Cosplay Feature of the Week: Katelyn Jones Cosplay

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It’s Cosplay Time! This is my FAVORITE part of the week! It’s the day where I get to introduce ALL of you to new cosplayers and their cosplays. Today’s feature comes from Washington. Her father made a splash in the cosplay community with his male version of Sgt. Calhoun from Wreck It Ralph and his daughter, this week’s feature, is right on his heels with her fantastic creations. Please give a warm welcome to Katelyn Jones Cosplay!
Katelyn Jones Cosplay

Here’s the down low on Katelyn…

  • She’s 19 years old
  • She’s hails from Mill Creek, Washington
  • Her hobbies include: video games, drawing and acting

Welcome Katelyn! Please share with us how you became involved in cosplay…

The first con I ever attended was ECCC, five years ago. I went with my dad and some of our friends and while we were there I saw some people in cosplay. I didn’t know what cosplay was at the time but I thought it was really cool and I asked my dad if I could dress up for the con next year. He said yes and I decided to be a Dalek from Doctor Who. I designed the costume and my grandma sewed it pretty much from scratch. My dad helped me with the props. I wore that costume to ECCC in 2012 and I’ve been cosplaying ever since!

That’s a terrific introduction to cosplay! How long have you considered yourself a cosplayer and what inspires your creations?

I’ve been a cosplayer for five years. I really love costume design, so whenever I see a costume in a film or video game that I’d like to wear, I cosplay it! I haven’t actually made any of my costumes myself, though. My grandma is an amazing seamstress and she does all of the fabric/textile work, while my dad builds my props and armor. This year my dad is teaching me how to build foam armor so I’ll be able to create my own costumes!

I learned to sew by watching my Mother and Grandmother…and YouTube, lol. Creating your own costume is frightening so I admire you testing the waters of cosplay before diving head first into fabricating your ideas. How do you think Cosplay will influence your future? Do you expect it to impact your growth in any way?

I don’t really “expect” anything from cosplay, per se. To me, it’s just a fun hobby and a good way to meet people who have similar interests to mine. I’m an actor, so I see cosplay as a great way to practice acting. When I walk around at a con, I try to take on my character’s gait and stance. It’s really easy to be so focused on line delivery that you forget about your body when you’re acting, so cosplay is a really great way for me to be aware of my body and how my mannerisms help build my performance and bring the character to life. I hope that cosplay will continue to be a fun way for me to gain acting experience.

You know what, I think that should be a requirement for beginning theater majors and/or actors/actresses. They HAVE to attend a convention in character. That is putting your creativity to good use! Do you have any cosplay “idols”?

Two of my favorite cosplayers are Dragon Slipper Tailoring and Azimedes Cosplay. I met them both at ECCC a couple years ago and they are both incredibly talented and kind. Please go check them out; they deserve it!

Thank you for introducing me to those two! Alright, now to everyone’s favorite question: what is YOUR favorite cosplay/costume?

14341837_1084597671655472_562662085_nI love all of my costumes, but I think I’ll have to go with Loki since I have the most fun in that one. My grandma did an incredible job sewing the pants, cape, coat, and tunic for this costume. I did some initial sketches to help her decode the design since it’s so complicated, and she nailed it! I don’t remember the exact fabrics she used, but the black fabric was something that had a pattern resembling leather (we didn’t want to use pleather for fear that it would be too bulky and hard to work with), and the green fabric was polyester.

This costume was my dad’s first armor build, and he also knocked it out of the park! All of the armor is constructed from craft foam that is covered in a thermoplastic called Worbla. Worbla can be heated, and then shaped to get your desired effect. The helmet is a baseball helmet from the Goodwill that my dad cut up and covered in Worbla. The horns are made of pink insulation form that he carved, and they are also covered in Worbla. The staff has a wood base (I believe he used pine), and it is also covered in Worbla and pink insulation foam details. My dad has build galleries for the armor, helmet, and staff, if you want to check them out:

Your Loki is amazing! It’s great to hear how coordinated and collaborative you are with your family. What is your favorite crafting medium at the moment?

I’ve just started learning how to make my own costumes, so the only material I’ve really had any experience with is EVA foam. So far I’ve found it to be pleasant to work with. It’s quite easy to shape once it’s been heated, and I enjoy creating pieces of armor out of it.

EVA foam has been my constant companion since I discovered it’s nearly 1/4 of the cost of Worbla AND it’s much easier to work with once you familiarize yourself with patterning. Well, it’s time to start wrapping up this lovely discussion. Before we head into the sunset what advice would you like to offer other cosplayers?

The best advice I can give to any cosplayer is do it for yourself. It really doesn’t matter what other people think of you and your costumes, as long as you enjoy doing it. Trying to please other people is a huge waste of time, and the approval of others doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things. Always be humble, and just remember that at the end of the day this hobby is about having fun! We’re all just people dressing up in silly costumes and pretending to be fictional characters. There’s no need to make it into a competition, or to feel pressured to be “the best.” You can cosplay whoever you want no matter who you are.

Thank you for spending some time with us today! If you want to see more of Katelyn’s work check out her FACEBOOK PAGE and give her some love. In the interim, here are some photos of her fabulous costumes…

Photography by: V Photography, Photo Geek Girl, Pixlr, Beat Down Boogie, CoreGeek and Azimedes

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