Introduction - What is it like being a Cosplayer?

Hello, I'm Bee from Bumbilee Cosplay. I am a part time uni student, licensed cosmetologist, and cosplayer. I have always been interested in costume design from a young age, my mother taught me to sew as soon as I was old enough to start asking questions. I went to my first convention in 2012 after hearing stories from friends for years, and in 2013 I made my first cosplay. I never really intended for it but since I knew I was capable I made my first costume without so much as a pattern and have continued making all of my costumes from scratch since. I pride myself in my ability to make my own patterns, costumes, and props from scratch and strive to rely on my own skills as an artist whenever possible. Being a cosplayer is absolutely the most inspiring and challenging I have ever experienced.

What are your next goals?

My goal for next year is to compete and hopefully place at World Cosplay Summit, Anime Matsuri, A-Kon and Afest. My next cosplay plans (in order) are: Kuriso Makise (Nyan-Nyan Uniform) from Steins:Gate Morrigan Aensland - Darkstalkers Edward Elric - Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Toph Bei Fong - Avatar: The Last Airbender Daiya Higashikata - Jojo's Bizarre Adventure

Cosplay Characters

Stocking Anarchy - Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt (I also made Panty Anarchy, and Garterbelt. I just didn't wear them) Felicia - Darkstalkers Lux - League of Legends X23 - Marvel Comics Thresh - League of Legends Froakie - Pokemon X/Y Sailor Moon - Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Crystal Specifically) Korra - The Legend of Korra (Book 4 Specifically)

What does Cosplay mean to you?

Cosplaying is literally everything to me. Ever since I made my first costume I knew that was exactly what I wanted to be doing. It has both fulfilled and consumed my life. Cosplay isn't just a hobby, is a community and a way of life. I believe as cosplayers we should uplift, and praise each other. It's important that we really interact, share ideas, technique, information and really encourage and include each other. When I cosplay I don't just see pretty costume I can wear around for a weekend, I see an opportunity to honor a character and an opportunity to challenge myself as an artist. I have never seen myself as a "gamer" to me it was never so simple as "I play video games" or "I watch anime." It's all been such an integral part of my life, and who I am as a person from the very beginning that I have never seen these things as something I did. It has always just simply been a part of who I am as a person and I think that's what really drew me in to cosplay. It wasn't just looking like a character that I liked from that one time I watched that show, it is literally getting to express a part of who I am and really honor some of the characters that helped me through some really difficult times in my life. From a craftsmanship standpoint I always strive to work out of my comfort zone. I am constantly challenging myself to go to new levels and learn new things. I spend a lot of time really plotting and researching technique before ever starting a costume. I take a lot of pride in my ability to problem solve and make all of my own pieces from scratch. To me there is always room to improve, and I only hope to continue doing so.

Who have been your biggest influences/role models/mentors?

I went to one of Yaya Han's panels in 2012 and she is literally the person who made me decide to cosplay. I have never gotten to talk to her personally but her craftsmanship, her outreach and her foothold in the community is both inspiring and encouraging to me. I can only dream and strive to come close to her talent and have always, and will always admire her work.

Britt was one of the first cosplayers that I really started to follow besides Yaya Han. She works really hard to improve her skill, and the overall quality of her cosplay and I really appretiate her drive to really put her best foot forward. The other thing that really sold me of Britt is that I sent her a message a little over a year ago, expecting to kind of response but just telling her how much I appreciated her and loved her work and if possible I would love to tap in to her knowledge as a cosplayer and she totally responded. She was super nice, very polite, and didn't cut any corners and really responded to me with a really genuine response. She answered any and all questions that I had, was extremely encouraging and even to this day she plays arams with her followers, really responds to their comments and questions, and just puts her whole heart towards everybody. She is also a wealth of knowledge and is so open about it all. I really hope to meet her in person one day.

I have loosely followed Malindachan for a while but really started following her work this year. She is one of my favorite cosplayers because she makes the most spectacular wigs, which is one of my favorite parts of putting together a cosplay. She has a lot of really invaluable tutorials on her deviant art and when I messaged her she gave me a really thorough response and has always answered any question I've had. She's a really spectacular person and cosplayer and will forever be one of my greatest role models.

Do you have any advice or suggestions for upcoming Cosplayers?

The greatest advice I can give somebody is don't limit yourself. Pick a character you really love, because sometimes when it gets really rough, or when you're pulling all nighters before a convention it's my love for that character and my desire to really want to do them justice that really helps me see the project through. There's is to color, weight, age, or height limitations to a cosplay. There is no reason you should ever settle for anything other than what you really love because your cosplay isn't about the other people at the convention, it's not about the people on the internet, it's about you and that character. But also it's okay to take it slow! Do what you're most comfortable doing and never back down from what you love.

What is the most negative experience you've dealt with while cosplaying, and how did you handle it?

Obviously there will always be people out there who will want to tear you down and I have to say, it's okay. We all at one point in time have had to deal with our own demons. Supergirl is really important to me for that reason. I didn't read comics growing up, I held loose opinions of them from the games I played, or movies I watched and one of those opinions was that I hated the supes. I swore up and down that they were stupid characters. Then a couple years ago something happened and I realized how closed minded I was being. I was never the kind of person to outwardly attack people but I found my thoughts weren't in the right place, I found myself being very negative because I wasn't okay with who I was as a person and in order to humanize these characters and these other cosplayers that I had to tear them down in my mind like I was tearing myself down and that wasn't right. So I went and I bought a bunch of Supergirl comics, and guess what, I loved her. Some people who weren't as fortunate as me to be raised by parents that taught me to fight those kinds of actions and thoughts might have done a lot more harmful things than just passing thoughts, but at the end of the day (in most cases) it's probably a pretty similar situation. Never fight intolerance with intolerance and just be yourself, that's all you can do. I think a really great example of this is Episode 6 of AKB0048, love your haters because hating them won't help them and holding on to hatred and insecurity will only cause yourself harm and no other person should be allowed to have that kind of control over you. As for a real world application of something people have done to me one time I was at Dallas Comic Con 2014 dressed as X-23 and there were two girls standing a couple booths down from me pointing and laughing. I didn't really think anything of it until I walked by and heard on of them say "Wow some girls are really just asking for it..." To be honest I thought it was so absurd I just turned around and looked her in the eyes because I thought she was kidding but she got all red faced and dragged her friend off and I just moved on with my day. I don't usually think much of it, but I understand some days it's hard to think objectively when you're already insecure but do your best to surround yourself with supportive people and try to understand that it's never about you when they say those things, it's always something that's happening within that person.

Any final remarks or shout-outs?

I just want to say thank you for inviting me to be a part of this and even though I might have been a bit lengthy I hope what some of what I said resonated with somebody!