Aussie cosplay champion suits up with global crown
Becoming the global champion of cosplay is still sinking in for Clare Beaton, otherwise known as Henchwench.
The self-described nerd took out the title at one of the biggest pop culture conventions in the US, the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo, in April, dressed as hunky 300-year-old elf Halsin from the video game Baldur's Gate 3.
"It's kind of the world's best cosplay crafters all in one space," explained Beaton, from the costume and prop-making studio Hench & Scrap.
"Then we won ... I think I was just honestly stunned."
Cosplay involves dressing up as characters from films, books and video games - often in costumes that feature obsessive levels of detail.
It's a relatively small movement in Australia when compared to the US and Japan, but local cosplayers have been making an impact internationally.
Beaton's winning Halsin outfit included silicon prosthetic elf ears and facial scars, a glowing lantern with flexible resin spikes and shoulder pieces constructed from more than 100 individually embossed leather leaves.
She said she felt a connection to the seven-foot tall polyamorous game character, who has the power to transform into a bear, due to Halsin's kindness and affinity with nature.
She completed the project in her spare time over about two years, using skills that ranged from metalwork to resin moulding, 3D printing, leatherwork and sewing.
In October, the Halsin costume helped her to take out the Australian Cosplay Central Crown Championships title for a second time at the nation's biggest gaming convention, PAX Aus.
That win came with a ticket to represent the nation at the US event.
Beaton is well aware that from the outside, cosplayers can seem obsessive and eccentric.
But for her, it's the antidote to a more widespread pop-culture fandom that is based in consumerism.
"You can be creative and contribute back to fandom, and express something you love through doing something constructive," she said.
Her cosplay artistry has taken years to develop after getting her start at 14 working alongside her father at renowned special effects and animation studio Weta FX.
Her first job was working on Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, but she soon found the film industry too specialised for her unique combination of skills.
In 2016, she met her business and life partner Oarin Tremont - otherwise known as Scrap - at a gaming convention, where they bonded over their cosplay outfits from the same video game, Overwatch.
Having realised they could make a living creating costumes and props, the couple moved from Sydney to Adelaide so they could afford a large fabrication workshop with space for their equipment.
Most of the clients at Hench & Scrap are video game companies.
"It's an unusual niche but it's definitely a growing industry," Beaton said.
"We'll build a project and show off on social media how we make things, as part of the marketing."
Beaton will join the cosplay judging panel at the upcoming PAX Aus convention, to be held in Melbourne in October.
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