I am the GLaDOS cosplayer from PAX Prime, suspended upside-down from a structure. I made the entire costume from scratch. AMA!

Will your next costume be a potato?

It's not that hard to make yourself a lot LARGER through cosplay, but shrinking myself to a few inches might be a challenge xD

Well done. Here are the test results: You are an awesome cosplayer. I'm serious, that's what it says: "An awesome cosplayer." We weren't even testing for that.

Ahem... seriously, what's your favorite GLaDOS line?

Ohh, man, don't ask me that! Am I allowed to answer "ALL OF THEM, ON LOOP"?

Haha, if I have to choose, I think my favorite is "Federal regulations require me to warn you that this next test chamber...is looking PRETTY good." The inflection of her voice is just perfect.

I hate for this to sound a bit odd, but does it annoy you that people on the video attributed your costume (which you have clearly worked endlessly and meticulously on, by the way) to bondage?

It came more as a surprise than anything that that would be my most frequently asked question about this costume, just because it didn't even cross my mind! My intention was always to do GLaDOS right - as accurate as possible - and that includes finding some way to defy gravity. People are welcome to get up to anything they'd like in their personal lives, but as far as I see it, there's no real connection to this cosplay.

Cracked has actually done a small bit on this, on how GLaDOS was modeled after the Birth of Venus, but how she looks more like a woman bound and hung upside down. It's something that people obviously saw when it was an actual person doing it instead of a 3-d model in-game.

Awesome cosplay, anyway. Extremely unique and interesting idea!

Yep, in retrospect I can see the connection, but it's more in the design than anything! I'm perfectly able to move all of my limbs and get out of the hanging position while in the costume, so I've kind of killed most of the bondage element :P

It's probably because a lot of nerds (of all genders and inclinations) are into BDSM. And if you are, it's a really obvious connection to make - I thought "suspension bondage" the moment I heard about this cosplay. (Totally perverted mind, can't help it). I do both the hanging and the suspending, and both sides were fascinated by the thought. Didn't read the comments, but I would assume that the curiosity wasn't malicious if it actually came from people who are into that kind of thing.

A bit impolite and/or socially inept to ask about it, though. If someone was really that interested, there are more subtle ways to ask but this is really not the appropriate social context to bring up stuff like this.

Tl;dr: Awesome costume and excellent effort, never mind the weirdos ;) This is obviously a labor of love.

It really didn't bother me. I chose not to address it because it's a personal question to ask and not something I intended to be relevant to the costume. And thank you!

Does the blood rush to your head from being up side down? Also awesome idea for a cosplay.

It's not too bad, since I'm mainly horizontal and holding my head upright. I tried to use the natural bends in my body to create the illusion without being really uncomfortable! I was actually surprised by how long I could handle the harness - I did five 45-minute stints throughout the day at PAX without much soreness.

How long did this take to construct?

This was my project for about 3 months of non-stop work (had to fit it in a summer when I was on university break).

Hi. I took the photo of you that many people saw on tumblr. Let me say it was incredible to see you at PAX. Biggest cosplay highlight that weekend! Do you have any plans to bring your design to other events? Looking forward to your full shoot. PS: More photos of your wonderful cosplay here!

Yes, thanks for grabbing the shots! GLaDOS is so massive that transporting the costume is really difficult, so the costume is restricted to cons I can drive to. It looks like FanimeCon in CA will be the next one.

How is it hangin?

I love that you just asked me that.

How much time/money did it take to make that?

The most expensive part of most of my costumes is the fabric, so this one ended up not being too bad in terms of cost. I'd say the entire thing ran me about $350 in materials, mainly from the 2.5 sheets ($80 per) of Worbla that made up the entirety of the armor.

Do you have any plans to implement her voice into the costume? Would make it flawless.

I actually did have something at PAX - I loaded up an ipod with a ton of GLaDOS dialogue, the two endgame songs, and ambient soundtrack music. However, the con center was too noisy to hear it from my little external speakers, so I'll have to figure out something else for next time.

I seriously investigated coding up a vocoder to create her voice in real time, but scrapped the project when I realized that Ellen McClain's voice isn't THAT edited for the game. I didn't want to cheapen the costume with my poor voice acting skills!

