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Cosplay - An Interview with SkyNight
Cosplay fans, curious observers or just random passers by... it's been a while! A rather interesting predicament occured where the reader vote actually ended in a tie. I was rather hoping to get a joint interview for you all, but, sadly I wasn't able to get hold of Narga. Fear not though, for your joint 1st place cosplayer, the lovely SkyNight, was kind enough to sit down and have a chin-wag with me. Most importantly, we got to the bottom of the most heated EoFF debate of all time.
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I call this one the "She wasn't impressed with Cloud's latest Sext" look
Q. Tell us a bit about yourself, what type of games/animes etc do you enjoy?
Well, I like to try as many games as I can, but I mostly play to RPGs, like Final Fantasy or Persona, and platform games like The Legend of Zelda and Mario! I am not very good at shooter games, so I don’t play to them that much, the only one that I finished was Army of Two! I read a lot more of manga than I watch anime, but lately I was into Shingeki no Kyojin and Free! I really enjoyed both (for different reasons, ah ah ah!). Some of my favorite anime are Gundam Seed, Full Metal Alchemist and Kurotroutsuji and there’s probably more xD
Q. How did you get into Cosplay?
I wanted to cosplay for a long time, but never got the courage to do it until three years ago because I always had low self-esteem and I didn’t believe that I would be a good cosplayer. One day I met someone (who is a good friend now ^^) who was a cosplayer and I told her that envied her because I always wanted to cosplay. She just told me: then just do it! And so I did thinking it would only be for one time if I didn’t like the experiment. Guess what? I had the most amazing convention and people were so nice to me that I decided to continue!
Q. What's the most fun part of Cosplay for you?
For me it’s being a character that you love and sharing that love with other people! I really enjoyed making costumes too and finally wearing it, after days and days of work, is an awesome thing!
Attachment 48071Q. Are there any downsides to Cosplaying?
Ah ah ah.. I would be a liar if I said no! I’m repeating myself but, I have low self-esteem, and so I’m always getting really stressed for no good reason on convention days because I’m always telling myself that no one is going to recognize the character I’m cosplaying. That people are going to laugh at me because my work is horrible and bla bla bla... I’m really happy to have my little sister by my side to tell me to just relax and that everything is going to be alright ^^
Q. What do your friends and family think of Cosplaying - are they supportive of it?
My family is very supportive of it, one of my younger sisters is actually cosplaying with me now and she really enjoys it! I’m really happy to be able to cosplay with her, I don’t think that I would enjoy it as much if she wasn’t here. :) Some of my friends are also into cosplay, though, my friends that are not don’t think that I’m weird at all, they are used to my strange hobbies! xD
Q. What made you decide to Cosplay as Aerith?
I used to watch my older brother play Final Fantasy. Final Fantasy 7 was the first FF I played by myself. Aerith has always been one of my favorite characters ever since. I loved her so much that when I was a kid, I used to tie my hair like hers and, when no one was watching, I would put a ribbon in my hair and pretend to be her (I was really young ah ah ah ah!) And so, when I started cosplaying, it was clear in my head that I would one day cosplay Aerith.
Q. What's your favourite thing about Aerith as a character?
Well, I know a lot of people don’t like her for different reasons, but I think that she’s a very kind and caring character. She’s always there for her teammates even after her death (sorry if it’s a spoiler :p) She might not be strong on the physical side like Tifa but she has so much will power. She knew what was going to happen in the city Forgotten city, yet she still went there.
Q. Roughly how much did the costume cost and how long did it take?
Good question, I can’t give the exact cost of the costume since I remade the dress twice, because I decided to change the type of fabric. But it is one of my least expensive cosplays! It took me about two months to make, considering the fact that I do not work on a daily basis on my costumes.
Q. What was the most challenging part of the costume?
I’d say the dress, because it was my first self-made cosplay and I didn’t have any pattern. I just used some strap-shirt and tried to do something from that xD
Q. What part of the costume was the most enjoying to make?
Ah ah, I will go with the ribbon in her hair. It was the most simple thing to do but I was really happy when I made it.
Q. If you could go back and change anything about the costume - would you? Or are you happy with it?
Yes, I would change some things since I got a little better at sewing now. I would also like the redo the jacket one day, maybe in denim to be closer to her look in Advent Children!
Attachment 48072Q. Have you Cosplayed as any other Final Fantasy characters? If so, which one was your favourite?
My first cosplay was Lightning (FF13), who is also one of my favorite characters from Final Fantasy. Even though I really enjoyed cosplaying as her, I did prefer to be Aerith since I’ve always had a strong love for that character. I received positive feedback for the both of them though! :)
Q. Which Final Fantasy is your favourite?
Final Fantasy 7 for sure xD But I've always enjoyed playing any Final Fantasy games, even if there’s some that I don’t like as much.
Q. If you had the time and resources to cosplay as absolutely any character, regardless of how long it'd take or how awkward the costume would be to make - which character would it be?
That is so hard to answer! I don’t really know who to pick xD Well I guess I’ll go with one of my favorite games right now, which is Fire Emblem Awakening. I would really love to make the Tactician’s outfit! Maybe this year if I have the time xD Other than that, I would really like to do Annie Leonhardt from Shingeki no Kyojin (not very original, I know xD) with epic looking 3D maneuver gear. I’m not so good at prop making so it would be a big achievement for me xD
Q. Do you admire any other members of the cosplay community - is there anyone you look up too?
Definitely Narga, her cosplays are so amazing and she is so pretty! When I was making my own Aerith cosplay, I was looking at her cosplay hoping to be as good as her one day. I was really surprised when I was told that I got a tie with her! You should check her DA: Narga-Lifestream (Natasha) on deviantART I’d also like to point out my friend, AkastukiSky, since she’s the one that made me decide to start cosplaying and she taught me some sewing tricks ^^ Her work is so beautiful! Check out her DA: TwilightSaphir (Roxane) on deviantART
Q. What advice would you give to anyone looking to get into Cosplay?
Have fun! Don’t be afraid to cosplay who you want no matter what other people will tell you! Bought or made, a cosplay is a cosplay! The purpose of cosplaying is to have fun, not to compete with one another. If you are happy and are enjoying your time, then nothing else matters!
Q. Is soup a food or a drink?
Eurgh... I’d say food? Since I take it when I’m hungry not thirsty xD I actually don’t eat a lot of soup, I prefer pottage xD
Q. Do you have any words you'd like to say to the members of EoFF for voting you as their favourite Aerith?
Thank you very very very much!! I never imagined that someone would even vote for me, so it made me really happy to know that people liked my cosplay. Since Aerith is one my all time favorite character, it’s even more significant for me to know that I did well at portraying her :) It’s giving the energy I was lacking these past months to keep cosplaying! Thank you again from all my heart! <3
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The purpose of cosplaying is to have fun, not to compete with one another. If you are happy and are enjoying your time, then nothing else matters!
Thanks for sitting down and chatting with us SkyNight! That wraps up this interview. :)
Be sure to check out SkyNight's Tumblr and Cosplay.com profile for more of her amazing Cosplays.
Remember, if you've found a Final Fantasy or Square Enix related Cosplay you think should be featured in a future edition then be sure to drop me a Mognet Message.
