{"id":21508,"date":"2014-07-29T11:11:31","date_gmt":"2014-07-29T16:11:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/somewhatnerdy.com\/home\/?p=21508"},"modified":"2014-07-30T22:00:01","modified_gmt":"2014-07-31T03:00:01","slug":"an-interview-with-carl-martin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/somewhatnerdy.com\/home\/an-interview-with-carl-martin\/","title":{"rendered":"An Interview with Carl Martin"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It is day 2 of our after 2014 SDCC celebration. \u00a0I told you I had some surprises in store and well, this is a big one. \u00a0I was fortunate enough to get an interview with Carl Martin. \u00a0For those of you who watch the show Heroes of Cosplay on the SyFy channel, you know him as one of the cosplayers from Season 2, that was featured weekly along with other greats such as Ya Ya Han and Riddle. \u00a0I was really impressed with his Haunt costume that he debuted in our hometown of New Orleans, LA and I knew I had to interview him at once. So, without any further delay, here is my interview with the very talented Carl Martin.<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Who are you and where are you from?<\/strong><\/p>\n

CM: I\u2019m Carl Martin from Austin Texas.<\/strong><\/p>\n

2. How did you discover cosplay?<\/strong><\/p>\n

CM: I started cosplaying after my sister went to several cons. Then I went and made friends who promptly started cosplaying for competition and after winning several times it just became natural.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"s02_e0111_castcostumes_11_140267256425\"<\/a><\/p>\n

3. Your version of Haunt from Image comics was spot on. How did your concept originally begin for this character?<\/strong><\/p>\n

CM: It began with figuring out what to use for the character, because I was so dead set on using the highest grade materials I chose a material called Dragonskin 10 silicon. Then I had to figure out exactly what to sculpt and what to leave for the lycra body suit. After about a week of sculpting, I cast the feet, head, hands, arms and torso. The torso mold alone was over 100 pounds. Then I cracked them open and cleaned them out, dying and tinting the silicon by hand then brushing it layer by layer into the molds and then doing one large slush cast. After that I brushed on silicon onto the body suit, making sure it was nice and drippy, giving that venom like runny appearance and attaching each piece separately.<\/strong><\/p>\n

4.What other genres have you cosplayed?<\/strong><\/p>\n

CM: I cosplay from Anime, Comics, Videogames, Movies, Television, pretty much anything I like. I don\u2019t set myself to one specific genre.<\/strong><\/p>\n

5. How do you like to show off a new look?<\/strong><\/p>\n

CM: If it\u2019s a project I’ve been working on for months I like to enter it into contests and then just walk around for a day or two in it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"10505432_597509267031586_7641049057691177848_n\"<\/a><\/p>\n

6. Many of us recognize you from the show Heroes of Cosplay. How were you approached to be on the show?<\/strong><\/p>\n

CM: I actually applied to be on the show. I sent in an application with all my work and they interviewed me and liked me.<\/strong><\/p>\n

7.What was it like to be followed 24\/7 as you were creating and showing off new cosplays?<\/strong><\/p>\n

CM: Incredibly weird. I\u2019m always very deep into my work, so having people talk to me and give me direction sometimes really threw me off. I\u2019ll be working on cosplay for 12 hours a day so it was definitely something I had to get used to.<\/strong><\/p>\n

8.What advice do you have for new cosplayers?<\/strong><\/p>\n

CM: Cosplay what you want, when you want, how you want. Don\u2019t let others get you down. It doesn’t matter your size, your gender, your skin color, cosplay anything.<\/strong><\/p>\n

9. Where can my readers see more examples of your work?<\/strong><\/p>\n

CM: Everyone can see our work at Facebook.com\/ShinkaStudios<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

10. What is your favorite cosplay that you have done?<\/strong><\/p>\n

CM: It would have to be my Metal Gear Raiden or Haunt. I love them both so much.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"10442512_597905993658580_3033770995398813983_n\"<\/a><\/p>\n

11. Now as you know, after the final episode of Heroes of Cosplay, Season 2 aired, there were some “haters” spreading negativity about there experience with the show and painted a target on the cosplayers. \u00a0I actually know several of the cosplayers from past interviews or chance meetings, so I know that a lot of what was said could have been\u00a0exaggerated or misunderstood. So my final question for you is what are your thoughts on the people starting negative rumors about the cast of Heroes of\u00a0Cosplay and the whole subject of cheating?<\/strong><\/p>\n

CM: I\u2019ll try to answer this the best I can. I can tell you right now that none of the cosplayers cheated. The show isn’t perfect, and the show and SyFy don\u2019t understand many times how cons work, so sometimes people are inconvenienced and in a couple stories I’ve heard, even hurt. They\u2019re trying to make a show and we\u2019re just the ones in front of the camera. We don\u2019t make the decisions. I\u2019m incredibly sorry about all of this, we had no idea about many of these things going on. We\u2019re just regular cosplayers. None of us want to hurt anyone or cause a scene or any drama. I\u2019m not a professional and I have a lot to learn. We\u2019re all part of the community and I stand for truth, honesty, and making it a better place for all. I\u2019m incredibly sorry anything like that happened. No drama, no hate, only love and acceptance for everyone.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Truly great words from a great cosplayer! \u00a0Do yourself a favor and check out his Facebook page and support him when Season 3 is televised.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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