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| Photo by Surfside Images |
If you came across the name Blood Empress, you might first think that it's a super odd name for a cosplay handle. Second, you might think the person behind it would be somewhat into dark things. I'm happy to say that it's all just a front to be super cool, least that's what she told me. I'm happy to have for you guys an interview today with Blood Empress and it's great that I was able to get more insight into her. Christy (real name), always enjoyed dressing up as her favorite characters when she was younger which even led her to making comic book stories back in school. Anime Expo 2013 marked her first con and she cosplayed as Athena from the anime Saint Seiya, everything else cosplay wise just came off and she was hooked.
Christy thinks she was born into this culture. Dreaming of having boyfriends like Link, Sonic and even Master Chief growing up and getting to watch Spirited Away. Though that movie didn't last too long as it creeped out her mom! With many siblings into video games and Pokemon, Christy thinks she wouldn't say they're totally enamored in being a geek yet. She also goes into how her Angela cosplay was made along with how the Death Note group was set up (in which she portrayed Misa as you see above)! If you went to her page, one thing you'll notice is that Blood Empress has a love for making armor and props. She goes into that more saying how she loves patterning them out and figuring how everything fits/looks.
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| Photo by Wonderwall Visions |
Other things you'll learn about Blood Empress include her upcoming cosplay slate, games she's been obsessed with, and her thoughts on cosplay as it gains more popularity in this timeframe. Her favorite prop is the hammer used by Nora from RWBY and you'll understand why that is! Insights into her favorite cosplays she's made along with certain ones picked out by me! I really loved the answers she gave (when I get answers back that make the document 5+ pages that makes me happy :D) so I hope you all feel the same!
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What got you into cosplay and how long have you been doing it?
I always loved dressing up and
pretending to be some of my favorite characters when I was a little girl. I
would even make little comic books with stories when I was in elementary
school! Ever since I heard of comic con I wanted to go but I never had a ride
and when I was finally able to drive either nobody wanted to join or tickets
started getting difficult to get. Finally I got to attend Anime Expo in 2013
thanks to an ex-boyfriend who went every year. Anime expo was like love at
first sight for me, I fell in love with it all! From the art, to the nerdy
merchandise, and most of all the talented cosplayers that were there.
Which cosplay was the first you ever created?
While planning for Anime expo 2013 I
couldn’t decide on what character to do. I remember Hawkgirl was the first to
pop into my head since I’ve always loved that character so much but alas there
was no way I could come up with that especially back when nobody really made
cosplay tutorials lol. Then Misa from Death note came to mind, a Sailor Scout,
and a few others but I ended up choosing Athena from the anime Saint Seiya! I
immediately went to the nearest craft store/home depot bought supplies and went
to work!
Thinking back to the last
convention you were at, did you enjoy it? What cosplay(s) did you
bring to this convention?
Last
con I was at was Titan con I believe the name of it was. It was a fairly small
con but I had so much fun! I went as Sasuke Uchiha from Naruto Shippuden and I
met up with so many of my cosplay friends and took photos with talented people,
not to mention the food I ate after was pretty amazing! Haha!
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| Photo by Topher Oriel |
What is your favorite cosplay
you’ve made so far?
I have a few favorite cosplays so far
and one is definitely Angela! I put so much time and effort into that cosplay
in only one month (which I am so proud of) and I think the end result looks
pretty sweet plus I get to look badass! Another one is definitely Caitlyn from
League of Legends just because it was my first sewing project and I got to
learn so much from it like drafting my own pattern. I may also be adding
another cosplay to my favorites once I finish Lightning, she’s been a cosplay
dream of mine for a long time and finally get to put everything I learned to
the test so wish me luck!
What got you into being a geek?
I’m
not too sure how to answer this because I feel like I was just born a nerd lmao.
Grew up dreaming of having a husbando like Link, Sonic the Hedgehog, or Master
Chief from Halo (Not even kidding). I even remember I was at the swap meet with
my grandma and someone was selling Spirited Away, I still remember to this day
that I instantly gravitated to it and my grandma ended up buying it for me. I
kid you not I watched that every single day and no face would creep out my mom
so she got rid of it. It sucked but once I got older I discovered the rest of
the Studio Ghibli films and once more No Face was haunting my mom for good this
time lol
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
2 brothers play video games and younger siblings are into Pokémon but I could
not classify them as a “geek” or a “nerd”. Currently it’s just me and even
though it took my family awhile to adjust to my passion for cosplay, they are
way more open to it now.
Is there a favorite media
that you tend to cosplay the most from? Willing to guess that anime holds a
special place in your heart!
Honestly, I have so many
favorites that I have yet to cosplay. I love anime and yet I feel like I don’t
have enough anime cosplays. I have never cosplayed anyone from my top favorite
animes and it makes me sad, I need to change that in the near future!
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| Photo by More Cosplay |
Your Angela cosplay from
Spawn was what drew me to your work after our mutual buddy Karli shared a group
cosplay you did together! I believe that was a Death Note group and you
portrayed Misa? What was it like creating Angela? The armor looked so insane and
epic!
Yes!
