Live Magazine September 2014 Volume 9/2014 | Page 174

COSPLA
3.
A WEAPON POSE IS JUST AS IMPORTANT
AS THE COSPLAY POSE.

Does your character use a weapon,
be it firearm, plasma-arm or the classic morphing of steel into something
fancy? When posing with this weapon, the final touch is to pin down
how they pose with it. This all comes
down to, once again, prior planning
and a mirror.
The rule of thumb for a bladed instrument is to have your knuckles in line
with your bladed edge and pointing
at the target upon which you are to
strike.
If your weapon involves a trigger
and your pose is relaxed with your
barrel pointing at nothing in particular, remember the phrase trigger
discipline. A discipline that has your
trigger finger positioned outside of
the trigger guard. With firearms, the
finger is only on the trigger when
it is pointed at your target ready to
fire. Not only will this benefit a distinct look between two poses (one
relaxed, the other firing) it will add
depth and research to your cosplay.

Production companies and video
games developers spend hundreds
of thousands of dollars on their designers to get the look just right. With
some prior planning and a mirror,
you can do them proud.