Cosplayer of the Week : Monique Muñoz

  We first met Monique when we were awe-stricken by her art and approached her table at a con. We started chatting and we soon realized that Monique was friends with some of our friends. It wasn't until later we realized that Monique puts the same amount of hard work and dedication in her cosplays as she does her print work. She is creative, dedicated and extremely talented. We are so happy to be able to share our friends work with you and we are honoured to know someone with her skills. 

What got you into cosplay?

When I went to my first convention, Anime North. I was so amazed by all the costumes that I was inspired on making my own as best as I could!

What was your first cosplay? 

My first cosplay was Marik from Yu-Gi-Oh! ha ha I don't have a photo but I have a photo of my second and third costume! They are pretty funny!! ha ha I wish I had better ones of them but they were all lost when I switched computer a couple years ago.

How long have you been cosplaying?

Oh gosh….. around 8 years now? I think about it now and realize my god, I've come such a long way!! ha ha

What is your favourite part of putting on your cosplay?

Seeing it all completed! So after everything is on, you almost breath and think all your efforts paid off! ha ha It's a good feeling 

What's the best part of cosplay for you?

Being able to look fabulous with your friends.

What is your favourite cosplay? 

Urh, I'm not sure!  I'll say Articuno because it was my own original idea and design. It was also the second time working with feathers so I came up with a concept to make them flexible instead of being rigid. I think it turned out great! It was my first time designing a tail and with the help of my friend Andrew, it came out wonderfully! 

I also love cosplaying Hijikata from Gintama….because it's just fun ha ha ha 

Do you have a current cosplay or cosplayer favourite, someone that has inspired you?

I really love Reika's, Kaname's and Kuryuu's~ They are so wonderful 

I'll send the photos through facebook now!

Deviantart - Kaiser-Mony

Cosplay - Chibi_Mony

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Cosplayer of the Week : Akahime

Akahime

This week's selected cosplayer and first ever on our blog is Akahime! She was our first choice because Akahime, to us, embodies what it means to be a cosplayer. She is not only a talented and crafted costumer but she is also a valuable asset to the cosplay community. She is welcoming, inspiring and supportive of other cosplayers and finds her biggest joy in celebrating her favourite characters with other fans. She also gives great advices to fellow new and veteran cosplayers through tutorials and progress photos. Truly a dynamite cosplayer and part of the cosplay community that you we love. 

(photo by Kuraiai)

What got you into cosplay?

I first ran across the first cosplay photo ever in my life via internet. I was very intrigued and impressed that my favorite characters came to life. And then soon after the first photo, I found cosplay.com. Everyone on there pretty much did it and if they could do it, why couldn’t I? It was too much fun to not get into!

What was your first cosplay?

Hyuuga Hinata Shippuden from Naruto. Hahaha!

How long have you been cosplaying?

I tried to get into cosplay back in 2006 when I first discovered cosplay. I actually made my first cosplay and did closet cosplays. BUT I didn’t have any money to go to cons and make friends, so I put a hiatus on that for a long while. Like, actually for 5 years. I started in 2011 again to give it a try with a closet cosplay, so it’s been three years. :) But I’ve been sewing my cosplays for two years seriously. :3

(photos by Kuraiai)

What is your favourite part of putting on your cosplay?

My favorite part happens at the end of completely putting on the cosplay —when I see all of my efforts come together successfully, it just makes me smile and all happy. Because I’m now the character who I enjoyed watching/reading.

What’s the best part of cosplay for you?

The best part of cosplay is definitely the socializing. I love making friends and finding friends with similar interests is hard outside of the con scene, anime clubs, etc. 

What is your favourite cosplay? (personal collection)

Oh boy! That’s a hard question! *a couple of hours later* I think overall, it has to be my Okuni from Samurai Warriors. I love being Okuni! She is one of the only two characters I really get into being in character. Her cosplay is also very comfortable to wear. It’s too much fun cosplaying Okuni!

Do you have a current cosplay or cosplayer favourite? (other people’s collections) 

I actually don’t. There’s just so much cosplayers with so much talent and they all inspire me to strive harder to go out of my comfort zone when it comes to making cosplay. 

My last words:

I went back into cosplaying again because I was at a point in my life where I was losing friends in college. I actually forgot about the con scene and cosplaying until my sister invited me to head to my first one ever back in 2010. Cosplay helped distracted me from the stress. Though I may not have friends at the time who liked anime, gaming, and/or cosplay, but I realized that there were passion and fun behind all of the people who cosplayed at the con. I wanted a share of the laughter and thus the next year, I decided to give it a try. Even when I didn’t gain friends until a couple of years later, I continued to cosplay because it was so much fun. I come to realize now that cosplaying with friends is fun, but cosplaying as your favorite characters, regardless of its obscurity or fame, was even better —it is the best part of cosplaying! :D

You can find a lot of my recent cosplays here: TUMBLR
You can find a lot of my old cosplays and some recent cosplays here (you’ll probably also run into cosplays I made for my siblings and friend): COSPLAY

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