Issue 9 - Yipe!

C10Questionsfor aCostumer2. Q: Costumer or Cosplayer?A: Cosplayer, definitely, because that is reallywhat got me into costuming. I associatewith both terms, but because I started doingcostuming and I knew it as Cosplay, that isthe term I most associate with what I do. Idon’t make the big distinction other peopledo. It’s just the term I have always used forit. I started costuming at anime conventions,and that is what they were calling it.3. Q: Do you work on things for a deadlineor year round?A: Generally speaking, I usually pick a conventionto wear a costume at and pick a costume.Usually, it is really far out because Iwork slowly. I don’t concentrate on it as intensivelyas other people I know, so I tendto pick things that keep me working on acostume for about 6 months. Kain from FinalFantasy took me 8 months. That is thelongest I have worked on one costume. Itwas for Costume-Con and was specificallypicked for that convention. I will typicallyspend half an hour before I go to bed, so aby Mette HedinThe Monk class from Final Fantasy Tactics. I madethe armor for mine (and helped with the dragoon’sarmor) the Dragoon (Hoshikage) made the bodysuit#5 - MeaWho doesn’t love a girl in armor? MariEllenCottman, also known as Mea, is one ofthose female costumers who proves the ladiescan kick ass in hardware. In less than10 years, she has made a rapid developmentfrom her first ever costume to a varied andimpressive costume armory, mainly specializingin anime and video game characters.Her contagious enthusiasm and love of theart of costuming is readily apparent in herbright and vivid creations, but don’t let thedeceivingly cheerful colors of her armorsfool you: her Cosplay personas are all badass!1. Q: What was your first costume?A: The first costume I made was a SuperSaiyan from Dragon Ball Z. It seemed easyenough to make for Halloween. I boughtparts from a thrift store and made a chestpiece out of plaster cast wrap. It was what Icould fairly easily make while I was in college.Halloween of 2001. I had worn othercostumes before, but that was the first costumeI made and went out of my way to notget at a store