Today we’d like to introduce you to Casey Musgrove.
Casey, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started cosplaying for fun right after high school. I was a theatre major in college, so it only makes sense that when my cousin took me to my first FanExpo Dallas (one of the largest cons in the state), I was immediately hooked. I just recently began looking at it in a more professional light. I figured that I loved doing it so much that I should try to turn my passion into a viable income. I started attending conventions as a professional cosplay guest in 2018, my first guest spot being at Corpus Christi Comic Con that Summer. In the year since then, I’ve been invited to more than a dozen conventions as a guest, as well as simply attending small local conventions to show my costumes in my free time. I have also started working with the children’s charity Heroic Inner Kids in order to help to make a difference in the community with the costumes that I make. I’m currently working on my most complicated and intricate cosplays to date, and can’t wait to further exhibit the development of my craftsmanship and work in the coming year.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
For the most part, I haven’t had many problems. I do struggle with keeping up with my social media pages. It’s incredibly important in the cosplay community to maintain your pages and post consistent updates. A lot of people have no problem with it, but I tend to get overwhelmed. Many professional cosplayers wind up having assistants or social media managers once they’ve accumulated a large following simply because it’s so much to keep up with. My main priority is really the act of costume making itself. I already had my passion for creating costumes and characters from a young age. I’m mostly a self-taught seamstress, although I learned quite a bit more refined technical skill when I was taking costuming courses in college. As far as projects like prop building and foam smithing, I’ve learned everything I know just from observing others and asking questions. YouTube is a cosplayers most valuable resource when they need to learn a new skill. My advice to anyone wanting to get into cosplaying and costuming, whether it’s just for fun or for work, is to not be afraid to ask people who are more experienced than yourself for help. I know that it can be nerve-wracking, especially when you’re just starting out and have no idea how to begin. We have an incredible community full of people who want to share their knowledge. You may think that someone you admire who has a large following will ignore your messages or be unwilling to help, but that isn’t the case. We all want to help each other and learn. I would have never been able to get to where I am today without learning from my peers. Cosplay isn’t a competition; at the end of the day all we really are is a bunch of nerds in costumes! We want to help each other and swap tips and funny costume stories. Remember that and you’ll be on your way to learning new skills and making tons of new friends.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into SeeSeeCasey Cosplay story. Tell us more about the business.
‘Cosplay’ is just the words ‘costume’ and ‘playing’ put together for those reading who are unfamiliar with the term. Not all cosplayers make their own costumes, although many do. Many people that are in the professional cosplay world do tend to either make their own costumes or have promotional deals with different small business costume makers or larger costume chain outfitters who send them costumes they will wear to conventions and promote to their online audiences. I personally like to make my own costumes. I don’t make all of them; I don’t have the equipment to put together dye-sub suits at home so I commission those from people that I trust to do a good job. Those are the only things I don’t make on my own, though. I take the time to make every detail just right on all of my cosplays. I don’t have one specific specialization as far as exactly what I make because I like to keep learning new skills and improving upon techniques I’ve already learned. I have made everything from 8 foot foam wings to Victorian-era dresses. I’ve spent over 100 hours on certain costumes, hand painting every little detail to make it perfect. I’ve even dabbled in adding electronics to my costumes. I have a holiday-themed cosplay that has lights though out it, and I’m currently working on a full ballgown that will glow and change colors. As far as what I’m known for, it would probably be my interpretations of female comic book characters. I like to take characters that I love and do multiple looks that they’ve had throughout their history. It makes me more passionate about my projects when I’m working on something to represent a character that I like. Many people know me for my intense body paint looks as well. I don’t shy away from a character just because they have purple skin or no eyebrows, for example. I see it as a challenge and enjoy figuring out how to accurately display those physical characteristics. I am passionate and always learning, never letting myself dawdle in my creative comfort zone, and that’s definitely something that sets me apart.
What do you feel are the biggest barriers today to female leadership, in your industry or generally?
As far as I’m concerned, the cosplay world itself is definitely ruled by women. Most cosplay guests that you’ll see at conventions identify as female or non-binary, and that’s great as far as gender representation in our field goes. I think that the barriers start to come up once we try to move forward from just being cosplayers. Depending on print sales and media distribution isn’t a sustainable way to live, and most cosplayers try to move forward and leverage their audience and online presence into a commodity of sorts, to sell a version of themselves to producers as hosts or streamers. It’s hard to make that leap, but those who have done it successfully are admirable. For me, I’m going the route of trying to be entrepreneurial by starting an online costuming supply, where I can process commissions and make unique pieces that people need to complete their costumes but can’t find anywhere else. That’s far in the future, but I don’t believe it to be unattainable. It’s definitely hard to transition into these different roles. As you work towards that, you must still maintain your online persona, produce cosplays, go to conventions, maintain the social schedule you choose to have, and also work whatever day job you have that pays the bills. Juggling all of these things while you try to transition into supporting yourself by doing something you actually enjoy can be straining, and the transition is exhausting, but it’s worth it if you’re able to do it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/seeseecasey
- Email: seeseecasey@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seeseecasey/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SeeSeeCaseyy
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/seeseecasey
Image Credit:
Domino and Bride of Frankenstein are both courtesy of Alan Tijerina Photography. Christmas Ivy is courtesy of Matt Baltazar Photography. All other photos are courtesy of SeeSeeCasey Cosplay.
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