Introduction - What is it like being a Cosplayer?

Hey, my name is River, Cosplaying for me is sort of like a sport, everyone is competing for attention, this is what makes cosplay fun for me. I love the challenge of making something that will get people excited and happy. When I see some of the faces of people who get excited that their favorite character was there really cheers me up.

What are your next goals?

My goal for now is to improve on my Subject delta cosplay as I am going to make that my main cosplay, I want it to be more accurate and more wearable. As soon as I have that done I want to enter a cosplay competition and atleast get through the pre-elimination round.

Cosplay Characters

So far I did Jason (Friday 13th), Parasect (Pokemon) and Subject Delta (Bioshock 2)

What does Cosplay mean to you?

Cosplay to me comes with a lot of views because I generally have an unpopular opinion when it comes to cosplaying. I think cosplaying is a sport. I try my best to make cosplays that catch a lot of attention because that is the kind of cosplayer I am. Of course there are those who just do it for fun, which I have no problem with. But besides the attention part, cosplay to me also means that you have the guts to put yourself out there with the possibility to get critiqued by people like me, how you deal with critique is what truly separates the good from the bad cosplayers.

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

When it comes to cosplay, Winghien Leslie Wu, he is my classmate and really thought me well about how to critique and rate cosplays. I have learned a lot of my views from him. In life I get inspired by the manga/anime Bakuman, which is about pursuing your dreams. And maybe a bit cheesy but my parents as they support me in everything I do.

Do you have any advice or suggestions for upcoming Cosplayers?

Take something with you from all the critique you get, learn from it. Don't just defend yourself, improve as well. Well if you're doing it for the attention like atleast. Know that when you cosplay, you put yourself out there and are being critiqued, learn to deal with the critique, don't get mad, don't get overly defensive. Just try your best and have fun.

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

I did not really have negative experiences that I did not cause myself. My two cosplays that I actually liked were parasect and Subject Delta, but in both cases I couldn't see or hear very well. In addition, the parasect cosplay was really wide so I had a hard time moving around. Luckily I had friends with me who could guide me around a little. Other than that I have always been happy while cosplaying.

Any final remarks or shout-outs?

Always keep improving, there is no top.