Interview of Smile Cosplay (Ukraine)

Here's the interview of Smile Cosplay from Ukraine !

1. For how long have you been in cosplay ?

I have been cosplaying for over 10 years. There was a period when I was more active, when I took breaks, but in general it has been a long time. When I was little, I discovered that there was cosplay. I didn't know if such a thing existed in Ukraine, so I decided to look for people who would share my view. And little by little, there were such wonderful people. We created our cosplay team, learned that there are festivals dedicated to anime and Japanese culture, and that there are other teams in Ukraine. and came up with their first Naruto script, sewed and assembled a cosplay and started working on it as a team, prepared performances: skits, karaoke, fashion show. Then later, when the team broke up, one day, a girl I knew asked me if I wanted to go back to cosplay? And she offered to do together and help each other, who knows what. I agreed. Now cosplay consisted in recreating the character as correctly as possible and photographing it. You can also go to a festival or some event. But the main thing now was photography. What I do to this day.

2. Cosplay is a time consuming hobby. how long does it take to craft your costumes ?

Previously, creating a suit took quite a lot of time, searching for the necessary materials, crafting, sewing. However, many things are now ordered either from tailors or online stores, which makes life much easier. But usually a light craft can be done in a few hours. If something is more difficult, then maybe a week or even more. It all depends on the difficulty of the cosplay. Therefore, there is no unequivocal answer. It happens in a week, it happens in a year, due to various circumstances.

3. Any other hobby or passion besides cosplaying ?

Yes, I voice anime as a hobby, I also sing and occasionally pump on the Pump It Up slot machine. Sometimes I draw something, read and of course active recreation with friends.

4. What materials are you using for cosplay crafting, worbla ? Foam ? Can you talk about that a little bit ? I've seen we have transparent worbla now...

I have few cosplays where I have to use this. EVA, PVC and thermoplastic are usually used. Once I made a mask from clay, and there was also from papier-mache. I had to work with Worbla, it's a very nice material that can be "remelted" into something else if used correctly, but it's expensive, so I used it for small parts, it's very convenient.

5. Do you have any FAVORITE cosplayer ?

Yes, I like a lot of cosplayers, some of them are temporarily out of it. I hope the war will end and they will return to this business. In fact, there are a lot of cosplayers that are fun to watch. And which inspire, especially those who create costumes and crafts with their own hands

6. Did you hurt yourself while making a cosplay or in a convention ?

Of course, there were cases when he was accidentally burned or cut himself. The most epic story was when I was helping a friend sew on ears for a festival and we were using a "Japanese needle" and a piece of the needle broke off when I pulled hard on the thread and got into my eye. I was very scared then, I was lucky to get it quickly and carefully. But after that sewing, I don't really like it.

7. Do you sell your old cosplays, or just keep it in a huge closet  ?

Both options. I have cosplays that have been with me for many years and survived the move. But there are also suits that I safely sold and forgot about them, one might say. Although there are also those that I do not want to sell, because I have become attached to them. For example, Nelliel from Bleach. I have many suits, the fate of which I will not decide.

8. Who teached you to craft your cosplays ? Your family ? By reading books or watching youtube tutorials ?

A little bit everywhere. Mostly it was the Internet and acquaintances who know how to do something or can give good advice. When I started, there were almost no tutorials on the Internet, and cosplay in general was just beginning to develop, and ordering a costume was unreal. Plus, when I started, I was lucky to find like-minded people with whom we cosplayed and learned together and helped each other. I also had a friend who knew how to sew and she helped a lot with this. And she explained, or sewed me suits herself, and I only helped. She learned craft both herself and friends, and then turned to a master craftsman who made complex cosplays.

9. Which conventions are you going to this year ?

There is a second year of war in our country, but I would love to go to our ComicCon, I really miss normal life and such events. Maybe somehow I will go to the event in Europe.

10. What is your limit budget for a cosplay ?

Previously, I could save for a long time for a cosplay, or look for a way to make it on a budget. Now it happens that there are very supportive people who want me to continue cosplaying. I am grateful to them for that. And I was lucky that sometimes people helped me for free, and in return I did something for them that I knew how to do, and somehow I managed to save money. Pay only for materials.

11. Any future super secret cosplay project in mind ?

Yes, I want to cosplay one game at a time. But for now it's a secret. And I also want to make another cosplay based on the anime My Dress-Up Darling Kitagawa Marin as Shizuku

12. What are you doing in "real" life for a living ? 

In general, I studied to be a lawyer, in fact, you can say that I am engaged in designer things.

13. You best experience from a convention ? And your worst ?

The most enjoyable thing was when I started cosplaying: neither anime nor geek culture was popular then. Rather, the majority considered it a strange hobby. That's why when you came to festivals and events, there was such a warm, cozy atmosphere, you come and everyone wants to interact with you in some way. Hugging, talking, but nothing bad. You come to the festival and feel welcome here, many people support your hobbies. Most festivals used to have a very pleasant atmosphere. The worst.. Probably not being able to go to the festival because of the war. 

14. Any advice for cosplay wannabees or beginners ?

It's really cool to find someone with whom you can walk this path, because basically, it will even be easier for you to find something, and it will definitely be a lot more fun. But if you are alone, as I was during my period, then you need to search on the Internet and you can ask people who do this now have access to information. You can look on the Internet, what the life of cosplayers consists of, how they live, and decide whether you are ready to invest your efforts in it. If you have already started doing it, you just need to take it and do it. Even if it doesn't turn out perfectly, you have to understand that very rarely everything can turn out perfectly the first time, but every time, you will take into account the past experience and do it even cooler. Therefore, it is important not to be afraid to ask and not to be afraid to do. Perhaps someone will not answer, but somewhere there will be a person who will help you and tell you. That's exactly what happened to me. Therefore, you just need to take and do, probably like that in any business.

15. Do you have limits ? Some cosplays you will never make (too sexy, too hard, too heavy...) ?

I don't think I'll be able to make naked characters, or some kind of robotic craft like a "transformer that takes care of itself remotely" because I don't have the necessary knowledge and skills. But I will look for ways to do even something difficult if I "fall in love" with a character.

Her instagram : https://www.instagram.com/smilecosplay/

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