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Cosplay interviews! A weekly feature on Animetion where we talk to cosplayers on what motivates them, plus a cool gallery showcasing their cosplays.  Here we talk to UK cosplayer:

Name: zanarkandangel

Q: When did you start cosplaying and how long for?

I was first introduced to cosplay back in February 2007 at the MCM Midlands Expo.  I really liked the amount of variety on show and how you could choose to cosplay any character you desired.  It was through encouragement of one of my friends that I actually completed my first cosplay of Lacus Clyne (from Gundam Seed) at Japan EX in July 2007.  I've been pretty much been cosplaying since then, so just about 2 years now.

Q: What attracts you cosplay?

The sheer variety of what you can do with this hobby - you can be in a fur suit one day then a scantly clad outfit the next (I've not done either of these yet!).  You can also choose from a variety of different personalities from those that match your own to those that go against the grain.
 

Cosplay can be a great laugh with your friends but can also help you to make new friends.  I can't recall the number of times I have become over excited about someone's outfit and before I knew it they were on my Facebook talking about the next event.

Finally cosplay can be really rewarding, as you can spend days putting together an outfit.  It is really nice to look at the finished result and say "I never thought I would be able to do it".

Q:  What has been your favourite cosplay?

This question is really difficult for me!  From an anime perspective it would have to be Miina
(from Getsumen To Heiki Mina - ed.).  It was a very fun to wear as I was wearing
giant carrots all day!

However, I also cosplay as mascots from the UK anime scene.  My favourite one so far has been Ame-chan (from the Amecon convention).  For a start I had been planning to complete this cosplay for a year after watching the video from Team Makenai.  It was great fun to make
and I was really pleased by the final result.

Q: Most memorable moment whilst cosplaying?

There are so many to tell.. but I won't bore!

My favourite memory was from Amecon 2008 masquerade, which was my first one.  I was really surprised to find myself and my friend Cam (dressed up as General Error-San) as the first people up.  It was really cool behind the scenes as all of the gophers really looked after us. We had a really good laugh too completing all of our planned poses including "ultimate glomping" General Error.  Also with being the first ones up we missed none of the other really good cosplayers!

Q:  Have you had any cosplays go wrong/encountered problems whilst making cosplays?

When does it go right?  Every cosplay I have completed has pretty much had a least one thing that goes wrong with it.  For example for my most recent cosplay, Aerith (Kingdom Hearts version), I bought the wrong colour bias binding.  This pretty much stopped me from completing my cosplay before Ayacon 09 as I could not easily obtain what I needed
before the event.  Another example was when I tried to dye a shirt blue but it was the wrong type of material, and the results were rubbish and I had to start again.  But I guess that's what cosplay is about!

Q:  Have you ever regretted cosplaying?

This year has been a huge regret as I have been unable to make the cosplays I have wanted to complete due to my current work situation.  However, next year I should be back on track!

I have never had any regrets cosplaying though, as it is so much fun!

Q:  What cosplays are you planning?

At the moment I have Nana (from Nana) planned and I would like to rework some parts of my Ame-chan cosplay.  My big project for next year will be trying to complete the Neon mascot for Neon Martian.

Q:  Do you have a dream cosplay?

I'm quite lucky as I have completed three of my dream cosplays already - Lacus, Ame-chan and Aerith.

Q. Do you admire any UK cosplayers?

I really admire GunstarVixen for her cosplays.  She has done some brilliant ones in her time, including Rainbow Brite (a brilliant blast from the past for me!).  She is also really friendly as I
remember one of our first conversations at MCM London Expo discussing the
joys of adapting patterns as we are both quite tall!

Q:  Do you have one piece of advice that you would give to cosplay virgins?

There are so many great places to find information about how to create cosplay from Cosplay Island to cosplay.com to even YouTube.  Make sure you use these resources as it can help you save money on failed mistakes.  Another tip I would give is that you make sure that you keep all of your scrap materials as you never know when it maybe needed
again for a different outfit.

Q:  Do you have an account with the website Cosplay Island/other social networking sites?

Yes I do and it is under the user name Zanarkandangel.



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