Well like I said before Angela is definitely one of my favorites, I have
infinite love for that cosplay and so happy so many people love it. I usually
do not cosplay characters unless I know them but with Angela I had no idea what
her story was, I knew the character’s name and could identify her if someone
cosplayed her but that was the extent. Some friends invited me to join their
Asgardian group and everyone who I knew was taken so I picked Angela and was so
nervous because of the fact that I knew nothing about her! I did my research
and after I cosplayed her at Comikaze I read her comics and instant love for
the character, her story, and who she was!!
Your Rei from Evangelion is
also super freaking cute! Did you have the suit commissioned? What was it like
wearing it? I imagine the type of fabric made it a little bit hot right?
I
commissioned that cosplay right after I made Athena and I was so excited
because NGE is one of my all-time favorites but that suit is not fun to wear! I
love the look, how it photographs, and the way it was made fits my body perfect
BUT LATEX!!! I’ve even made the mistake of wearing in July for Anime Expo…I was
a walking disgusting sweat bag. Cleaned that thing and thought I locked it away
for life but recently started wearing it again for shoots. Not sure if I will
be bringing it to cons because I hate wearing for long periods of time.
By looking at your page, you
state that armor cosplays and props are among your favorite to make. Some of
your cosplays like Caitlyn and Red Sonja are strong enforcers of that statement!
What about armor and props do you enjoy?
I
don’t know! I guess it is just that most of it comes easy to me. I love
figuring out and patterning how to make weapons and how to make them extra
light or how exactly to make armor to fit my body perfectly and wearable! It is
such a stress reliever for me and to turn simple EVA mats or pink insulation
foam into these awesome works of art! I am still not perfect though I am still
learning on how to strap things properly, it has always been such a struggle
for me but ya live and ya learn through trial and error.
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| Photo by David Ngo |
Do you have a personal
favorite prop you’ve made and why?
Probably
the hammer I made for Nora Valkyrie from RWBY. Literally looked at that thing
like how in the heck do I make that? I even searched online and didn’t see any
helpful tutorials and could not commission it because they were all way too
small for my taste so I free handed it! Bought a big wooden poll for the
handle, used a kind of EVA foam, mailing tubes, hot glue, and craft foam. It
was easily under $50.00 to make and it was oh so light so I was free to bang
people in the head and yell BOOP all day long!
What do you think about
cosplay as it is now hitting the mainstream?
I
think it is great that people are finally seeing nerds as cool too and people
are not seeing it as weird thing anymore. I remember I was walking to a con one
year and I had to park kind of far, and on top of that I went by myself because
I had no friends who wanted to go. I was walking in cosplay to the con and
people were yelling out mean things out of their car and someone even felt the
need to throw their drink at me (Luckily their aim was horrible) but I always
look back to that moment because at that moment in time I wanted to run back to
my car and never cosplay again but I kept walking forward and had the best time
and met awesome people. I know even before I started cosplaying it was even
worse for cosplayers, people can be so cruel towards things they do not understand
and I feel that now people are opening their eyes a little bit more.
Do you have any upcoming
cosplays for this year that you’re able to share?
SO MANY!!! Definitely Lighting, D.Va from Overwatch, Super Sonico,
Itachi from Naruto, and Kaneki from Tokyo Ghoul. I have a lot of other cosplays
I would love to do but not in the works yet so can’t promise anything other
than the ones I have already listed!
Do you imagine cosplaying
being a part of your life within the next 5 years and do you hope to evolve
your skill set?
At
this point in time I do not see myself without cosplay anymore it has become a
part of me and who I am. I love making characters/ideas come to life. I can’t
really say who or what I will be doing in 5 years but even if cosplay turns into
designing or something else I know I will still be doing what I love and this
is crafting and creating!
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| Photo by Nels |
What’s a day in the life of Blood
Empress? Where did that name come from?
I
currently work at a university so I wake up at 6am every morning to be out the
door at 7am and work until 5pm/6pm every day of the week. Cosplay does not pay
for itself. I still have a few classes to take before finally done with school
but I am almost there to getting my Bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing! I
usually craft at night or on weekends so my time is very limited, hoping it
clears up once school is over James
As
far as my cosplay name I just came up with it. I am horrible with coming up
with usernames and somehow I came up with Blood Empress and that was history. I
know the name sounds kind of creepy but I promise I am a super nice, happy, and
giggly person! The name is all a front for me trying to be badass and cool lol
Any upcoming game releases
you’re looking forward to?
I
was so pumped for Overwatch and that has consumer my life even though I suck at
it since not used to playing on a console but still so fun! Now it is Pokémon
Sun and Moon and a new Monster Hunter I heard for DS?!!!
Do you have a favorite convention?
It WAS Anime Expo but it has become so
crowded it is hard to enjoy, so now it is WonderCon but I am flying out to
Dragon Con with a few friends later this year and I have a feeling that will be
my new fav!
If you could live in one anime world, which would you choose?
SUCH A DIFFICULT QUESTION! Gundam...NO CODE GEASS..wait no…One piece
would be so cool! Sailing the ocean with my crew, making fun everlasting
memories, eating Sanji’s amazing food, fighting marines/other pirates together,
and looking for the one piece! That would be the life!
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And there you have it guys! I hope you enjoyed reading these responses as much as I did when I first got them! Like many other cosplayers I've become friends with on the West Coast, I hope I get to meet Blood Empress one day. Really looking forward to her upcoming outfits and I highly recommend you check out her stuff! Links to her pages are down below, thanks everyone for reading and thank you so so much Christy for letting me interview you <3
