WASHINGTON 鈥� Meticulous face paint, carefully stitched skirts, foam weapons and wigs of every color could be seen at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in downtown D.C.
Related Gallery
When the doors of the convention center opened early Saturday, lines were already stretched around the corner.
鈥淚t鈥檚 fun,” said Ryan Shealy of D.C. “You know we have our normal, day to day lives, and it鈥檚 great to get out of that box. Being surrounded by fellow nerds is very liberating.鈥�
Because of short notice, Amelie Kyler of Ellicott City, Maryland, opted for a gender-bend to make her costume work.
鈥淢y costume is John Egbert from 鈥楬omestuck,鈥�” Kyler said. “This was kind of a closet cosplay, kind of not, because we already had this wig, so we just decided it would be easier to make it gender bend.鈥�
鈥淚 love 鈥極verwatch,鈥�” said Taylor Peed of Charlottesville, Virginia, who spent about three months building parts of her costume out of foam with help from a friend. “Ana just seemed like a really, really cool and a challenge to be able to do.鈥�
Peed was hardly alone in spending a long time on her costume.
鈥淭his has been about five years in the making, piece by piece,鈥� explained Shawn Andrew who came to Awesome Con from New York dressed as “Ghost Rider.” His 鈥淕host Rider鈥� mask came from an artist on Etsy.
鈥淛ust being around other nerds, being part of a community that appreciates the different culture, where people will just randomly stop and say 鈥榦h my God, your costume is amazing,” said Ashely, who was dressed as Belle from “Beauty and the Beast.” “It reminds of when I used to watch this show as a kid or this book I loved.鈥�
Marvel legend Stan Lee is at Awesome Con through the weekend along with appearances by David Tennant (鈥淒r. Who,鈥� 鈥淛essica Jones鈥�) and 鈥淪haun of the Dead鈥� director Edgar Wright.
