Cosplayer Spotlight
MEET JULIANA!
1. What's your name?
Juliana
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2 Where are you from?
Los Angeles, California
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3. What comic-cons have you been to?
I've been to LA Comic Con and ACE Comic Con
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4. How many comic-cons have you been to?
Two
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5. Which comic-cons have you cosplayed at?
All of them
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6. Who is your favorite person to cosplay as?
Valkyrie
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7. Who have you cosplayed as?
Valkyrie twice (her Sakaarian outfit and Asgardian one), comic Ramona Flowers, and the Mighty Thor (Jane)
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8. Which cosplay that you made was your favorite?
The only one I really made myself was my Ramona Flowers one but I think that one turned out pretty cool
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9. What materials do you use to make your cosplays?
I go to michaels for acrylic paints, fabric paints or anything else I need. I bought those glow in the dark stars for kids and painted them and turned them into a hair clip and ring for Ramona Flowers. Joann for fabrics like when I needed a last minute cape for my second Valkyrie cosplay. A lot of the smaller accessories I need can be found on Amazon. Depop is a good place for finding single clothes items if the characters wears more casual attire. For superhero cosplays I buy from companies like Skycostume for the full outfits. And for single pieces that are too difficult for me to make I can get them off of Etsy or commission people for it. I commissioned Instagram user makerfishmeal for my Thor helmet and it turned out really great.
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10. Can you walk me through making one of your cosplays?
Usually when I'm starting to piece together a cosplay I look for as many reference photos as I can of the character from as many angles as possible so I can get a better understanding of what the entire outfit looks like. If it’s a more advanced costume I order it ahead of time and continue on with any small pieces I can get myself. I either order these small pieces or make them depending on how obscure they are. For Valkyrie's sword I had someone 3D print it and then I painted it to look how I wanted it to. For Ramona’s love sword I was able to find a prop sword that looked similar and then painted the heart on cardboard, cut it out, and superglued it. Once I have the costume and accessories ready, I like to do a test run of it before hand for things like hair and makeup. This is good for making sure you are able to do certain looks, seeing anything you need to fix, and for practice so things can run more smoothly and faster beforehand.
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11. Do you have any future cosplay plans?
Yes I’m planning to go to Wondercon next month and I am cosplaying as Harley Quinn in Birds Of Prey, Princess Bubblegum, and I might redo my Ramona Flowers cosplay.
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12. What does cosplay mean to you and why do you cosplay?
To me, cosplay is all about having fun and getting to see yourself as a character that you love and look up to. It gives me a nice confidence boost when cosplaying these strong characters. It’s a really fun way of expressing my interests.
13. What is your favorite part or aspect of cosplaying?
My favorite aspect about cosplaying is doing it with other people. I’ve made a lot of friends through cosplaying and it’s always an amazing experience to be surrounded by people who share the same passions as you. Every time I go to cons it’s always the most positive experience and everyone is so supportive, even strangers.
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14. Do you have a cosplay inspiration?
There are a lot of people that I love seeing their cosplays and they give me so much inspiration such as these users on Instagram: amberarden, designerdaddy_, milliemousemagic and many more.
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15. Do you have any advice for aspiring cosplayers?
Just have fun and do your best! You don’t need to start off with really advanced things. It’s all a learning process really but it’s worth it all.
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Follow Juliana on Instagram! @prncsjuliana
