 Welcome to Fandom 101. My name is Julia Bloom and I have been involved with fan culture, conventions, and cosplaying for the past ten years. In this show, we will talk about what fandom is, what's various aspects are, and what issues need to be addressed in modern fandom and the cosplaying community. Even if you've never seen Star Wars or watched anime, you will still learn about what draws so many to fandom. Today, we will talk about what fandom is and discuss cosplaying or costuming for conventions. Today, my guest is Gladys Leung. She is an illustrator and cosplayer as well as a good friend of mine. Welcome, Gladys. Thank you so much for having me here. You're welcome. All right, so since we're defining fandom and explaining what it is, how would you define fandom in general? I would say fandom is a way for people to share their common interests. So most commonly known as entertainment-wise, like from animation, cartoon, comic books, even movies nowadays. And I would say this word is more used commonly on social media. So that's where everyone can discuss about what they enjoy a lot. All right, great. What are your favorite fandoms and why? That is a really tough one. I have a lot of stuff that I have a lot of things that I really love. So it's kind of hard for me to pick one, so I'm sorry. You don't have to pick one. You can mention a few of them. I know we both are into Tokusatsu or Japanese superhero shows as I describe it. That is very true. Yeah. And I would say I do enjoy Marvel. Marvel have very good, especially the cinematic universe. I do enjoy my hero catamia and One Piece. So I can list out everything, but that's probably too long for today, you know? Yeah. Yeah. And we both cosplay, but what got you into cosplay? That was actually a very funny story. So like a decade ago, so my best friend wanted to go to an anime convention, but she doesn't want to cosplay alone. So she just, so every day she starts asking me and say, Gladys, can you cosplay with me? I'm not sure. Gladys, will you cosplay with me? I'm like, maybe. So because of that, I started to cosplay for the first time. It was very nervous because I rent my outfit, I'm wearing a wig that we tried to cut for the first time. I go to wear makeup, but I still enjoy it because I was enjoying my time with my best friend. And then once I got into college, there is a club called RIT Cosplay Troupe, which I participated in there. And it was really fun because with there you got to learn how to do sewing, how to make props, how to do improvs. Yeah. It was really crazy. And each year we even hold a performance, which is what we call a chess show. So I started to participate in it, and because of this, it enlightened my passion in cosplay again. And I never stopped ever since. Great. Is RIT Rhode Island technical? Oh, no. It's actually up in Rochester. Is Rochester Institute of Technology? Ah. Yeah. I didn't know they had a cosplay club. I don't know if you know RIT or do I, and so I study there. Yeah. I actually also started cosplaying a decade ago. What? Yeah. Another funny story. I met this guy briefly who invited me to am Aresha. So since Doctor Who with the 11th Doctor had either started or was going to, I made a horrible, non-accurate 11th Doctor cosplay with no wig and went to Aresha. I was stood up by that guy, but I continued cosplaying. I went to anime Boston with my college anime club that year, and I've been going ever since. I've been recently starting to branch out from just buying stuff at thrift stores or editing stuff from thrift stores into making my own costumes, including recently a cosplay coat for waz from Common Rider Zio, which took several months to plan and longer to make. I saw that cosplay in person. You look really amazing there. Thank you. You're very welcome. Yeah. So that was a really big step forward for me. So hoping to continually increase my skills. You got this, Julia. Thanks. So what's your favorite and least favorite part of cosplaying? I'll say my most favorite is definitely on makeup, cos I like to see how surprised people are to see how I transform. And I kind of see it as an art challenge to see how many faces I can make. So you know, and I think it's really, it's making it even more fun. And sometimes I even like do that to like sharp people like, hey, it's me. How do I look? Yeah. And the least favorite is also makeup. So I say it's a love-hate relationship, cos sometimes one of those makeup can take me around like maybe like one to two hours to put it on for the whole thing. And so that's why time management is always like something I have to keep in mind with. And when you have to kick yourself with makeup for the whole day, you get really exhausted afterwards. And then once you're done, you're just like, I'm not doing this again. And afterwards you're just like, I'm doing it again. