SPECIAL: Interview with MSZeldaRules - Cosplayer, Gamer and Graphic Designer
What better way to start a new year, a new hope and a new adventure but to introduce to my readers someone who brings all that and more to her platform!
SMZeldaRules
I got the chance to chat with her and boy oh boy, a pretty interested person she is!
without any further dilly-dally, let us get this party started!
1- Please introduce yourself with how you want to be known as?
Zelda, Momo, Mo, S.M.Z.R., S.M.Zelda -- all are fine! :)
2- How did you know that cosplay was the activity that you wanted to pursue?
I started using the internet around the year 2001 or so. I stumbled upon Japanese drawing boards called oekakies - people from all around the world spoke English on them so I was interested in drawing on them and talking with people. So my dad created my username “SMZeldaRules” - everyone called me “SMZR” for short.
The first oekaki board I discovered was Pokemon Super Maniacs. One of the girls on there who went by x3Rikku invited me to draw on the RowdyRuff.Net oekaki. There, she introduced me to her friend Shiya Wind (now known as BunnyBubbleTea). When they both got into cosplay, a bunch of us other oekaki nerds started dabbling into costume creation as well. I think the costumes of Rikku & Shiya’s that inspired me the most were their Final Fantasy X-2 costumes that they did together at the Otakons of the early 00s (Shiya would always cosplay Yuna, Rikku would cosplay Rikku!). My official start year for cosplay was Halloween 2006; I found a Songstress Yuna from FFX-2 costume online my and parents helped me buy it with my own money. My parents didn’t really want me cosplaying too much though, especially in college, so after Anime North and Fan Expo 2009, I only really cosplayed for Halloween from 2010-2013, then got back into it full force in 2014. Since I went to college for graphic design and my career is in graphic design, my drawing skills and motivation pretty much left me due to lack of practice. So cosplay is my traditional (non-digital, for the most part) creative outlet!
3- What are 2 other activities that you find solace and comfort in?
⦁ Streaming on Twitch! Because of being furloughed from the end of March-mid July 2020, I decided to stream more than I was doing previously (from 2015-2017 I rarely streamed, then 2018-2019 I streamed about once a week for the most part). It’s been so much fun creating a gaming/cosplay/photography/editing community and getting to know my followers/viewers(and friends!) better. Since platforms like Facebook are dying, Discord and Twitch have really stepped up in the communication department. It also helps me keep determined to get through my game backlog, and cosplay photo edit backlog!
⦁ I hope graphic making & photo editing counts even though it’s also my career! There’s never a day that goes by that I’m not in some Adobe product, not including my full time job. I always find myself in Photoshop making a new overlay/advertising graphics for a specific stream event I want to do, or editing cosplay photos since my boyfriend and I started doing photoshoots ourselves for the most part. It’s like second nature to me. I revamped my Content Creator discount graphic design commission information while I was furloughed as well, so that if it happens again, I will be prepared to take on more freelance work.
4- Do you see yourself cosplaying for a long time? Or do you have moments you see yourself drift away from it?
Since I stepped away from the cosplay community for the most part between 2010 - 2013, I don’t see myself stopping any time soon. There’s so much time I lost back then, and thus, an endless cosplay wishlist (primarily old stuff, since I’ll be turning 30 in 2021, so I live in nostalgia and struggle to enjoy many new medias). The issue right now is covid cancelling travel and con planning of course, but at least my boyfriend and I can do our own photoshoots and I can edit them in the meantime. I live in Western NY though, so we won’t have too many winter photoshoots sadly, due to it just being way too cold & snowy to do so outside.
5- Do you have settled plans for 2021, or are you going more with the flow?
Because of covid, I’m not too sure what 2021 will look like. Cons are at the bottom of the list in my mind right now.
Favourite segment:
1- Cartoon(s)? Avatar: The Last Airbender
2- Anime(s)? Clannad, Death Parade, The Promised Neverland, Parasyte -the maxim-, Made in Abyss
3- Movie(s)? Tommy Boy, Spirited Away, What Dreams May Come, Butterfly Effect, Meet the Robinsons
4- Video game(s)? Chrono Trigger, NieR Gestalt, .hack//IMOQ, Final Fantasy X, Xenogears, Zero Escape
5- Story(ies)? In terms of novels, I really loved the Everworld series by K.A Applegate, and the Pendragon series by DJ MacHale the most!
First anything to come to mind:
1- Best plot? Chrono Trigger!
2- Armour design? BlackRose from .hack//IMOQ. Sort of simple yet still challenging, since I made it originally in 2015, but improved my skills and rebuilt it for better comfort & appeal in 2020!
3- Weapon to defeat a horde of demons? BlackRose’s heavy blade sword from .hack//IMOQ🤣
4- Food and drinks? I love Japanese curry and any matcha flavored drink!
5- International holiday most exciting to celebrate by cosplay? I love Halloween the best, since I love spooky stuff! Scary cosplays and photoshoots are so much fun to do
Accomplishments, achievements and preparations:
1- How did you contain your excitement after you realised that there were articles featuring your talents?
