Interview with Axis Powers Hetalia Fanart Contest Winner La Tobba

La TobbaThis is another winner for our Axis Powers Hetalia Fanart contest held in last month – La Tobba. She has gotten a sponsorship from Miccostumes.com – the Axis Powers Hetalia Antonio cosplay Costume. After receiving the costume, she will take photos and share those with all of us. Just expect :P! Below, we make an interview with her.

1. Since cosplay becomes more and more popular, how do you think about the good things and also bad things on this performance art?

I think that there are too many people that take cosplay too seriously.I see a lot of people going mad because their cosplay or their wig isn’t exactly like the one of the character they have decided to cosplay.  I think that it’s not a job but only a way to have fun with friends, so take it easy 😉

2. Do you consider yourself a “cosplayer” year round, or only when participating in certain activities?

I mostly do cosplay during the convention but sometimes I also dress up for fun when I’m home or with friends so… something between the two things.

3. Going to a venue with many people to watch you in costume and simply taking a photograph, which one is more meaningful?

To me they’re pretty much the same thing.

4. Is the creation of the costume or characters more valuable than the actual acting or vice versa, or is it a mix? As well, how much of the do-it-yourself mentality is admired? If someone just bought their whole costume, are they still a true cosplayer?

Yeah if you can identify yourself into your character when you have bought your whole costume you’re still a cosplayer. We’re not all gods of the sewing machine though realizing your cosplay by yourself is much better than buying it since you get more satisfaction and more fun.

5. Which contest theme do you mostly want to see at Miccostumes.com?

I don’t know maybe something related to cosplay music videos.

Interview with Bleach Cosplay Contest Winner Michelle Garcia

1Two contests related to Bleach cosplay and Axis Powers Hetalia fanart were held last month and this is the interview with one of winners – Michelle Garcia. Congratulations, Michelle and huge thanks for accepting our interview :D!

Michelle will be sponsored with the Bleach Gin Ichimaru Arrancar Cosplay Costume. Later, she will share us her photos with the costume worn. Let’s expect ~~

1. Since cosplay becomes more and more popular, how do you think about the good things and also bad things on this performance art?

A: Well I think that cosplay is good because it helps you understand the character you portraying. I feel that there is no bad at this performing arts :D!

2. Do you consider yourself a “cosplayer” year round, or only when participating in certain activities?

A: I consider a cosplayer year round because I go to many cons and expos in the years also go to festivals to cosplaying :D.

3. Going to a venue with many people to watch you in costume and simply taking a photograph, which one is more meaningful?

A: To me going with many people to watch not only me but other wonderful cosplayers is meaningful to me 😀 what would be the use of a photograph if you’re not there with friends that are also cosplayers :D.

4. Is the creation of the costume or characters more valuable than the actual acting or vice versa, or is it a mix? As well, how much of the do-it-yourself mentality is admired? If someone just bought their whole costume, are they still a true cosplayer?

A: I personally think it’s a mix because even if you have a awesome costume you may not even know how to act the character well or you may know how to act well but the costume is horrible, so I think it’s more like combinding the costume and the character acting into one :D. To do it yourself mentality is admired if you know how to :D. I think they still are because even if they are new to cosplay as long as that person who bought the whole costume is indeed a true cosplayer :D.

5. Which contest theme do you mostly want to see at Miccostumes.com?

A: Bleach, Naruto, Kingdom Hearts, and Final Fantasy :D.

Cosplayer Interview with PaXingCai

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Showing us the breathtaking Team Fortress 2 cosplay, PaXingCai accepts our interview today. She loves Cosplay and Vidya. To know more about this American cosplay talent, focus on what’s shared below.

Q1. Please tell us something about yourself.

I’m a 24 year old graduate of the University at Buffalo. I have 2 ferrets named Sly and Terath after other medics I play with in Team Fortress and my favorite color is orange. I’m almost always connected to technology whether it be my phone or tablet and I really love android. In my day to day life you would never guess that I dress up and do geeky things.

Q2. When did you begin to do cosplay? You like it or got into it by some other reasons?

I started going to conventions when I was 11 or 12 at Anime North a local convention in Toronto. My parents had friends who went to Star Trek conventions so they somehow figured it would be ok to take me a few times and then I was hooked. I saw all the cosplayers there and was inspired and my mother helped me make a costume for the next convention!

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Q3. What’s your favorite cosplay and why?

