Cosplay Artist Spotlight: Zonbi
Cosplay artist Zonbi is a local ATX personality, bringing characters to life in both work and play!
Gears of War Cosplay Image courtesy of Affliction Cosplay Photography
Welcome to the Monthly Cosplay Artist Spotlight!
BoLS will be interviewing artists who are making an impact on the Cosplay community, both through gaming and charitable pursuits. There is nowhere better to start than our own backyard, with an artist who has been a superhero in both the cosplay community AND that of her home city of Austin, Texas:
1. How did you get your start in Cosplay?
Zonbi: Growing up I always loved video games, movies, comics, and anime. A week before my first anime convention when I was 14 years old, my mom told me that she heard that people made costumes and dressed up as anime characters when they went to conventions. When I became excited at the idea of making a costume, my mom taught me the basics of how to sew and walked me through making my first costume. I dressed up as ‘Sakura’ from the popular anime series Naruto and had a blast at my first convention. That’s when I got hooked!
2. What Conventions do you attend? What special events have you Cosplayed for?
Zonbi: This year I’ve been to Pax South and Pax East so far. I’ll be going to RTX, Dragon*Con, and New York Comic Con as well. I cosplay at every convention I go to!
3. What are your favorite Fandoms?
Zonbi: I love Metal Gear Solid, Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Guardians of the Galaxy, Alien..I have too many!
4. What cosplay do you absolutely adore, and what inspires you in it?
Zonbi: I love cosplaying badass ladies like Aloy from Horizon Zero dawn, Sofia from Gears of War Judgement, and making gender-bent cosplays of the male characters I love too! Whenever I see a cool character that has a great outfit or cool cosplay prop I think “I have to have that!” That’s what inspires me to create.
Aloy Cosplay Image Image courtesy of ACCosplay Photography
5. What are your favorite materials/techniques to work with?
Zonbi: I love EVA foam for armor but also like working with Fabric, worbla, resin, and all sorts of stuff! I’ve also been learning some 3-D modeling to use for cosplay projects.
6. What is the most ambitious cosplay you have in mind?
Zonbi: I would love to make the power loader from the Aliens movie.
7. How are you able to integrate your cosplay into your work life?
Zonbi: My work runs an event called “Superhero day” at our local children’s hospital every year. My coworkers and I get to dress up as superheroes and hang out with the kids!
8. What has been the most amazing/impactful cosplay moment for you?
Zonbi: I loved cosplaying at our local children’s hospital. I could tell that the children were so excited to see us all dressed up and it really brightened their day. Making costumes for myself has always been a fun hobby but that experienced showed how important it can be for other people too.
Junkrat Cosplay Image courtesy of ACCosplay Photography
9. What is your favorite part about the Cosplay Community?
Zonbi: Everyone is so supportive and wants to share their knowledge with other people who are interested in creating.
10. Do you have any advice for first time Cosplayers?
Zonbi: You’re gonna mess up and that’s okay! Even the experts make mistakes all the time. There are a lot of resources out there for you to get started to. Look up YouTube and blog tutorials if you’re curious how to get started on something!
What are all of your social media links? Where can we find you?!
Zonbi:
~Join us again next month for another Cosplay Artist Spotlight!
Learn more about Mayhem’s Muse
***Featured Image courtesy of ACCosplay Photography
