How were you first exposed to the anime world?
Actually our brother (we have two, so the older of the two) got into it some his friends at school and some friends he met online. He started watching Naruto and talking about how cool it was, and at that time(this is like 2003) we didn’t know what anime was or how he was getting these episodes, just that it seemed awesome from bits and pieces we saw. So he charged us $30 to download the episodes onto discs and show me how to put it on my computer. We watched, got hooked, and then did some research and found out there were a ton of other cool animes- and also that we could have gotten the episodes online for free.
How did you discover Cosplay?
After we got hooked on Naruto, etc., Kris was talking about it in high school with some friends who she also learned liked anime. One of them told her all about anime conventions, and it turned out there was one a few towns away, like a 15 minute drive, happening two months later. So we checked it out, and while there saw people dressed up and after talking to some of them, and seeing outfits we recognized from the animes we liked, we discovered cosplay.
Your name is S.K. Cosplay, how did you come up with that name?
Well, on other sites like Cosplay.com or World Cosplay, etc., we have other cosplay names that we’ve been using since like 2007. Steph is Stephhxstar, Kris is AuroraMarija(originally AuroraMaryte). But we wanted to share the Facebook page, and there was no good way to combine those names, so we just took the initials from our first names and combined it into our page name.
What was your first Cosplay costume? Where did you portray this character?
For Kris it was Deidara at AnimeNEXT 2006. For Steph it was Ty Lee at New York Anime Festival 2008.
About your first costume did, you make it your self or buy it? If you made it yourself what were some of the challenges?
The Deidara costume was bought, but I think most people bought Akatsuki costumes. The Ty Lee costume was made with help from Steph’s godmother. We started sewing costumes entirely on our own in 2010 for our Final Fantasy XIII costumes. And there were a lot of challenges since we both taught ourselves and just kind of learned together by trial and error. Picking the right fabrics, how to size thing properly and read a pattern- a friend who we recently taught to sew said the pattern he was using was like learning to interpret hieroglyphics. It wasn’t even a hard pattern, but he was kind of right. Starting out even just reading a pattern and all the crazy terminology in there can be so insane.
You are two sisters. Do you ever disagree who gets to Cosplay which characters? How are those decisions typically settled?
That’s actually never happened. We both like different types of characters and different styles of outfits, and we both have a different look, so, so far at least, we’ve never had a disagreement about a character we both want to be.
Do you two have different styles of cosplaying? What are those styles?
I think a little bit, yeah. Steph is more into like badass characters like Tomb Raider and Lightning, or darker characters like Alice from Alice Madness Returns. Kris lie more elaborate costumes like Celes’ gown, that Sakizou Apple Pie costume, etc.
The two of you Cosplay as both comic book and anime characters, what are the challenges to the two different genres? Do you like one of the genres more than the other?
I think we like video games most of all lol. But a lot of times anime proportions can e strange, r outfits can be gravity defying or whatever. And a lot of comic book characters have really sexualized outfits, and also sometimes some unrealistic proportions. I guess the challenge for any costume is that you’re taking it from something that isn’t real life and a body type that is probably not exactly like yours. So instead of copying things exactly, it’s important to alter it to your body type a little.
Do you find that one of these genres is better received at conventions than the other?
I think it depends on the type of convention. Overall, online though, it seems like comic book characters are more popular and better received. But at conventions, not really. Obviously something like Scarlet Witch will be better received at NYCC than at Otakon or whatever, so it does depend on the type of convention it is.
When did you first start to design and create your own costumes?
We both started drafting and sewing our own in 2010. Steph technically made the Ty Lee outfit before that, but she had help from our aunt/godmother and doesn’t really count it. So we first really started in 2010 when we made our FFXIII costumes and props, and the costume for our little brother.
What were the initial struggles in creating this first costume?
Like we said above, definitely just learning to read and interpret the patterns was hard. Sometimes they are really confusing, and starting out, not knowing what piece should go where or what the terms like staystitch or baste or whatever mean, it can be like figuring out hieroglyphics without a Rosetta Stone. Sizing things was hard too in the first costume, and things like attaching sleeves- but I think everyone hates that, even seasoned seamstresses. Sleeves suck. Oh, also finding where to purchase wigs! We bought wigs for costumes earlier than 2010, and it was hard finding reliable sites with good quality wigs, or even knowing what to look for at first. I think cosplayers starting out today won’t have that issue though.
Do you have a favorite material that you like to use in all your costumes? Do you have a favorite type of store where you get your materials?
Not really for the fabric… We just pick whatever looks and feels right for the costume, and we usually shop at Joanns. If it’s something hard to find, like the fabric and trim for Kris’ LOTR Eowyn dress, or that weird specific shade of pink for Steph’s Courtesan, then once in a while we’ll look in NYC.
