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| Photo by Ron Gejon Photography |
Right after I shared Livicole Cosplay's incredible General Beatrix from Final Fantasy IX, I needed to interview this talented gal. She was super busy being in Katsucrunch hell so I hope you guys will appreciate this post nonetheless! Livicole got into cosplay fully about 3 years ago as she mentions with her first New York Comic Con visit. The first cosplay she did for this ended up being Psylocke from X-Men and many difficulties were had in creating her. Once the compliments and photos during this event started coming through, Livicole was just immensely excited and proud. Thus she started creating the insanely awesome cosplays you see online today!
Growing up, Livicole mentions that her whole family is into geeky things. Playing on the Super Nintendo with her sister growing up, and her parents being into comic book movies plus Star Trek! She also mentions that there's always something to love about her cosplays, so picking an overall favorite is hard for her. In the questions that soon follow, you'll get a lot of insight into some of the cosplays she's created, mainly the ones I want to share on this blog XD. For example, General Beatrix is a character Livicole loves immensely so she ended up spending lots of time researching the perfect fabric as well as adding extra details to really embellish the character.
As with all my interviews, I've got the default questions that I tend to ask everybody in addition to the more cosplayer specific ones which I've teased at earlier in this post. Livicole mentions her favorite part of the cosplay creation process, games she's hoping to play through PLUS her ever growing cosplay list. I really hope I get to meet this sweetheart at NYCC this year since that tends to be a frequent convention for her! I really hope you guys enjoy the remainder of this interview. Livicole gave such fantastic details and I'm truly thankful she did that <3.
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What got you into cosplay and how long have you been doing it?
I started cosplaying about 3 years ago. I finally got tickets to my first New York Comic Con and knew that I wanted to dress up and make my own costume since that’s just what everyone did in my mind. It was suuuuper frustrating making my first costume, but when I got to the con and everyone was complimenting it and asking for pictures, I just got such an amazing rush of pride. It was so much fun and I just fell in love and knew I wanted to do it more seriously from then on!
Which cosplay was the first you ever created?
Psylocke from X-Men!
Thinking back to the last convention you were at, did you enjoy it?
Yes, for sure! The last con I went to was Anime NYC. It’s a new con – this was only it’s second year, but it’s a fantastic con. Very chill, very fun, lots to do, and not too overcrowded!
What cosplay(s) did you bring to this convention?
I brought a female version of Kurogiri from My Hero Academia, a Lunala gijinka from Pokémon designed by artist Sunset Dragon, and a casual Himiko Toga also from My Hero Academia for the after-party!
What is your favorite cosplay you’ve made so far?
That’s SUCH a tough question because I genuinely love all of my costumes for very different reasons. I’m very proud of my Night Elf Druid, I love my General Beatrix, Priestess Miaka and Shiny Chariot because they’re some of my favorite characters. I also love my classic Harley Quinn because she’s just so fun to portray!
What got you into being a geek?
Growing up, my sister, father and I would play Super Nintendo together a lot. That was really what sparked everything else moving forward. My sister and I played games together for years after, and learned of anime through Adult Swim when we’d stay up past bed time!
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?
Everyone in my family has a little geek in them! My sister as I mentioned grew up much the same as me – playing games and watching anime. She’s super into Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. My father loves Marvel and DC movies and even though he doesn’t play video games like he used to when he was younger, he’s still always interested in them. Even my mom has a little geek in her and is a Trekkie haha.
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| Photo by David Ngo |
I first found you through my favorite gal Jaycee Cosplay sharing your work a little while ago. Specifically, your Lunala cosplay from Pokemon Moon really blew me away. Did you create that design concept? What was it like creating her in terms of difficult/easy parts?
