It is the return of my cosplay interviews. I apologize for the lack of interviews lately, but life has been a little hectic for me as of late. However, I could not let Thanksgiving week go by without sharing something I am thankful for. I am thankful for you, our readers, who make it possible for me to land interviews with exciting people from all over the world of NERD. I have been lucky to interview some big names as well as everyday NERDs like you and me. So, for my return to the cosplay interview circuit, I had to make sure that it was with a great cosplayer. Someone who would make our cosplay fans THANKful, see what I did there. So, I decided to return with a very talented and beautiful cosplayer. Some of you have seen her work as Poison Ivy or even Sailor Mars (the best in the biz in my opinion). So without further delay, here is my interview with the one and only, Kapalaka.
SWN: Who are you and where are you from?
K: I am a Florida-based cosplayer who studied theater as my undergrad, and graduated with a Master’s Degree in Architecture. I have been cosplaying for about 10 years now and share my accumulated crafting knowledge through panels, online tutorials, and workshops.
SWN: How did you discover cosplay?
K: I was into Final Fantasy in my sophomore year of high school. I ran for homecoming court but thought the regular “vote for me” signs were lame, so I put my face over a picture of different Final Fantasy girls to appeal to fellow gamers at school. I wondered to myself if people actually ever made these outfits and wore them. Shortly after I stumbled upon cosplay photos and immediately researched upcoming conventions.
SWN: I really love your Bruce Timm version of Poison Ivy Cosplay. Why did you decide to cosplay that version?
K: Poison Ivy was a dream-costume of mine ever since I was seven. I caught Batman: The Animated Series every Saturday morning on WB and weekday afternoons on Cartoon Network. I was fascinated with the world Bruce Timm and Paul Dini created and especially enjoyed episodes featuring her. She is an ambitious and strong-willed woman with a passion for what she thinks is right. I can’t help but respect that despite her fanatical intentions. “Pretty Poison” was my favorite episode, and is the inspiration for the photo above. In one episode, we combine almost all of my loves: flowers, perfumes, and killer make-up. (And in the episode, it was literal.)
SWN: What other genres do you cosplay?
K: I have cosplayed from anime, video games, books, movies, American TV shows, but I do not limit it to just that. I have toyed around with the idea of cosplaying some characters from my favorite table-top games, specifically, Magic the Gathering. I doubt anyone but myself would “get” that I was Imperious Perfect at a convention, though. Maybe if it’s Gen Con.
SWN: You are also well known for your Sailor Mars cosplay. What was it about that character that made you say, “I need to cosplay her”?
K: Sailor Mars was the first anime character I fell in love with. I thought she was so beautiful, and I liked her ability to maintain a kind heart yet have a stern personality. She is straight-forward and elegant, but also a dreamer. Her character was such a heavy influence on me from my childhood, because I knew back then that Rei was the kind of lady I wanted to be as an adult. When a character means that much to you, you can’t help but want to put in the effort a costume takes as homage to them.
SWN: What is your favorite way to show off a new look?
K: Going to a convention wearing my costumes is definitely my favorite way to debut a costume. Making a well-crafted costume takes hard work and dedication, and receiving praise from fellow fans of a series and crafters makes it worth all the meticulousness. I love getting to chat about characters I like and share crafting techniques, and a convention setting makes it very easy to approach others. You are all there because you share a common interest in geekdom, and it is also fulfilling to see other people’s creativity throughout my day at a convention.
SWN: Do you do other modeling besides cosplay?
K: Not at all, unless we’re talking 3D-modeling. I have never considered being a model, though I do enjoy getting my photo taken in costume. I intensely invested most of my time the past few years (which are prime modeling beauty years) into my degree, which is a decision I do not regret. Having your beauty appreciated feels nice, but I get more fulfillment out of a compliment on my work and personality than my looks.
SWN: What are your plans for the future?
K: In the short term, I would like to start a line of nerdy home décor products. I am very much an artist at my core, and if I could combine my love for all things nerdy with my art in a business, I would be very joyful. My long-term goal, though, would be to get my architecture license and build a fantastic mid-sized theatre. The kind of theatre everyone would know the name of, with iconic architectural features. The kind of theatre cosplayers like me yearn to have epic photoshoots in!
SWN: Where can my readers see more examples of your work?
K: I am connected on just about every form of social media, most activity being on my cosplay Facebook page. Check out facebook.com/Kapalaka.cosplay. Kapalaka on Tumblr and Instagram, and KapalakaCosplay on Twitter.
SWN: If you had to pick one cosplay, which one is your favorite?
K: My favorite cosplay that I have created is Eve from parasite Eve. Not only was Eve my favorite video game villainess back in the late 90s, it was at this point in my cosplay and onwards that you really see a difference in my work. I threw myself at this costume completely, researching wig techniques intensely, painting mediums, bodypaint, etc. This was before the days of cosplayers openly posting tutorials and sharing techniques as they do now, so it was particularly difficult. It was a costume that many back in 2008 thought was impossible to cosplay, but oh how the bar has raised these days! I am ever impressed by the creativity exhibited by my peers in the cosplay community.