For props though…we usually use wood. And sometimes sheet metal too. We have worbla, but our dad likes making the props with us and he loves using wood whenever it’s possible.
Designing a costume can be tricky, how do you plan your costume?
Reference pictures. Lots and lots of reference pictures. XD And then really just staring that them and finding patterns that have a similar base structure(if we’re using a pattern for this specific costume) and working out how the costume layers work, and how to alter whatever pattern we decide to use, etc.
Designing a costume requires materials and some materials can be expensive. How do you keep cost low on materials? Do you avoid certain materials due to their price?
We don’t really avoid certain materials, we just budget carefully. Sometimes for a big project we’ll buy things in pieces. Like for one dress, the underskirt fabric was $125 just by itself. So bought that like a year before the costume was sewn, and then over time bought the other fabric and trim so it wasn’t like $500 all at once. And we try to reuse things whenever we can, like if we have small pieces of fabric left over, we’ll try to find a way to use it for another project. But really it’s just budgeting and saving up/planning over time. We don’t really avoid anything, but we’ve only bought worbla once, and only bought velvet twice, due to costs.
Since materials are expensive, do you ever recycle and reuse parts of older costumes to make newer ones?
I think we cut up one old costume once, but otherwise no, all our old costumes are intact in case we decide to wear them again. I don’t think anything except that cut up one is officially ‘retired’. But we do try to reuse leftovers and scraps from other costumes we’ve made, like extra pieces of fabric and trim if we can.
On average how many hours does it take you to produce a costume?
That’s so hard to say because we get such ADD when we try to sew and so usually things get done in small spurts of a few hours work every day or two over a few weeks…. But I guess on average, if it was continuously work, maybe 30-40 hours?
Do you each have a favorite anime that you love to Cosplay?
Not really…. I guess Naruto for Kris, but not really. Video game though, yes we both have a favorite series to cosplay from, Assassin’s Creed.
Do you each have a favorite costume that you have cosplayed as?
Yes. Definitely Tomb Raider for Steph, Steph has been a fan of Tomb Raider since she was really little.
And for Kris it’s kind of a tie. Eowyn because like Steph with Lara Croft, she’s kind of a role model strong female character who Kris has been a fan of for a long time. But also Scarlet Witch, because of being able to cosplay with our dad as Magneto.
Every year new anime and comics comes out. How do you pick which costumes to make and wear each year from all the new releases?
It’s really just whatever characters kind of speak to us, that we like or relate to. Or outfits that look really amazing that we just neeeed to do.
About your facebook page, it has been growing steadily every month and now has over 15,000 likes. What do you attribute its success to?
I don’t know actually. I guess people like our costumes? But admittedly I’m shocked there are that many people who care, it’s kind of humbling.
What advice do you have for people who want to get involved in Cosplay?
There’s a lot of hate and discrimination going on in the cosplay community right now. It’s become a popular cool thing to do, and with a larger fanbase are going to come some jerks and some people who are in it for the wrong reasons, or only to get famous. First of all, if you’re doing this to get famous, I want you to stop, take a step back, and rethink your decision. There are a handful of ‘famous’ cosplayers, but that’s a handful out of thousands. And cosplay takes a lot of time and money. You’ll probably just wind up bitter and discouraged soon. But anyway, that’s up to you. Now, for the rest of you, everyone can cosplay. There’s going to be some jerks who are going to make fun of cosplayers who are overweight, or cosplaying someone of a different race, etc. I know it’s hard to ignore jerks. But you aren’t doing this for them. They don’t matter. You’re doing this because you love a certain character and want to dress as them, because you want to hang out with other people who share an interest with you, and you want to have fun. So do your best to have fun. Those people who are being haters? They might seem like they’re having fun at your expense, but deep down they probably hate themselves. Don’t let them get to you, because they aren’t important. Who cares what they think! They aren’t the cosplay police. Everyone can cosplay. And those losers will probably be gone once cosplay isn’t the new hip thing and will be harassing people in some other new cool hobby, because deep down they know that they’re the ones that actually suck. So cosplay for yourself. At first it might be hard to get that confidence and to ignore the jerks, because I’m sure sometimes it will seem like everyone is bashing you, but ignore them and keep at it. Cosplay is having fun and creating beautiful wearable art while doing it, so just focus on the fun and improving your skills. Also- nobody is a perfect cosplayer at the start. Your first costume may suck. That is 100% okay. You learn and build on your skills. That is half the fun and reward of this hobby.
What advice do you have for people in creating and wearing their costumes?
I think I’d just reiterate what I said above. Ignore the haters. And that your first costumes aren’t going to be perfect, but that’s the reward of cosplay, don’t give up, just keep striving to learn more skills and to have fun.
Finally, what conventions are you attending in the upcoming year?
Special Edition NYC, AnimeNEXT, DragonCon, AnimeUSA, New York Comic Con
