The art of cosplay is a popular trend for conventions like Pensacon, which takes place this weekend.
You’ll likely see hundreds of people in elaborate cosplay (short for costume play) representing characters from movies, TV shows, video games, and comic books.
Brianna Bailey, a fine arts major at the University of West Florida, will be one of those cosplayers this weekend. She’s spent months working on costume pieces to re-create K-2SO, from “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” She’s also working on a custom Mandalorian build.
Bailey started her cosplay journey in the summer of 2023 when she went to her first comic convention. She had a Mandalorian mask she built with a 3D printer and pre-bought items.
“I went, and I met somebody who had done a custom Mandalorian outfit, and they blew my mind,” she said. “And I immediately knew that I needed to start working on one of those.”
The art of cosplay
As an art major, cosplay is a good way to develop technical skills from drawing to sculpting.
“I've used paints, watercolors. I've used acrylics … I've used colored pencils, I used graphite,” she said. “And then you move into 3D mediums. I mean, I've carved plaster, I've made stuff out of cardboard. I've tried to make stuff out of metal. I mean, I've also 3D printed some stuff for some art pieces.”
Inside the Makerspace in the Museum of Commerce, Bailey takes advantage of the 3D printers and other tools to make her creations. Having access to the equipment is a “godsend,” she said.
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Using models from other creators, she builds the pieces by hand. Some pieces of her K-2SO helmet require hinges and magnets, even lights that she puts together. It’s a lot more work than purchasing a costume, but Bailey likes putting the effort in.
“No hate to people who buy their own cosplays. I have done that before,” she said. “I still looked cool. You can still be proud of that, but there is a little bit next level of pride that you get in looking at something that you've made to make for you or to make for somebody else through like commission work or something.”
Commissions are something Bailey would like to be able to do in the future. Another goal is being accepted into elite “Star Wars” costume clubs like the 501st Legion or the Mandalorian Mercenaries.
“All of it, the handiwork, needs to be borderline master craft at some places,” she explained. “That would be a huge I've really made it moment for me.”
Although a little more confident in her craft now, when Bailey first started building costumes, she said it took a lot of hours watching YouTube tutorials and a lot of trial and error.
For anyone interested in cosplay, they just need to start, she advised.
“Trial and error will happen, and it's error that you learn from,” said Bailey. “Get in there, get messy with it. Find out what you want to do, find out what works for you.”
A personal connection
Most of Bailey’s cosplay creations are from the world of Star Wars. It has a personal connection for her.
“So, my dad got me into Star Wars when I was a little kid, because he got into Star Wars about the same time,” she said.
Before “The Force Awakens” came out in 2015, Bailey and her dad binge-watched all six “Star Wars” movies to prepare.
“He took me to the theater, and we saw ‘The Force Awakens,’” she said. “We saw all the rest of the Disney sequels.”
Bailey’s dad passed away six years ago. Now, her “Star Wars” cosplay pays tribute to her dad and the fandom they shared.
“It's just really getting into the world that he showed me,” she said. “So it's very close to me.”
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From the hours of work to the minor injuries endured, and the cost of supplies, cosplay is a very personal endeavor for Bailey. When she gets to show off her handiwork at conventions like Pensacon, the response from passersby is worth it, she said.
“They don't care about all the flaws, they don't care about how many times you've burned your fingers with hot glue,” she said. “It's really uplifting to know that, and really validating, to know that all of your hard work paid off. You don't always have to go for conventions for outside approval, but it really validates you to know that you're making something that other people enjoy.”