What where some of the safety measures you had to put in place?

Also, How much research did you have to do before hand for the suspension aspect?

Where there any resources you found particularly useful?

The structure/harness were the first things I tackled on this costume, and I definitely fell out of it quite a few times while working out the best way to suspend myself xD I looked up extreme sports and theater harnesses to get ideas on how to go about doing it, but ended up with the final design mainly through trial and error (adding straps/padding, shifting the ropes along my body to find points that could comfortably support my weight, etc.). I've worked with PVC pipe for a lot of costumes in the past, and knew I wanted to use it for the structure since it's so strong and lightweight, but I messed with the dimensions several times to keep it stable.

The main engineering aspect that stumped me was the top bar, which I can slide across in order to move my upper body side to side. I ended up using four caster wheels with a bar between the two sets to prevent them from sliding sideways off the pipe.

You should never be using these carabiners for this no matter how much weight is distributed on them. They are not rated for carrying anything other than keys, and should they fail you could be seriously injured.

Nylon tieline does not hold knots together very well nor is it rated to support a person. The knots you're using look like just single hitches to tie two ends together. These WILL slip at some point and fail. You need to be using, well 1. Rated rope for the weight it's carrying, and 2. Rated carabiners and pulleys, and 3. Better knots. A bowline or figure 8 knot on carabiners, and a fisher mans knot to tie two ropes together, which basically a clove hitch around each rope.

If you decide to continue using this costume PLEASE consider designing a new rigging system with better hardware. Seek professional assistance from a rigging company. I'm based in Chicago, so I only really know of the ones here, but they're all over the country.

Chicago fly house
Reed rigging.
Chicago spotlight.

First off, let me say that I'm hardly an expert in harnesses/rigging, but I did take a few more precautions than you think.

The carabiners are actually rated 80lbs per and were purchased at the hardware store. Since I have eight (and only weigh 100lbs myself, maybe 110 with all of the armor on), I wasn't too concerned about them failing. I melted all of the paracord knots at various points to prevent them from slipping. I had put myself up in the harness 30+ times during the construction process and never had an issue with this setup, so I'm hoping it continues to hold up well. The main thing is that if I DO fall, it's not a very far distance, I can easily catch myself with my arms and legs, and I'm always surrounded by several handlers to help me out.

Thats an amazing cosplay. GlaDOS is my favorite character as well. "How are you holding up? Because I'm a Potato."

"Oh good, my slow clap processor made it into this thing. So we have that."

My daughter wants to know if she can be you when she grows up.

Aw, that's very sweet! She'll probably grow up to be way cooler than this nerd over here :)

Absolutely loved the GLaDOS! It is probably one of the most amazing cosplays I've ever seen.

If you could cosplay as anyone/thing without having to worry about materials, costs, difficulty, who/what would you choose?

That's a tough one, because this was my ultimate dream costume for a long time! The only other on my long-term list is Ashe's wedding dress from FFXII.

[deleted]

Tons of creepy comments on public posts, and only very kind things to my face so far :P

Hah! I saw you at PAX Prime as well, but I thought you were a guy or something... and that it was some sort of official cosplay. Awesome job. :D

I snapped this shot, although Facebook seems to have killed the quality a bit.

Your Guild Wars 2 stuff is great too!

Hey, I'll booth babe for Valve any time xD But thanks for the compliment!

Has anyone from Valve contacted you in any way yet? Given the coverage you've received, I wouldn't be surprised.

No, not personally. They did share the interview on their official facebook page, though.

Wow, this looks incredible :)

1. How long have you been cosplaying?
2. What was the first thing/person you cosplayed as?
3. Do you think GLaDOS actually deleted Caroline at the end in Portal 2?

1) Been cosplaying for about five years now, since SDCC 2008. 2) My first cosplay was a Mesmer from Guild Wars 1. 3) Not really. Seems much more like GLaDOS just wanted a way to hide her feelings - and if you translate the operatic song she sings afterwards, I think it says otherwise!

First of all, I just want to say that the cosplay is the best cosplay Ive ever seen. If there was a cosplay contest at PAX, you would surely won.

