Apr 11 2018

Faces of Cosplay: William Herschel Moore

Greetings! Welcome back to “Faces of Cosplay!”

There was a little hiatus as Kiogenic and I wrote a book….(see the ad to the right!) but I haven’t forgotten about all the great cosplayers I’ve met and talked to. And I am still very committed to helping them showcase their work!

The further I get into cosplay, the more impressed I am with the ingenuity, creativity, and skill of all the cosplayers I know. So without further ado, here is William, who I met in Arkansas at the Arkansas Anime Festival, also known as A2F.

A2F is one of our favorite cons, it’s small, but not too small, friendly, well run and well-attended. The cosplayers we meet there (like Paul, who I’ve profiled before).

The last time we went to A2F (sadly, before Kiogenic ran off to college), I went to check on her in the line for cosplay contest pre-judging. She had struggled to get into the newly made Yang gauntlets (a very tight fit), and now couldn’t take them off until after the cosplay competition.

These Yang gauntlets!

William, I remember, was walking up and down the super-long line of cosplayers, asking if anyone needed water- and then bringing it to them. So this is my best memory of William, in cosplay, a friendly, decent guy, a superhero for all the thirsty, tired cosplayers!

(side note: conventions that set prejudging appointments, instead of those long lines are better.)

Road Hog from Overwatch

Name: William Herschel Moore

Day Job: Game Master at Bolt NWA! An escape room in Bentonville Arkansas

Age: 22

Home Base: Lowell, Arkansas

Why do you cosplay?

It’s fun to be able to become some of my favorite characters and be recognized as those characters!

How long have you been cosplaying?

I’ve been cosplaying since about 2010, which is crazy to think about now…. it doesn’t feel like I’ve been doing it for 7 years.

How do you choose what characters to cosplay?

Well, honestly I try to find larger characters. I try to fit them to my body type, luckily enough they are all characters I end up liking!

What’s your most famous, or best-known cosplay?

For the longest time, everyone knew me for my Choji Akamichi cosplay from Naruto, I’d say I cosplayed him exclusively for about…. 2 1/2 years?

Choji from Naruto

The more I look at my old Choji cosplay the more I realize it was literally just stuff I pulled from my closet. Aside from the shirt my dad and I made.

Do you make or buy your costumes?

Both actually. I order some pieces online and alter them as well as having help from others when it comes to making stuff. A vast majority of my cosplays are thanks to my friends that have helped me make them. I can’t take the credit for my cosplays.

As Mario (right) with Luigi from Kingdom Hearts Mario and Luigi

What advice do you have for other cosplayers? Especially new cosplayers?

I guess my advice should go hand in hand with what I just said. Never be afraid to ask others for help. You’ll always find people willing to help out and teach you a new way to do things! Who knows, maybe someday someone will come to you asking for help and you can teach them!

What the best thing that someone has said to you about your cosplay?
There was one gentleman at a local convention that came up to me and told me that he and his wife always look forward to the cosplays I come up with and loves seeing my updates on his feed. He told me he came to one convention for a day just to see my newest cosplay at the time!

Tombstone Taric from League of Legends

What’s the worst thing that someone has said to you about your cosplay?

The worst thing I’ve had said to me was because I’m larger, I’ll never get any attention as a cosplayer and that I should just do myself a favor and stop cosplaying all together before something bad happens to me haha. Well, I kept cosplaying and nothing has happened yet!

Do you attend conventions? Do you have a favorite?

Yes, I attend conventions, though lately the number of cons per year has dwindled, due to adulting constantly. Hooray for bills. Can’t really say I have a favorite haha. I love all the conventions I go to equally! Most of the time I go to see my friends and Con family more than anything else.

I interviewed William via Facebook messenger. You can check out his work at https://www.facebook.com/OneMooreTimeCosplay/

Jul 3 2017

Roosters, Gorloks and Costume Dreams

This is a big week for the cosplay fam at my house. This week we roadtrip to Austin, Texas for RTX. Cosplay daughter just graduated from high school and this is what she chose for a senior trip.

She’s an anglophile, my daughter, and I several years ago I began saving money to take her to England in the summer before she went off to college.

When the time came to plan a trip however, she wanted to go to RTX in Austin- because that’s really her dream. To work for a production company called Rooster Teeth.

