Kung ikaw ay fan ng anime, videogames, o comics, maaring naisipan mo na ring mag-cosplay sa isang punto ng buhay mo.
Ang cosplay, mula sa mga pinagsamang salitang “costume” at “play,” ay hindi lang basta pagbibihis bilang mga paborito mong character kundi isang art form, kung saan ang mga cosplayers ay nagpe-perform ng mga skits o eksena mula sa paborito nilang show, para mas maisabuhay hindi lang ang itsura kundi pati na rin ang buong persona ng napili nilang character.
Sa katunayan, may ilang cosplayer na sobrang husay sa larangang ito kung kaya’t nagawa nila itong maging career.
Isa na dito si Carla “FoxRots” Vergara, isang sikat na Filipino professional cosplayer, na nagsimula mag-cosplay noong 2012.
“I guess I got into it because I was always a huge geek. I was sort of really into comic books and cartoons and movies and anime… So cosplaying was something that came naturally,” sabi ni FoxRots sa ONE Esports.
Ang cosplay name na FoxRots ay galing sa kanyang Tumblr URL, na ipinangalan sa kanya ng kanyang best friend. “It was sort of like a play on words with like, ‘Foxtrot,’ but then I’m into gore, and zombies, and horror and stuff, so it became ‘FoxRots,’” sabi nya.
“It was almost inevitable for me to end up a cosplayer. I really loved wearing costumes, I’d always be the one that goes all out in Halloween or movie premieres, so when somebody told me that I could do this all-year-round, dressed up as my favorite characters, I was like ‘Heck, yes! I want to be a cosplayer!’”
Paano nga ba nagsimula?
Dahil sa kanyang hilig sa comics at sa Marvel universe, ang kaunaunahang cosplay ni FoxRots ay si Miss America Chavez mula sa comic book series na Young Avengers.
“It was a very casual outfit that I knew that I could do,” sabi nya.
“I didn’t even have a wig, I used my real hair. I guess one thing that I would have done better or change is wearing a nice, curly hair wig,” kuwento ni FoxRots. “I thought that, despite it being my first cosplay, it was rather good. I’m proud of it. I’m proud of what I made and how I made it, it was the best I could do that time.”
Kung paano sya namimili ng character na iko-cosplay, ibinahagi ni FoxRots na simple lang ang kanyang proseso.
“I either totally relate to the character, like Avatar Korra or Catra from Netflix’s She-Ra and the Princesses of Power series, or I immediately fell in love with their look like Bowsette,” sabi ni FoxRots.
Pero ayon kay FoxRots, possible rin na mawala ang interes sa isang character, kung kaya’t marami ang hindi natapos na “cosplans” (cosplay plans).
“I’ve got like dozens of half-done cosplays and backlogs that I started working on when I was super into whatever media they were from and then halfway through it’s just ‘I’m not gonna go back to this,’ or maybe I will one day when I run out of cosplays to do which sounds like just probably impossible.”
Nang tanungin tungkol sa paborito niyang cosplay, ipinaliwanag ni FoxRots na nagbabago-bago ang paborito ng mga cosplayers.
“Ask a cosplayer who their favorite cosplay is and the answer to that question gets changed a lot. You know we’re always constantly cosplaying new characters, learning new skills, so… that answer is subject to change,” paliwanag ni FoxRots.
Sa ngayon, ang paboritong cosplay ni FoxRots ay si Catra ng She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, lalo na’t napakakomportable nitong isuot. “I worked really hard on putting everything together so wearing it is really fulfilling and makes me really happy,” sabi ni FoxRots.
Paggawa ng costume at props
Ibinahagi ni FoxRots kung paano binubuo ang isang costume.
“The first step that I usually do when I see a character is I start canvassing for materials,” paliwanag nya. “Then I start to think about the types of fabric, paint, and raw materials that I’m going to use and then slowly work on them as the materials come together.”
Karaniwan, inaabot si FOxRots ng isa o dalawang lingo para matapos ang isang cosplay piece. Yun ay kung pagbubuhusan nya ito ng oras pero hindi naman sya full-time na nagko-cosplay. “I have a full-time job so there are a lot of factors that go into how much time I can put in,” paliwanag nya.
Sa kabila ng walong taong itinagal nya sa industriya, inamin ni FoxRots na marami pa syang dapat matutunan, at hindi pa lubos kakayanan na meron sya pagdating sa cosplay.
“I feel like I could work on my sewing a lot more, I feel like I need to improve on my crafting… But you know these things that I already know now, they weren’t built overnight. I had to go through a lot of learning and trial and error, and searching for processes to get to where I am today,” paliwanag nya.
Kung papipiliin sa pagtahi ng costume o paggawa ng props, mas gusto ni FoxRots ang gumawa ng props at sinabi nyang itinuturing niyang bestfriend ang gluegun.
“Crafting props is my favorite, favorite part of the entire experience. I really love building weapons, and sort of little armor bits, and accessories,” sabi ni FoxRots. Ibinahagi ni FoxRots na proud sya sa ginawa nyang Sombra wig na sya mismo ang naggupit, nagkulay, at nag-style. Nagawan din nya ng paraan kung paano gawing kapani-paniwala ang undercut hairstyle ng Overwatch hacker na aakalain mo talagang sariling nya itong buhok.
Ang napakalupit at napakagandang Sombra cosplay na ito ay bunga ng pagtutulunga ng iba’t ibang crafters at mananahi, pero ipinagmamalaki ni FoxRots na sya ang gumawa ng wig, make-up, gun prop, at mga accessories.
