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DENNIS: For the newbie cosplayer, can you give us your top three advice for them if they want to get involved in cosplaying.

Photo: Wayne cosplaying as Trunks of "Dragon Ball Z".

WAYNE:      1.  Cosplay is a hobby, it should be for fun.      2.  Learn to sew.      3.  Learn how to make friends, because you will meet many new ones in this hobby. TIFFANY:      1.  Choose a costume that is within your capabilities.  Don't try anything that is too difficult at first.  You don't want to attempt something really complicated because it is more likely that it will not turn out as well as you had hoped and then you will be disappointed. It takes time to build experience and be able to tackle more complicated costumes. You need to practice and learn in order to improve your skills.  Cosplay doesn't just magically happen.  It takes a lot of hard work.  It's always best to choose a costume that is realistically within your capabilities.  This way you can make something that you are proud of.  Once you have made a few costumes you can progressively move on to more difficult things and tackle new challenges.

     2.  Let your creativity flow.  Try to come up with your own ideas on how to make a costume.  Just experiment and go with what you think might work as opposed to copying someone else's ideas.  I think often newer cosplayers are afraid of making a mistake or don't know where to start so they end up following exactly the same route that another cosplayer has taken with the same costume.  If you do this, you miss out on some of the best part of cosplaying! 

Cosplay is a very creative experience and there are so many different ways that a particular costume can be made, using different methods and materials!  So try to think up some of your own.  Be original and don't fall into the shadow of someone else's footsteps!  This way the costume feels more like it's your own and can be something that you feel truly proud of making.     3. Don't worry so much about what other people think.  Choose a costume that you like and that you want to do.  The point of cosplay should be to have fun!  Worrying about what people will think about your costume or whether people will take lots of pictures of you is not important.  If you cosplay with the goal to have the "best" costume, or to win an award you'll inevitably be sorely disappointed.  There will always be someone who may be better, and even if you do make an amazing costume, it may not get all the attention.  It's much less rewarding to cosplay with these things in mind. Just have fun while you're doing it, that's all that really matters!

Photo: Tiffany cosplaying as Kula from the SNK game "King of Fighters".

DENNIS: OK, guys. Now here's the fun part. For this interview I will be including the questions to you regarding cosplay from a few celebrities and professionals in the entertainment industry. Here we go!

SACHIKO (Sachiko Uchida, Celebrity interviewer and DJ for Tokyo's top radio station, J-WAVE and for the "avex beat freaks" radio program): Why do you both cosplay? And through cosplay, have you gained more self-esteem from doing it?

Photo: Wayne cosplaying as the Capcom video game character, Strider.

WAYNE: The reasons why I cosplay are many but can be whittled down to one thing, I think it's fun. Cosplay allows me to express support for a particular series in a creative way. Making the costumes also provides a challenge and spurs creativity especially when applying different skills and knowledge to try and make that costume. Of course it's hard to ignore the attention that you can get from cosplay and the competitive factor in cosplay, but that's not as important as getting a good costume together, and when wearing it, having a good time with the "play" aspect of cosplay, and meeting up with your friends in fun groups to interact. TIFFANY: I have a couple reasons for cosplaying. I naturally just love dressing up. I always have ever since I was a child. Cosplay is the perfect opportunity to go all out in costume. As an artist, I love to decorate things, and dressing up in costume is an artistic way of decorating yourself. This love of costumes, however, is not enough to keep me cosplaying and to get me to put in so much time and effort. It is the friends that I cosplay with that motivate me to continue. Cosplay is a chance for me to bond and share experiences with my good friends.

PARRY (Parry Shen, lead character role for the upcoming MTV film "Better Luck Tomorrow" and from Columbia Pictures "The New Guy"): Once you are cosplaying, do you try to stay in character the whole time? If so, how tough is it to stay in character?

