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Leeming cosplay fan named top dog at SupaNova Perth

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Josh ZimmermanMelville Gazette

MOST of the time, Leeming resident Arron Angel is a Notre Dame nursing student hoping to one day become a doctor.

But come ComicCon, or any of the pop culture conventions rapidly gaining popularity in Australia and worldwide, Mr Angel transforms.

The 20-year-old is a self-confessed cosplay fanatic and his stunning costumes, based mostly on characters from popular animated Japanese television shows, are becoming well known in Perth.

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In June, Mr Angel’s Rider costume (from the series Fate Zero) was rated best in show at SupaNova Perth.

“Back in high school one of my friends asked me to go to SupaNova and that was when I was first exposed to cosplay,” he said.

“I really enjoy the learning process behind it, the amount of trial and error that goes into making a convincing costume is ridiculous but as soon as you recreate something out of a TV show you get an overwhelming sense of accomplishment.”

All of Mr Angel’s costumes are crafted by hand and can take hours just to plan.

“You can’t exactly just download blueprints off the internet so I usually spend a good couple of hours looking at what I want to make and breaking it down into its simplest components,” he said.

“My philosophy is also to make costumes that fit my body shape because you feel like you are doing the character more justice.”

Mr Angel this month heads to America as part of the Disney Cultural Exchange Program where he hopes to take his costuming skills to the next level.

He will spend six months working as a lifeguard at Disney World in Orlando but aims to also help in the costuming department.

“During Disney World’s offseason in winter they move the exchange program participants around so I’m really hoping to get a costuming position at some point,” he said.

“It would be amazing working backstage and helping to maintain and get Disney’s huge range of costumes ready for shows.”

Mr Angel initially planned to study costume design at WAAPA but withdrew his application in favour of a more secure career.

“Basically all costume designers are freelance for life and there is not much job security in the industry,” he said.

“I decided to study nursing instead and I want to study medicine when I’m done – but I’ll definitely keep making costume as a hobby.”