1. I was at PAX too for all 4 days. Which days did you go in that costume and how long? I didn't see you in person then.

2. Do you have plans to go to any geek conventions in the future?

I was at PAX for the first three days and in GLaDOS all day Sunday. I kept having to move around at the request of the convention center staff, so that's why you may have missed me! As for future cons, I'm definitely planning on PAX East and FanimeCon later this year, with the possibility of Katsucon.

I saw you at the GW2 event and took some pictures! Your Masquerade/Shining Blade armor set is every bit as impressive as GLaDOS. Maybe even more so, since I like GW2 more than Portal.

I don't have anything to ask, but I just wanted to say that my friends, my wife, and I were really impressed at your work. Hope to see you next year, maybe in a Winged set?

Thank you, that means a lot! I'm so in love with about a hundred different GW2 armor sets. If I were to do another, I'd have to go with the Human T3...but I'm not sure I'm ready to tackle another of Anet's crazy-detailed designs!

I've been wanting to start doing cosplay armor kinds of things. What tools, skills, or materials should I start to familiarize myself with? What would be a good first project for me?

If you're looking to get into armor, I'd google tutorials for craft foam armormaking - it's inexpensive and very easy to work with. I'd suggest starting small, like doing a set of armbraces or pauldrons. As you get more advanced, I can't recommend thermoplastics (Wonderflex or Worbla) enough - a bit pricey, though!

Are there any videos of said cosplay?

Yep! I did an interview at PAX that shows off more of the details, and you can see a .gif of me moving in the harness here.

you are my hero(ine)!!! ... i'm on your FB page, and i congratulated you there, too, but i'm sure it won't hurt to praise you here, as well!!

next month is my daughter's Sweet 16 party, and she wants it to be cosplay-themed... she wants to go as a humanoid GLaDOS, and she made the mask months ago, and is conjuring up ideas for the rest of it now... it definitely won't be anything anywhere near as elaborate as yours, but the point is you're kindred spirits :D ....i, too, am a big Portal fan, even though they never let me play!!.... i'm content just to sit and watch my kids play it, though, and encourage and indulge their obsession... i think it's a brilliant game, i love the story... i never dreamed a frigging video game could move me, emotionally, but every time i hear hints of Caroline, i can't help but feel sadness!! .... i love GLaDOS, and my favorite is the lemon rant when she's potatOS!

anyway, again, congratulations on your achievements and thank you so much for sharing it with the rest of us... you are truly an inspiration, and i wish you the best of luck in your studies and future career, although based on the skills you display, i doubt you'll need much luck!

warm regards,

MGM

That's so exciting, tell her good luck with her costume! Portal as a series has an amazing way of pulling you in and forming attachments to the characters.

Which game do you prefer? Portal 1 or 2?

I love the series as a whole, but I'm particularly drawn to the characters and their interesting dialogue. So I'd have to go with 2, as it introduces some amazing people (Cave Johnson is one of the best things ever!).

It's nice to see a glados cosplayer that doesn't try to humanize her.

I've seen some incredible renditions - there was actually an amazing one at PAX this year - but I really wanted to see if I could defeat the engineering challenge of her canon version.

I'm a prop and replica artist and the craftsmanship on this costume is amazing. Very well done.

How good of a product is Worbla? It seems to be all the rage these days with costumers and armour makers. I've been meaning to try it out myself.

I'm completely enthralled with Worbla as a material, just for its ease of use and the ability to fix any minor mistake. It has its limitations - large pieces tend to wrinkle/warp unless you shape them over something - but I'd definitely recommend it. The only stumbling block is cost, since it's certainly more expensive than craft or EVA foam (but isn't really comparable IMO).

Is it bad when you have to use the bathroom? Wearing a dress shirt tucked in and a belt is tough enough when I have to pee, I can only imagine the horror when you have an insane costume on.

Surprisingly not. All of the armor is attached to a canvas jumpsuit that I made specifically to be quick to take on and off, so I can just remove all the armor in one go.

could i see what you really look like? like any given day look and outfit?

Let me know if the link doesn't work, but this is about the best I have of casual shots. I don't have too many photos outside of cosplay!

