check out the stellar work by the girl they went with, Yasemin Arslan), but the experience left me with a renewed sense of purpose. If I apparently had such a strong resemblance to Lilith, surely I could pull off a wicked Cosplay of her.

And so it began.