 |
| Photo by The Wasp's Nest |
I'm wringing in the New Year with a brand new Cosplayer Interview for you guys! Jaycee Cosplay is an immensely talented cosplayer from Connecticut that I've featured before on here with her Jolteon. Jaycee had her boyfriend introduce her to cosplay and has been wearing/creating outfits for about 5 years now. Her array of cosplay ideas go about as far as Pokemon gijinkas and Comic Book heroines. So obviously she's my kind of cosplayer right? :D Having not grown out of enjoying old animated shows like Sailor Moon and X-Men, Jaycee knew she definitely had other interests. With her family being into fashion and the medical field, she has a knack for gaming out and trying to catch as many Pokemon as she can.
I first discovered Jaycee maybe a month ago through her beautiful Iron Man Pin Up cosplay she worked on with several of her friends. Having an admiration of pin up and the rich Playboy, it'd make sense for her to combine the two right? She previously wore a Pin Up version of Captain America so she used that as a guide to go about designing the look of it. Besides the Marvel heroes/heroines, Jaycee also really loves Pokemon! From her very first cosplay to now, she's had help from her friends in designing and creating amazing gijinka ideas with two new ones debuting this year at Katsucon!
 |
| Photo by Studio 95 Photographix |
You'd think that with all of her Pokemon gijinkas, Jaycee grew up playing the games. Actually, Jaycee's love for the franchise grew from watching the original show back in the 90s. The games didn't come into play until she went through HeartGold and SoulSilver which came out a few years ago! Jaycee was able to purchase more gaming systems for herself as she got older. The first cosplay Jaycee ever made was a gijinka of the pseudo-legendary Pokemon Shaymin!
Despite Jaycee not making it, her all time favorite cosplay of hers was a Sub-Zero gender bend outfit. Regarding her other Pokemon gijinkas, Oshawott is perhaps the funnest of the series she's made. Jolteon actually happened so Jaycee could be a part of an Eeveelution group at a convention a few years ago! When it comes to creating cosplays, Jaycee admits to not being that skilled in the sewing aspect (that makes two of us, don't worry I can't sew either), thankfully she has her cosplay friends Aerilaya Cosplay and Dulcinea Cosplay to help her out!
At NYCC this past year, Jaycee debuted her Pin Up Iron Man, Quicksilver and Power Girl! For Power Girl's infamous "boob window", she recalls it needed to be tame and have safety pins the day of the con! What Jaycee really loves is the photography aspect of cosplay, especially when it comes to adding amazing effects to finished shots. She hopes to be able to acquire more photography equipment and really dive into it more as she limits the amount of conventions she goes to this year. I do hope you guys enjoy the questions below! Jaycee gave some awesome answers :).
 |
| Photo by Valderana Photography |
What got you into cosplay and how long have you been
doing it?
I’ve been cosplaying for 5 years now and
my boyfriend got me into it.
Which cosplay was the first you ever created?
Very first was a very, very poorly done
gijinka of Shaymin. I don’t think any photos of it exist!
Thinking
back to the last convention you were at, did you enjoy it?
Last con was NYCC. Overall, the convention wasn’t awful. I had a
ton of fun with my friends but the crowd was terrible!
What cosplay(s) did you bring to this convention?
I brought pinup Iron Man, Power Girl, Sub
Zero and Quicksilver
What is your favorite cosplay you’ve made so far?
I actually didn’t make this costume, but
my Sub Zero was probably my favorite. I feel like a total badass in it!
 |
| Photo by Rustic Raver Photography |
What
got you into being a geek?
I never really considered myself a “geek”, just someone who has
different interests from others. But from a really young age I knew I was a bit
different because I never really grew out of Sailor Moon or the X-Men animated
series.
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’m the only family member who has an interest in the “geeky”
culture. Everyone else is either into fashion or in the medical field lol
I just
so happened to find your cosplay page after NYCC this year from being drawn to
your gorgeous Pin-Up styled Iron Man cosplay! What drew you to make a pin-up
version of him? The cosplay looked like lots of fun to make I imagine!
I really enjoy pinup girls and Iron Man, so I wanted to mesh the
two together. I was also inspired by my previous pinup Cap (designed by Itty
bitty Sheip)
Aerilaya Cosplay made the corset/skirt and Dulcinea made the
gauntlet. I was there throughout the whole process and it was anything but fun.
Pinup Iron Man is also, probably one of my least favorites of all my costumes.
I’m sure one day I’ll redesign it and do it a bit more justice :)
Was
there anything difficult/simple about the cosplay?