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So what issues do you think the cosplay community needs to deal with? Oh, dear, there's as beautiful as cosplay can be, there is still a lot of issues going on. For example, like there's people who are like body-shaming others. Some of them would think that like, oh, you are not at the right race to cosplay a certain character. You are not accurate, you're too fat, you're too skinny, you're not buffing out to be the certain character, which I think is very awful because we cosplay because we enjoy the certain fandom, we enjoy the character, we enjoy the series. So I feel like instead of shaming others, we should support each other, giving positive notes, kind of encourage them to keep going to do what they like. So that is definitely one issue, that is definitely one issue with the cosplay, which I've seen a lot, and which I hope people like us can keep improving on that. Yeah, definitely. Everyone should be able to cosplay what they want. That is very true. Yeah. Oh, what advice would you give to a first-time cosplayer? Star small! Sorry. So yeah, I'll say star small, don't go too ambitious as the first try. So start with, start with like maybe more simpler character, and it's totally alright to buy a costume, it's okay to sew something very simple. Just do it step-by-step, and you don't need to go like crazy make up. Yeah. Just do it little by little, and once you're comfortable with it, then you can step it up more, and be a little bit more ambitious, and you can like give yourself even more like fun challenges to like, to make it like more lively, more fun, more enjoyable. Alright, great. So actually I'd like to see some of your own cosplays, and one that you're working on as well. So we are going to take a quick break, and when we come back, we will see some of Gladys' cosplays. Welcome back to Fandom 101, my name is Julia, and today I'm talking with Gladys Leung, who's a friend and cosplayer of mine. So Gladys, we're going to discuss some of your cosplays. We actually have a few photos of them right here. Alright, so obviously, well, obviously not to my viewers, but to me and you, that's the main character, sorry, Deku from My Hero Academia. Can you tell me a bit about this costume and its process? Why do you think I actually got this t-shirt online? Oh, me! Yeah, I was like doing a quick makeup for the My Hero Academia movie, and I thought like, instead of just going as myself, why don't I just go as Deku like that? So I quickly grabbed my wig and quickly put on my contacts and tried to like figure out how to do the makeup, and it was crazy because that was actually my first time figuring out how to do makeup for freckles. Ah, I see. So it was also a fun challenge, and I think it's making it more interesting when some people actually thought I'm a high schooler. Neat! How do you do the freckles? Do you just take an eyebrow, pen, no, eye pen and poke? I contour palette and brushes, so you kind of like pat a little bit for the color and then you kind of get a darker brown to like, to have the spot there. Ah, neat! So that's how you can do kind of like a more natural version of freckles. Ah, cool. Yeah. So… Cool, so maybe we could look at the next costume? Oh, yes. Yes! That, how, I still am trying to find out how you make cheekbones that sharp. Contouring! And I am bad at contouring, so I need to improve on that. Yeah, and that's actually, I can tell you, this is definitely kick with makeup. A heavy kick with makeup because I had to also cover my eyebrows there too. Okay, which character is this? This is the, it's one of here, it's like all mites, but we call it a small mites from My Hair Academy, and that is his Halloween outfit. Oh, I didn't know he had a Halloween outfit. Oh, yes, he kind of does. He looks like a vampire. I think that's probably the idea. Yeah. And one thing is, I bought this jacket online and I asked him to get a red fabric to kind of sew the parts, and then I painted the skeleton patterns there on the shirt. So I actually get acrylic to paint it for days. Okay. For days while measuring, like where are my riffs and where are my bones going to be. Yeah. So it's pretty fun and challenging. Yeah, I just noticed the rib cage on the shirt. I painted that. Yeah. I have painted other pink costumes before, such as a coat. It didn't come out great, but it had the effect of a two-tone brown coat. I think that was great. Yeah. And I liked the washed-out background as well. I think that was taken at Hull. Okay. Hull Reservation Park. So my photographer friend, Ethel, he found a location and then he just told me, hey, let's go there and have a photo. And so we just went there and it was such a wonderful place for photography. Nice. And I was cold and freezing at the same time, but it's worth it. