Wednesday 7 May 2014

Cosplayer of the Week: AVX Armourist

AVX Armourist  (avxarmour.tumblr.com)


Our featured cosplayer this week is AVX Armourist! He is a veteran cosplayer as well as an experienced prop and armour maker whose resourcefulness and eye for details makes his costumes amazingly realistic. He’s not the only who benefits from his hard work and fantastic costumes either; he contributes to the cosplay community through work-in-progress pictures on his blog avxarmour.tumblr.com. AVX Armourists dedication to his craft is truly inspiring to cosplayers everywhere and we can’t wait to see his next project!

What got you into cosplay?


I’d have to say that it was probably my mom. As kids, she’d always make my brother’s and I’s costumes for Halloween, but that didn’t last forever. There was a point where I became “too cool” for Halloween in high school, where nobody was really doing it anymore, so it kinda faded out there. But getting into college and eventually starting to go to cons got me all excited about dressing up again. All that was limited to Halloween, but eventually it got cranked up to 11. My brother and I had wanted to do something big one year and had the idea to be stormtroopers. Sadly, to actually get a licensed version, it costs over $800, so we had come up with something else. Then, my brother stumbles on a little blog (I forget the address) that had someone building an entire suit of Master Chief (Halo) armour for less than a licensed version of that. Two months of research and hard work and I built my own! 

What was your first cosplay? 


I’ve worn costumes throughout my whole life, but the first cosplay I did? If we’re counting the first costume I made for something other than Halloween, it was Reno from Final Fantasy 7, for Anime North 2006. 

How long have you been cosplaying?


 I’ve been technically been dressing up all my life, except a stint in high school. But I’d say I’ve working at it as more than just a hobby for 6 years now. 

What is your favourite part of putting on your cosplay? 


I’d have to say it’s the wow factor. I’ve worn plenty of costumes, some better than others and some not as eye catching as others, but nothing compares to the attention one can garner from a spectacular cosplay. I once won a local bar’s Halloween contest ($1k for 1st place), and the whole night I walked around the bar, I turned heads. I got many amazed looks and the whole bar cheering for me as I stood on stage and won the crowd’s approval for 1st place. It’s an incredible feeling to be noticed like that when you’re not used to it. 

What's the best part of cosplay for you? 


Meeting random groups of people from the thing (movie, game, comic, book) that you’re cosplaying from. Shout outs from people that reference that thing too is a close second. 

What is your favourite cosplay? 


(personal collection) I’d have to say my Master Chief one. It’s the one that took me the longest to make, actually looks intimidating in person and I had a few fantastic photoshoots done for it. 

Do you have a current cosplay or cosplayer favourite? 


(other people's collections) Hard to say, I have several sources of inspiration. People like Harrison Krix of Volpin Props, for his epic Mass Effect weapons. Sean Thorsson of Thorsson & Associates Workshop, for his jaw-dropping (and surpringly light) Warhammer Space Marine armours and Laura of Nebulaluben fame, for hers and Erriku’s Borderlands cosplays.


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