I’d have to say my solider costume from Team Fortress 2 is my favorite. While it isn’t the most elaborate or technical thing I’ve ever made its just fun to wear. TF2 has been my favorite game to play the past few years and wearing the costume has allowed me to meet a lot of Team Fortress fans not to mention my friends in ArsClan where I play TF2 get a real kick out of it.

Q4. Have you ever met some difficulties in cosplay? And how did you solve them?

Time is always a huge difficulty because having a real job and responsibilities gets in the way of sewing as do games and reading etc etc….. I solve this by massively procrastinating usually XD.

Q5. I find you have so many stunning pictures displayed in the gallery. So, are you often photographed? Is there any suggestion for people? How can they look great while facing the lens?

Practice in the mirror always and look up reference images of what your character does. Unless you are dressed as a boring character that does nothing but peace signs don’t do that. There are different poses that flatter different body types and knowing your features helps a lot. I for one am not big in the boob department so I try to pick characters that focus on things like legs and pick poses that flatter that.

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Q6. Is there any suggestion for which convention cosplay beginners can go?

Going to a place like Goodwill and the Salvation Army and buying cheap clothes to try to modify or take apart is a good place to start. You aren’t wasting money on good fabric and it gives you a lot of the basic shapes to think about.

Q7. We do think your Team Fortress 2 cosplay seems ideal. So, how could you achieve this?

My Soldier is based off the fanart of Agent Scarlet who made the TF2 guys into period pin up girls. I figured this was more suited to me than being a large man. The Jacket is a women’s shirt pattern I modified. The shoes have the flames detailed on with fish tank silicone I painted with glass paint to achieve the rocket jumping effect in the artwork I based it off of. The hat I found at an army surplus story and modified with ribbons and a button to create the honcho’s headgear. My first pot hat while hilarious was a bit difficult to keep on my head.

Q8. Any new plan you can’t wait to do?

Finally finishing my Arch Bishop from Ragnarok Online! It’s been sitting around in pieces for some time now and I’m eager to get it done.

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Q9. Are your costumes made by yourself or bought?

I’ve made everything myself aside from Mami and Seung Mina.

Q10. What are the good things of cosplay? And also, what are the bad things?

The best things about cosplay are the friends that I’ve made. The hobby attracts a lot of eccentric people like myself and it’s very cool to find like minds. The worst thing about cosplay is the amount of drama. It seems more and more recently things are more like a beauty pageant and less about the creative side of the hobby and it gets very cut throat. I think it’s inevitable when there are so many women competing for attention but it’s sad to see a lot of really nice work not get the recognition it deserves because the person wearing it weighs more than 110 lbs.

Videogame Cosplay Interview: Jen Amador as Cammy (Part 1)

Today, I bring to you another Videogame Cosplay Interview.  This time I would like to feature one of the sexiest fighters in Street Fighter: Cammy White.  Cosplaying as this tough blonde is one of Florida’s young and talented cosplayers: Jen Amador.

Jen is a 19 years old lifelong Floridian and works as a costume designer and in everyone’s favorite gaming store Gamestop. She has been into gaming since the day she was born as she had two older brothers and many cousins she was close to that trained her in the skills of the art of the two thumbs. Jen’s first gaming experiences were with Tekken 2 and Super Mario 64. Jen now enjoys fighting games and RPGs, with her favorite game being Final Fantasy 8.

Jen got into costuming in 2007 after visiting her first anime/videogame convention. After falling in love with the environments and people that attended she knew she must be a part of the cosplay experience and she debuted as a cosplayer that very same year. But she made her very first costume long before then, at 5 years old she made a catwoman costume. It was just meant to be you can say.

Cosplay has been a big part of her life as she has made friends because of it that have brought her to love the hobby/lifestyle even more. She has even found romance in this world, and everyone enjoys having a partner that recognizes this great hobby. But now I hope that you all enjoy this interview I had with Jen as much as I have.

1. As a female cosplayer, why did you take an interest in this character and how close does the character resemble your personality?

Cammy White is one of my favorite female video game characters of all time. She’s a very strong character who won’t take sass from anyone…unless you’re Bison, but that doesn’t count. I do think we share some personality in that we are both very blunt, determined, and we love cats. She loves cats, my favorite win quote of hers is “I’m thinking about adopting a cat when I get home” hah.

2. What initially drew you to play the game she is from?

Well I always loved fighting games and my brothers playing a lot of Street Fighter. Whenever they played Super Street Fighter II I always wanted to play as “the pretty blonde girl”.

3. Did the character’s outfit influence your choice in cosplaying her? What was the main draw toward choosing this outfit?

