Cosplay, bringing your favorite character into life, carving and crafting costumes from scratch, and showing the world the work you've done. But one must watch cosplayers and think: Can I do that? Am I able to replicate what these cosplayers can do with my favorite characters? Will people judge me for the lack of finish or expertise?

Well, there's no need to worry, as Maru (Omar Samer), who represented the UAE in WCS 2019, answered several of our questions about how to Cosplay:

1. How do you prepare for WCS?

It's broken down into two preparations:

- Preparing your costume: Planning which costume to make, which character is your favorite, thinking about the feasibility of portraying that character live on stage and wow the audience all in all.

- Preparing your spirit: To go and meet other cosplayers that share the same passion, work expertise, turning that hobby into a profession or a lifestyle, which establishes a connection with everyone who is involved in this community.

2. How do you prepare the different elements of a Costume?

It all comes down to what different parts of the costume need extensive and simple prepartions. For example - Most of Anime characters have super wild hairstyles that need a lot of styling and combing, so the best solution is to make your own and try and get the shape and color of your character's hair. The best way to perfect the art of cosplay is to always rely on building your costume from scratch, rather than rely on readymade or full costumes.

3. We're only 7 weeks to show, is it possible to prepare a Cosplay for MEFCC 2020?

Of course! But you will have to work every single day on the costume, from the simple to the most convuluted parts. 7 weeks is a lot of time if a person puts their mind to it! Start doing your own research, make sure you have all the references you need, build from the ground through bits and pieces.

4. I've just gotten into cosplay, but I'm facing difficulties, what should I do?

The Cosplay Community is extremely helpful, and there is no harm in asking for help at all. Also, the beauty of cosplay is that there is no necessary right way to cosplay, it highly depends on your reference and your ability to build and create on that to make your own cosplay shine in its own unique way, since COSPLAY IS FOR EVERYONE.

5. Is there a local Cosplay Community in the UAE that beginners can join?

The UAE has one of the biggest cosplay communities in the Middle East, and its full of extremely passionate and welcoming to all new cosplayers. You can join UAE Cosplayers on Facebook, where you will find veterans that have participated in various Cosplay competitions across the UAE and the Middle East, including winners of the MEFCC Cosplay Competitions throughout the years.

6. I love Cosplay and would love to pursue it as a career! Is it possible?

This is by no means impossible, as most of the professional cosplayers started by being genuine fans of the different forms of media that they follow. You will need to dedicate your time and resources to build your cosplay reputation, which can easily lead you to be noticed by various companies such as Blizzard, Activision, Square-Enix and many more! Others treat as a commission based modeling profession, prefering to freely switch between different projects and competitions to gain more exposure. Although it's timely, but it's a dream come true for the majority of cosplayers.

As spoken by the veteran cosplay performer and judge, all it needs is dedication, time, learning, and most of all, passion for doing what you love. Cosplay is a major part of MEFCC, and to keep that pillar flourishing, take your first step, don't be afraid, reach out to other cosplayers and fans, and just have fun while you bring your character to life.

We will see you at the MEFCC 2020 Cosplay Competition!

Live Long and Comic Con :D