What’s going on Heroes? Another Cosplay Cafe is here for your delight. This time around I have the girl of steel herself, Cutiepiesensei Cosplay. It was a honor sitting down and chatting with her. As always her social media links are down below.
1.What were you like growing up? What were some of the things you were into as a child/teenager?
Overall I was pretty quiet and shy. I was the kid who literally sat in the corner and drew pictures in my notebook. I won’t necessarily say I was “nerd” though. I loved Pokemon, Yugioh, Naruto, etc. but those things were actually relatively popular when I was in school so it wasn’t strange to do those things. I ddin’t become a big gamer until college but through my childhood I definitely was addicted to my gameboy and game cube!
2.Did those things influence who you’re today?
I’d like to think so. I work professionally as an artist (full time at a game company) so I suppose spending all of that time drawing in my notebook paid off! I definitely consider my first fandoms to be the starting point of my further wanting to watch anime and later own go to conventions.
3.The first cosplay I saw of yourself was your Supergirl cosplay via Tumblr. I was like “Yo, not only is it a well-done suit but the photos were fantastic. What went into not only making Supergirl but the photoshoot as well?
Well thank you! I was surprised to be honest because Supergirl was one of those where I honestly was trying to make something that would be fun and not stressful. I didn’t know it would turn out as well as it did! At the time, I hadn’t seen many women doing sub dye suits, especially Supergirl. I figured it would be a nice way to get the muscle shading so I went through specially ordering from Gunheaddesigns and Fabric on demand. I got gunheaddesigns to make it a specific color and pattern, as I wanted a Man of Steel look. Once I received the fabric I went through the process of sewing and cutting the leotard shape to fit a certain way. I actually have a video that I made for the Black Girls are Kawaii page while I was still working on the cosplay if you want more info! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFdR2jbZ0Kk
The shoot was done in Palmetto GA. I had been to that farm before for a work event and thought it was a great location to help me get that “Kansas” type of vibe. The weather just happened to work in our favor as well! I hadn’t worked with Dru yet (my photographer AMP Cosplay) but I had seen his work and knew he’d be great in making my idea work! He was a big part of why my pictures worked so well! I actually have some video we shot there as well as a bit of behind the scenes for that: https://www.facebook.com/cutiepiesensei/videos/2058739021017042/
4.Will you be doing another mash-up cosplay akin to Kill La Moon? Personally, I never thought to mash those two together but it worked so well.
Thanks! I’m not sure, I’d only do it if the inspiration came to me. Surprisingly, the idea was initially sparked by my fiance. He saw a fanart piece that was Kill la Kill x Sailor Moon mashup and while I didn’t want to cosplay that particular outfit (it was a little too naked for my personal level of comfort lol) it did help me see that those two anime actually can work very well together. I drew up a few designs myself and the rest was history. It’s very rare that happens though so we’ll see! I have a big list coming up that I want to tackle, with no mashups at the moment but that may change.
5.What is it like working with AMPCosplay? I see you two have worked together on a few things the past year. So what it like working with him?
He’s so awesome! I already told him he’s officially my go to photographer. We just have a great vibe together and I love that he actually directs during shoots. Many photographers in the cosplay community don’t like to tell the models what to do, but I love that he helps with that. I can’t see what the picture looks like, what is on the camera during the shoot — so having him guide me has helped us make some magic together.
6.Off topic question, favorite food?
Authentic Italian Spaghetti. No contest. Went to Sicily as a child and fell in love lol.
7.What’s something you would like to see the cosplay community improve on in 2017?
Less judgement, less politics. I feel like there are a lot of politics in the cosplay community in general, and people’s general attitudes with it lately I feel like are pushing out some newcomers. I have seen some people who really want to cosplay but are too afraid because they aren’t the right skin tone, they aren’t the right shape, etc. And while people SAY cosplay is for everyone, I feel like the community does not act that way. The amount of criticism cosplayers can get is crazy, and those we uplift many times have to fit a certain mold. I want the community to start exemplifying the openness that it claims to have.
8.What is one thing you love about the Cosplay Community?
I love the overall appreciation for craftsmanship. Even if I don’t know the character someone is cosplaying, I can’t even count how many times I’ve still been able to geek out with them over how they made it and what techniques they used. I really love to create things and having people who share that same love for creativity is awesome.
9.Second off topic question, favorite show from 2016?
A tie between the Flash and Luke Cake. I love my super heroes!
10.What cosplay plans do you have for this year?
I know I’m definitely doing a cosplay from the games Paladins and Smite. I also want to (hopefully) do Starfire this year as well. And as far as the rest, I have a backlog but it truly depends on if I randomly get inspired to do something else, which tends to happen to me a lot lol
11.What conventions are you attending this year?
MomoCon, DragonCon, and *crosses fingers* New York Comic Con. That last one is a big if though depending upon if I’m lucky enough to get two passes
12.Final question, anything you want to say to your fans?
Just that I love all of you and that your support has really been a driving force behind me making these costumes. I think 2017 is going to have some awesome cosplays in store and I just appreciate everyone being along for the ride
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Coming to the Cafe next week is….you know what I’m not telling. You’ll just have to comeback and see for yourself. As always, I’m still XBen3000 and I’m out!