I was interested how you got into the suit. That rig looks awfully complicated! But I don't want to sound creepy ^{dammitIblewit.}

It's a valid question! All of the armor is attached to a canvas..jumpsuit of sorts that's shorts-length and has a corset back. So it's really quick to just loosen the laces and get in and out of all of the armor at once!

Fantastic cosplay for one of my favourite characters. Being based in Europe, the Cosplay scene (and Convention scene) is just not that well developed. What I am asking is, I guess there will be no chance of your GLaDOS appearing anywhere in Europe in future?

There's always a chance - I've never been to a convention outside the US before, but I've always wanted to do so! I've had my eye on Gamescom in particular. No plans for the immediate future, though, since global travel is so expensive even without shipping a 50-lb oversized package along with me.

How is your computer science/game design course going? I am headed to uni in a few weeks. But I backed out from comp science in fears that I wasn't smart enough. I instead chose web design since I want to be in the design industry. Designing and coding websites sounds a lot more fun than the endless hours of coding in programming languages like C++ or the like.

Great cosplay. Is there anything you chose not cosplay because you didn't think you could do it justice?

It's going quite well! I'm a junior at the moment, so I'm halfway done with my CS degree. I think it's something that you have to really be into in order to succeed, so if programming doesn't sound like a fun challenge, it's probably one to avoid :P My web design/coding course was actually one of my favorites I've ever taken, but I'm really set on going into game development, so it's CS for me.

I haven't really come across anything yet, other than crossplaying, since I'm very obviously a tiny girl xD I wouldn't avoid a costume based on not having the right skintone or eye color or anything. Hell, I just cosplayed a robot hanging from the ceiling haha.

It appears that you're laying on your back. How did you see in front of you? Mirrors?

I'm actually laying on my stomach with my knees bent. So I was able to hold my head up and see (decently) well through a few slits in the helmet.

Never mind... It would appear that you're belly-down. I'm impressed that it took 45 minutes to get sore!

It's not bad, actually! I'm being held up by ropes attached to my shoulders, torso, hips, and upper thighs, and then have padded rests for my knees and ankles. Overall, a lot of support - the hard part was holding my head up for that long.

How many times have you completed Portal and Portal 2?

I've beaten one only four or five, but two...easily 15+. It's one of the few that never really gets old for me.

How you doin'?

"I'm doing good baby. How you doin'?" "Ross! Don't let her drink anymore."

So I just looked at more of your work on your DeviantART page and I have to ask, does it cost as much as one might think to make all those costumes? I'm not asking for specifics, as that's none of my business, but all of those look so incredibly detailed and elaborate that I would think they'd cost a small fortune to assemble.

Maybe that's part of the art? Make it look incredibly good but still be very affordable...

I'm obsessive about keeping costs down (poor college student here!), because they WILL add up if I'm not careful. I buy all of my fabric at a local discount fabric store, do my best to save excess materials for later use, and do as much comparison shopping for supplies as possible. Since I really only make one or two cosplays per year, the expense isn't too bad.

hi just wanted to say how awesome that you managed to do the costume so well, ive always wondered what a non humanoid cosplay would look like!

im being dragged into cosplay myself soon so its great to see stuff like this.

have any tips for someone getting started?

My main tip would be to find a few more experienced cosplayers to help you out, but I'm assuming you already have that! Otherwise, I'd say start simple and abuse google as much as possible - there are a huge number of tutorials and tips out there.

So all you did was just hang there? Any acting?

I had a great time emulating her movements (I can slide along the top black bar to move my upper body side to side) and doing a bit of her dialogue, but there wasn't as much freedom to act as in a typical cosplay!

How did you transport all of this? Does it all pack away into a rolling case? And what are you doing with the costume now?

It's still a problem I'm working out. PAX happens to be within driving distance, so I managed to (carefully) stuff the entire thing unpacked into my car, but I don't think it would survive being shipped. The structure disconnects to fold up very compactly, but the armor can't really be crushed.

How did you make the white/grey bits in the costume? Are they styrofoam? Also, who is the older gentleman "constructing" you?

Also in your vid you mentioned that you didn't have the skill before, so what did you learn in that time? Are you a design student or something?

Lastly, that Guild Wars 2 headpiece is awesome and so sophisticated. How was that done?

