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| Photo by JStiles Photography |
I've got another interview for you guys today with the lovely duo of Sophii and Cissa! Together they're known as Ultra Girls Cosplay and trust me when i say this guys, they've got big things in store :). Both Sophii and Cissa are life long friends stationed in Kansas who just recently decided to merge their individual pages together. This was done basically in hopes of marketing themselves together as a package for both promotional gigs as well as being cosplay guests! Out of the 2 of them, you all have seen Sophii before in my feature on her Harley Quinn cosplay a few months ago. Cissa has spent the most time cosplaying with a stunning number of 10 years! Sophii started out after she was taken to A-Kon in 2010. Having been a nerd at heart for most of her life, Sophii caught the cosplaying bug and found the community to be incredibly heartwarming and friendly.
The last convention the Ultra Girls attended was Planet Comic Con over in their home state. At the convention they spent most of their time working a table rather than being guests. For both of them it was definitely a different experience. For the convention, they both brought out DC cosplays with Sophii being Wonder Woman and Cissa as Batgirl. Both of these outfits were a blast to work on according to them. They still stick to the comic book side when talking about their favorite cosplays with Cissa's Raven from Teen Titans and Sophii's Lady Deadpool!
In terms of promotion, the girls have worked with Ichico Comics on numerous times for things like a Magic the Gathering tournament as well as working their table at the last convention which I mentioned above. Sophii and Cissa aren't stopping their creative brains anytime soon too! Cissa has Morrigan from Darkstalkers along with a Female Nightwing in the works (Nightwing fan = YAY from me :D). To compliment Morrigan, Sophii is working on Felicia from the same game and a Female Roxas from Kingdom Hearts!
So yea based on those outfits the girls have automatically got my support 100% :). This was definitely an interesting interview as I was getting double answers for most of the questions! I really hope you guys enjoy this. They're both such sweet girls with a lot of passion behind the cosplays they make <3
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1. What
got you into cosplay and how long have you been doing it?
Cissa: I've been cosplaying for about 10 years. I
used to watch a lot of anime with friends, and when I went to my first
convention, I saw the cosplayers and thought it looked like so much fun.
Eveyone was so nice and accepting. I decided the next con I went to, I'd have a
costume. I've been cosplaying ever since!
Sophii: I've always been a huge nerd but I've only
been cosplaying for about 5 years! Cissa actually took me to A-Kon in Dallas in
2010, everyone else was dressing up so I did it too. The environment was
electric and everyone was so incredibly friendly, I was hooked!
2.
What was the first cosplay you ever created?
Cissa: My first cosplay was Kagome from Inuyasha. I
wore it to the second Anime Festival Wichita.
Sophii: I don't even know what you'd call it haha.
It was an old racer Halloween costume I had, some tights, yellow boots and a
yellow bra. It was such short notice that I didn't have time to do anything
super cool, but.
3.
Thinking back to the last convention you both were at, did you enjoy it?
It was Planet Comicon in Kansas City! It was loads
of fun! It was our first convention actually working a table instead of just
being guests. It was nice to see that different aspect.
4. What
cosplay did you bring to this convention?
Cissa: I was Batgirl!
Sophii: I was my idol, Wonder Woman
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| Photo by Steve Gracy Photography |
5. What
is your favorite cosplay you've made so far?
Cissa: Raven from Teen Titans. I just love her so
much, and it was a really fun costume to wear.
Sophii: Lady Deadpool, she's such a badass and it's
the one I am most recognized for.
6. What
got you into being a geek?
Cissa: Neopets. Haha. I used to get on the forums
and I would just talk to people and roleplay. I learned about different fandoms
and started gaining an interest in different shows and games. It was my life.
Most of my friends were online for the longest time.
Sophii: Oh man, Pokemon! I can't explain the level
of obsession I experienced. I used to cry because I wasn't Ash Ketchum.
7.
Do you have any other family members who are into what you enjoy? Or are
you at present the only "geek" in the family?
Cissa: I'm the only one! They are always
supportive, even if they don't understand why I'm wearing a superhero costume
in public.
Sophii: I am the only one, too. But my whole family
absolutely adores what I do. My grandpa is always sharing my cosplay pics on
Facebook!
8. So you
both came together after having your individual pages for a little while. Being
incredibly close friends on top of living close by, did it just make sense for
you both to merge into one page to promote yourself for conventions?
Cissa: It did! We are best friends. We both have
the same goal in mind, so joining together seemed like the best move. Plus, we
like to think of ourselves as a package deal. I don't want to do anything
exciting without Sophii by my side.
Sophii: Awh! What Cissa said! Word! :)
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| Photo by Tahnee Lane Photography |
9.
Sophii, I really enjoyed your Wonder Woman cosplay you made recently! You
capture her so well with the poses. What was the process like making that
outfit? The colors really pop!
