Cosplay takes a lot of time, hard work and dedication, so I encourage you to always check and follow the social media accounts of the cosplayers and photographers that get featured in my cosplayer spotlight articles. If you would like a chance to have your cosplay featured, there are instructions on how to do that at the end!
Zara Mage as Midna (The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess)
Instagram: @zara_mage
How did you get into cosplaying? I started cosplaying 5 years ago, I was always watching Anime and playing Video games. I still do, I love collecting little figures from places like Solaris Japan because it means I have a little piece from all my favorite shows in my room. I started talking to my friend about the animes I was watching so she introduced me to conventions. At the time we were really into Adventure Time. So I went as Marceline. Wanted to start out with something Easy for my first cosplay! I attended Izumicon and I haven’t stopped since.
Why Midna? I cosplayed as Midna because she’s definitely her own person. That has made a big impact on my life. She’s not afraid to speak her mind but she is also mysterious. In a way she is someone I want to be, with beauty and grace. [She’s] not afraid to Stand up for herself especially with some sass. Which makes her so perfect to me!
Were there any unique challenges posed by Midna? Midnas Design looked challenging. I loved the art style of her character design. Every time I start a new cosplay I do like to challenge myself. It’s what keeps me going. The challenging part was to get everything even and to make it accurate like the character. The cloak took me 2 weeks and the design took me 5 hours.Has cosplaying Rosalina gained you more notoriety than other cosplays? Gaining notoriety from Midna? I’m not sure! I mostly get alot of feed back and questions about how long it took to make everything. It’s always nice to talk to other Artists or Zelda cosplayers since we all show the Same interests.
Do you plan to cosplay more Nintendo characters? I do plan to cosplay as more Nintendo Characters in the future, such as Princess Peach and Samus. Course my Zelda Cosplay list is long.
What does cosplay mean to you? To me cosplay is all about the art form. The craft and portraying the characters you love. It’s always rewarding meeting other people who are into the Same fandom as you. It’s an art form that has a lot of challenges and dead lines but that’s what’s fun about it. To me I don’t think it’s all about the money or fame. I do it to meet other artists and to learn more about myself. I grow as a person and artist when I cosplay.
Nature’s Sass as Viridi (Kid Icarus: Uprising)
Instagram: @naturessass
Photo by FilmShooter Event Photography
How did you get into cosplaying? When I was younger, around 14 or so, I was really into watching people do makeup, special effects, and costumes. My dad took me to my first [convention] when I was that age and I was blown away by people in costume and in character! At first, I thought it was weird, so I remember telling my parents I wanted to cosplay for the first time and being so nervous to see their reaction! But my family was very supportive. In fact, my grandma taught me how to sew in the first place, including applique designs and making clothes from scratch, so then there was no stopping me! Because of all the makeup, I’m starting to get really into skincare too – after all, a good foundation is so important to good makeup application. Maybe in the future I’ll start my own white label skin care range aimed at cosplayers but, for now, creating and wearing cosplays is definitely where my heart is.
Why Viridi? As soon as I played Kid Icarus: Uprising, I fell in love with her as a character. I considered myself a tsundere blonde at the time, so she really stuck to me. It’s one of my top Nintendo games, and I knew I had to express my love for this character somehow, and it was going to be through cosplay.
Were there any unique challenges posed by Viridi? The moment I decided to cosplay her, I decided I had to have 3D vines on my dress. There was no way I was having flat vines on my dress–I needed to represent her as the goddess of nature as much as I could. I’d say that was the biggest challenge, because the material I used was hard to keep in place when transferring and sewing to the dress. Then I struggled with finding good reference pictures. Backs of the dress were low resolution, so it was a lot of guessing, especially with how the rope wraps around her. Lastly, the prop. It was my first time working with expanding foam and making a big prop so I literally winged most of it, just throwing paints on and hoping for the best! This is my third staff I’ve made, and they seem to keep improving!