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Excuse me. Next picture. I really like this one. Thank you. You're welcome. How did you make the part for the arm? So this one, this one I use, I need to think back first. Yes. I use a material called Warbler. Mm-hmm. So I heated it with a hot, I heated it with a heat gun. And afterwards I start like, I start like carving, not carving, but like kind of like mold it to the shape and then even like curve it a little bit. And afterwards I add gesso, gesso on top, sand it and then I color it with acrylic. And I actually got this glove on Amazon, but I can't, but I wore it and I make sure to cut it along to the wrist area so that it will make it look like a one piece. Nice. Yeah. And I think there's some other parts I also work on like the ear rings. Mm-hmm. So ear rings and, you might, ear rings and some other accessories part because I want to see if I could still add a little bit of like flare element in it. So I actually, let's see, I used, I forgot the material called again. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I used resin for the first time. Mm-hmm. And I also play, I've been like playing around with it, testing it, and then I start to apply it for this cosplay. Okay. And I say I also pretty proud of it because I also try to figure out how to, how to do scar makeup with only eyeshadows and concealer. Oh wow, I didn't know there was all eyeshadow and concealer. It is. Thank you so much. You're welcome. Maybe the next picture. Ah yes, this is one of my favorites just because of how ridiculously elaborate it is. So how did you go about planning this one? I actually bought this costume online and I have to, I had to keep telling myself when is the time, when is the latest time I have to order it. Mm-hmm. So I had to estimate when is the shipping and whether it's going to fit me or not. Mm-hmm. And also this is, I think this also pointed for everyone is that before you go to confession, always try on your costume. Yeah. Especially this one has the most complicated parts ever. Mm-hmm. So I have to like try it on like many, many times before I can figure out how to put every pieces. Yeah. And also make sure to bring a jacket. Yes, it can get cold and in the summer it can get hot. And this is taken in February last year. I see. Probably not the best time for disgusting. Yeah. Which character is this by the way? It's called Alexander from a game called Fate's Grand Order. Mm-hmm. So have you heard of Alexander the Great? I only know of him like. History. The basics of history, that kind of thing. Yeah, the game is kind of based on a history. Mm-hmm. And this is how the game interpreted a young version of Alexander the Great. Mm-hmm. So, and I pretty much really love this character. Okay. And playing as a character, so I decided to go for him. Sure. Yeah. All right. All right, if we move to the next one. Ah, yes. Oh my. I assume that the photographer had to be spark effect. Oh yes, he did. That's really cool. What's photographer did you use for this one? I call him Tony, but you can refer to him as Lassaro for talk. No, Lassaro Studios. Mm-hmm. And he's like a magician to me. He's also an awesome friend. He found a very right angle at a convention and then he added a special effect. Mm-hmm. As I exclaimed to him, how do you make me cool? Yeah. This is making me feel more confident about like eventually being able to save up for my own shoot because even though I'm not the best at posing or acting, they'd probably be able to put stuff in. And there's another thing great is that there are actually photographers that can guide you through posing. Nice. So if you're not confident enough, they can always like give you some suggestion. They can tell you like, you can move your face a little bit, both this hand, like that. So this is why I like working with my photography friends because they always gave me very good pointers. Nice. And with that, we can just improve and we somehow got this out. Cool. Yeah. All right. Next picture. Ah, yes. Oh. So this is from an anime Land of the Lustrous that I do want to try to cosplay. And the thing with that anime is the everyone has glossy, basically glass hair. Oh, yes, they do. Have you tried to make that or did you just cosplay this character because she doesn't have that kind of hair? Nope. I am not putting the sparks in there because this wig is really long. It even went over my knee. Wow. So what, as we said, is like I have a best friend who is like four feet nine. Yeah. Like as tall as my friend. