The cosplay community is chock-full of extremely talented cosplayers from all levels of experience and skill. It’s more than just being good at sewing. To really excel at the hobby, you need to know how to think outside of the box and take your creativity to the next level. Most cosplay costumes are not simple and require a lot of creativity to complete in order to look as authentic as possible. This month’s Cosplayer Spotlight celebrates one such cosplayer who faces every challenge with determination and amazing ingenuity!
Britt as Pit (Super Smash Bros. Brawl Version)
Britt Janiszewski is a 19 year-old college student from Orlando, Florida. In a short period of time, she’s become well-recognized at local conventions and the 2009 season was seriously successful for her. Britt’s work is worth keeping an eye on, as her growing portfolio is seriously impressive.
1. When did you first become interested in cosplay and how long have you been cosplaying?
I first heard of cosplay about 2 years ago. In general, I was always into costuming around Halloween; I just didn’t know the term “cosplay” and what it entailed. My first con was Megacon ‘08, but I didn’t cosplay. After going in civilian clothes, I knew I had to cosplay next time. I cosplayed for the first time during Jacon ‘08, so it’s been a little over a year now.
2. Do you have any particular preferences for the types of characters you choose?
My main preference is that I actually have to like the character. I find it really hard to work on (not to mention spend money on) something I don’t like. I try to pick characters I can identify with or find interesting. So far I’ve only cosplayed guys because I usually don’t like the female characters. And oddly enough, I tend to somehow always pick pre-pubescent boys!
3. What criteria, if any, do you have for your costume choices?
I don’t feel like I have any criteria, more like preferences toward certain costumes. I tend to gravitate toward characters with elaborate details - don’t know why. I always like to challenge myself as well, whether that’s working with a new material or picking a difficult sewing challenge. However, neither of these are absolute musts; if I really want to do the costume, I’ll do it!
4. What do you find the most challenging about cosplay?
The sewing aspect is the most challenging for me. I find it’s not as easy to “wing it” as with props. Not to mention trying to interpret those patterns! I know there is a “proper” way to sew things, and since I’m not professionally trained, I don’t know a lot of those “proper” ways. I’ve taught myself a lot, and have gotten some great help from some wonderful people – but there’s still much, much more to learn!
Britt's interpretation of Lion Sora from Kingdom Hearts 2.
5. How long does it typically take you to complete a costume?
Usually it takes a few hundred hours. I’m still a beginner - I’ve had no formal training in any kind of sewing or prop making. Because of that, I make many mock-ups and test pieces. If you don’t count mock-ups towards the total count, it’s probably around 100 – 150 hours. It takes me months to make a new costume though, because of school, work, and other things.
6. What are your favorite materials to work with in making your costumes?
I really enjoy working with Wonderflex. It’s a really amazing material and I think it’s a handy item that every cosplayer should have. Wonderflex is very versatile and is a lightweight solution to many problems. The best part is it’s completely fool proof! You can make a million mistakes and successfully fix them every single time. I also like Paperclay; it’s super easy to work with and can produce great results. Upholstery foam is also wonderful, but expensive!
7. Who do you cosplay as currently?
My currently active cosplays are Pit from Kid Icarus (Super Smash Bros. Brawl version), Lion Sora from Kingdom Hearts II (In the style of The Lion King on Broadway), and Anti Sora from Kingdom Hearts II
8. To date, which costume of yours is your favorite?
My favorite is Pit. It’s still way too much fun to wear those big wings around! Plus, it’s great to see how much I’ve improved from my first version to my latest version of him.
9. Which costume do you feel is the most successful?
Anti Sora. It’s my cleanest and best work so far. I feel it shows a nice combination of my prop work and sewing skills. Even though I’ve only worn it for a few hours and could barely see, I think it got a pretty good reception!
Anti Sora from Kingdom Hearts II.
10. Which costume was the most challenging to make? To wear?
Anti Sora was the most difficult to make and wear. I had to vastly change patterns to make them look like Sora’s puffy pants and oversized jacket. It took many mock-ups and trials and errors. Not to mention the shoes – those were the biggest pain of all! Anti’s a challenge to wear because I live in Florida. I’ve only worn Anti once since I made him, during the summertime; I just about died! I was pouring sweat underneath that mask. Everything is black, and the layers of thick clothing with interfacing don’t help! Cosplays like these make me wish I lived up north!
11. The easiest?
Lion Sora was the easiest to make and wear. The clothes themselves were pretty simple. The headdress was a challenge, but Wonderflex’s forgiving quality really helped with that. The headdress is also pretty light, only weighing a few pounds. It’s a lot easier to wear than giant wings or black clothes!
12. Which aspect of cosplay do you enjoy the most?
I love that I can combine my hobbies and talents into cosplay – art, sewing, video games, and anime. I also really love finishing cosplays and putting them on for the first time, seeing it all completed – there’s nothing like it!
Lion Sora design inspired by The Lion King on Broadway.
13. Do you feel there are any areas you can improve?
In general, I’d like to improve on the cleanliness of my work. I tend to hold myself to high standards, but after hours and hours and hours of working on something, sometimes I rush through the details. Specifically, I need to work on sewing straighter lines!
14. Do you attend conventions?
Yes! I attend most major conventions in the Orlando area. Starting with EXPCon ’09, I hope to travel to many more cons in Florida!
15. Have you entered into any cosplay contests, and if so, have you placed an award?
Yes! I entered the costume contest during Megacon ’09 with Lion Sora and won a Judge’s Award. I entered Jacon ‘09’s costume contest with Pit, but didn’t win anything. I also entered AFO X’s contest with Anti Sora, and won 1st Place Novice.
16. Do you cosplay outside of conventions?
Excluding Halloween, no. However, I d really like to start doing photoshoots outside of cons.
17. How often do you debut a new costume?
I generally make a new one about every 6 months. Like I said before, juggling work and school really cuts down on cosplay time!
18. What are your future cosplay plans?
My next cosplay is going to be Ciel Phantomhive from Kuroshitsuji. Specifically, the outfit he wears from episodes 22 – 24. I plan to debut him with a Kuroshitsuji group early next year. After that will be Fierce Deity Link from Majora’s Mask. That will definitely test my prop making skills, without a doubt! I’m giving myself plenty of time for him; hopefully he’ll debut late 2010. And, eventually, I’d like to bring a girl into the mix. I’ve been toying with the idea of doing Toph from Avatar: The Last Airbender for the movie premiere, but I haven’t completely settled on that.
You can find Britt on Cosplay.com as makeshiftwings and on DeviantART as RavenHedgehog.
October 11th, 2009 at 2:22 am
These are amazing! I especially love the anti Sora. Wonderful job and great interview!
October 16th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Brit, Amazing costume of Anti Sora! Do you have a pattern or would you consider selling it? My son is frantic waiting for a costume he ordered from China that isn’t coming in time for his event.
Any help would be appreciated.
October 17th, 2009 at 6:45 am
I can imagine that anti-Sora would indeed be VERY difficult to wear living in Florida, but she looks awesome in it. I’m really excited to see her future costumes, as I’m a pretty big fan of both Kuroshitsuji and Avatar.