WHY DID YOU CHOOSE YOUR CHARACTER?

“I really wanted to cosplay something with my friend. She had never cosplayed before, so I asked her for characters that she would be interested in cosplaying, saying I would make whatever she wanted. We eventually settled on Castlevania, given that we were both fans of the show, and Trevor Belmont was her favorite characters. Once it was decided she was to be Trevor, I chose Alucard and my sister volunteered to complete our main trio as Sypha.”

WHAT IS IT THAT DREW HIM TO YOU? WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT THE CHARACTER?

“I was drawn to that inherent vampiric drama and sharp elegance mixed with the intriguing balance of femininity and masculinity of his character. Alucard is a character defined by supposed opposites; his vampire father and human mother, night and day, darkness and light, strength and fragility, the supernatural and humanity. This duality was what drew me to him as a character. And the coat. I love that coat.”

ALUCARD

WHAT WENT INTO THE CREATION OF YOUR COSPLAY?

The largest part of the cosplay, and most of the challenge, was the coat. While it was a very simple style, I took it as a challenge to practice keeping my work as clean and precise as possible. The coat started with a Yaya Han trench coat pattern from which I removed the lapels to replace with a much larger collar, increased the volume and length of the coat tail excessively and removed the sleeve cuffs. My goal for the coat was to replicate the one scene where Alucard is sitting on the ground, and his coat is spread out behind him, making a full 180 degree half circle behind him. In order to achieve this semicircle, I added two very large godets (a term I learned just now, meaning “an extra piece of fabric in the shape of a circular sector which is set into a garment”) in between the side seams of the coat. In total with the bracers, it contains 7 yards of black crushed satin, 7 yards of gold duochrome crushed taffeta, 10 yards of gold ribbon and 12 gold buttons.

The shirt was bought from Goodwill, the pants were from another cosplay and the boots are a staple item I use for many cosplays (with gold ribbon stuck on with temp-stick tape to make them easily removable).

The sword was made the night before the shoot from an old plastic sword that I think my dad bought for an LOTR Aragorn costume in the early 2000s? I removed the old handle, stuck the ends back together with hot glue and then added model magic to make the handle details. It was then spray painted with silver. The model magic was still not cured during the shoot and fell apart shortly after. If I wear Alucard again, I will most certainly 3D print the sword or make it out of foam like I had intended to the first time. It was still fun.

My sister also styled my wig and painted the scar on my chest (to which we added a new scar make-up we were trying out). We ordered white concealer and foundation for the first time for this cosplay to get me as pale as a vampire. I loved it. I’ve also been able to use the teeth for other cosplays as well.

WHAT WERE YOUR STRUGGLES?

It was the hem of the coat. Due to how much I had edited the pattern, the hems of the lining and outer fabric did not line up when the coat was upright (even though it lined up when laid on the ground). If I didn’t have to add the gold trim, this wouldn’t have been as much of an issue, but in order to add the trim evenly, I needed the layers to meet within ½ an inch of each other in order to both end in the fold of the trim. After many failed attempts, I pinned the layers together while it was flat on the floor, sewed them together and then draped it on a dress form. Then I re-pinned it, folding under any excess fabric, basting stitched that new fold down, and from there, laid it out again, and pinned and sewed the trim on. It’s not perfect, and some of the black fabric is visible on the inside of the coat, but I’m still happy with it.

I feel I should also mention that I tried to make gloves three times, and they were all terrible, so I ended up buying some. That is a challenge for another day. I also had to make the bracers twice because the first time I used faux-leather to match the gloves (that I didn’t end up using) and I didn’t realize how much of the texture of the gold would show through. They looked wrinkly and nasty so I switched to using the black crushed satin of the coat, interfaced and layered on top of the gold so the texture wouldn’t show. The slits were not perfect either, and I wish I could have sewn them more neatly, but I didn’t hate it enough to not wear it.

WHAT WERE YOUR TRIUMPHS?

I sewed in shoulder pads for the first time! And I was able to eyeball the pattern for the collar and it turned out great the first time. I also felt wonderful in that wig, and my teeth didn’t fall out all day!

WHAT’S THE THING YOU’RE MOST PROUD OF?

The coat!!! I love it so much. It was as huge as I wanted and flowed so nicely. I’m really happy I was able to find the crushed taffeta because the duochrome nature of it worked so well in the light. I felt so fancy. I also enjoy how the details on the front of the coat turned out, and how clean they look. Also that the sword looks nice in photos, given how much of a mess it was.

TREVOR

WHAT WENT INTO THE CREATION OF YOUR COSPLAY?

Trevor was a really fun project that contained a lot of fun little details. The shirt was a large men’s button up, which I removed the buttons from (replaced with velcro) and then fitted to Kayla. The crest on the shirt was embroidered by hand with gold thread (with help from my sister and Sophie), and the cuffs of the shirt were cut off to keep the bracers from getting bulky. The bracers and boot covers are made of the material from two pairs of men’s khaki shorts I found at Goodwill, with a little fur scavenged from other old cosplays.

The harness was the trickiest part, since I wanted it to be quite fitted to Kayla’s back, the pattern kept changing. It has a craft foam base with a velvet-like upholstery fabric, and lined with the polyester of my college graduation robe (no joke, I’ve lined so many things with fabric from that robe). The crest and shoulder details are 2mm EVA foam covered in gold spray paint.

