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| Photo by Hivemind |
For today, I've got an interview with a cosplayer who seriously is the absolute cutest. Add in some pretty amazing cosplays and you've got someone who's work speaks so much of how passionate she is. Meet Lara Lunardi, a cosplayer from Brazil who now lives in the US having moved there awhile back. You may remember her from the features that I've written on her cosplays such as Morrigan, Samus, Jaina Proudmoore, and various others. It's kind of funny how I almost got to meet her last year due to the 2 of us being in Disney World at around the same exact time. When it comes to cosplay, you'll see that Lara chooses characters that are strong females and well written. She sees it as an extension of her own personality and attitude. For example, she recalls Samus being the first character that she fell in love with. You can imagine her excitement when this badass bounty hunter turned out to be a female at the end of the original Metroid!
Lara's discovery of cosplay involved walking into a convention and seeing people dressed up as her favorite characters. Completely blown away and shocked that you can do that and even have friends who do the exact same thing! You'll learn how she views and utilizes the site Patreon. There she teaches classes on photo manipulation and art. Using a home studio set up, Lara takes pictures of herself in cosplays and then enhances them in PhotoShop! While I'm not a patron myself, I've taken a look at hers, and it seems to be very successful for her. Lara states that not only does it give her a chance to be involved in a community, but also to be inspired by her students that view her classes!
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| Photo by Eurobeat Kasumi Photography |
In this Interview, you'll learn of Lara's favorite outfit, how she views the cosplay hobby as it grows to mainstream popularity each day, her occupation as a game artist with techniques from cosplay thrown into it, and lots more. Lara also throws in her fun humor in some of the questions, specifically around her Starfire cosplay. I'm glad that she was able to take some time out during the holiday season last year to answer these questions for me and subsequently, you all to read. Lara definitely enjoyed them and I hope you all do too!
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What got you into cosplay
and how long have you been doing it?
I
randomly walked into a convention when I was in Middle School and these people
that were dressed up as my favorite characters blew me away. I had no idea
cosplay was a thing and when I fist saw it I was like "WHAT?! SO YOU MEAN
I CAN DO THAT AND STILL HAVE FRIENDS...THAT ALSO DO THAT?!" :P
Which cosplay was the
first you ever created?
Sakura
Haruno from Naruto Shippuden. My aunt and I made the outfit!
Thinking back to the last
convention you were at, did you enjoy it?
Yep!
My last convention was PAX Prime. It was great. I enjoyed it because the
cosplays had an insane quality and the booths were really nice.
What cosplay(s) did you
bring to this convention?
I
brought Jaina Proudmoore from Warcraft and Chloe Price, from Life is Strange.
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| Photo by Craig McNelley Photograph |
What is your favorite
cosplay you’ve made so far?
The
Varia Suit. It was really time consuming and I had no idea of what I was doing
99% of the time. Truly challenging.
What got you into being a
geek?
I
don't really like labels.
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?
My
parents always liked video games and animation. They got me into the geek scene
very fast. I was 4 and I already played Top Gear (I loved the theme song) on
the SNES.
Lots of your cosplays come
from strong female characters in gaming with several in comics as well!
Are you typically drawn to those types in addition with them being
fan favorites of yours?
I
have to say that if characters are portrayed as weak/submissive/bland women, I
can't relate, so I don't really cosplay characters I can't relate to. So yes, I
am drawn to characters that have a similar personality to mine!
Your Samus Aran cosplay
caught my eye and I also noticed the other versions of her that you did.
This even led me to do my first Showcase post on you all about your
multiple Samus cosplays! I take it that she’s your favorite character
right? What is it that stands out to you most about her?
Thank
you for showcasing them. Samus is a really special character to me. I remember
her being the first female character that I thought that was actually a bad ass
- and she was a girl! Most games back in the day had male heroes/main
characters and seeing characters like Samus really made me relate to the
Metroid series.
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| Photo by Hivemind |
Another cosplay of yours
that I fell in love with was your Jaina Proudmoore from the Warcraft
franchise. Not only did the pictures come out beautiful, but also just in
general I love the design of the outfit and how it looks. What was it like
creating her?
Jaina
was interesting to work on. I used really nice fabrics and the armor was made
entirely out of Worbla. I added a few more details and designed my own shoulder
armor. Sewing was never my strongest suit and I feel like this was the first
time that I actually nailed the seams.
One of your main outlets
in creating content and sharing it is through Patreon! Not only do you
release images as prints, but you also teach classes in photo manipulation
and other types of software. How has Patreon been for you in your time
using it? I know some cosplayers and photographers have been turning to it
in order to have a more engaging environment with their supporters!
Patreon
is great. I really enjoy creating content that can teach people what I know.
Teaching is one of my passions and Patreon gives me the power to engage in an
incredible artistic community to not only inspire but to also be inspired by my
students. I try not to focus only on concept art because I know that most of my
followers are interested mostly in my cosplay content, so I had to get myself a
home studio and now I shoot my own images, manipulating them in PS and teaching
people how to do weird stuff in these softwares hah.
On your page, it’s also
stated that you do some 2D/3D modeling and even some game art as well! Do you
feel that some of the techniques you learn through this cross over into
cosplay? Vice versa?
Well,
a lot of people think that I am a "professional" cosplayer and I am
no such thing. I am a game artist. I do concept art for games and cosplay to me
is only a hobby. The techniques definitely cross over and I feel like I learn
so much from cosplay. I always apply things like sculpting, pattern making
(similar to UV mapping for 3D) and much more on my work.
Your Starfire cosplay was
also incredibly spot on and gorgeous. I know you’ve stated that you want
to do more photos of her in the near future. What was it like wearing
that outfit since I know it’s quite revealing XD. I think you also said it
wasn’t very comfortable correct?
Do
you know what happened to that costume? I threw it in the trash hah! The
costume was way too revealing to wear in public and I ended up just doing a
photo shoot with it and that's all. No more Starfire!
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| Photo by Craig McNelley Photography |
What do you think about
cosplay as it is now hitting the mainstream?
I
think that as long as everyone is fun and respectful to each other, it's
fine.
Do you have any upcoming
cosplays for this year that you’re able to share?
Honestly
I haven't really thought about it... I am working on Ivy Valentine from Soul
Calibur 3 and also on Rouge the Bat, from Sonic the Hedgehog.
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
don't know. I like to cosplay, but I also like to do my design work a lot more.
It is getting to a point that I am having to pick either one or the other, and
I obviously put my career in first place because I don't know where cosplay
will take me.
What’s a day in the life
of Lara Lunardi? Where did your username of Raptor Senpai come from?
I
just have a really huge crush on Chris Pratt and I wish I was his Raptor
Senpai... Yeah...
Any upcoming game releases
you’re looking forward to?
Street
Fighter V!
Do you have a favorite
convention?
Fanime!
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| Photo by Eurobeat Kasumi Photography |
What’s the one element of
the whole cosplay creation that you had to pick as your favorite, which
would you choose?
Ah
man. That is difficult. I appreciate all processes except to actually wear
them, because they are usually made out of really awkward materials (latex,
worbla, foam, titanium, kryptonite, bacon)...
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| Photo by Hivemind |
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| Photo by Craig McNelley Photography |
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I hope you all got a new perspective into Lara Lunardi's exciting life. She's definitely someone who's always surrounded by her passions and I'm excited to see what she has planned next! My fingers are crossed that we'll be able to meet at a convention next year! Below you can find links to all of Lara's social media pages as well as her Patreon! If you'd like to contribute of course :).
