I’m from Roanoke, Va

I’ve been cosplaying for about 2.5 years.

The characters I’ve cosplayed so far: Gunner Yuna from Final Fantisy X2, Rainbow Bright, Catwoman, Baroness (from a local comic shop character, not G.I.Joe), Black Canary, Zatanna, Shawn of the Dead, Domino, Cammy from Street Fighter, Repo the Genetic Opera’s Blind Mag, Seven of Nine from Star Trek Voyager, Iron Fist, Sock-hop Snow White, and Senator Padme from the Arena in Episode 2 Star Wars.

Website: www.hazeldayze.com

1. Who or what inspired you to cosplay? The inspiration started in 2006 at Anime Mid-Atlantic, Richmond VA, where I dressed up just to join the fun of going to my first big con. I was greatly impressed with such beautiful costumes and the artwork that was put into them. However my life was too hectic to follow. Then in 2012 I was asked to be the superhero for the local comic store B & D Comics. My heart melted with the fans and how the children especially reacted with the excitement of meeting a superhero. I realized just how much I could encourage people through cosplay. So I ran with it!
2. What do you do when you aren’t cosplaying? (hobbies, community service, or work)   I left my day job earlier this year to follow my dream. When I’m not cosplaying, I’m working on dorky creations for my upcoming online store, taking care of family and traveling with the Sci-Fi Photo Guys as a graphic artist. I love reaching out to the local community when I can from volunteering at a local school to helping local businesses with ideas
3. What costumes have provided the biggest challenge and rewards so far and why?   One of the biggest challenges in my costuming was doing the facial pieces and glove for my Seven of Nine costume. I had to sculpt my designs with clay and make molds with latex. There were many attempts made where I learned what not to do… It was my first time working with clay, molds and not to mention my first time making a body suit without a pattern. The glove was quite a challenge where I ended up having to paint layers of latex on top of a glove and manipulate the vascular details. Proved quite a task and while it’s not perfect, I learned I could do so much when investing my heart into something. This costume ended up impressing many judges and became a fan favorite so I’m quite proud.
4. What is the best advice you would give someone new to cosplaying?     If someone is new to cosplaying, I would completely advise them to not limit their imagination and not to be afraid to do something different. Cosplaying can be anything from purchased costumes to completely hand-made… but it’s the heart and the fun behind it that makes it what it is.
5. What is one thing the cosplaying community can do better when it comes to dealing with each other?      The cosplay community is already improving… I would like to see the keeping up of awareness with harassment and bullying. I feel it is a strong topic where all cosplayers can stick together and protect each other with. At the last convention there was a group called Trekkers Against Bullying and they handed out red-black-yellow infinity bracelets for awareness. I thought this was a great idea and I hope it catches on! You’ll probably see me wearing mine at a con near you!