Last week we posted on Instagram that we were looking to interview more cosplayers and we received a ton o replies. We should now have a steady supply of cosplay interviews coming your way. First up is New York cosplayer Electro Cosplay. Let’s dive right in, and read all about Electro’s adventures in cosplaying.

Location: New York, New York (USA)
Links: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | www.electrocosplay.com |

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SMC: Why did you start cosplaying?

I started cosplaying because I was curious about the world of costuming. As a kid, I always enjoyed putting on costumes or trying to put together something with clothing I already had or with stuff borrowed from my parent’s closet. I think the earliest attempt in “cosplaying” even though I had no idea what I was doing was back in 2002 when my cousin came to visit and brought his Soul Calibur 2 game and I instantly liked Cassandra so I tried to copy her look by braiding my hair, tying some sheets that were the right color to make the dress and using a pillow + a small broomstick as my sword and shield. It’s crazy because I was around 8 at the time but I just wanted to have her outfit that badly. Sadly, I don’t have any pics of that.

I didn’t discover that cosplay was a thing until 2009, I started making my first “real” cosplay in the Summer that year and completed it by Fall 2010.

SMC: What was the first convention you attended in cosplay?

Took a while for me to start attending cons since I hand no friends that were interested, I didn’t get motivated right away. My first con was New York Comic Con in 2013.

SMC: What has been your most memorable convention moment?

I have a lot of memorable moments from different cons but something that comes directly to my mind was meeting my favorite photographer and getting star-struck to then just walk about 10 feet from where he was and see the awesome Kamui Cosplay doing a photo shoot right there! I was already out of words and then to try to talk to her?!?!?!

SMC: What is your favorite thing about cosplaying at a convention?

I love that we get to collectively show our appreciation for the characters that mean so much to us. It’s easy to look as cosplay as just “dress up” but it’s an act of passion for the things we like and a form of artistic expression above anything.

SMC: What cosplayers inspire you?

Kamui is definitively my all-time favorite, I’ve been a fan of her work since 2010-2011. I love how she finds new creative ways to make her materials work for the results she needs and how her projects are always flawless (she works hard on them after all). I hope to someday be as good of a crafter as she is.

SMC: Which is your favourite cosplay you’ve created?

There are a lot of cosplays I’m really proud of. My SweetHeart Sona for example, had a complete prop-remake from August to November because I wanted to improve it. It’s hard to believe that my remade harp is just cardboard and popsicle sticks with very little 1mm foam to cover it. Not to mention the entire dress! Younger me would be mind-blown that I could even imagine a pattern to make that work.

SMC: What cosplay are you best known for?

I think my Miku cosplays or maybe my Saber ones. I did a lot of variations of those 2 characters so I can imagine people remember them the most.

SMC: If money was no object what would be your dream cosplay creation?

If money wasn’t a thing and I had enough materials to practice until I got the desired results, I would love to someday make a Second Transformation Paladin Evie from Vindictus. The amount of armor that would take + lights and the small little details on it, would make it an expensive (and space-consuming) project to have.

SMC: Do you have any new cosplays currently in the works?

Currently, I’m working on Odette from Barbie’s Swan Lake movie. It was one of my favorite movies as a kid so I want to bring it to life. That project is also special because I’m making it from 100% leftover supplies and scraps from projects from the past 10 years. So in a way, it’s a collage of my past works to become something entirely new.

SMC: What are your cosplay strengths? (Tailoring, fabric painting, worbla armor, in-character performance etc.)

Sewing and detail work is definitively on the top list. I also do all my painting by hand and have become better over the years. Last year for my Marianne cosplay I spent over 100 hours hand painting the 2 wings that drape on the back of the costume, they are painted on organza with a lot of layers to make it look majestic. They also make a great detail because you can only see them if my back is turned when usually the focus of a costume is on the front.

SMC: What’s one thing you wish you knew about cosplaying before you got started?

I had to pick-up all the skills as I went along, and I still have a lot to learn. What I would have wanted to “know” isn’t much of knowledge but I would have wanted the courage to experiment more. I was always afraid of messing it up or wasting materials because “it will look bad” and in a way, I’m still very hesitant at times but not as much as I used to be. The courage to try things and experiment until you get it right would have been the best thing to “know” before I got started over 10 years ago.

SMC: Any advice for people interested in cosplaying for the first time?

Nowadays it’s a lot easier to find supplies, tutorials, and even full books on the subject of cosplay. However, it’s also a lot easier to see talented people online and end-up looking down on yourself. A lot of the times it isn’t even the craftsmanship on a picture, it could be the way a photo was taken or edited that highlights that person’s work a lot better than your own photos do.

So my advice is, don’t look down on yourself just based on what you see online because not everything you see out there is true. But also, don’t look down on others because the same way someone’s pic can make their work look 1000 times better it can also make it look not as good as it looks in person.

SMC: What is something your fans may not know about you? Other hobbies?

Sometimes people ask me about where I’m from based on my accent, I’m actually from Brazil, I moved here back in the winter 2007 to study. The very faint accent only a few people can pick-up is because I only started speaking English when I was 14.

SMC: What part of “geekdom” is you favorite avenue of entertainment (i.e. comics, movies, video games, anime, etc?).

Definitively gamming. Usually, I cycle through my favorite 2 games as updates come out (Aion and Vindictus) but I also play Guild Wars 2 sometimes as well as some console games on the PS4 (yes, I’m a PlayStation fan, the controller just feels better on my hands. Don’t hate me Xbox peeps).

SMC: What is your gaming system of choice?

I don’t really think there is much difference for consoles, I still have my xbox360 and ps3, but when the time to upgrade came I just stayed with the Playstation. I have small hands, the controller just fits more comfortably. I’ll upgrade to a ps5 once is out, again no hate on Xbox fans, it just feels better to me

Nintendo devices however are just awkward to hold. Why do they make those things so weird? Couldn’t get much use of my 3Ds and never really liked how the switch feels ether. The older consoles were good tho.

SMC: What are you currently playing / upcoming video game releases?

Right now I’m getting ready for a new character release on Vindictus so I’m working on my main character saving up gold and materials for when she comes out.

Want to read more insightful cosplayer interviews? Click here

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