‘It really brings the character to life:’ How prop-making can make costumes pop

Toronto Comicon is back in town this weekend and it’s a chance for cosplayers to show off their incredible costumes that can often take months to create. One well-known cosplayer explains that the pretend weapons and accessories that go with them can be just as elaborate.

“I put, I think, over 200 hours into this,” says prop-maker Kiren Vy, showing off a helmet with a giant chainsaw blade, long-sharp teeth and faux electrical wiring that helps her transform into Chainsaw Man from the anime series of the same name.

Vy, who is studying technical production for theatre at Sheridan College, says props are a vital part of any costume.

“I think props are really important. I like how expressive you can be with props — it really brings the character to life,” she says.

Kiren Vy speaks at a prop-making workshop at Toronto Comicon 2023. CITYNEWS/Dilshad Burman

A cosplayer since the age of 14, Vy has honed her prop-making skills for years.

“My brain has this desire to just make stuff and I think it comes from just having a really overactive imagination,” she says.

“I actually got into cosplay because I wanted to learn the skills that I needed to then eventually work in hopefully film and tv.”

She often uses materials like EVA crafting foam and foam clay for her costumes and props and even creates them with 3D printers, but says you can do a lot with much simpler materials.

“When you make something, you are putting something from your perspective into reality, and you are contributing to the culture and you are part of the culture. And I think that everyone — regardless of if they have access to EVA foam, contact cement, 3D printers, silicone, etc. — I feel like everyone should have that opportunity to make something from the imaginary into reality,” she says.

“Cardboard is easily accessible — you can just dig it out of your recycling bin — and you can actually make anything out of it,” she says.

Kiren Vy teaches children how to make props out of cardboard at a workshop at Toronto Comicon 2023. CITYNEWS/Dilshad Burman

At a prop-making workshop at Toronto Comicon titled “How to turn garbage into anything,” Vy showed participants how to make 3-D forms out of flat sheets of cardboard that she says can often become the basis for intricate and complicated designs, but still be cost-effective and accessible.

“The other thing with inexpensive materials like cardboard is that the creative constraints that it causes actually kind of compel you to think outside of the box. And if you’re ever going into professional prop-making, a big part of the job is being able to think, ‘okay, this prop has these shapes and forms and it needs to come together this way. And these materials are the ones we are using because they’re the ones we can afford,” she says.

Kiren Vy poses in her Chainsaw Man cosplay at Toronto Comicon 2023. CITYNEWS/Dilshad Burman

When it all comes together, Vy says the time, effort and creative energy that goes into prop-making is well worth it and she finds the process and end result empowering.

“I have a lot of stage fright about [conventions] and when I weild a prop such as this or wear armour like this, it just makes the anxiety of being in a crowded place go away a little bit because I’m holding something that I’m just really proud of,” she says.