Elendriel (Hawaii)
as Ronan the Accuser from Guardians of the Galaxy
Why I chose this cosplay:
I’m always looking for new challenges and I loved the character Ronan in the comics, although when I was reading them I never thought about trying to bring him to life. There are so many aspects to his character, far more than the movie Guardians of the Galaxy portrayed, and I fell in love with his storyline. When I saw Guardians last fall, as soon as Ronan came on screen and I saw just how epic his costume looked, I knew right then that I had to make it. Before the movie was even over, I was already sketching out pieces, and as the credits rolled my friend and I were brainstorming on how to put together his hammer and the armor itself. I set myself a deadline for Dragon Con, only a few short weeks later. It was ambitious, but it was the drive I needed to get back into the groove of making costumes.  Every time I wear this costume, the response I get both in person and online is amazing, and I feel like it’s definitely one of the best ones I’ve made to date.
Creation process:
Over 200 hours were spent constructing this costume from scratch. Everything was hand-made except for the shoes themselves. All patterns were hand-drafted. The boot covers, pants, and cowl were made from lamb-skin leather and the side panels were made from a thicker, patterned leather to help achieve the desired effect/design to match the character on screen. All of the armor was constructed using wonderflex as a base to provide stability and then layered with craft foam and modge podge to help seal/create a plastic overlay and harden the armor.
Initially painted black, all of the armor was then weathered using a mixture of acrylic paints and texture was added to the armor using hot glue and paint to give the raised/scarred effect on the chestplate, the headdress, and shoulder pieces. A muscle suit was constructed as a base to help bring the costume closer to the build of the actor who portrayed Ronan in Guardians of the Galaxy, as well as to provide proportional dimensions so that the armor and cowl/headdress would lay correctly. The leather pants were also constructed from scratch using lambskin leather and another patterned leather to achieve the details on the upper half of the pants. Different methods of makeup were tested and there are approximately three different types of makeup used to achieve the blue skin, using a layering effect to give the skin a multi-dimensional look instead of a flat surface. Custom contacts were ordered for accuracy to the ones used in the movie. The hammer was made from a base of PVC pipe and cardboard. Cardboard was wrapped around the PVC pipe to achieve the in-dented design of the staff. The cardboard was layered in the base of the hammer to provide stability and the covered in paper mache. After an initial layer of paint, the hammer was weathered using a combination of acrylics. LEDs were placed in the center circular pieces to help light the interior of the hammer.
What I love about cosplaying:
I’ve been actively cosplaying since 2006 where I attended Anime Weekend Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia. Since then, I’ve crafted over 300 costumes from anime, manga, television series, comics movies, and live-action productions. My very first convention was a Harry Potter convention in Orlando, Florida where I was introduced to the idea of cosplaying as a character and also the convention scene itself. My very first costume was Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter which was put together with the help of my godmother and mother. After that convention, my godmother took me under her wing and taught me how to sew by assisting me in sewing my very first hand-made costume, a Jedi Knight, for the Star Wars premiere.
Since then I’ve has expanded my knowledge by experimenting with different costuming methods and learning by taking apart old clothing, drafting my own patterns, following tutorials online, and using the costuming community as a sounding board for new techniques. The part I love most about the cosplaying community are the people and the friendships that I’ve made over the years. How many hobbies can you say that you know people around the world? Some of my strongest friendships began at conventions and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Having the chance to bring my favourite characters to life, whether it’s running around a convention, doing a photoshoot, re-creating scenes and clips – it’s one of the most amazing feelings in the world.  Conventions are truly ‘family’ reunions and my favourite conventions include Dragon Con, Katsucon, NYCC, and WonderCon. Every costume is a new, exciting challenge, and the possibilities are endless.