The whole thing was difficult – seeing the progress on the gauntlet
was terrifying because I wasn’t there every step of the way for fitting
purposes. In my opinion, the costume didn’t really flatter my body; Aerilaya
Cosplay also tried a new technique with the corset (it was my suggestion) that
didn’t work well for the way my body is shaped, which left me feeling less than
confident in it.
 |
| Photo by OhHeyItsSK |
Do you
have a preferred medium to cosplay characters from? From looking at your
portfolio of work, you seem pretty even on video game and comic book cosplays!
Pokemon and comics :) But primarily, Pokemon because there
are so many ways you can interpret them. With comic, I try not to stray too
much from the canon versions of characters (with the exception of a pinup
tribute)
One of
your strong suits to me, are your Pokémon gijinka ideas. You’ve done so many of
them so I think it’s safe to say you’re big into the franchise. How long have
you been big into Pokémon? Was there a gijinka that was more enjoyable to make
than another? My favorite has to be your Jolteon, though your upcoming Glaceon
might claim that title!
I always watched Pokemon as a kid, but never actually played the
game until Heart Gold and Soul Silver. My parents were never huge on buying me
multiple gaming systems (I had a Super Nintendo, Game Boy and PS2) so gaming
was pretty minimal until I was old enough to be able to afford what I wanted
XD. Oshawott is probably the funnest of my gijinkas to design, she’s simple,
but gets the point across. Surprisingly, Jolteon was the one Pokemon cosplay I
didn’t choose, nor would it have been a “future” choice. I did it to be as a
part of an original Eeveelutions group and it just kind of blew up from there!
I also
really love your Power Girl cosplay! I believe you debuted her at NYCC this
past year? Wish I could have been able to meet you in it. What was it like
creating her outfit, since it’s somewhat iconic for the “boob window”? XD
Seeing as I have very limited sewing skills (Aerilaya
Cosplay/Dulcinea Cosplay normally help me make my costumes!) I got it made by a
friend of mine who specializes in leotards. I remember our conversations
regarding the costume were always primarily about the boob window. We needed to
make sure the boob window was tame LOL. It still had to be secured with safety
pins the day of the con!
You’re
also great at creating photo edits of your cosplays that you shoot with other
photographers! Do you enjoy the process of creating a crazy edit?
I LOVE it! It’s probably my favorite aspect of cosplaying. You really
get to recreate scenes from comics, or bring your vision to life. It’s a
totally different ballgame from just the costume.
 |
| Photo by Conpics.ws |
What
do you think about cosplay as it is now hitting the mainstream?
It was bound to happen, and hopefully it’ll create understanding/acceptance
from the outside world into the cosplay/geek world.
Do you
have any upcoming cosplays for this year that you’re able to share?
Besides Glaceon; Phoenix 5 Jean Grey, warrior Victini gijinka,
Pinup Cap 2.0, I’m sure I’ll add more but those are the main ones!
Do you
imagine cosplaying being a part of your life within the next 5 years and do you
hope to evolve your skill set?
Yes and no. I think I’ll always be immersed in the
convention/cosplay scene, but not as regularly. This year I’m toning down the
convention scene (limiting to about 3 cons this year) It’s an expensive hobby
and I have bills to pay lol! However, I do plan and hope to evolve my
photography/editing skills. I hope to be able to afford more of my own photo
equipment so I can go all Cindy Sherman with my photography! (If you don’t know
who Cindy Sherman is, google her, she’s one of my favorite photographers!)
What’s
a day in the life of Jaycee Cosplay?
Work. Really. Just work. And when I’m not working, hanging out with
my doggie :)
Any
upcoming game releases you’re looking forward to?
MKX and the announcement of the new Pokemon game!
Do you have a favorite convention?
My #1 will always be NYCC, but the close
second is Katsucon! Both for very different reasons!
Since Christmas just passed recently, did you have a
favorite gift you received?
I’m not huge on Christmas, so I ask
people to not get me gifts. But people still give me money, so money! :D
 |
| Photo by Jason Chau Photography |
 |
| Photo by OhHeyItsSK |
 |
| Photo by Studio 95 Photographix |
I'm so grateful for Jaycee Cosplay taking time out of her busy life to do this interview with me and I hope I get to meet her this year at a convention. You can expect big hugs from me Jaycee :D! Hope you all enjoyed getting to know her a little bit more. I have links to Jaycee's FB Page and Instagram if you want to follow her work!
