Cosplay is... it's a journey really.
And it's not just trying to make
whatever you're making look exactly like the character that it is.
It's also coming up with creative ways to fabricate as well.
So whether you're using foam, or thermoplastics such as Worbla,
the technique that goes into it is substantial.
I've seen people improving. I've seen all the techniques improving.
Cosplayers have access to 3D printing technology now,
which blows my mind.
They're really starting to bridge the gap between, you know,
the physical world and the digital world, in my opinion.
The Overwatch Cosplay Battle is unique
because we wanted to show the whole process
and really celebrate from start to finish
what it takes to make these incredible costumes.
I thought it was a really exciting idea.
First of all because it's a team effort,
so we have the opportunity to take advantage
of all the different skills that each of us bring.
I've never really been in a group project in which
we made a costume between more than one person.
So it's my first time working as a team, really.
It's really nice to involve all three of us into the build
and not just have one person sort of go "look at me!"
Usually in cosplay, cosplayers work alone
and it's not as easy because you have to accept how other people work,
what are their standards...
And you also have to trust them on materials you don't know.
We have different techniques, we have different
ways of crafting, of working...
And it was very fun to actually see all these
different personalities merging in one project
and making this project come alive.
I think... Yeah, I'm very happy, and I'm very proud of our work.
I love my team. I love my teammates and I'm very happy to represent Russia.
We had the chance to incorporate many many different techniques in Symmetra.
Obviously there's some sewing to do
for the pants and the under suit and the gloves.
Then there's foam work.
We did some things with thermoplastics.
We also tried casting some things.
You know, we really learned something.
We had the chance to work on our own skill set.
I think that almost everything in MEKA is absolutely unusual for cosplay.
Because usually cosplayers use plastic, they use EVA foam...
We didn't use any of this.
We worked with fiberglass, we worked with real metal.
It was a huge challenge from the beginning.
I think for this costume everything we did
and decided was out of the box
from everything that we all did before.
Well, I like the movement of the backpack. It's very funny.
I've been painting with a brush all my life.
And for this costume I wanted to try something new
and started using the airbrush.
The airbrush gives you a wider range of shading and paint variation.
Time was our biggest enemy
and there's like a vaccum and it sucks it all up
And you're like: "Where did the days go?"
And it just vanishes...
A special challenge for the costume has been
making it in a way to have great mobility,
in order to have flexible poses or be able to walk properly and run,
and have a good-looking costume at the same time.
For me, I think it is important to win.
I'm a competitive player in general, that's who I am.
It's people being like "oh she's Team Germany"
and “they are team Germany”
and “we are supporting them because they are Team Germany,"
and that just, you know, gives a little push as well.
I think the full nature of this contest,
which is also a performance, an exhibition of, you know,
of crafting skills or artistic view.
I think it's been pretty interesting to see all of us coming here
and seeing it come to life.
Cosplay is fun and it doesn't matter that we all represent our countries
or that everyone wants to win.
For me, it's amazing teamwork and we just share what cosplayers can do.
So I think this is the idea.
It's not to compete, it's to share the experience.
To share the amazing work of everyone.
I'm really excited to see the other teams' costumes
because they’re all great cosplayers,
and I just hope I get to see it in real life
one day and we can all go to an event
and catch up and talk about their experiences.
There are so many things going right with these costumes.
We've got incredible painters getting all of the details and the colors right.
We have wonderful armor makers that are making these not only functional
but they look exactly like the in-game model.
So there's so much fitting to the person that's wearing the costume
as well as paying homage to what's happening in game.
It's one-to-one and it's incredible.
Classic D.Va by Team Russia...
absolutely insane!
The main thing that I love about that cosplay
is the scale... like, talk about a ratio!
I think that this is the first time I've seen
anything cosplay-related that retranslates the relationship
between the pilot and the mech so accurately.
Dragon Symmetra...
I think I'm most impressed with this costume
because it's one of our more fantasy-oriented Overwatch skins,
which isn't the norm for us.
But I loved that they took it and made it so iconic.
Everything about this cosplay just… is Overwatch.
In and of itself.
Baihu Genji... that one was actually a challenge even internally.
I remember us looking at the chainmail and thinking
"okay, I hope it's gonna work," you know?
But at the same time, "it's a video game,
so hopefully we should be fine."
And when I saw that team picked that skin,
I was really interested to see how
they would translate that specific component.
And they did it beautifully.
So we have Team UK doing Forest Spirit Orisa.
Man! This cosplay is incredible. I'm speechless,
I'm bumbling over my words just talking
about it right now, but they're incredible!
The detail put into all of the little spirit guys on the head…
every little leaf is exactly where it should be,
it's colored exactly as it should be.
Team Italy and Blackwatch Genji... Oh my god!
The reason why I find it absolutely mind-blowing is because,
you’ve got to remember that when we pitched that skin
and we actually did that skin in-house,
the pitch was that the guy was supposed to be
half robot and half human.
It was never meant to be fully human,
so seeing that actual cosplayers decided to run for it
and also managed to keep all the proportions perfectly aligned
with what we had in mind when we created that skin for the game
is absolutely mind-blowing.
So we have Team France with Magni Torbjörn.
It is such an incredible costume!
The sheer weight of that beard has to be just...
I can't even imagine.
It looks so good though!
As an artist, I really like cosplay because
it gives me a chance to look at the details of the character.
No matter the character you're doing,
you're really looking at it under a magnifying glass.
I think that it is kind of in the back of our minds
each time that we create new characters,
“how's the cosplay community going to take over?"
and "how easy or hard is it going to be for them?"
So we try to keep that in mind.
There is no greater feeling
Than watching somebody work months, weeks, hours
on a character that you help to create
and then seeing it in person it's such an incredible feeling.