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| Part of Chris Carroll's work for a local copslay group |
There are a number of growing interests that are associated with gaming. Cosplaying is one of those areas of interest. I have seen Cosplayers at every convention I have gone to over the last couple of years. These have not been only the larger media style conventions, but every convention I have gone to. People enjoy sharing their enjoyment as a fan for the characters they enjoy, wherever that character comes from.
Cosplaying has risen, but there is still a strong base of people who do it just for the fun and want to be able to remember what they did by the looking back at the pictures they took with their phone. Others are looking to create something a little more special. This led me to interviewing a local photographer/artist, Chris Carroll. I knew this man before he moved away from Utah. We gamed together then and recently reconnected when he was planning his move back.
Although originally from Utah, Chris Carroll started as a photographer on the east coast. He originally took up photography as a hobby, then worked as a contract photographer. But because of the influences of his younger days playing games and admiring the art of people like Todd Lockwood, he wanted to do more.
He saw how computer art was growing and its ability to create fantastic scenes. He also saw how cosplay was growing and the wearable art people were making to embrace their favorite characters, games, movies, etc. He started working on how he could combine the art of his photography with the art generated within a computer, and the art others were wearing.
According to Chris, the early pieces he created in 2003 sucked. But he kept working at it so he could create something he could be proud of. He attended classes and taught himself so he could create unique pictures—pieces of art—by combining the three elements. His driving force has been the honoring of the work people put into their cosplay outfits. Now, he creates works going beyond just taking a picture.
Each finished piece is a story. Starting with the picture of the individual, Chris then combines elements into the background. His goal is to create a picture a person can come back to and find something new. For him, the creation of the story, within a single frame, is important. This is a time consuming process and not just a click and shoot endeavor.
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| Chris Carroll |
Driven to do justice to the work people put into their outfits, Chris spends time to create a piece of art for the individual he is working with. This means he creates each piece on its own. Most single frame works take about a week. He creates, edits, creates more, and will continue until he has something he feels tells their unique story.
Coming back to Utah meant Chris left the groups of cosplayers he was working with, but his art reached his home state. Recently he worked with the local cosplay group, The Umbrella Corporation—Utah Hive, and has started showing more of his talents on the local scene. The Hive’s Facebook banneris Chris's work. The size of the work is different than his single shots—making it one of the most complex pieces of art he has created to date. He also did the this cosplay centerfold for Utah Geek Magazine
Working with the Hive, and Scott Sneedan at DIY Studios, Chris took a number of still photos of each member of the group in the banner. After that day of shooting, it took him over a month working on his computer to create the final piece.
You can check out more of his work that he shares publicly on his Facebook page or at Studio CMC on Deviant Art (you are forewarned that Deviant Art also has pictures of mature matter). He also shares some of his work on Facebook.
When you are looking for something that might bring your cosplay character to a fuller realm of existence, this might be the style of work you are looking for.
Chris still pushes himself to do more. He feels the time and effort are worth it, saying, “It is satisfying to hear a person gasp when they see their picture.”
If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.
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