Tell me about the outfit you are wearing – who are you cosplaying and how did you decide to pick this particular character ?
The character that I am cosplaying as is Vincent Valentine. He first appeared in Final Fantasy VII, then again in Advent Children, and then most recently was the main character in Dirge of Cerberus. My particular costume was done using the DoC model.
Choosing a character to cosplay is both an art and a science. There are certain basic criteria that have to be met, but at the same time characters are chosen on how fun they are to play or make. I usually cosplay with my best friend, so one of the criteria is that there is a character for both of us. The next criteria is body type. I am naturally tall and thin, so I choose characters with a matching body type. It just wouldn’t look good if I tried to play a character that was short or heavily muscled, for example. After that I look at the difficulty of the costume. If it is too simple, it will be boring and go unnoticed. If it is too complex for my skill level it will come out poor. Then comes the popularity of the character. This is a fine balance. If the character is not popular enough, no one will recognize it. If the character is too popular, then there will be dozens or even hundreds of other people with the same costume and mine will get lost in the crowd. Once the choices are narrowed down, I’ll usually get together with all my friend’s who are costuming and we’ll pick out what is the most fun. We chose Dirge of Cerberus because my best friend wanted to do one of the Tsviets with the light up bodysuit, and I’ve always loved Final Fantasy VII. So I ended up as Vincent Valentine.
Tell me about the process of making your outfit – was it easier or tougher than you imagine it to be ?
Making the actual outfit was about as difficult as I expected it to be. Do it enough times and you get a sense of the scope of a project. Though I have to admit, the prop gun has proven far more difficult than I expected. Due to time constraints I still have not completed it.
The most important part of making any costume is attention to detail. It’s the little details that will make or break your costume. I always start by getting as many reference images as possible. I compare all the angles and make sure I’ve got everything planned out. Only once I’ve got a plan do I start collecting the materials.
For Vincent I started with the base layer of black clothing. I purchased a long-sleeve black cotton shirt. From Ebay I purchased a cheap pair of leather pants and long leather gloves. The boots were purchased from an online costume shop. The first step was to modify the gloves. The cuffs were much too wide, so I had to take them in till the fight tight. I then added a small spot of velcro inside them to prevent them from sliding down over time.
With the base layer prepared, it was time to start on the main features. I began by experimenting with armor making techniques. The armor on the left hand and feet were uniquely shaped. In the end, I hit upon using craft foam to make the armor pieces. I cut out each piece from the foam stock. Then I glued together all the pieces that needed to be attached. The claws, for example, are three pieces of foam cut and glued together to form the curving points. I filled the tips of them with hot glue to give them strength and weight. Once all the armor pieces were formed, I used a special preparation to seal the surface of the foam. Once sealed, the armor took paint wonderfully. I used a metallic gold spray paint to make the armor appear realistic. Afterwards a semi-gloss clear coat was applied to protect it. Then finally the pieces were glued in place to the glove and boots using a strong, flexible glue.
To make the cape I used luggage grade nylon. I chose nylon for a number of reasons. One is that it is very durable. Another is that it is that it is stiff, the collar has nothing in it to make it stand, but flexible as well, the cape flutters dramatically in just a bit of wind. But most importantly is that nylon is synthetic. This was very important because Vincent’s cape is not straight or smooth. It has numerous tatters and holes in it. An organic material such as cotton would be difficult to work with as it has a tendency to fray. Nylon, being synthetic, can be sealed through the use of heat. Organic materials burn, whereas synthetic materials melt. So to cut the cape I started by laying out the fabric. Then I scaled the pattern of the tatters from a reference image and drew it on the fabric in pencil. Lastly, I used a wood burning kit with a fine tip to cut out the shape. This also sealed the edges at the same time, preventing frays. The end result was a durable cape that would not fray that was an exact replica of Vincent’s. The cape was then stitched to the shoulders of the shirt. Over top of the cape was the short cloak. This was made of the same material and process. The cloak was four pieces: two shoulder pieces, a small rectangle doubled over for the collar, and a large rectangle to form the part that goes around the body. This was stitched together, then it too was stitched to the shirt.
