Cosplayer Spotlight
MEET MADISON!
1. What's your name?
Madison
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2 Where are you from?
Hawthorne, New Jersey
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3. What comic-cons have you been to?
New York Comic Con
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4. How many comic-cons have you been to?
3 in total - all NYCC
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5. Which comic-cons have you cosplayed at?
Twice at NYCC
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6. Who is your favorite person to cosplay as?
Winry Rockbell from FullMetal Alchemist
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7. Who have you cosplayed as?
Winry Rockbell from FullMetal Alchemist and a gender-bend Link from Legend of Zelda. I've also done a few original characters on TikTok.
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8. Which cosplay that you made was your favorite?
Winry Rockbell
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9. What materials do you use to make your cosplays?
Amazon is a blessing for some of the items that you need in a cosplay that you wouldn't necessarily find in any ordinary store (wigs, coveralls which you’ll see why I say that later, gloves, etc). Amazon is also super convenient for me because I’m a college student who doesn’t have a car so shopping for materials isn’t the easiest. Joann Fabrics has a ton of material now for cosplay and they always have coupons for material there.
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10. Can you walk me through making one of your cosplays?
Yeah! So I’ll talk about my most recent cosplay, Winry. The main materials that I needed for her were a bandana, black sports bra with a white zipper, brown gloves, a coverall, flip flops, and a wrench. Everything except for the wrench, zipper for the sports bra, bandana, and flip flops I got off of Amazon. After that, I had to start getting creative. My grandma sewed a white zipper onto my sports bra and I happened to have black flip flops that are very comfortable to walk around in for a long period of time. With my bandana, I actually used remnants of the green t shirt I used for Link’s tunic and hat the previous year. The final issue was the wrench. Certain conventions have different rules on props and weapons (a real wrench fell under this category) so I originally made a clay one. However, I didn’t know if it would be allowed because the NYCC’s list was pretty strict. So, I 3D printed a wrench and I was good to go!
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11. Do you have any future cosplay plans?
Yes I do! I started watching My Hero Academia recently and my two friends and I want to cosplay these characters known as the Big Three (three of the top students of the school the anime is set in). Specifically, I would be the character Mirio Togata. Not sure if I’m gender bending or not, but I’m still working that out.
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12. What does cosplay mean to you and why do you cosplay?
I like cosplaying because it gives me a space to take a step back from reality and be someone else for a day. It gives me a creative outlet to do something I’m passionate about and display to the world. While creating a cosplay could be stressful, in a way it’s kind of therapeutic. Being a biology major in college, I spend a lot of time with my head in a textbook or in a lab. This helps me take a breather.
13. What is your favorite part or aspect of cosplaying?
I think my favorite part about cosplaying is finding other people in the fandom and posing with them. Getting friends to cosplay with you makes it fun too. My close college friend dressed up as Navi (the bright blue sprite in Legend of Zelda) and she pestered me the whole day as well as the other Links we walked by.
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14. Do you have a cosplay inspiration?
Not really. The main thing that inspired me to cosplay was when I went to NYCC for the first time and saw all of the people in cosplay. I immediately was like “next time I’m gonna do this” and sure enough I did and I’m glad I did!
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15. Do you have any advice for aspiring cosplayers?
Take the leap! The scariest thing for me when I started cosplaying was that I was afraid people were gonna say mean things since I handmade a cosplay. Honestly, I was also afraid that when I cosplayed as Link, I was gonna be mistaken for Peter Pan (which did happen at the bus station on the way back home but that was outside of the convention). However, when people comment on your cosplay and ask to take photos with you, it makes the process worth it. People notice the time and effort you put into your cosplays. Even if you don’t think it’s for you, just try it once!
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Follow Madison on TikTok! @Mad_does_things