A cosplay competition was organized at the Rodez village hall as part of the Games of Geek festival, under the passionate eye of a jury expert in the art of creating your own costumes. Meeting with Hakami Cosplay, for the second time member of the jury in Rodez.
It all started “a bit by chance” in 2016. One of her friends had bought a costume, the then 16-year-old girl decided to make her own. The beginning of a great passion for Hakami, who has been sharing her creations on her Instagram page for 8 years, who takes part in competitions, and who travels through conventions sometimes as a visitor, sometimes as a member of the jury of the competition. cosplay, as was the case for the second time during Games of Geek in Rodez, Saturday September 28 and Sunday September 29, 2024.
The art of cosplay consists of best embodying a character, often from pop culture, but also of creating your own costume with your hands. “For my first project, my mother helped me a lot since I didn’t know how to sew, I didn’t know how to do anything! An acquaintance helped me correct my pattern, because it looked more like a chemistry blouse than a a costume. Then more and more I started to sew certain parts, until a moment when I was doing everything, alone. The student surpassed the master!
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Two years of work for its biggest project
A perseverance which results in increasingly ambitious projects, and with increasingly detailed renderings. Like the armor of a Blood Elf Paladin with which Hakami appears on the networks, which World of Warcraft players will immediately recognize. “It’s about 4-5 months of work, spread over two years. Knowing that there were 100 hours of embroidery! But there are also costumes that only take me a week of work”
To take part in competitions, on stage or online, the costume must be at least 50% handmade, and “generally 70% depending on conventions. But never 100%, because the shoes for example, we don’t “Not everyone is capable of creating them from scratch, and wigs take an extremely long time to make.” To obtain the most satisfactory final result possible, you have to be ingenious with the means at hand. “For accessories, we use recycled materials or we go to DIY stores. When we buy PVC there, it’s not for plumbing! We are generally spotted quickly! At the time, we was going to get floor mats from Decathlon to make armor. It was our low-budget tip.
The cosplay community is growing, there are now specialized sites to obtain materials, but also a ton of tutorials to share your creative know-how. “For anyone who would like to get into cosplay, I suggest they watch as many videos as possible, there are plenty of them.” Discussing with already experienced creators is also an excellent tip, “my DMs are always open”, encourages Hakami.
Hakami’s work allowed him to take part in a competition organized by the ambassadors of Riot Games, the studio behind the famous game League of Legends. “It happens online. You have to put together a file with photos and explain the manufacturing process.” To the point of becoming a member of the jury
“In the jury, everyone has their area of expertise”
Hakami’s work allowed him to take part in a competition organized by the ambassadors of Riot Games, the studio behind the famous game League of Legends. “It happens online. You have to put together a file with photos and explain the manufacturing process.” She won the first edition, then took pride of place among the jury in the next one.
The 24-year-old young woman from Gaillac (Tarn) is taking part in the jury of the Rodez cosplay competition for the second year in a row. “The most important thing is to have expertise. It is not necessary to have taken part in competitions to be a jury. Everyone has different fields. I am more of a seamstress and a little bit crafty. And a another jury member for example who is present here is specialized in electronics and LEDs, it is he who will have an eye on these aspects of the costume which goes on stage.