The white armor, you mean? I made all of it from Worbla, a type of thermoplastic. And he's actually my father - my whole family went to PAX as a vacation and he was super cool about being my handler for a day!

I'm not a design student, I just made quite a few cosplays since then and learned a lot of new construction techniques in doing so.

The GW2 head piece is made mainly from craft foam and paper mache, with puff paint and painted lace for all of the details.

Does it ever become ridiculously humid in your costume?

The con center was quite cool, so I wasn't ever uncomfortably hot. I'm wearing a cotton full bodysuit with a canvas harness over it, both of which are decently breathable, and the armor sits a few inches away from my skin.

Have you thought about perhaps coming up with some sort of voice effect?

Yep, I actually did have something at PAX - I loaded up an ipod with a ton of GLaDOS dialogue, the two endgame songs, and ambient soundtrack music. However, the con center was too noisy to hear it from my little external speakers, so I'll have to figure out something else for next time.

What happens to a costume once you retire them?

I keep most of my costumes in circulation to wear on and off at cons. The only one I've really retired is my very first, and that one doesn't need to see the light of day :P

I don't have any questions, I just wanted to congratulate you on such a remarkable work of art. I know how much time and effort goes into these things, and I'm always amazed at how much devotion people show for something that doesn't earn them money or tangible rewards.

I guess that does lead me to a question: Do you make a living from designing costumes? I would imagine such a thing could be lucrative, even if something like the GLaDOS suit is "just" for the love of the art and game.

I don't make a living from my costumes, and I don't think I ever could - just the sheer amount of time and effort that goes into them would make me unwilling to part with them for any reasonable amount of money. I'm actually studying computer science with the hopes of going into game development some day, so this is really just a hobby for me! Who knows, maybe someday there will be cosplayers from my games :)

Truly amazing cosplay! It is really great and I'm inspired for when I decide to take my first crack at making my own cosplay outfit for next year! :)

I have no idea if you'll see this but how long have you been making outfits? I truly find it remarkable!

Again, truly amazing work! Love it! Liked your Facebook page and I love your other work too! :D

Thank you so much! I'm constantly inspired by seeing other people's amazing cosplay work, so I'm glad I could do likewise :) I've been cosplaying for about five years now, although I'm slow at making new costumes since it has to take a back burner to university.

I searched you up on Instagram and found a page with your name but 0 photos, is this you or just fanmade? Would be awesome if you uploaded on Instagram so that we could stay up to date with your cosplaying journey!

I'm enaylacosplay on instagram, although I really only use it to view friends' photos. I might start uploading more stuff there if there's interest. I'm quite active on my facebook if you'd like to see more progress and updates!

Thats seriously awesome but is it as uncomfortable as it looks?

No, not really! I'm supported at six points along my body, including padded knee and ankle straps, which made it surprisingly comfortable. Holding my head up at that angle was the most exhausting part.

I admire your dedication.

How long were your breaks between stints?

How was the crowd reaction?

How many friends did you have for handlers?

I did about an hour in, an hour out throughout the day, so it didn't get too overwhelming. I was really pleased at how easy the costume ended up being to take on and off (those last-minute adjustments helped a bunch).

I had a really positive reaction overall! I think part of it was that there are a ton of people who have the same affection for the character that I do.

PAX was actually a bit of a family reunion/vacation for me, so my main handler was my dad! He's a big gamer as well, so he was enjoying PAX on the other days, and even got dressed up in a lab coat to help me with moving the structure and raising myself in the harness.

How is computer science for you ? I have wanted to do something game design related, but I don't really know what, I've started on a programming class, but I'm also very interested in the music category. Anyways really nice costume!

It's really intense, but I'm enjoying it. The gaming industry in general seems like such a great thing to be a part of, so it's definitely worth a shot.

Your costume was amazing. I saw you at PAX and I honestly thought you were one of the decorative sculpture things until you moved your arms!

Haha, you definitely weren't the only one! I got a lot of exclamations whenever I moved.

What's your next project?

Ahh, I just finished this giant thing, so I've barely started thinking about my next! I'm thinking of taking part in a big FFXII group as Penelo (FFTA2 version), but nothing's set in stone.

