Toowoomba woman wins global cosplay competition

AUSTRALIA has its first international cosplay champion and she hails from Toowoomba.

AUSTRALIA has its first international cosplay champion and she hails from Toowoomba.

Sam Mansfield, aka Major Sam, was crowned winner of the Crown Champion- ships of Cosplay at the comic convention C2E2 in Chicago at the weekend.

It was her hand-crafted outfit of Gothic necromancer, Julietta Necromancer that won over the judges.

Her intricate skeletal costume features lit up cat skeletons and five layers of dyed silk organza.

It took four months to make the outfit and required more than 20 hours of hand-stitching.

Sam Mansfield, aka Major Sam, was crowned winner of the Crown Championships of Cosplay at the comic convention C2E2 in Chicago at the weekend, dressed as Gothic necromancer, Julietta Necromancer.

Ms Mansfield said creating cosplay costumes was a tough hobby that required time and love.

Her advice to other champion hopefuls was to give it 120%.

"Go all out and don't cut yourself short," she said.

"If that one element of the costume is going to need dozens of hours to make, give that element the time it deserves.

"Giving a costume time is what makes a good costume great."

She said the painstaking time it took to make her outfit was definitely worth it.

"There is so much detail to look at and it's a perfect combination of scary and beautiful," she said.

Ms Mansfield took the top prize at the Australian Championships of Cosplay at Oz Comic-Con in Septem- ber last year, which qualified her to represent Australia in Chicago.

She said to be crowned the international champion was overwhelming.

"It's one thing competing against the rest of Australia, but against multiple countries is unfathomable," she said.

"It hasn't sunk in yet and I don't think it will for a while, if at all.

"I don't envy judges when it comes to a situation between needing to compare armour to sewing.

"But in the end it comes down to three things that apply to both types of costumes, the overall finish, amount of work and how many different skills were used."

Sam Mansfield, aka Major Sam, was crowned winner of the Crown Championships of Cosplay at the comic convention C2E2 in Chicago at the weekend, dressed as Gothic necromancer, Julietta Necromancer.

Originally published as Toowoomba woman wins global cosplay competition