Interview of Gumiho Cosplay (Germany)

After a long silence (call that the COVID blues ?), here's the interview of the amazing Gumiho from Germany ! She mainly focus on ero-cosplay but I choosed suitable pics for all audiences for this interview ;) ! She also got special questions more specific to her way of modeling/cosplaying.

1. For how long have you been in photo modeling/cosplay now ?

My mom took pics of me all the time when I was younger so I kinda "modeled" since forever I can remember and I think that heavily influenced me later on. I started meeting photographers for casual fashion at maybe 14 years ? I only got into cosplay later when I was 15 or 16, I don't remember. I'm almost 22 now, so modeling since over 7 years now and cosplay since 6 years.

2. Is that your real job ? Do you live from it or is it just a passion on the side ?

Yes I do erotic modeling/cosplay as full-time job self employed. I wouldn't be able to create that many new sets every month if it was only part-time or on the side. I have a 40-56h week, no paid holidays/when I get sick I'm doomed. Many people think my job just means I am able to take a pic in two seconds and upload it and it couldn't be further from the truth.

I love that I am able to release 2-3 new cosplay sets every month due to this being my full time job. Back when I started with cosplay I did maybe 3 cosplays a year if I was lucky, because cosplay is very expensive. Now I have a lot more funds thanks to my community of supporters and I can cosplay much more and with better quality than I could ever have dreamed of. I spend around 80% of all my time and put my income back into my job and I am very passionate about it !

3. Do you also do body painting ? If yes, can you talk about it ?

So far I only did bodypaint once for Marceline from Adventure Time but I have future projects with full body paint planned (but it's a secret for now). I do all my makeup myself though and I constantly try to improve it.

4. Can you describe a typical day in your life as model/cosplayer?

I get up around 9 AM, check on socials/business messages and edit pictures for a while. Two days or so a week I will fully use to take new content, either with HD shoots with my photographer for Patreon or mobile phone content for OnlyFans or long sessions for my paid Snapchat but most of the time I'm sitting at my PC and editing pictures in Photoshop.

At around 3 PM I prepare daily posts on all my platforms (Instagram, Reddit, Facebook, Patreon, OnlyFans, Discord) with slighty different text for each + pick/crop/resize images which takes me another hour minimum. After that I usually make some food, maybe go to gym, edit some more pics, do research on new cosplays/locations/accessories and at around 9 PM I will probably watch some anime/series/read a book/play games.

Usually at least one more time before I'm going to bed I will take 1-2 hours to check on socials again and answer all kinds of messages/chatting with my community on various socials like Patreon/OnlyFans. I have a long skin care routine right before bed that takes another 20-30 min and usually I go to bed around 1-2 AM.

5. What do you think about cosplay ? A lot of cosplayers goes for lingerie shooting these days. The line between model and cosplayer goes thinner. Do you agree with that ?

I think cosplay is one of the most awesome hobbies/passions/jobs you can have. It's a showcase of art, beauty, design, a lot of very different skill sets (crafting, posing, picture editing, makeup, expressions, wig styling, planning a shoot, photography etc) and allows you to shapeshit. And it also helps some people with confidence problems, or even social anxiety !

You can be a model, an erotic model, a cosplayer or an erotic cosplayer all at once. I certainly am all 4 of those. I don't see why there has to be a line between these. You can also enjoy both anime and manga or like dogs and cats. Everyone should do what makes them happy.

6. Are you sometimes criticized or judged by people ? Social media can be great for free advertizment but also terrible and things can go wrong very quickly.

Constantly. Sadly a lot of people think just because they don't like my lifestyle/job or something about my pictures they need to try to harass me for it. As if it would do them or me good if I changed my ways for them. I believe as long as something doesn't harm you, you should just ignore it. Sadly not many people understand this and try to make themselves feel better by putting others down. I don't get affected by it too much though, I just block and move on. Life is too short to be wasted on hateful and unhappy people.

7. Do you sell prints of your photos ? Do you have an online store or do you plan to have one ?

Not at the moment, the demand for prints is usually not high enough to open up a print store, but I will have one with limited availability in the future again. So far I sell digital content via Patreon and OnlyFans.

8. What are your sources of inspiration for bringing new shooting ideas ?

There's plenty! I get inspired by the media I consume, like anime, games, series, books or other cosplayers/models that I see daily in my social feeds. It's not hard for me to find an interesting character or concept that I want to bring to life, I'm just worried I won't have enough time to shoot all of these ideas before I get too old.

9. What do you think about patreon ?

Patreon is a great concept, but could be better executed honestly. I will always have sympathy for Patreon as that's where my self employed journey began and it's a great way for artists/creators of many kinds to receive support from their community but sadly the site is getting worse and worse after every update, that are often not wanted from the people using Patreon and it's often very buggy.

10. How do you find good photographers, and good places to do shootings ?

I hired my own photographer 2 years ago, he's a close friend of me so I gave him my camera and said, let's try it. After that we continued this journey together and we both learned and improved a lot during the years. I'm very grateful for my supporters who made it possible to hire my own photographer and funding his travels all the time so he can be at the locations where I need him.

Locations : I find here and there, usually other models and photographers recommend me places or I go location scouting online or IRL. Sometimes my mom even recommends me cool outdoor locations and says she can imagine me there. She's very supportive and probably the reason why all of this started. All the credits to her.

Her facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/gumihocos

Her patreon page : https://www.patreon.com/gumihocosplay

Her instagram : https://www.instagram.com/gumiho.arts/