Cosplayer Interview: Naomi VonKreep!

Late last year, I had the pleasure of discovering and finally following the gorgeous Naomi VonKreep! Having been cosplaying for nearly half a decade, Naomi found cosplay through looking at images of other people dressing up at conventions and figured it'd be an absolute blast. Progressing forward from dressing up at Halloween to cosplay was very easy for her. Some of Naomi's outfits include gender-bends of well known characters such as Edward Kennway from Assassin's Creed Black Flag, and even Rorschach from Watchmen! All of her outfits are expertly made and I was beyond happy that Naomi gave me the opportunity to interview her. She recalls a Star Wars Stormtrooper being the first costume she made but then decides that it was one of the worst done in her opinion. Her other cosplays have since shown her evolution of skills gained!

It's a matter of family when it comes to Naomi's geek upbringing. Her brother and parents introduced her to the things she loves and takes inspiration from. Star Wars and Star Trek have a huge place in her heart with watching re-runs with her Dad to this very day. She's also a huge book nerd with having read such titles like Lord of the Rings at a younger age. Being based in Canada, Naomi is more accustomed to the cosplay scene over there. She's stated that she's "retired" from the scene but to her that means going to less conventions and being able to create less cosplays in a year.

In this interview, you'll learn of Naomi's affection to the Diablo franchise. Which led her to create an insane Crusader cosplay that you see on the left. She goes into comparing the cosplay life in both Canada and the US. How she feels about cosplay going mainstream, stressing importantly that it's truly for everyone and that people shouldn't feel nervous or intimidated to start. Naomi also mentions how she cosplays characters that she's passionate about so she's not really restricted to a certain form of geek media. As with every interview, the answers she gave were spot on and I enjoyed getting to know her more. I hope you guys do too!
------------------------------------------------------------

What got you into cosplay and how long have you been doing it?

I’d seen a lot of photos online of cosplayers and I remember thinking “What fun! They get to dress up whenever they want!” Dressing up at Halloween has always been a huge deal for me, so transitioning to cosplay was a natural progression. I’ve been cosplaying for about 5-6 years now about.

Which cosplay was the first you ever created?

A Stormtrooper. Looking back now, I don’t consider any of my Star Wars costumes as being cosplay, just silly costumes I put together, but at the time I was like “I’M GOING TO MAKE THE GREATEST STORMTROOPER COSPLAY EVEEERRRRRR”.  I said this without knowing how to make anything. Turns out I made the WORST STORMTROOPER COSTUME EVERRRRRRR!

Thinking back to the last convention you were at, did you enjoy it?

Of course! My last convention was great fun as it is in my hometown which I always enjoy!

What cosplay(s) did you bring to this convention?

I debuted my Crusader cosplay from D3.

What is your favorite cosplay you’ve made so far?

I’d have to say my Crusader cosplay. I honestly didn’t think it would all come together at the end, but when I finally put everything on, I was like “holy crap, this is awesome”

What got you into being a geek?

Not what, but who. I owe it to my older brother and my parents. My brother absolutely LOVED Star Wars so we watched it over and over and over again. My parents believed reading was very important so I remember reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy as a kid, and to this day I am the biggest bookworm. I’ll take a book over a movie or video game any day. Also my dad loved watching reruns of the original Star Trek, so again, I was a little pipsqueak watching Star Trek reruns with my dad.

Do you have any other members of your family who are into what you enjoy? Or are you at present the only “geek” in the family?

I think my previous answer, responds to that question!

From looking at your cosplay portfolio, you cover many characters from both video games and comic books. Do you find more to cover from in those forms of geek media?

I don’t know. I don’t really think about it. I cosplay characters I am passionate about. So whatever form of media they come from whether it is comic books, video games, movies, etc.

I’ve seen you around social media here and there, what really made me decide to follow your work was your AC Black Flag cosplay of a Rule 63 Edward Kenway. What was it like creating that cosplay?