TIFFANY: I actually don't really try to be in character most of the time. While onstage I am definitely in character, and while posing for pictures and such. But just generally walking around, I don't act like my character the whole time. Being in costume does tend to infuse me with just a little bit of the character's attitude though. I think I tend to adopt a lot of the characters attitudes and qualities just by wearing their costume. As for staying in character, no it's not tough for me! I'm an actress so I've had a lot of practice with that.
WAYNE: I do try to stay in character the whole time, but it does get difficult at times. I remember I was cosplaying a character that was essentially mean and evil, and it's hard to be mean to complete strangers, because people who don't know about the character will think that's how you really are. I remember I was cosplaying around some friends, who brought some of their friends for a second degree of separation. I, of course, was in character. First impressions are the worst! So later on we changed out and we all met casually for dinner, and my friend's friends remarked that I was like a totally different person. That I was much nicer and friendlier. Sometimes it's also fun to act out of character on purpose, this works well especially for masquerades and humorous skits. Imagine having a serious character doing something totally unexpected and silly. That sort of thing is pretty fun, and if done properly, can really get a good response from the audience in a masquerade.

REX (Rex Navarrete, Filipino American Comedian, popular for comedy albums "Badly Browned", "Husky Boy" and "Bastos"): Have you ever met cosplayers who have mistaken the real world for that of a really good video game or anime?

TIFFANY: I know that they are out there. Luckily, I don't think I've ever really spent enough time with anyone like that for it to have made an impression on me. I have come across people with lives that are just full of drama though! Much like a shoujo anime. One thing that is really common is for people to talk like certain anime characters. Some people talk like that all the time. That is probably the closest I've seen to fans mistaking the real world for an anime.
WAYNE: That is a situation I really haven't seen. However I know that some of my friends have been thought of ~as~ the character they are cosplaying, mostly by little children. Something like, "Oh, there's Goku! Can I have your autograph? Can you do Kamehameha for me?" I find that type of thing very amusing myself, but haven't had that happen to me. Some cosplayers do take cosplay too seriously, especially the competitive aspect. It really shouldn't be that way, since it's a hobby after all. You tend to lose the fun aspect if you keep on going full speed competitive and having a cutthroat attitude.

GINA (Gina Hiraizumi, actress from movies such as "She's All That", "End of Days" and television shows like "Beverly Hills 90210", "City Guys", "Just Shoot Me!", etc.): Which Japanese animation conventions do you both perform your masquerades at?

WAYNE: I'm mainly based in California and frequent California conventions. But I've been to quite a few masquerades including out of state ones. San Diego Comic Con was the first, and although it's not strictly a Japanese Animation convention, they do allow those entries there and their masquerade is one of the best organized and planned in the nation. Strictly Japanese animation conventions that I've gone to include Anime Expo (Southern California), Fanime Con (South Bay Area), Animagic (Lancaster, CA), Comic World (now defunct but Southern California), Reccacon (Pittsburg, CA), Project Akon (Dallas, Texas) and Anime Central (Chicago, Illinois). I've been to a convention in Japan as well, but that particular one didn't have a masquerade to perform in, so it was all photo opportunities.
TIFFANY: I attend pretty much the same masquerades and conventions as Wayne does! Actually, all of the same ones, with the exception of Anime Central. I have never been to an East Coast con before. And I've never been to Japan either, unfortunately!

GORAN (Goran Topalovic, co-founder of New York City's "Subway Cinema" (an Asian Film Festival company) and the "New York Tokyo Music Festival): What was the most difficult costume for you to make and why?

TIFFANY: Oh, wow! This one would take a really long time to explain so I won't go into too much detail. Probably my most difficult costume would be my Celestial Umi costume, for many reasons. First of all, there is only one picture of the costume in existence. The back is not visible, so many things had to be guessed at. Secondly, that costume defies gravity!! The way that the armor sits on the body would not work in real life, so I had to find a way to make it work! I used alternate hidden methods of attaching the armor so that it would stay. The armor was another challenge, armor is always difficult to make. The costumes were also very intricate and detailed, so a lot of work went into the little details. This is very time-consuming! And the last challenge was we decided to make the armor light up! This is the first time I had ever done anything like that, and I am not an electrician, so it was a bit tricky for me to figure out how to do it, but in the end I was very proud that I was able to pull it off!

Photo: Wayne cosplaying as Ashitaka from the Miyazaki film "Mononoke Hime".

WAYNE: I answered this several questions back with my Wizard (Angelic Layer) costume, but I can go on to an equally difficult costume, Ashitaka Hiko from "Mononoke Hime" (Princess Mononoke). This costume was difficult due to the multiple layers, and multiple props that he has. Ashitaka has horse riding gear, which goes over his regular clothes. Regular clothes consist of two sleeves, a short sleeved shirt that goes over that, baggy pants, and cloth mocassin type shoes. He's armed with a short sword and sheath. But then you add on riding gear which tacks on a pair of furry deer type riding pants, a red hood, and a huge straw cape. His extra armament now includes a bow and quiver of arrows.

