Interviewed By Connected Television Show

By Skywing Knights // April 15, 2021

Hello loves!

My apologies for a slow month – I believe I mentioned it in a post a little while back, but I’ve been torn away from many of my favorite things as of late! (And yes, that includes writing to all of you!) I’m once again moving soon, which it turns out, will likely be a long process… But that just makes me really happy that I still have something exciting to share with you all!

I was recently interviewed by Connected Television Show for my cosplay work! As such, I’m super happy to be able to share with you all the interview itself here. But of course, I’d be super happy if you showed them some love too and checked out the posts on their social as well!

 

Connected Television Show

 

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To read the interview via Connected Television Show and to share it around, you can find it via this post here!

 

Of course though, like I said before, the interview is in this post too! So without further ado, let’s get into it! 😀

 

Connected Television Show: When and how did you get started in Cosplay?

Skywing: I got into Cosplay back in 2009. I was one of the few people in my friend group who had a license at the time and one of my friends asked me for a ride to an anime convention. We got there and I was going to leave, when she asked me to wait in line with her until it started moving. The line started moving and again, I was going to go, but she bribed me into going with the promise of a Roy Mustang plushie. That convention was my first introduction into cosplay and at my next con in 2009, I debuted my first cosplay.

What was your first Cosplay?

Riza Hawkeye from “Fullmetal Alchemist”

What was the most difficult character?

Hmmm… It’s likely a tie between Princess Ouka (“07 Ghost”), Elizabeth Von Wettin (“Marchen”), and my 2019 Starfire (“Teen Titans”) cosplays. Figuring out how to do them was easy enough, but they tried my patience the most during the execution of making them.

What characters are you planning and type of character are you drawn to?

Currently I’m working on Riku from “Kingdom Hearts III”, Cinderella (Maid Uniform) from Disney’s “Cinderella”, and technically Madam Red from “Black Butler”.

In the future, I’m eyeing cosplaying Himura Kenshin (“Rurouni Kenshin”), Cloud Strife (“Final Fantasy VII Remake”), Byakuya (“BLEACH”), another Starfire rendition (DC Comics), and a variant of Nightstar (DC Comics). I’d also like to redo the jacket I made for Frau (“07 Ghost”).

I tend to be drawn more so to characters with a complicated past and history, but who ultimately reach for the light, believing in the good of mankind, despite the temptation to throw that belief away.

 

What is your process when starting from the beginning with a new cosplay?

Normally, I start by dissecting the seam lines of an outfit from the source material or, in the case that there are none, I determine where I would make them if I were designing that outfit. I also try to determine what kind of material the designers were trying to emulate or use. I use those pieces of knowledge to then hunt for fabrics and then the real fun begins – putting it all together! Oh, and wig shopping. I do that almost immediately after I get the fabric. If I get the wig, then I know I’ll actually get around to finishing the cosplay since I’ll be dying to have an excuse to wear the wig, haha.

Are there any helpful hints in sewing, costume design or any other aspects of your cosplay that you discovered in doing your creations?

I was mostly a self taught seamstress and crafter. My mother taught me how to sew up to a certain point and then she said ‘I don’t know, you figure it out’, lol. Through trial and error, I learned a lot about patterning, fabrics, wigs, and also just ways to minimize stress when it comes to cosplay. I’ve compiled several lists of these tips on my blog linked here:

5 Ways to Being a Happy Cosplayer

What to Look For When Buying Fabric

How to Pick The Right Cosplay Wig

Cosplay Shop Recommendations

 

Do you have a preferred brand of makeup in your cosplay? And if so why?

I have a few! I love Urban Decay, Benefit, Mary Kay, Thrive Causemetics, Laura Geller and CoverFX, but there are others. Primarily I mostly find my makeup at Sephora or Ulta. I find that when I buy from those stores, the make up lasts longer and holds up better, which is critical when I am wearing cosplay all day.

I also recommend Rodan and Fields for skin care, which is just as important as make up to keep your skin healthy, vibrant, and strong!

What are you listening to?

Matsushita Yuya, One OK Rock, Various Instrumental Soundtracks, Yoshida Kodai, MIYAVI, REVO, and RADWIMPS

Favorite Movies?

Kimi no Na Wa, Titanic, and Batman Begins

 

Favorite Animes?

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Fruits Basket (2019)

Favorite TV Shows?

The Big Bang Theory (Do various Youtube channels count? If so – Game Theory, Film Theory, and Food Theory! 😉 )

Is there a scene from an anime, cartoon, movie or tv show that left a big impression on you and what was it?

