Well hello there everyone! I hope you enjoyed last weeks interview with Etaru! This week (ok, I’m a day late) I have our second interview with EDG. While he hasn’t been cosplaying for too long (since 2006), he’s made some really amazing costumes, including a very well done Dhalsim.
Check out his stuff on his cosplay.com page [link] and Deviant Art page [link].
Without further ado, here is the interview, enjoy!
Me: We’ll start easy, when did you first start cosplaying and what was it that made you decide to cosplay?
EDG: I started cosplaying in the Summer of 2006. Well, that’s a story, but I’ll shorten it. While in High School, I hung out with a group of people who went to Anime Expo, and at the time, I had no idea what that was. They filled me in, and shortly there after, I had gone through my first cosplay experience. (Even though it was a hand me down outfit.)
Me: What was the costume?
EDG: Inuzuka Kiba from Naruto.
Me: Nice and easy, good first choice… so I’m assuming u didn’t really have a choice since it was a hand-me-down.
EDG: No, but I didn’t mind, it was a fun experience becoming a character for a short time for pictures.
Me: So then what was the first costume that you created?
EDG: That would be Captain Jack Sparrow. That was more for my friends then for me though. Everyone would joke that I was trying really hard to be like Jack, because we shared a lot of mannerisms when I walked or talked. So, I made that outfit, wore it to school Senior Year, and to a few cons after that. It’s since been retired.
Me: Haha, very nice…. so you share the mannerisms of a drunk pirate huh? ^_^
EDG: Lol. I do. I’m a very animated person.
Me: That’s a good thing when cosplaying though.
EDG: Yeah. It helped quite a bit for Anime Expo in Long Beach, people laughed as I put on a show without actually realizing I was putting on a show. Lol.
Me: Hahaha! Nice! do you have photos up somewhere of it? (Link to Jack Sparrow photos)
EDG: I do on cosplay.com, but there aren’t many sadly. It was really the first outfit I put together on my own, since I hadn’t used a sewing machine before, my grandmother was very helpful.
Me: That’s great! Even from these few photos it looks like you have the mannerisms down!
EDG: Thank you!
Me: I see here that you’re in the process of doing a Palkia gijinka (Looking at EDG’s cosplay.com account). How’s that going so far?
EDG: It’s going rather slow, that gijinka there is my girlfriend’s. I plan on doing a Dialga to match with her, but I lack the funds to keep making them at a steady pace.
Me: Aahhh.. I see. Well good luck with it, I look forward to seeing how it comes out.
EDG: Thanks!
Me: From the inception of a costume, which part of the cosplay process do u like the most? (deciding who to cosplay, designing, creating, wearing, ect.)
EDG: Probably wearing, it’s the part I look forward to the most. Coming up with poses for people on the spot, making a con memorable for yourself and others, and meeting new people with the same interests as you. That’s what makes it for me.
Me: Very cool.. is there a part of the process that is your LEAST favorite?
EDG: For me, that would be deciding what I want to cosplay. I usually have a huge list I’d love to do but I have to settle on certain characters for that year to get done. So, it usually makes me a bit sad. At least until I start on the construction of the outfits.
Me: Haha! That seems to be a recurring theme for cosplayers. “so many I want to do but so little time and money!!!!!!”
EDG: Oh yeah. In this economy, we have to be extra careful not to go over what resources we have. It can be dangerous.
Me: Definitely. Would you say that’s the biggest challenge to cosplaying? What else do you find challenging about the hobby?
EDG: Yeah, the biggest challenge, at least for me anyway, would be staying within my means. I’d love to go all out on a costume, but if I did, I’d have no money for anything else. Things I actually needed, ya know? But the most challenging part would for me would have to be finding props or making props look as accurate as possible for as little as possible.
Me: If you did have unlimited funds and unlimited time, unlimited skills, what would be your dream costume you’d like to make?
