PHOTO: Lindze cosplaying as bis from the Sega video game "Jet Grind Radio" (Japan title: "Jet Set Radio").

DENNIS:  When you create a costume, do you try to make it look as authentic as possible? Do you add your own creativity to it?  LINDZE: Yes, usually. The only time I'll change it is if there's just a horrible fashion blunder in the design that I can't bring myself to wear in public. (laughing) But that's rare. Sometimes I'll make something a little more exciting than it really is, since sometimes when you transfer a picture to reality its kind of lackluster. Choice of fabrics, accessories, etc, can really make it more interesting. DENNIS:  How many costumes do you own or have created? Among those costumes, do you happen to have a favorite?  LINDZE: Ummm… I've made 35 for myself. Not all of them are featured on my site. I made four for brad, I'm making currently five for future cons and I actually still own 21. I've sold or destroyed a lot. My all time favorite costume is a tie between Lilith and Barbara. DENNIS:  Are you a perfectionist when it comes to your costume? How thorough do you research the character for the costume and the costume itself before creating it?

LINDZE: Yes. If I'm not happy with a costume, I won't wear it. That may seem silly but I am a silly girl! As for research, generally it's a character I'm already familiar with and love. I'll scan in some images of whatever media I own, I'll buy books, comics, whatever and print them out and paste them into my little cosplay notebook I carry with me when I go to fabric, etc stores. That way I have everything I need when I go shopping for supplies.

DENNIS:  Do you feel competitive when it comes to cosplaying? Do you compete? Do you want a costume to look the best in the crowd or do you just cosplay for the fun of it and don't care what people think?
LINDZE: No, not really. I don't like competing because well for one thing, me winning some bad DVD's and a plastic trophy are not worth all the time and energy it takes to enter a contest, when I would much rather be hanging out with my friends. I like hall contests for that reason. No stress and if I really worked hard on a costume, I'd rather do that than enter the cosplay. In the grand scheme of things, getting a title of "master cosplayer" or what not means zero! I do this for fun, not pseudo-fame. When I obsess over making my costume look good it's mainly for myself. I want to feel good wearing something. I could care less what people think.

DENNIS:  When you are done cosplaying, what do you do with your costumes? Do you continue to wear them or are they retired and packed away in your closet?
LINDZE: It depends. Some of my costumes I've worn a lot, like Scarab and Alice. They are both easy to get in and out of, which is most likely why. Some of the more difficult to get into costumes, like Shiva, I don't wear much, cause they're a pain in the patoot! But I'll wear them someday again. Some of the more simple costumes that were cheap to make, ill sell on eBay.

DENNIS:  As an American-based cosplayer, do you see a big difference in terms of style and dedication to a costume from US cosplayers and cosplayers from other countries?
LINDZE: Well I guess so. I'm not too familiar with the antics of foreign cosplayers but it seems like the US is more hardcore than European cosplayers and not as hardcore as Japanese cosplayers.

DENNIS:  What is the most satisfying and most frustrating aspect of being a cosplayer? LINDZE: Most satisfying is figuring out a problem and solving it and really being pleased with what you've made with your own two hands, and made a character you love come to life. The most frustrating aspect is by far the lame politics that have somehow recently wormed they're way into the scene. I'm just a big dork who likes to dress up. I don't need all the gossip! DENNIS:  For the newbie cosplayer, can you give us your top three advices for them if they want to get involved in cosplaying? LINDZE: -Take some sewing classes at a local fabric store if you really care about your costumes not falling apart and lasting more than one use. - Don't hot glue everything. Try to find a tad more stable alternative. -Just do it for you. Don't worry who's the best cosplayer; don't worry if you have awards or recognition. Don't worry about having a website, a message board, or being in a clique. All that is silly stuff. Even the most popular cosplayers in the grand scheme of things to an outsider are just another dorky kid. Have fun without worrying about anything else.

PHOTO: Lindze cosplaying as Shiva from Final Fantasy VIII.

DENNIS: For those who are new to cosplaying, they will notice that many cosplayers belong to a group or a circle of cosplayers. Are these groups public, members only or area-based type groups? What advice do you have for those who want to join a group?
LINDZE: Well I suppose that all three examples you gave are true. There are all sorts of groups. There's mailing list groups, groups of friends, clubs, whatever. I joined a mailing list when I first got into cosplay because it allowed me to make friends, hear advice and tips and organize meeting up at cons. Over the years I've made friends through different ways and now I don't read any public forums but it still can be a good way for newbies to meet people like them!

DENNIS: You have developed a really good reputation among cosplayers throughout the country for your cosplay. Many people that I have talked to are familiar with your cosplay work through your Genki Girl Cosplay Website. But does that put a lot of pressure on you as a cosplayer? Are you expected to have an awesome costume at each con? Something that was better than a previous costume?
LINDZE: Wow, really!? That's nice to hear! Like I've said before, I'm sort of self contained, so I'm often oblivious to outside info. But it does put a bit of pressure on me in the respect of going back to what I discussed before. I think it's so important to do things for yourself and not others and when I know people expect a certain quality from me, for whatever reason, it can stress me out sometimes when I just want to go out and have fun. I've actually had stuff happen to me before. For example, when I went to AWA 2 years ago, I was wearing my HUnewearl. All weekend long all I heard was people asking me if I had any "good" costumes like my Shiva, I wore the year before. I was like "EXCUSE ME!? I like this costume just fine!"

