Please introduce yourself – what’s your cosplay name, where are you from, how long have you been cosplaying?

I’m Skymone Cosplay from Denmark and I’ve been cosplaying since 2013 – almost a decade!

How did you start cosplaying? What was your first costume?

I was always into costumes and being creative, but I only really got into it in 2013. I had finished my education and felt like I needed a hobby where I could meet new people, be creative and not sit in front of my computer all day. I was a big World of Warcraft player at the time, and so my first cosplay was my Night Elf Druid character from World of Warcraft.

How do you choose who you are going to Cosplay?

I usually choose a character that I feel I know something about – that’s why most of my cosplays are from WoW. But sometimes I also choose characters I know that I feel I look somewhat like – I choose Rapunzel because I felt like it was an obvious choice with my 160 cm long natural hair.

How many Cosplay competitions/conventions have you been to? What was your favorite and why?

I have attended around 45 conventions in Denmark, Germany, Sweden and Lithuania. I’ve been to maybe 15–20 contests. My favourite was 2018 Gamescom, where I was in the Blizzard Cosplay Contest and qualified in the top 10.

Do you have your favorite costume? If yes – what is it and why?

Any of my druid cosplays are my favourites – I have a special connection with that character and I put the most effort into these.

Do you have your favorite prop? If yes – what is it and why?

My shoulder armor on my Dreamwalker Druid cosplay are among my favourites – I spent a lot of time learning about electronics to make the smoke and to have the lights do a breathing effect – although they are regular RGB lightstrips and not Neopixels.

What part of this hobby/lifestyle do you like the most? Why?

I feel like there’s so many aspects to cosplay – social, creative and practical skills. From cosplay, I have gained many friends, learned so many things about sewing, painting and it has also helped me to gain a lot of confidence, both in general as a person, but also with public speaking and performance. There’s a lot of things I have gained from cosplay that carries over to other parts of my life, and I love that I feel that it makes me a better person.

Do you have any funny stories or accidents related to cosplay?

I went to a convention that would add unremoveable stickers to props to show they were “Approved” to be safe for the convention. These stickers were so bad, you’d have to sand and repaint your prop to remove them. A friend of mine had this tiny, pink foam gun that was definitely approved, but she didn’t want it ruined by the sticker. Luckily, I happened to be wearing a fluffy skirt with garter belts underneath, so we hid the gun in my garder belt. I felt pretty bad-ass smuggling in a gun like that – even if it was very pink and squishy.

What is your dream photoshoot as a cosplayer?

That’s a tough one. I’d have to say April 25. Because it’s not too hot, not too cold.

Why Cosplay is important for you?

See pt. 8 – it makes me a better person.

What would you consider to be the biggest achievement in you Cosplay career?

Honestly, every time I finish a cosplay, I feel like that is my biggest achievement. Perhaps my Dreamwalker Druid cosplay is my biggest achievement – I used bad fabric and had to start over from scratch, and I persevered. I also learned about arduino, programming, making smoke machines and many other things. I care more about the skills I gain from making cosplays than about the competitions.

What would you advise or whish for people who want to start cosplaying, but for unknown reasons are afraid or just don’t know where to start?

You will always find an excuse not to do it. There will be lack of money, skills, talents etc – my advice is to push yourself to do it anyways. I was unemployed, had no tools and lived in a tiny 1–room apartment when I started. If you have the passion, the rest of it will work out somehow. Even if you need to thrift all your materials and tools and even if you need to make 3 attempts before you figure out how to make something.