EDG: Hmmm, that’s a tough one. I’d have to say Illidan Stormrage from the Warcraft series. Although I’ve already really started on it. I just haven’t posted any progress. That costume is going slower the the Gijinka are. I’ve actually built a stand for the hooves to give me a realistic leg shape if I were to have hooves. They also make me 14 inches taller. I need some more expensive materials though to actually build around it though. So, it’ll have to wait.
Me: Aahhh.. I see, unfortunately it always comes back to money. You said earlier that you have a hard time picking just a few characters to cosplay. What makes you want to cosplay a certain character? What aspects of a character do you look for when choosing your next costume?
EDG: Honestly, I look for a character I could pull of. I almost never do a character that’s large and lighter than I am. I’m just a perfectionist when it comes to cosplay. I tend to stick to characters who are known to have tanner skin and smaller builds. However, if they are larger, and I like them enough, I am willing to bulk up for it. Other than that, I have to be familiar with them. If I’ve never seen the anime, game, or cartoon, I won’t do it.
Me: Well, this question was pretty much already answered but besides characters that wouldn’t fit your build, is there something you would NEVER consider cosplaying?
EDG: Hmm, if it’s anything psychological, there are no boundaries. Anything not physical is no hindrance to me. I’m willing to cosplay a character that’s happy go lucky, or a character that’s a homicidal maniac. As long as they fit my body type it’s a go.
Me: Hahaha, as long as you don’t BECOME the homicidal maniac then we’re good.
EDG: Oh man. That’s why my props never actually work. Besides, I’m not smart enough to be criminal.
Me: Hahaha! It sounds like you really pay a lot of attention to detail (and looks like it from what I’ve seen), how long will you obsess over one small detail trying to get it right? Will you ever give up on it and just say “screw it”?
EDG: I tend to not obsess to much. Since I start planning and creating only a week or two after my main con has ended, so if I can’t figure something out then, I may be able to later. That mind-set has never failed me yet.
Me: Wow, so you really plan early. That’s great, so many people out there procrastinate till the last second.
EDG: Lol. I did that enough in High School. Can’t afford to do that out of High School.
Me: Has there been any benefits to your “outside of cosplay life” that cosplay has given you? Are u planning to use any of those in a job or career?
EDG: Well, last Anime Expo, I met two people who I know visit regularly. These two are married, and the husband works in a Special Effects shop, and I’ve gotten the opportunity to see him work every now and then. That has been pretty helpful in itself. And even costume making has been beneficial with them. He is a sculptor so he’s made many things for costuming because of that skill. He’s taught me some of that as well.
Me: Oh wow, that’s super cool. Is special effects costume design what you want to go into?
EDG: Honestly. Nothing costuming or SFX related. xD I have a secret passion. And that is of Entomology. The study of Insects.
Me: WOAH! Really?!?!? I don’t know too much about entomology but I was watching a TV show on forensic entomology last night, really cool stuff!
EDG: Lol. Well, I don’t know if I’ll get into the crime aspect of it but, Insects themselves have always fascinated me.
Me: That’s pretty sweet though. Alright, few more questions then I’ll let you go.
Do you ever think there will be a time where u will become “too old” for the hobby? Is that even possible?
EDG: I dunno, I can’t see myself right now ever being to old for the hobby, but that will most likely change in the future, as for now though, it’s still too soon to tell for me. It’s possible, most definitely, but not the case for everyone, I’ve seen plenty of older to middle-aged people cosplaying, and some quite well.
It’s all a matter of the effort you put into it. Whether or not you look to old or to young, all that matters is that you worked hard on something you enjoy.
Me: Alright, last one, is there an event or con that you would love to go to but haven’t been able to yet?
EDG: Lol, well, there are many different cons all around the US I’d love to go to. But I’m stuck with more local ones. Thankfully, I’ve got the largest US con only a 15-20 minute drive away. But I’d love to see other smaller cons. I’d especially like to go to Yaoi-Con though, it’s something my girlfriend really wants to see so at some point I’ll take her when I can afford it.
Thanks so much to EDG for participating in my little interview! Look out this week for some photography tips, another new interview and some news about Yaoi Con!
Please not that any photos used in this article were not taken by me.
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