PHOTO: Lindze cosplaying as "Scarab" from the comic book "Kabuki" and "Scarab" mini-series.

It's ridiculous what some kids expect of you. I'm not a circus monkey and it's not like I'm getting paid to amuse fan boys and girls! It's hard to keep calm and continue with a blind eye to people's expectations sometimes, but I refuse to give in! (Flexes) DENNIS: Let's talk about a few of the costumes you have created. First, your cosplay as Scarab from David Mack's "Kabuki". How long did it take you to make that costume and how much? LINDZE: I love that character. It didn't take me TOO long, cat suits are pretty simple to make. I recommend kwik sew pattern #2108. I riveted in the spikes, which didn't take too long either but are also fragile and for some reason everyone has to touch my spikes when they see me in that costume and as a result, many of them are ripping out. So if you see me in it, don't touch my spikes!! (laughing) DENNIS: Was it uncomfortable wearing that costume? I used stretch pleather that was nice and thin, so I didn't sweat it out in it, so it's actually very comfortable. I can't bend over much, since it's so tight, so that's annoying but in the grand scheme of things, its one of my most comfy costumes.

DENNIS:  Let's talk about your Shiva - "Final Fantasy VIII" character. You won a best of show award at Anime Weekend Atlanta 2000. What was going through your mind before you left your hotel room before anyone saw your uniform. Were you nervous or did you know that the costume would definitely catch the attention of con goers?
LINDZE: What was going through my mind was "Thank god I'm finished making this blasted thing!" It took me FOREVER to make it!! I knew I would get a good response, because when I was just carrying the headpiece up to my room a million people were oogling and commenting on it. I was big and blue. How could you not notice? I'm also aware that it looked like I was mostly naked, so I got a few lame sexual comments, but most people just thought it was a great costume. I spent almost a year, working on and off, on it. Chris, my friend I mentioned before, helped me with a great deal of the latex parts, and the headpiece, since until then I hadn't worked with such materials before.

DENNIS:  How much time and how much money was spent to create this certain costume? LINDZE: Like I said before, due to messing up and remaking so many things, I spent almost $1000 on it. Most of it was on supplies for sculpting, such as plaster, tools, foam, etc. DENNIS:  I was looking at your Kit costume and it looks very difficult to create. Especially the head accessories and boots. Was it difficult to make and how much did you spend? LINDZE: Yeah it was a big test in problem solving. I'm really proud of how it turned out. I had to make a fabric with that geometric honeycomb pattern on it and i tried many different options with that and the best thing ended up being printing out the design, tracing it with a ruler and a iron-on transfer pen and then ironing it onto the fabric.

PHOTO: Lindze cosplaying as her version of Punk Princess Peach (Princess Peach/Toadstool) from the Super Mario Bros. series.

It worked great. The shoes Brad actually helped a ton with, figuring out. He's all about velcro and what the shoes ended up being were metal spray-painted foam pieces, reinforced with sheet metal on the backs, and they all have velcro on the bootcovers that go over a big pair of platform boots, and attach to look like it is all on one piece. I recommend GOOP for glueing costume things like this and "hammered" metal spray paint when you need to make a faux metal. It looks more real than the shiny silver spray. The costume cost a fair amount around $300+ with the shoes, wig, hairpiece and materials being the main costs. I used real leather on parts, the kitty ears are made out of real fur I dyed, since I wasnt happy with how any of the ears made of faux fur turned out. It's a fun costume to wear. I'm like 6'3" in it. The shoes are so huge and im so bright colored! Im like a Vegas amazon! (laughing)

DENNIS:  You talked about the pains and the cost of making Shiva from "Final Fantasy VIII" but you also did Shiva from "Final Fantasy X". With the experience from your work on the first Shiva, what was different in the way you did things for the latest Shiva this time around. Did you spend less money on the costume or was it still expensive (ie: Wig)?
LINDZE: Well, I already knew how to make the bodysuit with no seam down the front. Something me and my mom figured out last time and I still had the makeup. Otherwise, it was a whole new ballgame. The FFX Shiva was alot easier to make but more painful. The hair weighed at least 30 lbs and it was horrid! I wont wear it again until I fix it. The hair seems lightweight until it adds up. But it wasn't actually that expensive. Iused alot of materials which I already had. I made almost the entire costume in two weeks. It was really rushed and I acually never finished it. A lot of it was made at a friends house in Baltimore. When I wore it to Otakon, I was sewn into half of it because I haven't finished making the attachments!

PHOTO: Lindze cosplaying as Poison Ivy from the Batman: The Animated Series.

DENNIS:  I have seen you dressed up as a video game character, an anime character and a comic book character, do you happen to have a preference of which you prefer to cosplay? LINDZE: Yep I sure do… I would much rather dress up as a videogame character than anything else. I love videogames, and they have the best character designs, most often. Coming in second, would be comic book characters. I work at a comic book store and have been reading comics most my life. Many of my friends are comic artists. Comics are the biggest part of my dorkdom. I think it's really important to care about a character if you're cosplaying it. There are rare occasions where I don't know anything about a character before I decide to cosplay it, but not often.

DENNIS: Speaking of video games and comic books, do you enjoy playing video games or reading comic books?
LINDZE: I play videogames everyday, and I'm a manager at a comic book store, so that's a big fat yes!

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