Throwback: My Val Velocity Cosplay From 2018

When I was 14 I was still in my facepainting, special effects makeup, and cosplay phase. I was totally an amateur but I did have a lot of fun! And one of my most "proper" cosplays I ever did was Val Velocity. I bought a wig, sculpted a blaster, and painted a mask. Then I went and thrifted a white jean jacket to complete the look, since I had the black clothing and combat boots covered lol

yes, this was super amateur and I heavily edited the photos because that was the vibe of instagram at the time, but I was REALLY proud of the blaster— which was made completely out of cardboard (you can tell.) and fairly detailed. I really wish I had photos of it! I went out of me way to make a semi-functional trigger, and there were 3D details like a safety switch on it as well.

I think this is the essence of cosplay. Having fun and dressing up as your favorite characters, no matter how "bad" you look. :) And I still love Val! I would happily remake this cosplay if I had the funds to do so.

Note: I really deliberated what category this blog should go in and settled on "Art and Photography" because technically, it's a bit of both.