I essentially had to watch the movie over and over to get proper front, side and back views of all the variations of his costume and then the preparation. The bow and arrows were made with dowels and a part of of a metal hoop. The sword uses pressed aluminum foil surrounding a wooden core and handle. The straw cape was made with using hay and carefully sewing it together and then adding extra glue to make sure it didn't come apart like old style broomsticks. I had to use a faux fur and add on patches to simulate the deer skin appearance of his riding chaps. The pants and shirt used sports type material for easy breathing and maneuverability. The shoes I needed double layer of sports type material since that's all I would be wearing and I wanted enough support and insulation while walking around. So it was a challenging costume to make from many aspects of cosplay, using different techniques.

SHEILA (Sheila B., Editor-in-Chief of the NYC-based music magazine, "Cha Cha Charming"): On route from your home to the anime conventions, you must obviously encounter people from the general public who see you in costume and they probably have no idea why you're dressed up and who you are dressed up as. Therefore, have you ever had any funny or strange reactions from the general public?

TIFFANY: Oh my gosh! This happens to me ALL the time! Embarassing situations? Plenty! (Laughing) Actually, they always make for a really good laugh! It can even be fun at times. There are way too many incidents to remember them all but the most recent was just about a week ago! I was driving home from a small home-based convention in my Morning Musume "The Peace" outfit! Tiara, feathers, gold sequins and all! I had to cross a bridge and give a bridge toll and as I was slowing down to the gate, a faint sense of dread began to loom over me. It was hilarious though, the woman whom I gave my toll to, took one look at me and then was like "You da queen??!" I had no idea what to say, so I just smiled and nodded or something and then drove off. This would fall under one of the funny and good experiences in coming in contact with the general public while cosplaying.
WAYNE: Actually I don't encounter that and I try to avoid it since the anime conventions are at hotels and we change in our hotel rooms, then go downstairs to meet our friends. But of course, the hotel has regular customers too and they will usually stare or think that we're part of the entertainment. I know that one time when we were in San Diego and some girl scouts thought Tiffany was a famous actress and took random pictures of her and even went to the trouble of coming to our room and getting her autograph and squealing like little fangirls. That's the best story, but it's hers. I don't get that sort of luck. (Laughing) Mostly it's just stares or some curious people will ask what's going on, and you just say, "Oh, it's a convention" or "I'm going to a masquerade".

ROGER (Roger Fan, actor from movies such as "Corky Romano", "Rush Hour" and the upcoming MTV film "Better Luck Tomorrow"): With all the time cosplaying and people taking your photos, when do you guys get to eat? After all the stress of trying to prepare for a con, do you have a need for a therapist?

WAYNE: Eat? You can refer to my cosplay team (Anything Goes School of Masquerade Arts) homepage for handy dieting tips while at a convention! Most of which involve not eating! We're lucky to get one square meal during conventions and that's usually dinner. If we're lucky that is. Most of the time we bring snacks and food from home or at a market, eat that or order take out for lunch and then we all go out for dinner at a nice place. Pocky and ramen are staples for any convention! If it's the Saturday of the convention, when the masquerade for a convention takes place, dinner takes place at midnight usually, and it's most likely at some 24-hour diner. Breakfast is nearly unheard of at conventions, unless the hotel offers a continental breakfast. We all know when to switch to the "convention mode" diet when it's that time.

TIFFANY: Eat? What's that? No seriously eating is a major issue with me at conventions. It is very typical for con goers to not eat because they are just too busy at the con! This happens especially with cosplayers! I must eat! I will get totally sick if I don't. There's been a couple times where I've just been rendered completely helpless and defunct because I didn't eat for a day at a con. So I have to make sure to get enough water and at least some food into my system. This actually makes me become somewhat obsessive about food while at a convention. It's really hard to find time to go out to eat and often the hotels do not have a good food source, so I worry a lot about eating and make it a number one priority. Not to mention the fact that I just love to eat in general. (Laughing)

WAYNE: As for stress, I pretty much serve as the therapist for my team, but they are all pretty well adjusted. It comes with the territory and so they just need to cope! It's a big relief after a convention, with all the stress gone, but the adrenaline still pumping and so many times, that isn't an issue. It's just the few weeks prior to the con where everyone is procrastinating and behind schedule and pulling all nighters to get costumes done. That drives people insane. (Laughing)
TIFFANY: A therapist? Luckily, no. I don't think it's done that much damage to me yet!

