Introduction - What is it like being a Cosplayer?

Howdy, howdy howdy! It's wonderful to meet you! My name is Missy and I love using my talent in art, craft and sewing to create and reimagine both canon and original characters from all of the series I've learned to love and become a fan of. In short I am a fan artist. When you're a cosplayer, like with any hobby, it finds ways to consume your life (and your wallet)! Everything about cosplay is worth every penny spent. In being a cosplayer I feel that I am using the ultimate form of fan art to show my appreciation and identification in the series that I love. It is almost a celebrity feeling when I step onto a confloor and people recognize me for the character I am dressed as and want photos and to pose with me and whatnot. I almost don't like the celebrity feeling because I actually have tendencies for low self esteem but I just absolutely love people and I love making them happy and this is the best way I've been able to do that in my life. :) Ultimately I love working with other talented people, be it cosplayers, performers or photographers, we all come together for the love of these characters, series, fantasy realms WHATEVER and we all work together to create a final product/fan art that we can all be proud of and happy with c: Just making the people around me, be it loved ones or just other congoers, making them happy is really the best part about being a cosplayer.

What are your next goals?

Recently I completed a goal by combining two very unalike artforms, cosplay and magic. We just put on our new production, Joker and Harley's Magic Asylum at a convention and received wonderful feedback! I need to work out the kinks and move forward with it. My next goal is to tour in 2015 Texas and possibly surrounding states with our new fan performance and hope to spread inspiration amongst the community! Also My home town is actually very small and boring with only one con a year! So come 2015 I wish to have at least 2 nerd events added to all the locals' list of cool things to do c:

Cosplay Characters

I've cosplayed almost TOO many characters to count. My absolute favorites over the 7 years I've been cosplaying have been my various versions of Haruhi Suzumiya from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Kannagi from Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens, various versions of Konata Izumi from Lucky Star, Versions of Nia Teppelin from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Madoka Kaname from Mahou Shojo Madoka Magica, different versions of Princess Peach from the Nintendo universe, Excel from Excel Saga, Chie from Persona 4 and finally my new featured cosplay, Ryuko Matoi from Kill La Kill. Obviously you can notice a pattern with my favorite and most dear cosplays. They're either sporty, spunky, cute, god-reincarnates, princesses, or just people who want to make others happy in general. These are all traits I either have or aspire to possess and through cosplay I am living out those characteristics by portraying these characters :3.

What does Cosplay mean to you?

Cosplay to me is the ultimate form of expression of true self, ironically, by being someone else. Cosplay is confidence. Cosplay is a reminder, that you are important in the world, that you are your own main character in your own story and that you do matter. Cosplay gives us feelings of fantasy and whimsy that can only be brought on when something you thought was so unreal is now tangible.

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

Yaya Han, Cosplayer who truly loves the artform. Everything she has created even if it is a simple costume is crafted with such care and precision that it cannot be ignored. She is a humble business woman who loves what she does and loves making people happy. She's a wonderful role model and has been an even greater friend to me. My personal Photographer Madison Studios (Jersey Ed). Truly believes I can be a star and makes me look like one in his photos. He really understands the artform and works with me to create wonderful cohesive pieces while coaching me in confidence and modelling My dad, supports me through whatever I do and believes I can do whatever I put my mind to. He truly wants me to be happy whether it means becoming a doctor, being homeless or anywhere in between. As long as I am happy and safe. My boyfriend, also my manager, fitness coach, marketing director, personal chef etc, the list goes on. Super supportive and loves the "sparkle in my eyes" when I talk to my fans and make them smile and see that they are happy to meet me. c: My first photographer, PRO Photography (Pete R. Ortega) We've become friends because we see eachother and shoot together at nearly every convention! He's not into the nerd scene just simply loves shooting photos. He's been there to talk to through thick and thin and really cares about me and how I'm doing. Another person who really believes in me and sees what I can do c:

Do you have any advice or suggestions for upcoming Cosplayers?

Please do not be fake. Know where you stand and start from there. Play your strengths Be better than yesterday Be yourself It's an artform not a popularity contest. You're amongst artists not celebrities. Don't do it for the glamour or attention. Don't give a damn just do it.

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

Creating costumes for others and not being properly credited in competition or online. Cosplayers have won awards wearing my costumes but did not credit me as the costumer. On another note, this situation being more serious to me. I lost a pretty good friend over the whole "cosplay celebrity" thing. I finally decided that I wanted cosplay to make me money, I was finally about to get serious about my cosplay and I decided to start social media marketing with an FB page. My friend was of course supportive at first, but then suddenly once I accumulated more likes than her page she started passive aggressively posting on her blog about her jealousy over the whole situation. I confronted her over it and she played it off as nothing when I knew it was truly bothering her. I wanted to talk it out but she never would let me in. Eventually I had to break it off with her. I had been feeling defensive and let her in on those feelings because in her passive aggressive posts she mentioned how hard she worked compared to me. I told her how hard I worked, I didn't compare myself to her work, I simply stated how I was drawing up a marketing plan and how I put so much time and effort into the art of cosplay not to mention I had been networking and cosplaying for much longer than most people. She just thought I was being mean, and that's when I decided I couldn't be with such a negative person.

Any final remarks or shout-outs?

I hope I helped :) And I hope the answers I brought to the table were insightful!