It was so last minute! But Wonder Woman is my idol,
I have a huge Wonder Woman collection. I decided to make her two weeks before
Planet Comicon, the armor was my absolutely favorite part to make as I am
obsessed with making armor since I did it the first time with Sorin. I'm glad
the colors popped, that was my goal! I wanted her to look cartoony but with
some battle damage - hence the boots. That actually didn't work out too well in
the end, haha.
10.
Cissa, you made Batgirl for the same convention! You did such a fantastic job
with the body suit. What was it like creating that cosplay?
I actually didn't know I'd be able to attend the
convention. I was supposed to be going on a trip, but it got canceled last
minute. So I made Batgirl in two days. I pulled an all nighter finishing it. I
love the colors, so I was really excited that I got it together.
11.
Another cosplay you both did together were characters from Magic the Gathering.
The photo shoot pictures look incredible and the editing really makes the
photos look beautiful! Both outfits look as if different techniques were used
for each of your cosplays! Could you go into more detail about how you made
them?
Cissa: The armor for mine was made out of craft
foam, and I used clay for the teeth. I wanted everything to have a worn leather
feel to it, so I pieced together faux leather for the corset and skirt
details.
Sophii: I think Sorin is my favorite to date! It
was my first time making armor and I used craft foam as well, painted it,
sealed it and then spray painted it to get it metallic. The breast armor was
the funnest thing to do! I actually just took a bra, cut it to be the right
shape and then sealed it and sprayed it until it was solid. I'm so happy it
turned out so well. Bras make great breast armor haha.
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| Photo by JStiles Photography |
12. What
made you choose Magic the Gathering?
We are a part of Ichigo Comics, a collaborative
group of artists, and were invited to cosplay at a MTG tournament at Wizard's
Asylum Comics in Wichita, KS. It was a change to actually be told something we
should cosplay, instead of just doing whatever we wanted. It pushed us out of
our comfort zone, and it turned out great.
13. What
do you think about cosplay now that it's hitting the mainstream?
The more the merrier! Cosplay is fun, and it has
brought us together with so many wonderful people. I love that other people are
taking notice.
14. Do
you have any upcoming cosplays for this year that you're able to share?
Cissa: Right now I'm working on Morrigan from
Darkstalkers. Then I'll be making female Nightwing. I'm also hoping to finish
my Stocking cosplay.
Sophii: I'm working on Felicia from Darkstalkers
and let me tell you, styling that wig is NO JOKE! After that I'll be working on
a Fem Roxas from KH2 and also a Power Ranger - not sure which generation we are
doing yet but their will be a big group of us at A-Kon this year!
15. Do
you imagine cosplaying being a part of your life within the next 5 years and do
you hope to evolve your skill set?
Cissa: I do! I want to cosplay as long as I can.
It's so relaxing to me to be able to craft. I'm always looking for ways to get
better.
Sophii: YES! I am so passionate about cosplay and I
think it shows, I hope it shows. I often would worry about my age and
continuing prior to this blowing up. But the more cosplayers I meet, the more I
realized age absolutely does not matter!
16.What's
a day in the life for the girls of Ultra Girls Cosplay?
Cissa: I work a full time job, so I'm usually
working most days. After work, I spend a lot of my time crafting, or hanging
with Sophii. Along with my wonderful boyfriend of course!
Sophii: Let me paint a perfect picture - Full time
at the T-Mobile Call Center and then I come home and Cissa and I sit on the
living room floor and work on cosplay while my Fiancé Sam and her boyfriend
Matt play Destiny. This is absolutely typical, haha.
17. How
did you come up with the name?
We sat down and made a long list of words that we
liked. We had words like "super" and "wonder", but we
settled on "ultra". It makes us sound powerful, like superheroes! We
definitely put our all into everything we do, and we want to project that.
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| Photo by Steve Gracy Photography |
18. Any
upcoming game releases you're looking forward to?
Cissa - I'm not a big gamer. I love playing
strategy games and gaming with friends, but I spend most of my spare time
crafting, reading, or watching shows.
Sophii - I was SO excited for Final Fantasy Type 0,
we got it anddddd I haven't had a moment to play it yet :( BUT KH3... nothing
will get in the way of KH3.
19. Do
you have a favorite convention?
Cissa: A-Kon in Dallas Texas! I've gone every
single year since I was 12. It gives me an excuse to have a fun road trip with
friends. Watching the convention grow has been fun!
Sophii: A-Kon as well. There's so much energy and
so many people. It's like a three day party for nerds! Seriously an experience
I think every nerd and cosplayer should have, you'll never feel more at home
than you do at A-Kon.
20. So
which one of you is a fan of Nightwing and why?
Cissa: I'm a fan! We both are. I'm really excited
to start working on my Nightwing costume. I think it stems from my Teen Titans
obsession.
Sophii: I do enjoy
Nightwing very much!
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| Photo by Steve Gracy Photography |
I hope you guys enjoyed getting to know Sophii and Cissa a lot more! I definitely plan on featuring their upcoming outfits! I'm really excited to see their work evolve even further. I definitely recommend checking them out. You can visit their pages here!