MIA (Mia Crowe, host of the video game show "GamePro Minutes" and producer and host of the Superskirtz segment of TNN's "Pop Across America"): Who or what would be your ideal cosplayer counterpart?

WAYNE: A cute dainty girl? No, really it depends on which costume I'm wearing, and my ideal counterpart changes as much as I change costumes. I have many "stand alone" costumes, but I have an equal amount of costumes that belong in a pair or even larger group due to theme and topic. Usually I will have that counterpart since we prolly planned to make the costumes at the same time. For example, when I made the Wizard costume, my counterpart was Kimi "Hichan" Pasamonte's Hikaru costume, since they are rival angels in Angelic Layer. When I was Ashitaka, and had a San (Princess Mononoke) with me. For my Rival Schools cosplay, Tiffany was my counterpart. Okay, so my ideal counterpart does end up usually being a cute girl, but it's all in the best aspect of cosplay. (Laughing) And the number of girl cosplayers tremendously outnumbers guy cosplayers. Having the perfect cosplay counterpart adds to overall effect and it's better for photo opportunities.

TIFFANY: I suppose this varies! Much like Wayne's answer, except my ideal counterpart is not gender specific. (Laughing) Really, I love working with my cosplay group, "Ah! My Cosplay" and finding trios for us to do. I always have so much fun doing those! A while ago, my ideal cosplay counterpart was definitely my boyfriend at the time, but he stopped cosplaying, so he can't be it anymore. DENNIS:  How much longer do you want to cosplay?  Or is this something you see yourself doing for a very long time?  In the future, would you want your own children to cosplay? TIFFANY:  Wow!  There is no way I can determine how long I will be cosplaying for!  It's really hard to say.  I know that I will at least be around for another year, but who knows what will happen in a year, right?  Would I want my kids to cosplay?  This i can't say either.  It depends on whether they want to or not, and what the cosplay scene will be like then.  If it's the same as it is now, I would love for them to cosplay, just as long as they keep the right focus in mind.  Cosplaying can be a very wholesome and enriching hobby if a person keeps the right frame of mind.  I would not be at all surprised though if I do end up making them some cosplay related costume or other for Halloween! WAYNE:  I frequently take what I call cosplay sabbaticals. Just to get away from it for a while. The break from cosplay is good, and I usually take this break in the winter. I say breaks now since I presumably quit in the end of 1999, which failed miserably, and I tried again in 2000. But I was drawn back into it so now I just call it a sabbatical. hee hee. But when it's completely a drag and no fun, That is the time I think I'll quit cosplay period. DENNIS:  Your final words to the people who support your work. TIFFANY: I hope that people enjoy the work that I have been doing!  It always makes me happy when a skit I'm in entertains someone or when someone becomes happy at seeing one of their favorite characters come to life.  Thank you to everyone who is so supportive and encouraging of cosplayers like me! WAYNE:  Thank you…to my one fan.  Tiffany is the one with fans… “plural”.

Photo: Tiffany cosplaying as popular SNK "Fatal Fury" and "King of Fighters" character, Mai Shiranui.

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Check out Wayne Kaa's "Perfect Spin Off Cosplay" Website here and the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts Website here.
Check out Tiffy Marie Austin and friend's with their "Ah! My Cosplay" Website here.
Check out the "USA Musume" Website here.

Note:  All photos on nt2099 Cosplay Underground has been taken by a staff member of nt2099 media and entertainment or has been supplied to us by the individuals being interviewed.

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Dennis A. Amith is an entertainment writer and celebrity interviewer and the Principal of nt2099 Media and Entertainment. Dennis A. Amith has appeared in many publications worldwide for his knowledge of Asian pop culture. He is also known for his conversation-style celebrity interviews in which he was inspired by popular entertainment writer, Lawrence Grobel. He continues to stick with his formula of promoting artists and professionals who are well-known to the up-and-coming, his goal of helping to smash the barriers that exist for Asians in the entertainment industry and to ask questions that will definitely grab your attention.

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