Yaya Han's World of Cosplay: A Guide to Fandom Costume Culture

Description

The authoritative guide to cosplay written by a legend in the community, and packed with step-by-step advice and fascinating investigations into every aspect of the art. Cosplay--a portmanteau combining "costume" and "play"--has become one of the hottest trends in fandom . . . and Yaya Han is its shining superstar. In this guide to cosplaying, Han narrates her 20-year journey from newbie fan to entrepreneur with a household name in geekdom, revealing her self-taught methods for embodying a character and her experiences in the community. Each chapter is information-packed as she covers everything from the history of cosplay, to using nontraditional materials for costumes, to transforming your hobby into a career--all enhanced with expert advice. Illustrated throughout and easy to use, this practical manual also delights with fascinating stories from the past decades' global cosplay boom. It's the perfect gift for anyone interested in learning (or improving their skills in) the art of cosplay.

Yaya Han is a cosplayer, costume designer, and entrepreneur. Widely regarded as the most inspirational figure in the world of cosplay, Han was featured on the first Network TV show about cosplay, Syfy channel's Heroes of Cosplay, and as a guest judge on the TBS competition show King of the Nerds multiple times, Today, she has made close to 400 costumes in the genres of anime/manga, comic books, video games, sci-fi, and her own original designs. She has built a successful business in the cosplay community, including becoming the first cosplayer to design cosplay-focused products for global in-store mass retail. She has more than two million Facebook followers and 500,000 Instagram followers. She lives in Atlanta, GA. Find her online at yayahan.com.