~Guide to Costuming~

         This section will eventually include an outline of the process I go through when making a costume, helpful tips for new costumers and general advice on cosplay. For now, enjoy my cosplay story.

How I got into cosplay

    I got into it in the summer of 2002 when CartoonNetwork aired a few episodes of Sailor Moon, then cancelled it abruptly. It left off in the middle of a story line, so I went on the internet to find out what happened. When I did that, I discovered that there were people who made costumes of these characters and spent entire weekends at conventions showing them off. I made a Serena costume to wear to my college that Halloween and a Sailor Moon costume to wear that night. After that, I decided to take my show on the road and went to my first anime convention, AWA, in 2003. I've been to every AWA since then and every MTAC as well. I won my first cosplay award at MTAC in 2004. I got Best Craftsmanship in the novice division for my Waitress Chii costume, then a Hall Award at JACON, also in 2004. After that, I had a stretch of about a year where I didn't compete for various reasons. Once I got back on track, I got my second big award at MTAC 2006. It was then that I became a master with my Fai D. Flowright costume when I won Best in Show in the master's division. Then I went on to win Best of Show, Master again at AWA in the same year. Cosplay takes a huge amount of time, and a lot of effort, but I'm really glad I stumbled across it, I only wish I'd gotten into it sooner than I did. I honestly don't know how I'd spend my time if not for that.