THE Covid-19 pandemic has helped a cosplayer begin her journey and now they dress up as a sexy barbarian at one of the biggest comic conventions in the world.
Genesis Westad, 21, debuted her full body paint cosplay at New York Comic Con this weekend, dressing up as Grog Strongjaw, a character from the Dungeons and Dragons webseries, Critical Role.
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“This is my first time going to a con in body paint,” she exclusively told The U.S. Sun.
“It definitely can be time-consuming but it’s totally worth it.
“[It] takes me about 30 minutes to do a good base and I have to touch up throughout the day.”
Westad donned all gray for her costume along with markings around her face to portray the barbarian.
She completed the look with a brown top with white fur, matching pants, and boots.
While onlookers might marvel at her craftsmanship, Westad says she’s still a rookie.
“I’m still beginning doing cosplay,” she said. “I started when Covid hit.
“For me, I’m not super proficient in crafts. I can’t sew that well so I do a lot of hot glue – maybe hot glue isn’t the right thing to use all the time.
“And I use craft foam for the armor, which you can use a heat gun to shape with and I also use craft paint.”
Westad was accompanied by her friend, Frejya Roark, 22, who dressed up as Keyleth, “The Voice of the Tempest,” another character from the Critical Role series.
Originally from Las Vegas, Nevada, it was Roark’s first time at New York Comic Con.
It was also the biggest con she’s ever attended.
“We’re gonna be meeting the Critical Role cast today, we have meet and greets with them,” she said.
“But just getting to see all the artists, and see everyone dress up is too exciting.”
For her costume, Roark wore a red wig with a crown of flowers and antlers on her head.
She wore a light blue gown that she bought but it was actually in the wrong color at first.
“I had to go into the foray of fabric dyeing, which is a long and tedious process that took about four days,” said Roark.
She also carried a staff that was built specifically to be travel-friendly.
“I make a lot of my cosplays. This is all made by me,” she said.
“My staff is collapsable because I had to travel on a plane with it.”
The staff comes apart in five pieces, making it easy for her to pack it in a suitcase.
However, the highlight of her costume was her cape with hundreds of leaves glued to it.
“Every single one of these leaves is hand-placed over the course of about three months, so it’s a couple of pounds,” said Roark.
Both expressed that the time, money, and work spent on their costumes came from a deep love for their respective characters.
“I’ve watched Critical Role for years, they’re on campaign three now but Grog is from their first campaign,” said Westad.
“I also have my own D&D character that had a lot of body paint in my cosplay.”
Roark said Keyleth, a half-elf druid, had also been special to her.
“For picking out the characters, I just pick characters that I really love,” she said.
“Keyleth has always resonated with me and this is her big outfit that I just really wanted to do.”
New York Comic Con is a four-day event held annually at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City.
Celebrity guests, movie panels, the famed artist’s alley, and countless cosplayers are the main highlights of the event.
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