Jan 01 2009
You Don’t Have to be an Expert Seamstress to Have an Award Winning Costume
As part of my continuing series on costumers, I present to you an interview with one of the many cosplayers that frequents cosplay.com and Gaia Online: Vasyenka. She has over thirty costumes, ranging from anime characters, to well known Disney characters. It is a versatile collection, showing off her wide range of artistic talent and creativity.
Vasyenka has won multiple awards for her work, namely for her Azel (Magna Carta: Crimson Stigmata) costume (2nd Overall at EPAC ‘08), and her Duo Maxwell costume (won hall awards at various conventions and Judge’s Preference at AniZona ‘06).
Vasyenka, thanks for “sitting down” to an interview with Convention Fans. First thing’s first, what was your first convention, and how old were you?
Vasyenka: Sakura Con 2001. I was fourteen.
How do you decide which costumes to do?
Vasyenka: I usually cosplay as a character from a series I like, and who is within my skill level. Other times, if I absolutely fall in love with a particular character’s design, I’ll do as much research as possible before I cosplay as them.
Do you make all your costumes yourself?
Vasyenka: Not all; I have four costumes professionally commissioned, and a few my dear grandmother helped graciously in regards to sewing. I always give credit when inquired about the craftsmanship in those outfits I did not make.
What advice would you give for someone who has never done costuming, but wants to get started?
Vasyenka: Don’t bite off more then you can chew! Start off with something you know you can complete within your skill level, whether it be by piecing together thrift store pieces or basic sewing skills. Once you have a grasp of how to put things together, you can progress onto more challenging costumes.
What is the most difficult costume you ever made? What made it hard, and how did you overcome the difficulties?
Vasyenka: I’d say Lulu from “Final Fantasy X”. At the time, I was a sophomore in high school and did not have a sewing machine. My mother put together the skirt while I worked on the corset and jewelry/accessories (including all of her belts). It was very tedious, having to work on the entire cosplay by hand, but we were able to complete the outfit in the end.
Now, I couldn’t help but notice the amazing staff (pictured right) you made for one of your costumes. Not only is it eye catching, but I hear it even lights up! Can you tell us a bit about it, and how you made it?
Vasyenka: [That’s] my Fai staff, [and] is my favorite prop I’ve made thus far. It was also my first light up prop!
I cut out a piece of foam board for size comparison for the staff head, and the actual jewel itself is made out of layers of clear vinyl. I managed to color the vinyl with bits of acrylic and water, giving it that sort of transparent-yet-colored look. Also, I put a little light bulb in the base of the jewel so it’d light up as well.
Unfortunately, it had to be rushed last minute because I had to be rushed for an emergency appendectomy a week before the convention. I was running out of time…so instead of making the inner designs with craft foam like I wanted, I had to settle for puffy paint. To make the edges and the inner designs look similar, I edged the outside with said puffy paint and went over it with the same gold paint I used for the rod again. The staff head itself has two long knitting needles stuck inside, as the heads of the said needles are tipped with metal. Using really powerful magnets, I was able to attach the staff head into the metal rod securely. Though it wobbled around, I had no fear of it falling off.
I attempted to make the designs closer to the manga version of the staff. Unfortunately, in the manga, the designs were far from consistent, so the designs I made were pretty much a mesh of the ones found in the manga. The gallery with the descriptions for every step is here.
Thank you so much, Vasyenka, for the interview! You can view Vasyenka’s cosplay profile, and see the rest of her amazing costumes, by clicking here!
