First name and last initial: Erica B

Where are you from originally or reside currently?  Originally from: Massachusetts.  Residing Currently in Hampton Roads, Virginia.

How long you have been cosplaying? 10 years with about one new cosplay per year.

Other Characters cosplayed: (Starting from first to most recent) Sanzo from Saiyuki, Riza Hawkeye from Fullmetal Alchemist, Sailor Venus, Deidara from Naruto, Rainbowdash from MLP, GLaDOS from Portal2, Jolteon from Pokemon, Mara from Ah! My Goddess, Monet from One Piece, Frost Dragon(Personified) from Skyrim, A Jedi Knight from Star Wars, Tiamat from Dungeons and Dragons.

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1. Who or what inspired you to cosplay?
When I was in early high school, I fell in love with manga and then later anime. My first manga ever was Pet Shop Of Horrors, which was introduced to me by a friend during class. Upon realizing my friends and I all liked manga, we ventured into anime together and we were all hooked.
It wasn’t until near the end of high school that one of my anime-loving friends who I call Birdy (Indigo Castle Cosplay) told me about Anime Boston. My mind was blown! Here was a convention that was completely dedicated to the things we loved, and on top of that you could even dress up if you wanted to. Why didn’t I know about this sooner?!
I’ve been an artist for as long as I can remember. Any spare time I had growing up was spent on drawing and sculpting and trying out new creative things. But up until that point I had never attempted to sew! Since it was such a cool concept to be able to embody the characters that I loved, I immediately jumped at the creative challenge of learning how to bring their unique outfits to life. Luckily for me, Birdy’s mom knew how to sew quite well, and so I was fortunate enough to learn through both her and Birdy. Anime watching parties soon grew into anime and sewing parties and here I am today still cosplaying and loving it!
But perhaps the most important part to why I still cosplay today is because of the experiences I had at my first conventions. Beyond the fun part of dressing up, it was the people there who so willingly welcomed me and my friends that solidified my love for cosplay. They were a big part of my inspiration to do better.

2. What do you do when you aren’t cosplaying (hobbies, community service, or work)?
I am currently employed as a 3D graphic artist having graduated from college with a degree in illustration and a minor in animation. On occasion I help out at a local jewelry and art store. While cosplay is my biggest hobby, other hobbies include cooking, art in general, playing Dungeons and Dragons with my friends, and taking care of my beloved pet bearded dragon, Phillip.  I recently took a course in glassblowing and found that to be really fun!

3. What costumes have provided the biggest challenge and rewards so far and why?
Hands down, Tiamat was the most challenging and yet rewarding cosplay I have attempted so far. As someone who has been playing Dungeons and Dragons for years, I found one of the game’s most iconic characters was sorely underrepresented in the cosplay world. Only one other person had cosplayed her before (Theena Cosplay, check her out!).
The first thing you have to know about me is that I’m obsessed with dragons. They’re just the best. I’ve been obsessed all my life! Tiamat was the ultimate dragon character: an evil goddess whose true form was a five headed, multicolored dragon with many abilities, easily striking fear into the hearts of her enemies. It was a daunting idea, but I wanted to embody her. So my concept became a combination of her human form (described simply as a dark haired sorceress) and true form. I remember telling my friends that my next cosplay was “going to involve five dragon heads coming out of my back!” It took me a long time to plan out just how I was going to do it, but in the end I was very successful! Thanks to the help of my friend Matt who explained how LEDs worked (A new element to cosplay I wanted to include in order to make the dragons eyes and mouths light up), some pool noodles, and inspiration from other encouraging artists (Gourmet Paper Mache), I was able to create a light weight and awesome sculpture to wear as part of cosplay.
The rewards were more than I had ever hoped! She was very well received, with many people recognizing and appreciating the cosplay, and I won TWO awards with her at Ring Of Fire Con in Hampton this year. One was judges’ choice and the other was best of show. I couldn’t believe it!

4. What is the best advice you would give someone new to cosplaying?
My Advice to new cosplayers is this: It may be daunting to look at some of these cosplayers that create amazing sets of armor and weapons, etc, but just know that they too started out where you are now. I actually don’t have any pictures of my first cosplay because, well, it wasn’t great. The one thing I loved about the cosplay community is, in general, how supportive we are of each other. Like those who had inspired and encouraged me, I want to help encourage you. You WILL continue to get better and you WILL have an awesome time doing it. Sure cosplay can be stressful, down to the wire, and at times uncomfortable, but you will be so happy when you accomplish it that it will be worth it. Next thing you’ll know, you’ll look back and see the progress you’ve made.  That being said, don’t be afraid to reach out to other more experienced cosplayers for help and advice. If anyone ever has an questions for me, and I can answer them, I will! My cosplay page shows progress on my cosplays for this reason! Don’t give up, continue being awesome, and do what you love. Cosplay is for everyone!

5. What is one thing the cosplaying community can do better when it comes to dealing with each other?
When I first went to Anime Boston, it was small. Now if I were to go it would be so crowded that I would worry about any cosplay with wings! I love the cosplay scene but as it’s become bigger and more popular, I have noticed some issues that have grown with it. The cosplay community was founded on being accepting of one another. Remember when being a “nerd” wasn’t considered cool? Well we all met each other and had a wonderfully nerdy time and escaped all that judgement.
Now suddenly, being nerdy is cool, and therefore all the issues that come with something being cool has leaked into con life. I don’t appreciate it because I joined the con life to avoid all that stuff. So my number one suggestion for making con life better is STOP JUDGING OTHER COSPLAYERS! This may be a broad topic but for the most part encompasses all the criticizing people do to one another when they cosplay. Stop body shaming, stop telling people that they can’t cosplay a character because of the color of their skin. Stop ripping another cosplayer apart because they wore something on the wrong side of their body. Stop being jealous of others who cosplay the same thing as you, or who happened to win a cosplay competition. The list can go on.  For all you know they worked so hard on that cosplay, day and night, blood sweat and tears, and your insensitive comments made them feel like all their efforts were for nothing.
Don’t discourage! Respect and encourage each other. It’s as simple as that! Keep con values alive and together we’ll all have the best time! I hope to see you there!