How to be a master cosplayer

BeCos I Can is a CBC Creator Network series that explores what drives cosplayers to create and how cosplay has had an impact on them. In this episode, cosplayer and host Misha Bakshi sits down with Luca Kelly, a good friend and master cosplayer. Misha wanted to find out how they got started in cosplay and what they've learned along the way. 

Luca Kelly went from attending costume parties in university to going to cosplay conventions and becoming a nationally acclaimed costumer. 

"You go, you get treated like a rock star for a weekend," says Kelly. "It's hard to walk away from that."

Now, Kelly holds the title of master cosplayer. To compete in this category, you have to make every part of your costume. 

When BeCos I Can host Misha Bakshi thinks of a master cosplayer, it's not just about the competition component. There are many different elements that go into the art. 

Kelly makes elaborate and original characters (over months!) and finds creative freedom in that. 

There's also a skill in becoming approachable and chatting with others. 

"I've gotten a lot more confident and a lot more just kind of secure in my ability to talk to new people," says Kelly, who also goes by Wuckajuice (as their Instagram bio says, "Gremlin masquerading as people"). 

Kelly has some advice for people entering the world of cosplay. 

"Don't look at, like, the big celebrated cosplayers. Don't worry about that. Look at the kind of people you see wandering around the floor in, like, the basic costumes, the closet costumes, the bought costumes," Kelly says.

"It doesn't need to be master's level when you start. Most of us start by getting little bits and pieces of things and modifying them to make them work." 

More from the series: