Cosplay 2012 A Year In Review

2012 turned out to be the busiest year in my cosplay career. I debuted nine costumes, a record breaking number for me. I also did my first ever body paint photo shoot. As a costumer, its always exciting to work on new projects and get creative. Below is a list of all of the characters I brought to life in 2012.

Lois Lane

When Superman asks you to be his Lois Lane, how can you say no? As a child, I loved the Christopher Reeves films and regularly dreamed of flying with the Man of Steel among the clouds. Getting a chance to live out that dream was beyond exciting for me. Dressing as the Pulitzer Prize winning reporter was not only easy but very comfortable. Lois was also one of those rare characters where I used my real hair. No wigs or extensions were required. I had the opportunity to pose with not one but two Superman cosplayers, Danny Kelley and Dustin Dorough. What more could a girl want?  Lois Lane gallery.

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Elektra

2012 also marked my first Marvel character, none other than the sexy assassin Elektra Natchios. The costume was debuted at this years Wizard World Philly show and was loaned to me by Allycat (who also made the costume).  I required the outfit as part of the Marvel photo shoot that took place at the event. When I had to choose a character, my mind went immediately to Elektra. Although I havent read much on her, I was always intrigued by this female assassin in red. For years my friends had told me I look like her and I was thrilled that I finally had the chance to portray her. Elektra gallery.

1950s Catwoman

Forget everything you know about Catwoman in the 1950s! This design was completely original and was the brain child of Han Pan and Lucid as part of their 1950s Sirens Group. Drawing inspiration from that era, Han (Harley Quinn) and Lucid (Poison Ivy) designed and created three beautiful dresses that we debuted at this years Wizard World Philly show. I drew inspiration for the hair, makeup and  jewelery not only from Miss Kyle, but Elizabeth Taylor as well. The response from fans was overwhelming and we took home the second place prize in the costume contest. Harley, Ivy and Selina never looked this classy!

Cheetah (Vintage)

The Superfriends was one of my favorite cartoon shows growing up. My siblings and I watched it every Saturday morning. I was approached by my friend who runs ZQ Costumes about modeling one of his creations; a vintage Cheetah costume complete with a tail!  Playing  Wonder Womans nemesis for a day was fun. The photo shoot took place at a local Arboretum and the attendees got quite a shock to see  Cheetah climbing trees and posing for photos. Cheetah gallery.

Snow White

Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all? The story of Snow White is my favorite Grimm Fairy Tale for numerous reasons (See my article The Psychology of Snow White to find out why). The costume, which is made of velvet and satin, is in the tradition of the Disney film with slight modifications. When approaching this iconic character, I really wanted to make it my own and not just mirror her appearance in the Disney film. I took the greatest liberty with the hair, choosing a long, curly wig. The photo set is my favorite  session I did in 2012. The shoot took place at a local art school which coincidentally, had an outdoor Snow White exhibit. The woods also made for the perfect backdrop and resulted in breath taking photography. Snow White gallery.

Sydney Savage

This year I discovered Danger Girl, the spy girl series brought to you by superstar artist J. Scott Campbell. I instantly fell in love with the catsuit wearing, whip wielding Aussie, Sydney Savage. She was funny, sexy, smart and an all around badass. This was one of those costumes where I used pieces from other cosplays. The catsuit, belt and boots are from my Catwoman costume. The whip was an Indiana Jones accessory and the wig is a lacefront that I purchased for the Dragoncon Celebrity Cosplay group (where I was Angelina Jolie). At this years New York Comic Con show, Allycat and I had the opportunity to take photos with J. Scott Campbell while we were dressed as Sydney and Abbey Chase. The ultimate compliment is when the creator of the character you are portraying says that you look great!

Huntress

"Cry of the Huntress", released in the early 1990s, was my first comic book featuring Helena Bertinelli. Unfortunately I had issue 4 of 6 of the mini series and was completely lost with the story line.  Huntress however made an impression on me and I wanted to learn more about the character. I did so by reading more books that featured her and later watched her appearances on Justice League Unlimited. I was intrigued by Helenas family connections (and tragedy) with the mob and her no nonsense approach. She was willing to cross a line most heroes werent and for that, she was an outcast. Love her or hate her there is no denying that Huntress is not one to be messed with. I debuted my Huntress costume made by Rage Costum Designs at this years New York Comic Con. While walking around in Artist Alley, I was stopped by artist Joe Staton, who helped designed Huntress original outfit. He requested to take a photo with me and said I portrayed the character wonderfully. Getting praise from creators is the highest honor you can receive.

Steampunk Alice

Steampunk was something I always enjoyed and wanted to try. I finally dove in head first with a steampunk version of Alice in Wonderland. The idea was inspired by Candy Keane, who wore her version of Steampunk Alice at this years DragonCon show. The dress, socks and waist cincher are from her online store Three Muses Clothing. I choose to remain traditional and selected a blonde wig from my collection. I added a top hat (from my Zatanna costume) and a pair of steampunk goggles. Gloves from my Tomb Raider cosplay and boots completed the look. I was thrilled with the results and the pictures that were taken of this costume. I really enjoyed doing a steampunk look and plan to do more variants in the future. Steampunk Alice gallery.

The Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba)

While putting some things away into storage, I spotted my witchs broom and hat that I had purchased years ago. I suddenly had an epiphany. If I combined those items with a vintage black dress I had in my closet with a waist cincher and put on some green makeup that was sitting in my closet, it was an instant Wicked Witch of the West! The creative juices were flowing  and I was filled with euphoria as I grabbed the items (including a wig) and put it all together. I was quite startled once I saw the results of the makeup I applied. I loved it and felt quite proud. This wasnt about being pretty or glamorous nor was I trying to sex it up. It was about something much more in depth. I am very pleased with the test shots. The only correction that has to be made is a better choice in makeup. I would not recommend the "Body Paint" tube from a local party store. After applying three coats to my face and neck, the makeup still did not look smooth and resulted in looking  "spotty". Not bad for a thrown together costume on a boring Sunday afternoon.

Cheetah (body paint)

Body paint is something that I always wanted to do. The process and the results are nothing short of stunning and is a whole new level of creativity. A big issue I had was finding someone that I trust. Im not just going to strip down naked for anyone and allow them to paint my body. As fate would have it, I met a very talented costumer at a show this year who also specializes in face painting. He spoke to me about his interest in wanting to paint someone and asked if I would be interested in doing a project. His talent, combined with his positive energy made me very comfortable and we selected the DC character Cheetah. Because this was a first for both of us, the process took roughly about eight hours. I was entertained by watching episodes of Dr. Who (which I am now addicted to) and slices of pineapple pizza. The results were amazing and I was stunned by the first official photo from our session. Safe to say, Roy and I will be collaborating on future body painting projects.

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