That was such a fun cosplay to make! I loooove Edward Kenway. I had so much fun playing him in AC4: Black Flag, I knew I had to make a cosplay of him, and c’mon, who doesn’t want to be a pirate!!??

With Star Wars releasing their latest entry in the franchise, it also showed me how much of a fan you are with it. Have you done cosplays from Star Wars before? I imagine Episode 7 has inspired you to cosplay some characters as well?

Again, I’ve made several silly Star wars costumes.  I don’t consider any of them cosplays as they are the most innacurate costumes ever. I’ve done a Stormtrooper, a TIE fighter pilot and my favorite is my Royal Imperial Guard. I’m definitely going to be making a genderbend Kylo Ren cosplay!!

You also are a Diablo nut which eventually led you to creating a Crusader Johanna cosplay from 3! The finishing photos and outfit as a whole looks insane! What was it like making her? I imagine difficult in some parts yea?

It was hard! I’d never made so much armor before! Nor have I ever worked with EVA foam, so it was a big learning curve, and I ended up doing most of the armor twice. I’m not much of a prop builder, so making the shield and flail were also challenging for me.

With following you on Social Media for such a short time, you have a very hilarious/outgoing personality! I also know you’re very active on replying to comments made by your fans and all that. Do you have a personal favorite platform? I was going to guess SnapChat because man you LOVE the rainbow puke XD.

I’d say IG and twitter are probably my favorite platforms, but I freaking love snapchat! Here is where my every day goofiness comes out since most of my snaps are unrelated to cosplay and just me being well, me.

With you being based in Canada, how is the cosplay scene there compared to what you’ve seen in the US? Is there anything different in the US that you wish was up where you are?

Honestly, I don’t think there is much difference. All depends on what convention you go to up here or down there. I think Canada probably has smaller cons, but we do have some fairly large ones like FanEXPO and Montreal Comic Con. I actually prefer the smaller cons.

What do you think about cosplay as it is now hitting the mainstream?

In many ways it is super positive that it hit the mainstream! That means more people will be exposed to this amazing hobby and will hopefully try their hand at cosplaying! In other ways it can be a negative unfortunately. Over the years, since it hit the mainstream, it seems the media usually only shows the “beautiful” cosplayers. Which is a shame, as I’ve had many people tell me they don’t want to ever try cosplaying because they feel that they don’t fit that “mold” The thing is, cosplaying is for everyone. It has nothing to do with what you look like and everything to do with paying homage to your fandom. I think many people have forgotten this.

Do you have any upcoming cosplays for this year that you’re able to share?

I’m currently working on my Demon Hunter from D3!

Do you imagine cosplaying being a part of your life within the next 5 years and do you hope to evolve your skill set?

I’m not sure actually. I’m pretty much retired now. I used to make several cosplays a year, but now I’m down to 1 costume and 1-2 cons a year. As much as I love the hobby, it is very time consuming and expensive and I find it very hard to juggle everything.

What’s a day in the life of Naomi Von Kreeps? Where did Von Kreeps come from?I’m a regular person like any other really! I wake up early on weekdays, I run to work, I work all day as a Web developer, I go to the gym after work, I play video games, I read a lot. What might differ from most is I work on cosplays, I answer fan mail, and do interviews like this one!

Any upcoming game releases you’re looking forward to?
Right now, no. I was SO DAMN EXCITED FOR BATTLEFRONT but I’ve barely had time to play!!!!! *sob*

Do you have a favorite convention?

I’d have to say the Ottawa Comiccon!

What’s the one thing you love about cosplay?The making of them. But not just that, but figuring out how to make them. I never know what I’m doing when I start a cosplay.  I bumble along hoping that things will turn out.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All Photos by Rebel Photography!

I'd absolutely love to meet Naomi one day at a convention and I can't thank her enough for giving me this opportunity. If you want to follow more of Naomi's work, check out these links to her social media pages!
https://www.facebook.com/naomivonkreeps
https://twitter.com/naomi_vonkreeps
https://www.instagram.com/naomi_vonkreeps/