Rooster Teeth makes most of her favorite shows- RWBY, Red vs Blue, Achievement Hunter and Day 5. She’s taking her Yang Cosplay from RWBY

and also a Felix (from Red vs Blue) cosplay. She finished painting the jacket for that cosplay yesterday:

It says “aint no rest for the wicked”. My poor photo skills are responsible for the illegibility here.

Her dream job is to work for Rooster Teeth in costuming and digital art.

And I know I’m her Mom, but seriously. She has skills. She can sew and construct and paint and digitally render.

She’s made this digital print to give to the cast of Achievement Hunter

and will be hoping to make some good contacts.

She’s going to the Webster University Conservatory of Theater Arts in the Fall to study costume design and construction with professionals. She’ll be a Gorlok.

It’s a mythical chimera of a creature that the students at Webster invented that has the paws of a speeding cheetah, the horns of a fierce buffalo and the face of a dependable Saint Bernard

To be honest- the mascot helped sell the school for her. “It’s a Harry Potter mascot!” she said, when we visited.

That, and the fact that it’s the kind of art school where the university team with the best uniforms is the Quidditch team and where students randomly wear cosplay to class.

She’ll both fit in and learn important skills. I’m envious of the required classes in her major- which includes things like “advanced corsetry” and “millinery.”

It’s very exciting for me to see how she’s making her dreams happen.

I helped early on with advice on sewing- pleats and puffed sleeves. Esposo (her stepdad) helped with bondo and plastic forming. He gives her power tools as gifts The amazing guys at her internship at the Eternal Armory taught her CAD and sculpting and 3-D modelling.

But in the end, she’s the one who is making her dreams come true. Constructing her own artistic visions. Making contacts and building a resume. Exploring and trying and learning from those around her.

She may end up working for Rooster Teeth. Or a film studio. Or on Broadway. Or for television.

I’m excited to see how her dreams unfold, and how she’s already making them happen.

We had business cards made- because as you all know, she is already quite skilled. Let me know if you need any design or costuming work done!!!!

see the cards below or contact her at @kiogenic on twitter or tumblr!

Oct 24 2015

Yang Xiao Long on the Sulaco- Arkansas Anime Festival T-Minus 19 Days

Ok, folks, here we go- New cosplay project!

Armed with a NEW, heavy duty sewing machine,

Yay! Currently brainstorming names for her. I’m thinking maybe Sulaco.

and we’re ready to take on a new Cosplay for our next convention: The Arkansas Anime Festival (A2F).

Cosplay daughter realizes that much of her cosplay is gaming-based, which is fine, but she wanted an Anime costume for A2F. She’s been wanting to try for Yang cosplay for a while, and we’re going to go for it:

Once again, this is a cosplay from a show (RWBY) that I don’t know, but apparently she’s not only smart, and funny (apparently spouting bad puns like weapons)…..

…..but has awesome fighting skills: super strength in her punch, which is linked to the gauntlets that also fire bullets. When she’s really angry, her hair also flames, and she can take down a whole building with her fists. She’s a huntress, fighting monsters.

I understand why daughter (newly training in Kenpo) loves this character.

So here we go. Armed with a modest budget, we hit JoAnn fabrics yesterday, and then, of course, the thrift stores. Can we make this cosplay for less than $100? Let’s find out.

(Looking at the cosplay.com website for advice yesterday, I saw that one of the member’s mottos was “Nothing is impossible, but some things are very expensive.” So. Very. True.

It’s easy to drop hundreds of dollars on one of these projects in small pieces. We have to avoid that this time- I have to save for us to go to Pax South in January)

Cosplay daughter is an inveterate internet and thrift shopper, though.

We found second hand boots that would work, and by last evening, she had altered them, made the scarves to go on top and the sock/sleeve for her left leg.

Here working, while watching RWBY for inspiration. That’s Yang on the screen.

The boots and scarves.

Today we start tackling the jacket- T Minus 19 days and still under budget.

Wish us luck!

cosplaymom

Adventures in costuming, constructing, cosmetics and cultural observation

Tag Archives: Yang

Faces of Cosplay: William Herschel Moore

Roosters, Gorloks and Costume Dreams

Yang Xiao Long on the Sulaco- Arkansas Anime Festival T-Minus 19 Days