Well it took a lot of working out on my end before I felt confident enough to rock the thong leotard but out of all of Cammy’s outfits I always loved her Shadaloo outfit. I just love how all the pieces look together, the leotard, the tie, and the garrison cap. I plan on eventually doing other versions of Cammy as well.

4. Why do you feel this character is special to the game she is from? How would you feel if the game did not have that character in it?

Cammy was the second female character added to the Street Fighter series and I feel that she appealed to more female gamers. She’s an attractive British fighter with a strong personality and I really don’t know if I would’ve played Street Fighter as much as I do if she weren’t in it.

5. Is she your favorite videogame character? If not who is?

She’s definitely one of my favorite of all time but I have a few. Rinoa and Vanille from the Final Fantasy series are definitely up there, as well as Garrus from Mass Effect and Zelda from The Legend of Zelda.

6. What drove you to put in the work to make this character’s outfit and how did you go about making it?

Well, love for the character is what drove me. I made it by buying a stretch knit fabric and drafting a pattern for the leotard by hand in order for it to fit me as accurately as possible. I bought a 50 inch blonde wig and styled it and hand painted the markings on my tights with a stencil I made.

Stay tuned for part 2 of this interview soon!

Cosplayer Interview with Viospace

Vocaloid Taito Cosplay

Ao no Exorcist Kirigakure Shura cosplay shared here before the festival is one of my favorite cosplay works. It’s done by Singaporean girl, who is known as Viospace at Deviantart.com. We are lucky because of getting the chance to know more about this cosplay talent. She accepts our interview today. Now, let’s begin.

Q1. Please tell us something about yourself.

I’m a cosplayer from Singapore. I love watching animes and my favorite series is Gintama.

Q2. When did you begin to do cosplay? You like it or got into it by some other reasons?

I started cosplaying in year 2008. I liked it a long time ago and I always go to conventions to see and take pictures of the cosplayers. But I didn’t have the courage to try. It was only till I got to know a friend who was doing cosplay and he is kind of talking me into it. Now I’m addicted and enjoy this wonderful hobby!

Hatsune Miku Neko Cosplay

Q3. What’s your favorite cosplay and why?

I would say it is Gintama. I actually cosplayed quite a few characters from this series simply because I loved this series a lot. It was really nice to be able to cosplay your favorite characters from your favorite series. Plus, Gintama is really a fun and crazy series, hence I tend to enjoy myself and go ‘crazy’ at times when I cosplay this series.

Q4. Have you ever met some difficulties in cosplay? And how did you solve them?

Yes definitely, from styling wigs to sewing the costume to making props. I’m not good at all of these, so I tend to look up for tutorials online when I’m lost. I will also ask my cosplay friends for advice if tutorials didn’t help. My friends were really helpful and nice so I managed to solve the difficulties with their help.

Q5. I find you have so many stunning pictures displayed in the gallery. So, are you often photographed? Is there any suggestion for people? How can they look great while facing the lens?

Haha well, I’m not often photographed. I only go for photoshoots when I cosplay. I guess it really helps when you have someone you feel comfortable with, as your photogapher. I tend to look really strange and weird when I’m facing the lens of some other photographers whom I’m not familiar with. I will only be able to express my character’s feel when I have my friends as my photographer. They will also help to ‘adjust’ myself to look better in the picture and guide me when I’m lost with my pose. Without their help, I will probably look the same in all the pictures.

Chin Pirako Cosplay

Q6. Is there any suggestion for which convention cosplay beginners can go?

Actually, I don’t think there will be any problem for any convention for cosplay beginners to go to. Unless there is a specific theme for the event and if the person is unsure, it will be better to research before going.

Q7. We do think your Ao no Exorcist Kirigakure Shura cosplay seems ideal. So, how could you achieve this?

I definitely still have a lot more to improve on my Shura cosplay. As it is the first time I attempt such a character, I think that my expression was not there. I will try and improve during my photoshoot for her. 🙂

Q8. Any new plan you can’t wait to do?

Yes Gintama and Gintama and Gintama. Haha! This is the series that I have so many plans with and can’t wait for it everytime!

Ciel Phantomhive Cosplay

Q9. Are your costumes made by yourself or bought?

Most of them are made by myself.

Q10. What are the good things of cosplay? And also, what are the bad things?

I felt that being able to bring your favorite characters to life by yourself is the best thing of cosplay. Also meeting a lot of friends and people from all around the world because of this hobby is awesome too. I personally don’t think there are any bad things towards this hobby for me. Well, maybe when people get really competitive, I do feel sad because the original idea of this hobby no longer exist in them.