With that the costume is nearly complete. All that remains are the various straps and the holster. I purchased nylon strapping and metal buckles online. Vincent actually has over thirty feet of strapping on his outfit. I cut the straps with a wood burning kit and sewed the buckles on. They were they placed in the appropriate positions and sewed there. Most of the straps are non-functional, they are sewed down for convenience. A few, however, needed to work. The decorative metal tabs on the ends of all the straps are made of craft foam, just like the armor. The holster is a tube of pleather. The pop rivets are decorative, placed only because they appear on the costume design. The holster is stitched to the straps that surround Vincent’s thigh.
The wig was custom ordered from an online store that does anime styling. I added the headband myself. It is actually stitched in place.
As the final detail, I had some artwork depicting Vincent’s cellphone. My own phone was very similar in size and style. I also had a spare cover for it that I didn’t use. So I ordered the emblem online from the official store. Then I used more craft foam to modify the cover into the decorative one used by Vincent. I attached the emblem with glue and invisible thread. Then I just pop the cover on my phone and it becomes Vincent’s. That way I’m still in character even when I need to make a phone call.
Any interesting stories from people’s reaction to your outfit at the con ? ^^
Too many to possibly tell! The best part of the convention is people’s reactions. Whether it is people attending or people around the center, I love getting reactions. It is very gratifying when people appreciate the hard work I put into my outfits. Whether they love my character, or they are laughing when I joke around, or just wanting a picture, whenever I make someone smile it makes me smile as well.
I think the funniest reaction I got was from someone dressed as Cid Highwind. I was playing with a rose that a girl had given me earlier in the day. Cid came up to me, held out his hands and we ended up doing an impromptu tango in the middle of the hallway. By the time we were done we had gathered quite the crowd.
But my absolute favorite reactions are from the people who take a picture with me and then tell me that I “absolutely made the convention” for them. Knowing that there is someone out there who has such a fond memory because of me is just a great feeling. I love knowing that I spread that kind of joy.
How did you get started cosplaying and what got you interested ?
This is a very difficult question to answer. I’ve always loved costumes. Ever since I was a child I always made my own Halloween costume by hand. I had so much fun dressing up. I’ve also been a part of a Revolutionary War reenacting group for nearly twenty years. And that is all about dressing up and acting a part. So it was only natural that I would start cosplaying once I discovered my love of anime. My first ever anime costume was Vash the Stampede from Trigun. I was playing him as part of a Live Action Role Playing game.
What are the con did you first attended and what’s your favorite con that you’ve attended so far and why ?
My first convention was Otakon 2005. I went as my favorite classic cartoon character, Captain N the Game Master. I’ve been to several different conventions since then, but none of them top Otakon for me. It’s such a huge convention, there are so many people, so many things to do. Everyone brings out their best costumes, so the visual display is always very impressive. And through it all, there is such a positive energy. The atmosphere is so very welcoming. When I’m at Otakon, I’m at a party with twenty five thousand friends. You just can’t beat that feeling.
So, what does cosplay mean to you ?
Cosplay is my art. Some people create music, others write poetry, still others paint pictures. I create costumes. My art is bringing the characters I love most to life. It’s a challenge, but a fun challenge. I love trying to take these two dimensional images and figure out how to build them in the real world. Then I show off my art to people at the conventions. A lot of people wonder why I put so much time and money into something like this. But to me it’s a passion. I put the effort into it because I love it. And every time I can make someone smile or laugh, I know that it was all worth while.
If you had unlimited funds/technology/time, what is your dream cosplay ?
A life size, fully functional, Transformer! Seriously though, I really have no idea. There are so many costumes I want to make, trying to pick my dream cosplay from them is impossible. I guess you could say that my dream would be to make every costume.