I try to post about it on all social medias as professionally as possible, but it’s true I probably am screaming internally (especially when Square Enix featured me for Halloween 2020)! Primarily I get featured after I already was asked permission. I can’t really remember a time when I wasn’t expecting a feature besides when ZeldaInformer shared my Lana from Hyrule Warriors cosplay on their facebook page in 2014 and it got insanely viral (this was my comeback to cosplay costume too, so it was a shock to me). They made an article about me afterwards, but it was after they asked permission & gave me a questionnaire.
(Reader's Note: can we just appreciated how hyped SE was in this still!)
2- How do you approach making a costume (making the outfit, weaponry, styling the wig...etc)?
I pretty much go through the “Cosplay 101: Make, Modify or Buy?” steps on xoMia.com for the most part - I use this graphic on that site for my “Modding Items for Cosplay” panels at conventions.
· Is there a wig you had the most fun styling?
Styling wigs stresses me out no matter what! But I think the wig I had the most fun figuring out was Fuyuhiko from Danganronpa 2. Those fake side shaves are hilarious. I’ve gotten so many compliments at cons, primarily from strangers too (probably because not too many people actually do the shaved sides for Fuyuhiko in general), so I’m pretty proud of it!
· What are a few issues you’ve faced and how did you overcome them?
Because I stepped away from the community from 2010-2013 I missed out on a LOT - not just in terms of convention moments/growth, but also skills and abilities. I was shocked with how readily available tutorials became in 2014 when I got back to making stuff though, primarily on youtube. It was easy to get back into the swing of things thanks to those, and learning from local cosplayers who were still in my area! Generally I can figure something out eventually, even if it takes time! If I can’t, it’s easy to just commission a friend or someone recommended to me for something specific :) I’m actually a horrible sewer, so if I need a really complicated garment, I almost always get that elsewhere and modify it if necessary. Crafting and painting are more my specialties.
When I hear “issues” in terms of cosplay though, it’s sad to say my mind immediately thinks of racism. Sadly, when big companies/pages share me, it’s second nature to brace myself for the oncoming hate against my skintone. I will continue to fight for awareness on this issue, because obviously there are countless cosplayers who have it way worse than me, and I strongly encourage big pages to appoint MODERATORS who can restrict/delete those horribly oppressive comments before they’re seen by the public. Cosplayers already get enough hate like that on their own posts; seeing it out in the open about them on a big account’s post is a million times worse.
· What’s one tip you would give others that would want to start this hobby?
Have fun!! If you aren’t having fun, it isn’t worth it. Take breaks when you need it and don’t stress! It’s just dressing up as characters :D
· How do you keep and organize your outfits/cosplay?
I’m lucky that my parents currently have 2 huge closets near my old bedroom - I can keep anything I don’t currently need that I want hanging up in there. There’s a few shelves in each as well for props, shoes, other costume parts etc. And I have a bunch of bins in their basement for costumes that I know I won’t use for a while.
For costumes & items I want to keep on hand in my apartment, I have a big portable metal closet thing with a bar to hang things up, with shelves on each side. I have a big dresser for shoes I currently need too.
· How long do you keep a cosplay? Can you get into details of how you come to realisation of when you feel like it’s time to let go?
It really depends - there’s characters I care so deeply for that I will probably never get rid of the costume unless I decide to remake it. Otherwise, it’s dependent on photoshoot satisfaction. I tend to keep costumes I still want to take specific photos of, or take photos with certain people, longer than costumes I’m not so attached to. If I’m satisfied enough with the photos I’ve taken, and don’t have a big personal attachment to the character, that is when I put it up for sale or donate it.
3- Cosplans for future looks that you wish to do?
Currently (November 2020) I have pretty much all the materials I need to make Berserker Rikku (Final Fantasy X-2) and Kai (Heavenly Sword). I also just bought Anya’s beggar outfit from the animated film Anastasia (1997). Other than that, I’m not sure due to covid what I’ll have the motivation for in 2021.
4- What hopes and goals would you like to achieve?
I really really would love a .hack//IMOQ group and a Drakengard 1 group ;_;
5- Please shoutout a few pages you recommend!
Again, highly suggest anyone check out my wonderful friend who got me into cosplay BunnyBubbleTea (formerly Shiya Wind). She has moved to Australia and is still cosplaying! I adore seeing what new things she and her boyfriend RoxasWindCosplay create. She also streams very often and has built a very charming, wholesome community.
When I got back into cosplay in 2014, the cosplayers that have inspired me the most (that I’m not personal friends with) since then are: Gladzy Kei and AmberSkies! Gladzy does incredible armor work & re-designs, and AmberSkies always blows me away with her Disney cosplays, especially the more obscure and unique ones. They’re both amazingly talented painters too - If there’s one thing I’m glad I still enjoy doing from my traditional art days, it’s painting - so their stuff motivates me to no end!
This was a fun and educative piece, I hope you had fun too! To follow and show your support to SMZelda, please click on the links below to get re-directed to her socials!
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