Introduction - What is it like being a Cosplayer?

Hi! I'm Tare, that's how people normally know me online and in the cosplay world. I'm 23 years old and I'm from The Netherlands. I discovered cosplay when I was about 14 years old. I started visiting convention around the same age as well, attending 2/3 conventions per year. At the moment I live in the UK and I'm attending less conventions than I used to, because I live quite far away from i.e. London where most of the biggest conventions are. I love to make armour cosplay, because I really suck at sewing haha! I always try to cosplay characters that I've barely seen myself. My latest cosplays are Ghost in the Shell, Dead Space and Mass Effect. I really like to cosplay game characters, because they are more real to me. I love anime and manga, don't get me wrong, but gaming is deffo one of my biggest hobbies next to cosplay of course. It's great being a cosplayer, because you can show the world what you've been working for, for so long. And it's amazing to get dressed up and make friends and see people. I think the greatest thing is when people compliment you but also when they asked how you made it. Because then, I give them all the knowledge that I have to try and help that person out, because at the end of the day, we all have the same interests and we are all there to have fun and create an amazing community! I can say that probably 70% of all my friends, I met them at conventions and we always hang out together whenever we see eachother. Obviously you have the dark side of cosplay, which is the hate and negative comments, assault, sexism and all those things. I've barely experienced things like that, but I know, especially on the internet, things gets really nasty. And there is no need for it, because if you don't have something nice to say, say nothing at all. Why hurting someone's feelings? What does it benefit you? I really hate that, it's not only the cosplay community, it's pretty much every community. You've always got the trolls and haters and just forget them and let it go. Ignore them and keep on going what you love to do.

What are your next goals?

I would loooooove to make Bender from Futurama. A big costume that includes a lot of foam and fabric, just something different than armor. And I would like to make Gundam RX-78-2, I tried it before, but it wasn't good enough.

Cosplay Characters

From new to old: Motoko Kusanagi - Ghost in the Shell, Isaac Clarke - Dead Space 2, Fem!Commander Shepard - Mass Effect 2, Chell - Portal 2, Cammy & Chun-Li - Street Fighter, Fem! Spy - Team Fortress 2 and Prince of Cosmos - Katamari.

What does Cosplay mean to you?

Cosplay means a lot to me. I can create things, things that I love. I can show my creativity by wearing it and see people's reactions like "OMG! COMMANDER SHEPARD!!" and it makes me smile. Because that shows to me that I've done well on my costume, if you know what I mean? Like you get rewarded for something that you've been working on for so long.

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

I think that will be my friends. After every convention we all get those cosplay-motivation-boosts and we make wishlists and encourage each other to make that awesome costume for next convention and such. It's great to have people with the same hobbies and we always help each other out.

Do you have any advice or suggestions for upcoming Cosplayers?

Take your time on your costume, don't rush it. Try and make something unique, something personal, people will recognize it! If you don't know how to make something, you've always got the internet and cosplay communities to ask questions. There are tons of people who would love to give advice and try to help you till the end. If you get any negative comments or looks, ignore them. They are not worth your time and effort in defending yourself, they don't deserve your attention. Just keep it mind that it's always there, but really, cosplay is for EVERYONE. Every race, size, gender, it doesn't matter there are NO rules to cosplay, do what you like to do and what you're comfortable with, because you do it for yourself. And most importantly, HAVE FUN!

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

I'm not sure if it's negative, but when I was cosplaying as Commander Shepard, someone asked if I bought the costume. I said, no I made the full armour myself. The guy didn't believe me, but yeah, what can I proof? I'm not sure if he meant that it was 'pro' in his eyes or maybe 'bad' because I might have bought it, still not sure. I think you ever ask that question, just ask "did you MAKE it yourself?" I think that's less worse than when someone 'assumes' that you bought it. (if you follow what I'm trying to say haha)