We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rule19Cosplay The Black Dread. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rule19Cosplay below.
Rule19Cosplay, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
I’m still learning! I feel like there is always something new to learn about cosplay. That can include new crafting techniques, exploring new materials, polishing and improving existing skills, etc. I learned how to sew from my mother years ago and have also taken some classes in school. She’s a master seamstress/tailor, but I am still a novice in that area. Cosplay is more than just sewing, there’s also self-photography and lighting, video/image editing, content sourcing, character creation, makeup, and dozens of other skillsets to mention. I have learned from tutorials, trial and error, and even tips and tricks from peers and experts in the community. I’ve even come up with more than a few problem solutions myself just by applying the knowledge and skills gained over time. There’s not a significant amount of change that I could have done to speed up my learning process short of a complete career change and focusing solely on the various moving pieces of cosplay. As for essential skills, that really depends on what you’re trying to do. During the height of the pandemic, being able to self-shoot and edit photos became an essential skill that I didn’t consider would be necessary when I began my cosplay journey way back in 2001. Beyond that, I think a creative mind is essential and a willingness to learn new stuff is paramount. Time and money are the obstacles most relevant to me. I’m in school full-time and working full-time so I don’t have as much spare time available to build or experiment or create as I would like. Money can be a hindrance. Cosplaying can be an expensive hobby, interest, or professional pursuit. It doesn’t have to be expensive but it can be. Lastly, access to information can also be an obstacle. When I started, there was no Google. We didn’t have nearly as much access to information, ideas, techniques, and resources as we do now.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?
I’ve been cosplaying since 2001, before I really even knew what cosplay was. The reasons and motivations were somewhat different back then and there are existing articles that touch on it, so, I won’t repeat it here. A fresh perspective of what would soon be my villain’s arc –embrace the villain’s arc–would come after a long hiatus of roughly 4-5 years of not indulging in much of nerd culture at all. Work demands, life challenges, and the death of a close nerd friend left little room or desire for comics, anime, manga, sci-fi, attending cons, and a host of other things I previously enjoyed. I would still follow and engage with cosplayers whose work I appreciated, and I slowly began to plan for my return, but there was no rush to do it. I eventually made arrangements to visit a new con that was local -partly to hang out, partly because I had just restarted pursuing an IT degree and I wanted a break, and partly because I was using one of the attendance days as field research for a class. I had a great time. I did not fully cosplay, although I did casually dress up on my field research day. It would be several months later before I went all out for a convention, but I was working on a cosplay of Inuyasha. It was a combination of commission and self-builds, modifications and techniques that I had to learn new while also dusting off a few old skills. I debuted my Inuyasha at a larger local con. It was well-received and before the next con came around the pandemic started canceling everything and cons were no exception. During that time, I helped out a lot of cosplayers with all kinds of support, but I also focused on building several cosplays, planning for the eventual return to cons, building up my social media presence, and self-shooting my content. Once I have these final academics complete, I will have substantially more creative time and I can really let loose. “This isn’t even my final form!!!!!”
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being creative?
For me, it’s about having outlets for creative and artistic expression. It’s a way to challenge myself, have fun doing things that I enjoy, and then expressing that through different forms of media and genres with cosplay. It’s virtually limitless. I find it also serves as a cleverly disguised front for my actual plans to take over the world, or destroy a small part of it…because villain.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
I read and absorb information from different media, although not as often for leisure due to work and academic obligations. Two works of writing that always seem to have some relevance in almost any sphere in my experience so far have been The Art of War for Business and 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. I highly recommend being familiar with both. Also, the graphic novel Watchmen has something for everyone…life lessons, philosophies, leadership, creative inspiration, etc.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rule19cosplay.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/rule19cosplay/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/Rule19/
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/Rule19Cosplay
- Youtube: youtube.com/@rule19cosplay
- Other: linktr.ee/rule19cosplay/ https://ko-fi.com/rule190969/shop https://ko-fi.com/rule190969 fanhouse.app/rule19cosplay
Image Credits
Brian Lansangan Nikki Rau-Baker Slayfield Photography