Cosplay is... it's a journey really.
And it's not just trying to make
whatever you're making look
exactly like the character that it is.
It's also coming up with
creative ways to fabricate as well.
So whether you're using foam,
or thermoplastics such as Worbla,
the technique that goes into it
is substantial.
I've seen people improving.
I've seen all the techniques improving.
Cosplayers have access to 
3D printing technology now,
which blows my mind.
They're really starting
to bridge the gap between, you know,
the physical world
and the digital world, in my opinion.
The Overwatch Cosplay Battle is unique
because we wanted to show
the whole process
and really celebrate
from start to finish
 what it takes to make these
incredible costumes.
I thought it was a really exciting idea.
First of all because it's a team effort,
so we have the opportunity
to take advantage
of all the different skills
that each of us bring.
I've never really been in
a group project in which
we made a costume between
more than one person.
So it's my first time 
working as a team, really.
It's really nice to involve 
all three of us into the build
and not just have one person
sort of go "look at me!"
Usually in cosplay, cosplayers work alone
and it's not as easy because you have
to accept how other people work,
what are their standards...
And you also have to trust them
on materials you don't know.
We have different techniques,
we have different
ways of crafting, of working...
And it was very fun to
actually see all these
different personalities
merging in one project
and making this project come alive.
I think... Yeah, I'm very happy,
and I'm very proud of our work.
I love my team. I love my teammates
and I'm very happy to represent Russia.
We had the chance to incorporate many
many different techniques in Symmetra.
Obviously there's 
some sewing to do
for the pants and the under
suit and the gloves.
Then there's foam work.
We did some things with thermoplastics.
We also tried casting some things.
You know, we really learned something.
We had the chance to work
on our own skill set.
I think that almost everything in MEKA
is absolutely unusual for cosplay.
Because usually cosplayers use plastic,
they use EVA foam...
We didn't use any of this.
We worked with fiberglass,
we worked with real metal.
It was a huge challenge 
from the beginning.
I think for this costume
everything we did
and decided was out of the box
from everything 
that we all did before.
Well, I like the movement
of the backpack. It's very funny.
I've been painting with a brush
all my life.
And for this costume
I wanted to try something new
and started using the airbrush.
The airbrush gives you a wider range of
shading and paint variation.
Time was our biggest enemy
and there's like a vaccum
and it sucks it all up
And you're like:
"Where did the days go?"
And it just vanishes...
A special challenge 
for the costume has been
making it in a way to have great mobility,
in order to have flexible poses
or be able to walk properly and run,
and have a good-looking costume
at the same time.
For me, I think it is important to win.
I'm a competitive player in general,
that's who I am.
It's people being like 
"oh she's Team Germany"
and “they are team Germany”
and “we are supporting them 
because they are Team Germany,"
and that just, you know,
gives a little push as well.
I think the full nature
of this contest,
which is also a performance,
an exhibition of, you know,
of crafting skills or artistic view.
I think it's been pretty interesting
to see all of us coming here
and seeing it come to life.
Cosplay is fun and it doesn't matter
that we all represent our countries
or that everyone wants to win.
For me, it's amazing teamwork and
we just share what cosplayers can do.
So I think this is the idea.
It's not to compete, 
it's to share the experience.
To share the amazing work of everyone.
I'm really excited to see 
the other teams' costumes
because they’re all great cosplayers,
and I just hope 
I get to see it in real life
one day and we can
all go to an event
and catch up and talk 
about their experiences.
There are so many things 
going right with these costumes.
We've got incredible painters getting all
of the details and the colors right.
We have wonderful armor makers
that are making these not only functional
but they look exactly
like the in-game model.
So there's so much fitting to the person
that's wearing the costume
as well as paying homage 
to what's happening in game.
It's one-to-one and it's incredible.
Classic D.Va by Team Russia...
absolutely insane!
The main thing that I
love about that cosplay
is the scale...
like, talk about a ratio!
I think that this is 
the first time I've seen
anything cosplay-related that
retranslates the relationship
between the pilot and
the mech so accurately.
Dragon Symmetra...
I think I'm most impressed 
with this costume
because it's one of our more
fantasy-oriented Overwatch skins,
which isn't the norm for us.
But I loved that they took
it and made it so iconic.
Everything about this
cosplay just… is Overwatch.
In and of itself.
Baihu Genji... that one was 
actually a challenge even internally.
I remember us looking 
at the chainmail and thinking
"okay, I hope it's gonna work," you know?
But at the same time,
"it's a video game,
so hopefully we should be fine."
And when I saw that 
team picked that skin,
I was really interested
to see how
they would translate that
specific component.
And they did it beautifully.
So we have Team UK 
doing Forest Spirit Orisa.
Man! This cosplay is incredible. 
I'm speechless,
I'm bumbling over my
words just talking
about it right now,
but they're incredible!
The detail put into all of the
little spirit guys on the head…
every little leaf is
exactly where it should be,
it's colored exactly
as it should be.
Team Italy and Blackwatch Genji...
Oh my god!
The reason why I find it 
absolutely mind-blowing is because,
you’ve got to remember that 
when we pitched that skin
and we actually did that skin in-house,
the pitch was that
the guy was supposed to be
half robot and half human.
It was never meant to be fully human,
so seeing that actual cosplayers
decided to run for it
and also managed to keep
all the proportions perfectly aligned
with what we had in mind
when we created that skin for the game
is absolutely mind-blowing.
So we have Team France 
with Magni Torbjörn.
It is such an incredible costume!
The sheer weight of that beard
has to be just...
I can't even imagine.
It looks so good though!
As an artist,
I really like cosplay because
it gives me a chance to look at
the details of the character.
No matter the character
you're doing,
you're really looking at it
under a magnifying glass.
I think that it is kind of in
the back of our minds
each time that we
create new characters,
“how's the cosplay community
going to take over?"
and "how easy or hard is it 
going to be for them?"
So we try to keep that in mind.
There is no greater feeling
Than watching somebody work
months, weeks, hours
on a character that you help to create
and then seeing it in person
it's such an incredible feeling. 