My sister made the 4 wooden knives on the straps, which slide into 4mm EVA foam sheaths, which she hand stitched closed and glued magnets inside to prevent the knives from falling out. The red cape-like thing was made from a stretchy suede that was kept up with an old Attack on Titan wrap-belt thing from my first cosplay ever. Over that were two belts with pouches that were that were made of canvas, patterned by me and sewn by my sister. The morningstar whip was also made by my sister (in a single day right before the shoot) out of 4mm EVA foam, a wooden dowel, and light aluminum chain. We will be 3D printing the whip in any future versions of this cosplay. Hopefully.

WHAT WERE YOUR STRUGGLES?

It was the harness. The original reference has the back part fitted very tightly to Trevor’s back, and while in a cartoon, this is just a single curve, for a human person, the back has a curve both horizontally and vertically. I wanted to avoid the gaps near the shoulders as much as possible. My paper pattern changed many times in order to accommodate these curves. It was also hard because my friend doesn't live in the same area as me, so I was only able to have one fitting session with her, and she is much smaller than my dress form (and me).

Then when I went to cover the harness in fabric, the lining kept bubbling outwards because I hadn’t stuck it to the foam except on the edges. But! No one can see that when she wears it. So I’m not going to fix it. ;) Also, the hem on the back of the shirt is horribly uneven, but it was covered by the red cape, so no one will notice.

WHAT WERE YOUR TRIUMPHS?

The hand-embroidery on the shirt. It was a group effort, and it took a really long time, but it was so worth it! The crest on the harness was also the most detailed work I’d done with foam before, and I think it turned out really well.

WHAT’S THE THING YOU’RE MOST PROUD OF?

The bracers were one of my favorite parts. They were a little tight, but I love how clean they ended up looking and how well they matched the character art.

Also, the fur on top of the boots. Because I use these boots for so many other cosplays, everything had to be removable so instead of attaching the fur to the boots, the fur is actually sewn onto the top of a pair of knee-high socks and tucked over the outside of the boot. They look very creepy on their own and I love it.

I was also so happy with how good it made my friend feel when she was wearing it. I was really excited to do something like this for her, and I’m so glad that she liked it as much as she did. I also really hope she’ll let me rope her into more cosplays in the future.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN COSPLAYING?

I’ve been going to cons in cosplay for 4 years. I started with premade cosplays in 2015, my first being a group cosplay for Attack on Titan. The first cosplay I made (some of) was Percy de Rolo from Critical Role, the following year in 2016. I’ve been much more dedicated the past 2 years since I graduated from university and have had the time to spend on more intricate cosplays.

It was Kayla’s first time ever cosplaying this year! There is no escape for her now.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START?

My friends. We were a bunch of nerds who had never cosplayed before but were all into the same shows. I had also never been to a convention before, but I’d been told that it was more fun to go if you were dressed up. At the time, I also had the exact same haircut and color as Erwin from Attack on Titan, so it was super easy to choose a character. Sophie (part of our current cosplay group) was one of these friends that was with me from the very start! She had been going to Fanime for many years, and was the reason I felt comfortable going to a con in the first place. I can’t thank her enough. And when the next year rolled around I had the same haircut and color of Oikawa from Haikyuu!!, and the same group of friends were into that show, so that was a super easy choice as well. It just kept going after that!

I’d also been dressing up for Halloween and other events since I was a kid, and it never really stopped. My parents are also the type to like dressing up for events too, so they were super supportive the entire time as well. So even before I chose to go to a convention in costume, we had a lot of outfits and props lying around the house already.

My sister is also a major influence on me. She was the one that really committed to building more complex costumes, made friends online for us to collaborate with, and is always down to do sibling/twin cosplays with me. She’s incredibly talented and persistent, and the inspiration that keeps me to continue pushing myself.

WHY DO YOU LOVE IT?

I love the artistic challenge of creating the cosplays, and the community it creates. I love the challenge of problem solving translating a 2D visual reference into a wearable 3D costume. I feel like every challenge I face, the more skills I build, and the more challenges I can face in the future. I also find searching for fabric one of my favorite things ever. Sewing is my favorite part of cosplay. I’m also very lucky that I can rely on my sister for foam work and props.

At cons, you also get to make people happy, and it is so easy to make friends with shared interests. Since I graduated I’ve had this itch under my skin that came from not making as much art as I did during school. But now that I’ve been spending more time on cosplay, the planning, the construction, photoshoots, that itch is totally gone! And what makes it even more fun than illustration (which is what I majored in) is that it can be a group activity! You get to hang out with people, learn from and inspire each other. Cosplayers are always so fun to talk to and meet.

Somewhat related, but cosplay actually lead me to a much more healthy lifestyle. It changed my diet and exercise habits and I feel so much better physically and mentally than I ever did in school. It inspired me to take care of myself better!

COSPLAYS MADE BY JASMINE G.
ALUCARD WORN BY JASMINE G. | TREVOR WORN BY KAYLA L
PHOTOGRAPHY AND DESIGN BY BRIAN NISHIMOTO

GALLERY