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. So this is the wig that I would definitely don't want to like add anything to it. Instead, I would just probably just add a lot of like wig straightener, like detangling spray and just keep combing it. Hair straightener for maybe an hour. An hour of pain just to comb it straight. Nice. So after that, I'm not touching it. Was the wig that long originally or did you add wigs? Oh, it is that long originally. Oh, wow. And that is like the longest wig I've ever got. How do you store it, like going back and forth to cons? So what you did is you get the wig, you put like a ball of paper inside there. Afterwards, you kind of like carefully roll it down. Some people like to braid it like a pigtail. But for me, I can still roll it a little bit. And then once you've got a hair net, you just cover with it and you put it in a plastic bag. And that way you can just travel around with that. Nice. That's good. I see people who go from con to con with their wig head and the wig attached in a plastic case. Yeah, for some way. But I don't have the space. Yeah. But for some of their wigs, it is kind of mandatory because it's really going to go crazy that if you store it that way, it won't stay in the shape. So some people would actually carry with the wig hat over there. Okay. Even though the wig hat looks kind of creepy at the same time. Yeah. All right, next picture. Ah, yes. So this one, you can talk about binders. Yes, definitely. Binder always invests on a good binder. That's what I've been telling. That's what I always tell everyone is that instead of using bandages, it's best for you to invest your own binder, especially that's more fitting to your size. And make sure not to make it too tight or else it might crush your rib. And that's probably not the most ideal thing. No. I made a mistake before. I used those elastic bandages. Oh, I've heard the warnings about those. Sorry. Yeah, I did that and I went for an outdoor photo shoot during the summertime. And it was really hot and it's like crushing my ribs so much that I had to take it off in the midway. And I say, I'm done. So yeah, I definitely recommend people to like get a binder to dress if you want to cross-dress as a man or as a boy. And another thing to point out for Cosmy as a male character is, posting is also change a lot of things. Like the way I hide your pose, it can make you look more masculine. Okay. So that will actually make quite a big difference too. All right. Great. And I think you mentioned that the wig needed that pointy part attached separately. Oh, yes it does. I had to use wire and then wrap it with tape. And then I glued the wig here. We call it as the weft. The weft's on there. And then we add hot glue. Just stick it right on there and it just stays. Great. Yeah. All right. And next picture. Ah, yes. This one's also a very nice picture. Can you tell me about making this costume? I bought most of it besides the top one, besides the very top crop top. Because I wasn't satisfied with how it looks when I bought it online. So I decided to just quickly go to Joanne's and bring the fabric over. Try to look at the outfit that I got online. Try to figure out the sewing pattern and try to sew everything together. Okay. So you were editing the costume that you bought? Yeah. Okay. Because I'm still trying to improve on sewing. And there is still some parts I can and cannot do. So I decided to start like this by this sometimes. Kind of like alter it a little bit until I'm pretty much happy with it. And most of your costumes do have swords. Of course, going to conventions, those can't be real swords. Oh, it cannot. This one is actually a wood sword that I bought online. But for my cosplay, I did before with an other blonde hair one. I actually made that sword myself. Okay. So with maybe like $10, all the materials with $10 on my coast. Oh, wow. Yeah. Let's see. I used like if a foam. I think like not bamboo stick. It was like definitely a tiny wood stick paper. And I just break paint everything at the cloth. There you go. You got the sword right there. Nice. So it was really fun making props, I can say. Oh, right. Great. Don't know if there are any more photos that might be the last one. Can we check? Okay. So that is the last photo. All right. Well, thank you for talking with me today. If we want to find more of your work, where can we look? You can find more of my work on my Instagram called Sangeebongee. And it's also under the same username on Twitter. Yeah. All right. And actually, if you want to follow me, just look for henshin4pi on Twitter or on Instagram. All right. So thank you for joining us to learn more about fandom. I hope to see you next time as we continue to discuss the ins and outs of fan culture. And remember, never stop being passionate about the things you love. I'll see you next time. Thank you for watching.