Our second Cosplayer of this interview series is from the States (U S A.. U S A), is called Monika and, like Svetlana before her, has a wide variety of very detailed, well thought out and hand made costumes; from Little Sister (Bioshock), to Rogue from X-Men.
A talented and seasoned Cosplayer, Monika has won many awards for her efforts and hopefully will carry on doing so in the future. Please like her Facebook page and enjoy the interview!
FB: http://www.facebook.com//London2191Cosplay
Twitter :http://twitter.com/Mnikalee
Other Links
http://xsoulxxxreaperx.deviantart.com/
http://www.cosplay.com/member/47868/
http://www.acparadise.com/acp/display.ph…
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So what’s with the username London2191? Random or does it have a background story?
Haha, the story behind my “username” is really dumb and random. I was an avid Neopets player back in the day and I guess I just lacked any creativity when it came to choosing a username. So I thought, there’s a girl in my class who’s British so…London and then I closed my eyes and finger mashed some numbers. That’s the gloriously dumb story behind my username, haha.
You currently study a Georgia Tech, doing ‘Industrial design’ What does that entail? Is it something you think you could go on to make a career out of?
Industrial Design is under the College of Architecture here at Tech. It essentially involves the design process of products and making innovative items fit for the market and general population. It’s very similar to Mechanical Engineering, but I like to think we get to do the fun stuff. Most of the things you use daily were designed by an Industrial Designer (for example, iPhones, kitchen utensils, tools, etc.) Not quite sure where it’s going to take me yet, but I love it so far!
Can you tell us a bit more about the person behind the costume? What do you do for a laugh, what sort of music, games and books you into? Are you a PC, Xbox or PS3 Gal? Got any awesome pets? Collect anything? Got a boyfriend?
When I’m not working on cosplay stuff (which is not often…haha), I’m here at Tech! I do like to cook in my spare time, though, and I love music, video games and reading. I own a PS3 and a Macbook Pro, but I do have some old school gaming devices (Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, N64). I have 2 fish that are near death right now…but that’s mostly my fault because I haven’t cleaned their tank in awhile…haha. But aside from that, I generally just game and eat delicious food! I think that sort of thing repels boys…
You say you like food, what sort is your favourite and are you any good at cooking yourself?
I like eating Chinese food because my dad is Chinese and cooks for us all the time. I also like Mexican because I’m addicted to spicy deliciousness! I also loooove to cook, though most of my cooking is super unhealthy and loaded with fattyness, haha.
Is Cosplay / Modelling something you want to do as a career or is it just a fun hobby?
I don’t think cosplay can ever truly be a career (unless someone out there is willing to pay us cosplayers to dress up! Haha), so it’s really just a great hobby for me. It lets me express myself creatively and at the end of the day, I just love making things!
Cosplay
How long have you been Cosplaying for and what got you into it?
I’ve been cosplaying since 2006. I had recently gotten immersed in the anime community, and through that I stumbled upon cosplay.
You seem to have a lot of awards on your page, are these all for cosplay outfits? I’m guessing you make them yourself?
When I first started cosplaying, I was really big into cosplay competitions. In order to enter those, you have to create everything yourself, so I’ve been making all my own costumes since I started out.
You’ve Cosplayed with some of the big name of the business, Jessica Nigri and Yaya Han. Is there a bit of rivalry between you guys or do you all get on?
Haha, we’re all just really great friends. Both girls are extremely talented and have amazing personalities and I love hanging out with them, regardless of whether or not we’re at a convention cosplaying.
What has been your most favourite Con so far and your best Con Experience?
Without a doubt, my favourite con is always Dragon*Con each year. I usually have an amazing time at any convention, regardless, just hanging out with my friends.
What Costume did you like wearing / Making the most?
I recently completed my Diablo Wizard this past August and I had a blast making it. I like making any costume with a cool design, though.
Any cool costumes in the Pipeline?
Possibly! I’m thinking Borderlands 2 maybeee and a bunch of other things.
Is there any costume that you would love to do but just don’t think you could pull it off?
I would loooove to do Fran from Final Fantasy XII, but the armor is just too daunting a task for me!
General Questions
What does Geek Pride (not the awesome website and Facebook page but the way of life) mean to you?
My whole family is geeky and I’ve been raised as a “geek”, not really knowing anything else. However, I’ve been lucky in that I’ve never been bullied for the nerdy things I’ve liked, only regarded as kind of weird. I think “Geek Pride” is important because it means we all get to be passionate about nerdy things. However, I don’t think that means we shouldn’t be inclusive to people who are not as nerdy or geeky as we might be.
You have been given one super power, what would it be and what would you use it to do?
I’d want a Portal Gun on my arm! And I’d just portal back and forth from my house to conventions because I’m impatient and hate taking long flights, haha
Lord of the rings or Star Wars and why?
Wait, not Star Wars v. Star Trek? Hmmm, maybe Star Wars because the Hobbit is too long to read and Elijah Wood’s scenes in LOTR are so emo! But I prefer Howard Shore’s soundtrack over John Williams. They’re both great!
Anything else you want to say.
Thank you for reading all my musings! Check out my fanpage for more cosplay-related things. facebook.com/London2191Cosplay
