MaeGwyn is a talented cosplayer who started her cosplaying journey in 2012, and has received numerous awards for her work, and outside of cosplay she's a teacher. No wonder she's always so busy! MaeGwyn on Facebook MaeGwyn on Instagram When did you start getting into cosplay, and what was your biggest motivator for it? I was always into costuming, even as a kid. I remember looking through magazines and drawing out dress designs into my sketch book. I started cosplaying in 2012 after some friends at university introduced me to it and encouraged me to try. What is your biggest motivator for costumes? My biggest motivator when I started was the Lord of the Rings. The costumes in the films really spoke to me and after some research I discovered that it was possible to make your own! I am kind of sad that I haven’t done much costuming from my original inspiration. Currently my motivation is based on my love for the design and the character as well as self-improvement in my crating skills. How often do you compete in masquerades? I used to compete a lot in masquerades, at least 3 a year. I have slowed down quite a bit in the past couple of years because I reached the Master level for regional competitions. I want to try and focus on improving my skills and creating more detailed costumes which of course takes more time and thus I only compete once a year now. Of the masquerades you have done, what costume are you most proud to have entered? Not quite a masquerade, but I entered my Alicia cosplay from Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria in the Canadian Competition for World Cosplay Summit and that was possibly the most detailed costume I have made to date. I was working with a relatively low budget and I attempted my largest project to date; my 14-foot span automatic wings. With your other masquerades, what do you feel has been your best performance? Best costume? Best performance would be hands down the Legend of Zelda skit that I performed with my boyfriend Corey and my cosplay partner Bandit Spurs. It was so much fun! My best costume would be Alicia (Though hopefully that will change soon, I have a massive project in the works for this summer!) You competed in the Canadian Preliminaries for WCS (World Cosplay Summit) alongside your good friend Bandit Spurs. Would you say that it's more stressful than a normal masquerade? Hell yes, it was stressful! Most of the stress occurred during the con crunch and the day off. I remember I was spending the last couple of days before the con rushing on finishing stage props and my wings. The day off was a nightmare. It didn’t help that the rehearsals were in the morning right before the competition and that my wings broke during rehearsal. Not to mention that Bandits had a swollen ankle from some kind of allergic reaction! If you were to talk to anyone who helped us backstage, they would say that I was giving off the scariest vibes because I was so anxious. Now that I know what it’s like though, I think the next time I would do it would be less nerve wracking. Do you think you will enter Canadian Prelims for WCS again? I would like to! It’s just a matter and what cosplay and when. All of your costumes are diverse and no two are alike, do you place a high level of value on the diversity? I like having diversity in my cosplay closet, though I think that since I have entered idol hell I am starting to have a costume type come up in my portfolio. I do try to keep my characters and the designs diverse though; I find its more interesting for me to cosplay different styles of outfits and it’s most likely more interesting for my followers as well. What is your dream build for a cosplay? Or have you achieved it already? Ugh, I am in the process of it! I call it my 5 year project, 2019 marks year 4 so I need to step up my progress on it. I call it my fish goddess, but it is actually Kougyoku’s djinn equip outfit from Magi. I really want to go all out with this build because it’s such an interesting design with a crazy prop and the potential for some awesome makeup and details. You've bought costumes as well along the way, what makes you choose buying one over making it? I have chosen to buy certain costumes due to fabric designs such as my Arabian Kotori. Her skirt and weil have particular designs that I would have had to paint on myself had I made those costumes and I decided that it wasn’t worth the time and effort. I would rather focus my crafting skills on different projects. Other costumes I’ve bought were for groups such as Kanan’s school uniform which I could have made but again decided that it would be cheaper and easier to buy it. When it comes to making your costumes, what do you feel is your biggest strength? And your biggest weakness? Let’s start with my biggest weakness; I am horrible at estimating how much time it will take me to make something and this is in part due to procrastination. I hesitate and put off learning new skills because it is difficult. So this of course puts back projects beyond what I had intended. My biggest strength is probably planning (yes I know, it is ironic when compared to my weakness). I spend a bunch of time researching the costume, looking up fabric choices, shopping around, drawing sketches and looking at different tutorials. I keep detailed spreadsheets of my costume pieces, including materials costs and time spent which also helps with motivation. If I see that I am making significant progress on something based on the data I keep then I am motivated to push more. What do you do/use to help you stay focused while working on a costume? I have the cosplanner app of my phone to keep track of the time I’ve spent working on different costume pieces. I have a google spreadsheet that keeps track of my costs and progress for each piece. I also find that while I’m crafting it is useful to play music in the background or put on the LOTR with commentary. Lately I’ve been getting into Critical Role so I have also been putting that one while I craft. Are there any conventions that you would love to attend one day? I think the one that I really want to attend is Otakon. I think that’s doable, maybe not this year but maybe in 2020 I would also love to go back to Anime Boston at one point! Outside of conventions and cosplay, what other hobbies do you have? I just started playing Dungeons and Dragons! I’m getting really into it, I’ve been binge creating characters all Christmas vacation. I also dance as a hobby; I started off Irish dancing, then switch to idol groups (mostly Love Live) and now I want to explore Kpop! You're a teacher outside of cosplay, what do you teach? I teach high school science and physics. You could say that I am the local Miss Frizzle. Where did you study for your field of expertise? And would you recommend it to those who are interested in going into that field? I actually did my bachelor degree in engineering at Concordia University! It was a good program but I did not really enjoy the last couple of years, possibly because I was lacking self-confidence. I decided to go into teaching after I graduated because it was something that was familiar to me. I taught swimming lessons as a summer job so I felt that I could make teaching my main profession. Honestly, I did not find the education program to be very good, it was mostly fluff and I managed to get A’s with minimal effort. My program of choice was the Masters of Arts of Teaching and Learning at McGill. This program is only meant for students who have a bachelor degree in a teachable subject. For those who have a degree and are thinking of a career change, this program is the quickest way to get your teaching certificate in Quebec. It’s not the greatest program but it does the job. Final question. Do you have any words of encouragement for aspiring young cosplayers and creators? Just do it! Find something that you really love, whether it’s a character or a design and just start. I would recommend to make a list of potential cosplays that you would like to complete and start with the simplest one. You don’t have to make it yourself; it can be as simple as buying it or making a closet cosplay with thrift store items. Then take your cosplay and head to a local convention! When you are there, interact with people! It might seem scary but really we are all a bunch of nerds who share one thing in common: our love for our fandoms. So find other people in your fandom and make friends! Remember the only rule of cosplay is to have fun!
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My blog will cover costume progress and event coverage for the most part. There may also be other posts that will be cosplay related. Categories
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