Habang ang iba ay nagsasabing ang pagbili ng pre-made costume ay itunuturing na “cheating” kumpara sa paggawa ng sariling costume, iba ang paniniwala ni FoxRots.
“Cosplaying is roleplaying in a costume. It doesn’t matter if you made it, if you bought it, if you had someone made it, if it’s from a store, if it’s from your closet — cosplay is cosplay and generally the consensus is that anyone can cosplay no matter what the budget or skill level is.”
Hindi naman hinuhusgahan o minamata ng cosplay community ang mga bumibili o nagpapa-commission ng pre-made costumes ayon kay FoxRots. “Nobody thinks that people who make their own stuff are any better. I’d like to think that the cosplay community at its best is very accepting of the limitations, resources that different people tend to have.”
Dagdag nya, inabot ng apat na buwan bago mabuo ang kanyang Sombra costume, kasama na dito ang canvasing, shipping, at crafting time.
Bilang isang cosplayer ng halos siyam na taon, walang cosplay ang imposible o mahirap para kay FoxRots. Lagi syang nakakahanap ng paraan para i-cosplay kahit na yung mga kakaibang characters, kagaya ni Ashido Mina ng My Hero Academia na inilarawan nyang “this pink alien-looking thing with like black eyes and yellow irises and pink skin from head to toe.” “When you’ve been cosplaying for so long that you’re already familiar with the resources that you have and you’re familiar with techniques, suddenly no cosplay seems too impossible at some point. Except of course if you’re cosplaying Godzilla or something, obviously I can’t do that,” biro nya.
Pagdating sa pag-craft ng props at costumes, itinuturing ni FoxRots na inspirasyon ang kanyang kaibigang magkapatid na sila Dinny at Gelo Grayson.
“I look up to them so much because they’ve been with me since the beginning of my cosplay journey,” sabi nya. “I have seen them grow and learn so many new skills, and their passion for the craft really inspires me to do more and be better and every day I hope to be more like them.”
Pag hindi sya nagko-cosplay, hilig ni FoxRots ang paglalaro ng videogames bilang libangan. Ang kinababaliwan nya ngayon? Shadowland expansion ng World of Warcraft!
“I have been playing for a few months now, I’m kinda a newbie at it. I wasn’t one of those people that have been playing for years on in but I love the game, I love the world, this has been my main obsession right now and the only game I’ve been playing,” sabi nya.
Cosplaying bilang career
Mula ng seryosohin nya ang pagko-cosplay, nakatanggap si FoxRots booking sa iba’t ibang mga events. Nag-cosplay sya bilang si Ciri sa Witcher in Manila event ng Netflix Philippines at naging parte sya ng booth nito para sa Asia Pop Comic Con.
“I got to meet Henry Cavill himself. I got to shake his hand and have a photo with him on stage. It was crazy, and there was a huge crowd — I absolutely loved it,” masayang kwento ni Foxrots.
“When I’m doing character cosplay for companies and events I like to take the role-playing aspect of cosplay very seriously,” sabi nya. “I do my best to try to look the part because I really want people to sort of believe that I am that character for them.”
Ibinahagi nya rin kung paano sya maghanda para sa mga roles, tulad ng pag-practice nya ng kanyang British accent para sa kanyang Game of Thrones cosplay at para sa maikling skit sa mga events.
“I did Josie and the Pussycats for Netflix and that was sort of a skit, a performance that I had to prepare, we had rehearsal dates, we had choreography, we had to perform the same songs over and over again thrioughout the day so it was very taxing, we had to be physically fit for that, and it was a lot of fun.”
Ang Philippine cosplay community
Ayon kay FoxRots, bata pa ang cosplay community scene dito sa atin, lalo na’t nagsimula lamang itong lumaki ng sumikat ang mga kilalang cosplayers na sila Alodia Gosiengfiao at Myrtle Sarrosa.
“The core beliefs of the community are very sound, it’s very open like anyone can cosplay, its a place where you can let your freak flag fly, a place where you can be yourself,” paliwanag ni FoxRots.
Dati, makakakita ka lang ng cosplayers sa mga mall conventions gaya ng sa Megatrade Hall ng SM Megamall, pero ngayon normal na sa mga cosplayers ang mag-organize ng sarili nilang private photoshoots, na tinawag ni FoxRots na “the more intimate cosplay.”
“I still like going to conventions but in the recent years as I’ve gotten older (I’m not even that old) I’ve leaned more towards the private photoshoots and hanging out with my smaller circle of friends and cosplay and having a shoot day,” sabi nya.
“I have so many people that come up to me and tell me ‘Oh I wish I could start cosplaying,’ ‘I wish I could cosplay like you,’ ‘I wanna be a cosplayer like you one day,’ and honestly, simply and plainly just go out and do it. Whatever you wanna do, whoever you wanna cosplay — it does not matter. Just go out and do it,” himok nya sa lahat. “Once you let your inhibitions go and let your freak flag fly, honestly its the most amazing, liberating, freeing, happy experience and as a cosplayer I never feel more like myself than when I am in cosplay.”
Sa ngayon, maraming tinatrabahong cosplay projects si FoxRots, kasama na dito si Gwenpool ng Marvel comics at Bo-Katan ng The Mandalorian at ng Come Wars series, ang pinakamahal na cosplay nya sa ngayon.
“I just wanna keep cosplaying for as long as I can, for as long as my time, my body, will let me. I see myself being 38 or maybe even older, cosplaying still and I wanna continue, this is my passion and this is what really fuels my soul.”
