Geek Syndicate Issue 9 March 2014 | Page 44

Geek Syndicate

GS: Your Steampunk Ariel costume has
been catching people’s eyes recently- it’s
a great idea! Can you tell us about the
path from concept to costume?
AD: Thank you so much! I’ve had a
huge obsession with mermaids since
I was a little girl. I think it was the
most feminine thing I was into, seeing as I usually ran around climbing trees and pretending I lived in
Middle-Earth. I used to watch the
Little Mermaid religiously when I was
younger and I also read a lot of classic authors such as Jules Verne and
H.G. Wells, which is why when I saw
Hungry Designs’ Ariel concept about
a year ago I wanted to bring it to life
so badly.
I already owned a pair of Black Milk
mermaid leggings, which were absolutely perfect for the costume. I
cut and styled the wig myself which
took a million years, I don’t think I
realised how unrealistic Disney hair
is! I dyed and modified an old blouse
for that Victorian feel and made Ursula’s voice charm out of polymer
clay. I had been following Nerfenstein Blaster Mods & Props for some
time and she does incredible guns,
so I commissioned her to make my
trident. It’s a beautiful piece of work,
and hopefully I can design props as
good as hers one day. I also made a
pair of bracers, a holster and modified some goggles. I’ve only been
cosplaying for a couple of years so
I had minimal skills in costuming at
that point, although not for lack of
trying!
GS: So you’ve only been cosplaying for a
couple of years? How did you get into it?

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AD: I got into cosplay back in 2010
when I saw Scott Pilgrim Vs the World
and loved every minute of it. It was
just so awkward, that sort of humor cracks me up. Anyway, Ramona Flowers captured my attention
throughout the movie with her mysterious aura, and when she brought
out the giant mallet out of the subspace bag for the Roxie fight scene
I just thought, “I MUST DO THIS.” I
got my hands on the graphic novels
and finished them in about a week.
Then a friend told me there was a local convention that was coming up
where cosplay was a big thing, and
I’d always wanted to see what the
community was like. So I cobbled
together a few bits and pieces for a
Ramona cosplay and I tentatively
went to the Brisbane Supanova Pop
Culture Exo.
It was a giant sprawl of guys who
were having loud debates about
Magic: The Gathering, girls freaking

out because Tom Felton just signed
their books and cosplay everywhere
I looked.
It was incredible. I’ve never felt so
at home. Everyone was friendly and
shared your fandom, there was no
judgement or sneering that I was a
weirdo. Since then, I’ve thrown myself into the cosplaying world and I
don’t intend to stop anytime soon!
GS: For you, what’s the best part of cosplay?
AD: A few people have mentioned
since that goggles and the blunderbuss I used for Ariel would be pointless underwater, but when I look at
the artwork, I don’t think she was
underwater. It looks to me like Ariel
got bored of her princess lifestyle,
stole her dad’s trident and Ursula’s
charm, and went to wreak havoc on
land. That’s just my interpretation,
and that’s what cosplay is about

Image © The Artful Dodger

Meet The Artful Dodger. She is a
cosplay whiz from Brisbane and
heads turned at last year’s Supernova Expo Brisbane) when she
sported this amazing Steampunk
Ariel outfit. Recently, Geek Syndicatecaught up with The Artful
Dodger to hear about that amazing costume and to find out more
about her previous costumes and
what cosplay means to her. Enjoy!