Are you going to do another cosplay like this(costumes thats gonna take a really long time)?

Most of my costumes tend to be kind of crazy since I like working on long projects, so we'll see!

Do you think you will one day be able to make money/a living from being a cosplayer? For example designing and making costumes that you could wear at events or booths at different conventions.

I don't think so, simply because my costumes take such an enormous amount of time and effort that I don't think anyone would be willing to buy them for the price I'd have to charge. Even at half-minimum wage per hour, a lot of these would be in the thousands, not even counting material cost. And I don't know if I could ever part with them after so much blood, sweat, and tears went into making them!

Ah it's you! I have seen your Guild Wars 2 costume posted around the web tonnes of times and it's a huge inspiration for me. Do you have any tips for someone who is also interested in making really intricate and detailed costumes?

Give yourself about ten times the amount of time you think you'll need to complete it! Every costume I do involves some sort of unfamiliar technique, which takes longer than you'd think to master. Otherwise, don't skimp on the planning stage: work out how to do as many elements of the costume as possible before starting out.

very cool! Although, whenever I see extremely complex cosplays I always wonder about the logistical nightmare of going to the bathroom with that thing.

All of the armor is attached to a canvas jumpsuit, so I can just remove that and all of the armor in one go and run around in my little bodysuit.

You said you made this while not in university? I was just wondering what you majored in?

I'm currently in university - I'm a junior studying computer science.

Actually, I'm putting off working on coding a ray tracer to answer things in this thread xD

Do you have any plans on making more big cosplay costumes as big as this one? if so, what charaters?

I don't have any particular characters in mind since this was my ultimate dream costume for so long! I'm sure I'll think of something, since I've consistently had a cosplay to-do list a mile long.

It seems like your cosplays are surprisingly modest. Care to comment on your choices (and methods) versus the norm?

I don't really make a conscious choice to cosplay more or less modest characters, I just go with the ones I love and whose designs appeal to me! I'm in the camp of absolutely not caring what other people choose to cosplay and don't think I should have any say in the matter - whatever floats your boat :)

If you don't mind me asking, how much did the finished product cost? It looks absolutely amazing and you seem so passionate about it.

This one wasn't that bad because there was almost no fabric involved an hardware is surprisingly inexpensive. I'd say about $350-$400 total, mainly because the thermoplastic (Worbla) for the armor is a bit pricey.

Have you seen much sexism or misogyny? I seem to hear about it a lot from women who generally cosplay more revealing outfits - but I was wondering, with something that is less revealing, have you still encountered any problems from "the boy's club"?

Apart from a few sexual comments on my other costumes, I haven't had much of a problem with this. I post enough about being excited for various upcoming games or some achievement or item I just got in-game to be labelled as part of that exclusive little club, I suppose? Or maybe I've just been very lucky.

Will you date me?

Good luck

Ah, my valiant boyfriend swoops in to defend my honor :P

Outside of cosplay, have you considered getting into rope suspension, shibari, or even going so far as to doing hook suspension?

That's not really my thing, no.

i love you

"I think that one was about to say 'I love you.' They ARE sentient, of course. We just have a LOT of them."

I'm sure you get this a lot, but you are amazing! A real inspiration. Weird question, but, did anyone dot on you/ tell you how sexy you we're? I feel like you might have been fulfilling a lot of fantasies. (Not mine of course... a... friend's.... Yes my friend's obsessive, compelling, maddening GLaDOS fetish.)

Haha, thank you! I can't say I find GLaDOS particularly sexy, but do have pretty much every other type of attraction possible for this character - she's one of the wittiest, most badass game characters out there.

Is cosplaying relevant and why?

Relevant to what?

i call bullshit because on the picture you linked i can't see a person, just a bunch of stuff glued together to resemble glados

afaic it's just a sculpture

so post more and better pictures to disprove me

Still waiting on photos from a full shoot, but you can see what it looks like when I'm just walking around here and a .gif of me moving in the harness here.

You must be pretty flattered that someone thought you were an actual model of GLaDOS.

Even had me for a sec there.

Best compliment a cosplayer can get! I was really entertained at how many people at PAX exclaimed when I moved since they thought I was a prop :P