After visiting my first convention in early October, I feel the need to become a cosplayer!
While attending the Wizard Con in Austin, TX, I was fascinated with the attention to detail that so many others had to recreate a character from science fiction or comics. It was amazing and inspiring.
As Halloween approached, I had more ideas of characters I wanted to be: She Hulk, Green Arrow, April from Lumberjanes, or any of the leading ladies in Rat Queens. However, I have a strict budget to consider and need something simple that I can actually recreate quickly.
So, I took advantage of a small Halloween party and played around with the clothes in my closet and a few trips to the Halloween costume store. I found a few pieces to make my first real attempt at cosplaying: lady Green Arrow. I wanted to be a leading character and not just someone’s sidekick.
I was introduced to Green Arrow through the CW Network’s television show. I binged watched the first two seasons in two weeks, and started reading the comic immediately after. I loved the background of Oliver Queen and the development of his character into becoming the savior of his Starling City. I also love archery, so it was just the right character to learn how to emulate for my first cosplay.
Halloween was the best way to ease my way into this hobby. Everyone around was taking identities of others for a day of fun. I am naturally embarrassed with extra attention, so this was a great way for me to learn how to take costume elements, makeup, and gear to dress up as a titular character. I wasn’t nervous at all since everyone at the party was going to be something or one else for a day anyway.
During the time I was dressed up it was so fun to have people guess who I was – no I’m not Katniss, no I’m not 
some crazy lady wearing green with crazy eye makeup, I’m Green Arrow! There were a few people that recognized my take on a female version of the character, and that was great. I got to share my excitement and interest in the show as well as the comic in a fun, new and exciting way.
I would recommend for anyone interested in dabbling in cosplay to take advantage of Halloween or any other costume party. It’s a nice way to learn how to build a known character costume with all of the pieces that make it unique. In my case I had a cheap plastic arrow, an old black dress, black tights, and a green hoodie. I played around with eye makeup to make a mask. It was pretty simple, but it made me into who I wanted to be. Now I just need to save a bit of money to invest in some better costume pieces and I can attend my next con as an even better lady Green Arrow.