There was actually. Back in Middle School, my parents went through a messy divorce. I became a very disillusioned, depressed kid as a result – it’s hard watching your once happy family be torn apart. One day, I was flipping channels and ended up on Cartoon Network where “Teen Titans” had just started airing. The episode “Masks” was playing and it didn’t have a ‘happy ending’. It was the first time I’d seen something like that and I got really interested in the show, because it felt closer to how life felt for me at that time.

As I continued to watch the show, I gained hope that I’d get through what my family was going through, because as the Titans’ stories unfolded, they had their downtimes, but they always made it through. So if “they could”, I could too. The series ultimately gave me a lot of strength moving forward in my life and it still holds a special place in my heart for that reason. Not to mention – it got me into comics, which led to so many of my other life interests, including cosplay!

Books?

The Giver, Marley and Me, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Artemis Fowl

Games?

Final Fantasy VII Remake right now, and the Kingdom Hearts series

Beverage?

Lime Seltzer Water

Fast Food/ Junk Food of choice?

Hmmm… I don’t really go to fast food locations, but if I had to pick one, I prefer Wendy’s.

Candy bar?

I actually don’t really eat candy anymore either, but if I had to choose… Twix!

Favorite Breakfast cereal?

Again, I don’t have cereal all that often! (It probably sounds like I don’t eat, but I swear I do!) I’ll say Catalina Crunch in their Cinnamon Toast flavor since it technically still fits my dietary restrictions (not to mention, I like it)!

Is there something not going on in the cosplay world that you would want to see or is there something you would want to change?

Hmmm… I suppose I’d like to see a way for cosplayers to give back to communities more. There are always these stories of cosplayers going out of their way for example to cheer up children in hospitals. And my most prized memories as a cosplayer almost all have to do with bringing a character to life for a kid or for someone with special needs. I wish there was an easier way to do those sorts of things and not only at a convention. Rather, in every day life would be fantastic!

What was your favorite toy growing up?

I had a stuffed puppy dog that still sits on my bed once I make it every morning. 🙂

Who is your biggest character crush and why?

… I have to choose?!? ….Nightwing. I’ll go with Nightwing. XD But Frau from “07 Ghost” and Cloud Strife from “Final Fantasy VII” are VERY close seconds.

You enter a warehouse. There is little light, but you are able to find your way around. The sound of music draws you to a corner of the warehouse. There are FIVE GHOUL CLOWNS, playing a dancing video game. They have razor sharp teeth and scary weapons. Magic can not affect them; they sense your presence and turn facing you. They run to you to attack. Time to fight! What character would you want to be to defeat them and how would you handle the situation?

Levi Ackerman from Attack on Titan. Hands down. Maybe Hayan from Unholy Blood if Levi’s unavailable. And pretty much the strategy would be to attack them and take them down before they even have the chance to lay a hand on me!

If you had to be chained with a character for one year, what would be the character and what would you do?

Himura Kenshin. He’s such a cupcake. And I’d probably go around Japan with him to compare places he had “lived and been” to what they are now. (I know, I’m a nut, but I kinda love Japanese history and historic places – Kenshin would be well equipped hold my interests for a year and not drive me crazy… hopefully he could stay sane around me too!).

You can have dinner with your favorite character. And at this dinner you may ask one question. Who would be the character and what would be your one question?

Richard Grayson (Nightwing), and my question would be… “Can we get a selfie?” (I think I already know everything about this child anyway, haha. I’d just want proof the dinner happened) ^^;

What’s number 1 on your bucket list? (Something you want to do before you leave the planet).

As corny as it sounds, I want to get married and have a family with a dog. Then when the kids grow up and move out, I want to move to Kyoto to retire.

Practicing Kendo once would be pretty cool too. 😉

 

What advice would you give to people getting started in Cosplay?

Do cosplay because YOU want to do it. Don’t cosplay because someone else wants you to. Additionally, with time, cosplay techniques begin to make more sense. You’ll learn and grow and those skills will come. You’ll get there. Just keep at it! And know that no matter what, your cosplay ability does not equate to your self-worth. You are already worth infinitely more than you can imagine. So believe in yourself. You’ve got this. ^_^

 

Again, I want to thank Connected Television Show for reaching out to me with the invitation to participate in this interview. It was a lot of fun! And hopefully it was fun for all of you too. Again, be sure to check out Connected Television Show across all of their platforms! Till next time!

~Skywing