For today's Interview I managed to get a hold of the immensely talented Bill Doran of Punished Props! You may have heard that name before as I've featured his prop work before on my blog. To those who are unfamiliar, Punished Props is basically a prop making company solely run by Bill and his wife who live out in Seattle, Washington! Some of his finished props include the Monado blade from Xenoblade Chronicles, guns from various games like Mass Effect, Destiny, and Borderlands, and even the Dragon Priest Masks from Skyrim. He has also created props for many other cosplayers including Nausicaa's weapon for Jessica Nigri alongside daggers for her Wildstar cosplay worn at PAX East last year!
Like most cosplayers starting out, Bill got convinced to dress up from his friends when he went to his first convention in 2009. The con in question was PAX Prime. This also led to his first cosplay being the Soldier from Team Fortress 2! He thankfully grew up loving fantasy and sci-fi stuff along with his twin brother who also happens to be into the same stuff. When it comes to the prop work, Bill tends to lean more towards the video games since that was more of his interest. One new element that he's getting more into are electronics and making things glow. With some experience under his belt, he hopes to work with them more!
Other notable things include a series of books that Bill has published known as "The Foamsmith Trilogy" which basically give cosplayers a break down on how to work with foam from patterning to painting and finishing. Using these myself has proven to be incredibly helpful with working on my upcoming Aquaman cosplay! I hope you guys enjoy these questions!
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What got you into cosplay/prop making and how
long have you been doing it?
Back in 2009 some friends of mine convinced me to
dress up as a character from Team Fortress 2 and go to PAX Prime.
What prop was the first you ever created?
The Soldier's rocket launcher from Team Fortress
2.
Thinking back to the last convention you were at,
did you enjoy it?
It was so much fun! We had 6 people in our TF2
group and everyone wanted to take our photo.
What cosplay(s) did you bring to this convention?
Just the TF2 costumes.
What is your favorite cosplay/prop you’ve made so
far?
So far my favorite costume is the Skyrim Draugr
Deathlord costumes that my wife and I made and wear.
What got you into being a geek?
Ever since I was a wee lad I was interested in
scifi and fantasy books. Highlander was my favorite TV show.
Do you have any other members of your family who
are into what you enjoy? Or are you at present the only “geek” in the family?
My twin brother is very much into the same stuff
as I am.
You’ve been able to work on props and commissions
for many cosplayers who have the difficulty in creating such high quality
items. I imagine the process is different for each prop or do you have like a
series of steps you follow for certain things such as creating guns?
Every single prop that I make from scratch is a
prototype. There are many similar steps, but each build proposes it's own set
of challenges.
Much of your prop work stem from the video game
world such as Mass Effect guns, Skyrim armor as well as many other forms of
weaponry. Is that the kind of work you’ve been doing as long as you remember?
Were any props from comic books made?
I was always way more into video games
than comic books and I like to make stuff from the things I enjoy. Hence
all the video game props.
One cosplay you made for both you and your wife
were a full set of Dragur armor from Skyrim! What was that like creating
something for the both of you to enjoy?
It was awesome being able to split the work load
between two people. The process was a lot of fun and very rewarding.
I also loved the weapon props you made for both
Jessica Nigri and Monika Lee’s Wildstar cosplays last year. The glow effects on
Monika’s circle blades looked especially cool! Were those fun to work on as
well?
It's always fun putting glowing elements into
props. I'm starting to get better at adding electronics and they're so, so
pretty.
Are there any props at the moment that remain
unfinished at the moment that you hope to complete soon?
I always have several projects on the back burner.
One of the things you also sell is a collection
of books titled “The Foamsmith Trilogy”. You detail the steps required so that
anyone who hasn’t tried creating things out of foam can easily jump in and
start crafting. How do you feel that many cosplayers are using them to help
with their own projects?
It's been very rewarding hearing back from
cosplayers who have used my materials to make their own creations.
What do you think about cosplay as it is now
hitting the mainstream?
I'm excited to see our hobby making it's way to
more and more participants.
Do you have any upcoming cosplays for this year
that you’re able to share?
I just finished a Destiny costume. I still want
to make a helmet for it, but other than that, I haven't figured out what
costume I'm going to do next.
Do you imagine cosplaying being a part of your
life within the next 5 years and do you hope to evolve your skill set?
Yes and yes.
What’s a day in the life Bill Doran?
Wake up, eat breakfast, exercise, shower,
build things, sleep, repeat.
Any upcoming game releases you’re looking forward
to?
I'm pretty stoked to play Overwatch.
Do you have a favorite convention?
Easy, Dragon Con.
If you had to pick your dream prop to make, what
would it be?
Kind of a big "prop", but I want to
make Corbin Dallas' apartment from the 5th Element.
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| Photo by Cosplay Boom |
I do hope you guys enjoyed this interview! If you guys want to follow Punished Props, be sure to check out these links and visit his website! Special thanks to Bill for letting me do this with him :D
