Another fine cosplayer Bethany Maddock has a very imaginative Scorpion that drew me to her site. She has also recently posted a tutorial on Worbla tutorial that is worth a good looking at here
Check out her facebook page to link to all her fine photographers
Here are the links for here social media pages:
Facebook here
Her Tumblr
Her often funny Twitter account
BM: The very first convention I went to was Anime Boston in 2011. A friend of mine was trying to convince me to go, but it wasn’t until an unexpected cancellation of a trip to Japan that I decided that I was definitely going to attend. It was a lifelong dream of mine to take that trip to Japan, and I thought nothing could stop me from going until an earthquake and nuclear meltdown happened a week before my flight. It was just the push I needed to go to the convention, and I’m so glad I did. Life is funny like that.
BM: My friend Erika, who I met at my job, got me into cosplay. We bonded over our love for all things geeky, and she in turn taught me about the world of cosplay. I sketched up a feminine version of my favorite character, Sheik from Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It didn’t take me very long to create, but it was a hit at Anime Boston and it inspired me to pursue the whole costume business further.
Andy: What do you look for in a character when deciding who to cosplay? Why?
BM: I choose characters that I love, and I feel that I can do the character justice with a cosplay. Most of my cosplays are from video games, because that’s the fandom I have the biggest passion for. Don’t get me wrong! I love anime and comics, but I was basically born with a controller in my hand (I can thank my mom for that.) I really love characters that kick butt, and are independent, but those aren’t the only characters that I stick to.
Andy: How much does the costume the character wears go into making the choice to cosplay as that character? Are there any character you want to cosplay as, but won’t because of there costume?
BM: As an artist i’m always wanting to challenge myself. So if there is a character I enjoy but the costume is very basic I will most likely not invest my time into creating it. I also like to keep my work original so if it’s a character thats overly cosplayed i’ll opt for something that’s a bit more unique. Other than that, If there’s a design I love and it seems complicated I will take it head on! One of my favorite parts about cosplay is the fact that I can take an illustration or render and translate it into reality. It may not be a perfect translation, but I’ll be damned if I don’t try to make it the best I can!
Andy: Are you a DC girl, because if you rock the Catwoman outfit so good, you have to be a DC girl? What is about Catwoman that drew you to her? Which actress to don the suit played her best? What happened with the dismal failure of Halle Berry’s interpretation, in your opinion?
BM: I am a DC girl. Mostly the Gotham crowd. It all started when I was a kid growing up with Batman The Animated Series. Bruce Timm’s artwork has always attracted me and when this gorgeous blonde haired, independent woman that could keep up with the bat himself appeared in the series, well, I felt like that was the kind of woman I wanted to be. I used to play with my little catwoman figure with two boys in my after school program always saying “I’m the GOOD Catwoman” because I knew she had a bad rap, but I refused to believe it. And of COURSE Michelle Pfieffer was the best Catwoman. She was who I grew up knowing as the character and she holds a special place in my heart because of how much I looked up to her. I outright refused to watch the Halle Berry version, so I think that states my opinion on that matter.
Andy: Follow-up, How does it feel to be wearing so much leather for the Catwoman Cosplay?
GM: I don’t know! Because the suit isn’t leather. It’s a black metallic lamè fabric. leather would have been extremely expensive as well as extremely hot to wear around a con! But… the whip? Yes. That is 100% leather, and 100% power.
Andy: Another fairly recent cosplay you have is a female version of Scorpion, what was your inspiration for Rule 63ing Scorpion? What kind of adjustments did you make in his costume to feminize the character?
BM: My day job is in design in the fashion world. I’ve always had an eye for character design (in fact if I had a bit more illustration talent I would have tried to get into character design for video games as a career move.) Scorpion is my favorite Mortal Kombat character that I felt I could do justice to by giving it a feminine twist. I drew up one design and had several other friends love it so much they wanted me to draw them their own gender-bent Mortal Kombat characters to cosplay from.
Andy: How long did the female Scorpion take from concept to completion? What was the hardest part of the costume to complete? Why?
BM: It’s still not finished in my eyes. I have to work on it little by little because of my 9-5 job so it took a very long time to get it to where it is now. I believe I sketched out the design last August and started it up shortly after that. The hardest part was making the mask. A couple prop-maker friends of mine inspired me to learn how to sculpt and cast my own masks, so I poured a ton of money into it and a ton of time and it worked! It’s my pride and joy! I’m now completely addicted to sculpting so i’m sure it’s not the last time you’ll see something like that being made by me.
Andy: How did you pick the photographer that takes your photographs? Why do you think it is important to have a good photographer for your costumes?
BM: Oh man, I am a huge fangirl for cosplay photography! If I see work that I enjoy, I make sure to find and follow that photographer’s work in the hopes that one day I could work with them. I’ve been very fortunate to have had the opprotunity to work with some serious talent in the cosplay photography world, but the main photographer I work with is none other than the girl who got me into cosplay herself C.Wish Cosplay Photography. She is my inspiration and life behind what I do. Without her encouragement I wouldn’t be here filling out this interview, and i’m so thankful that she finds my work inspiring to want to shoot. We’ve worked on several projects together and I love growing with her.
Andy: What is your next cosplay that you hope to attempt? What appeals to you ab
out that character?
BM: Next up is another Catwoman. The Arkham suit has been worn out a little bit in my opinion and I’m very excited to start a new one. It’s from the upcoming game from the creators of Mortal Kombat, Injustice: Gods Among Us. The goal is to finish it for Boston Comic Con alongside Destiny Nickelson’s Harley quinn and Marie Grey’s Wonder Woman. They are much further along on their costumes than I am however, so i’m kind of freaking out about completing it on time.
Andy: What upcoming cons will you be attending?
BM: Let’s do this in order of appearance shall we? It goes PAX East (that I just came back from), Boston Comic Con, Anime Boston, Otakon, Dragon Con, Granite State Comic Con, New York Comic Con, Rhode Island Comic Con, Super Megafest. Unless someone invites me to a convention! I have no idea how people pull that off, but that would be amazing if that ever happened.
Andy: What is something you have learned recently about putting together a cosplay that you wish you knew when you started making costumes?
BM: Thats a hard question to answer. I feel like I needed every little mistake that I have ever made in the past in order to grow to where I am now. I still have a lot to learn, i’m really new to this scene still so even though there have been costumes that were painful to wear or just looked like crap, I needed to experience that to grow.
