The Fabric Alchemist

See what I did there?

Emerald City Comic Con 2013 was a success. The crowds were bigger (they sold out and filled the convention center to capacity), the cosplay was spectacular, and Patrick Stewart was simultaneously hilarious and poignant during his Sunday panel. Two days after the con ended I am still coming down off the high.

I had so much fun Saturday and Sunday cosplaying as Korra, the new avatar in Nickelodeon’s Legend of Korra. Greg dressed as Amon, the first season’s villain (because dressing as Mako, Korra’s romantic interest would have been boring and cliché).

Many jokes were made as I shivered on the walk between the car and the convention center. Korra is Water Tribe, after all, she should be used to the cold! How I wish I really could fire bend and create my own heat. Thankfully the sun came out on Sunday.

Well, look at this sun! It is like someone pushed all the rain away. You are welcome. #Korra #ECCC13 #cosplay #fb twitter.com/merismullaley/…

— Meris Mullaley (@merismullaley) March 3, 2013

One thing I learned from cosplaying Assassin’s Creed last year with Greg (PAX Prime and ECCC12) is that posing makes photos much more fun, for the cosplayer and for the photographer. For the cosplayer, it is a chance to embody the character we love so much, and it breaks up the potential monotony of frequent photo requests. I noticed that most photographers (professional and casual fans) were excitedly surprised when we opted to pose a fight between Amon & Korra. Just be sure to stretch before cosplaying. I got a leg cramp when I posed like I was sweeping Amon’s legs out from under him.

The downside to cosplaying is that carrying around a DSLR camera proves somewhat difficult. I was not even sure I wanted to bring a purse, but thankfully on Saturday our friend Joe walked around with us and was able to take my purse when I posed for photos. We opted not to bring a camera, but this meant that we did not have many pictures of us in action (or any other cosplayers). I had to remember to ask other fans for pictures. This one, taken by Natalie Nourigat (a Portland-based cartoonist and illustrator), is my favorite. Thankfully Natalie posted it to Instagram and Twitter, so I was able to contact her and get a copy for my memories.

This photo interaction also gave me the opportunity to discover a local creative, who seems to share many similar geeky interests with me. I am particularly fond of her Korra and Naga illustration (surprise, surprise).

The chance to build a community is what I love about conventions. Sure I spend most of my time wandering the exhibition halls trying to track down my friends, but I like meeting new people and cosplay is a great ice breaker. Sometimes we stop to chat about costumes—I met a Rainbow Dash who said she used elmer’s glue to create her spiky pony mane. Most of the time however, I simply share a smile and a nod with Zelda, Darth Vadar, Ezio, and another Korra (from Season 2) to say “good costume & I’m a fan too.”

There is a lot of negativity out there on the internet, with people criticizing and judging cosplayers for their choice in material or their skin color (WTF?!). I want to believe that these trolls are not cosplayers themselves, because at [Seattle] conventions it feels like everyone in costume appreciates everyone else, regardless of costume quality or style choice. I see thousands of fellow geeks who love a character enough to don a costume. Some are handmade, some are store bought.

We are all fans.

If you want a good sample of the costumes at Emerald City Comic Con 2013, check out this gallery from Geekwire.com. What I really appreciate about this particular gallery is it includes a variety of costume genres and styles, as well as cosplayer ages and body types. (It also includes myself and Greg!)

This was just my quick recap of the convention. I’ll be posting my costume notes for Korra and Amon over the next couple weeks.