The Lunala gijinka is actually a design by artist Sunset Dragon, I didn’t design it myself. The hardest part of making it was probably the “cape”. It’s based off of Lunala’s wings so had to have the white triangle & diamond shapes, as well as the gold crescents at the tips. At first I tried to hand paint the white shapes on to my fabric with fabric paint, but it took way too long and the fabric was so thin that the paint would just leak through the other side and look bad! So I had to layer up some white tulle, cut the shapes out and sew it to the purple fabric. The crescents were also really tough because I couldn’t get them to stay up on their own – they would weigh down the fabric and flip over constantly, so my last minute con crunch solution was to attach fishing wire to the tips of them and then to my wrist, so the “wings” would stay upright and move with my arms. It worked, but it’s super difficult moving around a con with fishing wire catching on everything!!
Also, I immediately fell in love with your General Beatrix cosplay you created for last year. While I haven’t played FF9 myself, I’m certainly looking forward to when it releases on the Switch this year! Can you tell me a little bit about what went into making her?
Beatrix was one of my costumes that I put a lot of love into because I love FFIX and her character and was super excited to cosplay her. I spent a lot of time looking for the perfect fabric for her and was really happy with my find – a white floral print brocade – but it was very expensive! Worth it though! I also added a few of my own details that weren’t in her design in order to embellish her even further – such as buttons shaped like roses and lace on her collar. All the armor is made out of foam, the wig is 2 wigs sewn together to get Beatrix’s volume, and her sword is a mix of foam, worbla and a hand sculpted guard that I spent weeks making and then molding and casting in plastic.
What’s one aspect/element of cosplay you truly enjoy in every costume you’ve created and why?
One of my favorite parts of cosplay is when everything comes together in the end and you put the costume on and get to admire your work. Once everything is completed and you get to take a step back and be like “wow, I made this” and just feel proud of your hard work! I always enjoy that feeling.
What do you think about cosplay as it is now hitting the mainstream?
I think it’s great – the more, the merrier. Cosplay is one of the most rewarding and fun hobbies I’ve ever had, and more people should get to experience it!
Do you have any upcoming cosplays for this year that you’re able to share?
Tons! My cosplay list is always growing. I plan on doing more Pokémon gijinkas of course, as well as some more Final Fantasy cosplays such as Yuna from FFX and Garnet from FFIX. Princess Mononoke has been on my list for a long time, and I want to fix up my Albedo and Ainz cosplays from Overlord that I just recently made! Plus way more!
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| Photo by VinhFx |
Do you imagine cosplaying being a part of your life within the next 5 years and do you hope to evolve your skill set?
Definitely and definitely. I hope to continue cosplaying for a very long time, and I know that I still have so much to learn. I’m looking forward to expanding my skills!
What’s a day in the life of Livicole Cosplay?
Not much excitement honestly haha! I go to work as a waitress, come home and work on cosplay most of the time, or if I need to relax some, just watch TV in bed with my cats or play video games.
Any upcoming game releases you’re looking forward to?
Not particularly, actually. I’ve still got a lot of games from the past couple of years that I need to catch up on! I really want to play God of War 4 as I never got a chance to, and I also want to go back and re-play some of the older Final Fantasy’s and Legend of Zelda’s.
Do you have a favorite convention?
I always have a blast at NYCC and Katsucon. A lot of people don’t like big, overcrowded cons but honestly I love the crowds! I love seeing so many people come together and getting to meet so many new people. I also really enjoy Anime NYC.
Is there a specific Pokemon you’d love to create a gijinka of that you haven’t yet? Why?
I have a bunch on my to do list! One that I’m really looking forward to making is Mega Bayonet just because I really really love the design!
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| Photo by Livicole Cosplay |
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| Photo by Eurobeat Kasumi Photography |
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When reading through these responses, I felt the passion and love that Livicole has for this hobby. She consistently shows that in her MANY outfits she's created since jumping in. Below I got a link which will take you to all her other social media links. From FB, Twitter, an Amazon Wishlist to even a print store! Livicole Cosplay is definitely an individual you do NOT want to miss out on. I look forward to sharing even more of her work with you guys very soon. Thank you so so much for reading and to Livicole for giving me this opportunity <3.
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