Has cosplaying Viridi gained you more notoriety than your other cosplays? Not really, but I don’t mind! It won me my first award and she’s dear to my heart, so I love wearing her around. But sadly, Kid Icarus: Uprising has just such a small audience, not many people know of her! It’s okay, whoever does recognize me is quite happy. I just love feeling like a goddess in this costume.
Do you plan to cosplay more Nintendo characters? Of course! I feel like I’ll always be cosplaying Nintendo since it’s such a big part of my life. Right now I’m such a sucker for Fire Emblem! I love Panne and Robin from Fire Emblem: Awakening. Panne is out of my comfort zone, so I want to try something new. I’ve never worked with fur or armor! I have my own design for Robin as an Exalt, so you can bet I’m working on that one too. Also, another franchise that isn’t too big on the cosplay side, but I love the old Mother series! I’ve always wanted to do Kumatora from Mother 3 or Queen Maria from [Mother] (Earthbound Beginnings). I love strong female characters so much, and that particular series is close to my heart.
What does cosplay mean to you? To me, cosplay means being able to show your love for a character or someone. It’s a form of expression and being bold, stepping out there and saying “Hey! I love this person!” It’s a huge comfort zone for a lot of people, and that’s what cosplay should be for everyone.
Nyte Fryte Cosplay as a very…different take on Rosalina (Super Mario Galaxy)
Facebook: Nyte Fryte Cosplay
Instagram: @nytefryte
Photo by COTC Photography
How did you get into cosplaying? I got into cosplay because I wanted to be able to become my favorite character. The characters I liked growing up were confident and headstrong people; I wanted to grow to be like them. And their costumes! So cool! So, I began cosplaying characters who I adored and wanted to be like by wearing cosplay costumes and wigs! Also, have you seen anime and video game characters? They all look so awesome and who doesn’t want to look awesome like that?
Why Rosalina? I have actually been obsessed with Rosalina’s character since I first played [Super Mario Galaxy] as a child. She’s so elegant, graceful, and beautiful. My friend wanted to cosplay Mario princesses with me, so I immediately claimed Rosalina for myself.
Were there any unique challenges posed by Rosalina? I do not know if I would call them unique challenges, but her cosplay still challenges me. I am constantly working on improving her. Right now, I am in the works of styling a new wig, crown, and mini gun.
Has cosplaying Rosalina gained you more notoriety than other cosplays? Well, that mini gun of hers definitely gets me more attention at conventions! She’s not as well executed as some of my other cosplays, but she will definitely get there soon, hopefully!
This is a very unique take on the character. What inspired it? This was actually a concept a friend and I came up with. It started out as lolita Mario princesses, but started going into a post apocalyptic idea. We never ended up cosplaying together, so I put more of my own ideas on the cosplay. I am going for more of a Fallout post-apocalyptic feel. Her newest mini gun will resemble one from a Fallout game and I am considering adding a pip-boy.
Do I plan to cosplay more Nintendo characters? As of right now, my only plan is to make different versions of Rosalina.
What does cosplay mean to you? To me, cosplay is all-around fun and empowering. I tend to be rather shy, but being in cosplay is getting to be someone else — someone more confident, proud, and outgoing. Aside form that, cosplay has given me the change to meet amazing new friends and have experiences I never could have been through without cosplaying and attending conventions. Overall, cosplay has brought a lot of joy in my life.
If you’re interested in cosplay that isn’t inherently based on Nintendo, feel free to also check out another website that I produce content for, The Variant! While I do not produce the cosplay spotlight articles over there, we recently featured Carpe Diem Cosplay for her Samus Aran cosplay.
We here at NintendoFuse would love to see your own cosplays and possibly feature them in the future! If you’d like a shot at being featured, please send an email to calebw391@gmail.com and FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES BELLOW CAREFULLY.
-Make the title of your email “NintendoFuse Cosplay Spotlight”
-include links to any of your cosplay related social media
-Include a HIGH RESOLUTION professional quality photo
-Only submit one cosplay per email
-Understand that just because you have submitted a cosplay does not guarantee that it will be featured