Cos Culture Magazine - Second Edition

SECOND EDITION 1

MAGAZINE

FEATURING EXLUSIVE INTERVIEWS FROM:

SUKI COSPLAYNIQ COSPLAY

GLADZY KEIHENCHMEN PROPS

ANDY RAE COSPLAYNATHAN DELUCAOSHLEY COSPLAY

VIVID VISION

LEXA ONE PhotographieDISCUSSES COSPLAY PHOTOGRAPHY AND SHARES HER INCREDIBLE PORTFOLIO WITH US.

Breaking Through

Gender Stereotypes

in Cosplay

SECOND EDITION

COS

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02

VOL 02

CULTURE

HIDDEN GEMS

OF CANADA

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INCLUDED IN THIS EDITION:

HIDDEN GEMS OF CANADA:(From West to East)

Oshley Cosplay - Vancouver, BCAndy Rae Cosplay - Kelowna, BCGladzy Kei - Calgary, AlbertaHenchmen Props - Calgary, AlbertaVivid Vision - Edmonton, AlbertaNiq Cosplay - Ottawa, OntarioLexa One Photographie - Montréal, Québec Suki Cosplay - Montréal, QuébecNathan DeLuca - Halifax, Nova Scotia

Image: Andy Rae Cosplay [Interview page 16]Photography by ZRB Photography

Cos Culture Magazine is owned and operated by NH Creative Inc.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/ CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Nikko MariePROOFREADER: Natalie HowellPUBLISHER: NH Creative Inc.CONTACT: [email protected]/cosculturemagazine

DISCLAIMER: Copyrights of all included text, photos and other material used in this edition of Cos Culture Magazine are the property of their respective owners, and have been graciously provided to us for use in this magazine by the legal owner of each work. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at [email protected].

FRONT COVER IMAGE: Suki Cosplay as KakashiPhotography by:Martie B. [email protected]/martiebphotography

Martie is a Montreal based photographer who has been doing photography since 2014.

BACk COVER IMAGE:Rubyfia CosplayPhotography by Lexa One Photographie

ISSN 2368-2574

PUBLISHER:NH Creative Inc.Ottawa, ONCanadaMarch, 2015

[email protected]

Cos Culture Magazine - seCond edition

SECOND EDITION 3SECOND EDITION 3

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Photography by Lexa One Photographie (Interview page 78)Model: Captain Izzy Cosplay, Clothing Designer: Aeternis Makeup: Toxic Makeups, Hair: kym krane

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8 HIDDEN GEMS OF CANADA

A selective feature on Canadian Cosplayers, Artists and Crafters.

10 OSHLEY COSPLAY

16 ANDY RAE COSPLAY

24 HENCHMEN PROPS

36 GLADZY kEI

48 VIVID VISION

54 NIq COSPLAY

62 SUkI COSPLAY

72 NATHAN DELUCA

32 RESIN-CAST REAPER MASk

by Henchmen PropsCosplayer and prop-maker Henchmen Props and Cosplay shares his technique for building his resin-cast Reaper mask.

42 Worbla ARMOUR & PROPS

by Gladzy keiCosplayer and artist Gladzy Kei shows us how she created her Battle Arabian Princess cosplay and props.

78 COSPLAY PHOTOGRAPHY

Lexa One PhotographieMaster cosplay photographer Lexa One Photographie shares a sample of her cosplay photography portfolio and discusses her technique with us in an exclusive interview.

PHotograPHYtutorialsCosPlaYers

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other cosplayers have also created stunning work through crossplay and genderbending, and it is now becoming a common theme among cosplayers. I am honoured to have had the opportunity to get to know these cosplayers, and to be able to share their views and experiences in overcoming gender stereotypes in cosplay.

We also feature a number of other outstanding cosplayers who have greatly contributed to the Canadian cosplay scene. Nathan DeLuca’s armour builds are second-to-none, Oshley Cosplay and Andy Rae Cosplay have a talent for bringing exceptionally detailed in-game video game characters to life, Vicky Lau of Vivid Vision captures the essence of a character through her cosplays and photography, and Gladzy Kei has the remarkable ability to design amazing and unique characters through her art and bring them alive through her cosplay.

Our photographic feature in this issue focusses on the amazing Lexa One Photographie, who has photographed some of the world’s top cosplayers. Her vision in bringing each character to life is what truly sets her apart from the rest, as you will clearly see through the sample of her portfolio we’ve chosen to share with you.

I can’t express enough how honoured I am to be a part of this magazine, and I’m looking forward to what lays ahead in the coming years. We have now joined forces with Richard Dufault of Open Shutter Photography, and will be be offering more exciting services as we tour conventions together. We have many conventions planned, and hope to expand our reach out towards the rest of the world.

As always, you can find me through our Facebook page. If you have any questions or ideas for an upcoming issue, I would love to hear from you!

Much love,

Nikko Marie

Having met so many amazing people in the cosplay community over the past few years, I couldn’t help but notice how much talent we have up here in Canada. The world cosplay scene is undoubtedly growing at an exciting rate, but the incredible work that is being produced in this country is often overlooked on the global cosplay stage.

I wanted to take this opportunity as editor of this magazine to better get to know some of the talent that is dispersed throughout Canada, and felt what better way to help our humble country break through into the cosplay world than by sharing our work on a global level. I’m constantly blown away by the astounding works that I’ve seen come out of this country, and I can’t wait to share it all with you throughout these pages.

Had there been an infinite amount of pages, I would

have loved to include all of the amazing talent in this country with you in this edition. Regrettably, I was limited to only a select few. My aim was to select a broad range of talent to feature, covering a variety of aspects of the cosplay community from diverse locations across Canada. I’m excited to share with you a range of cosplayers, photographers, prop makers and artists from British Columbia all the way to Nova Scotia.

One important theme that we addressed in this issue is gender stereotypes in cosplay. Gender equality has been an ongoing battle in many countries, and I’m proud to say that Canada has been at the forefront of LGBTQTS rights and universal equality amongst the sexes. In this issue we feature a number of outstanding cosplayers who have blasted through the barriers of gender stereotypes and have not let anyone or anything get in the way of their artistic expression. Crossplay and genderbend cosplays are two terms often heard in the cosplay community. A crossplay is when someone cosplays a character of a different gender, as Suki Cosplay demonstrates with her exceptional portrayal of Kakashi from the anime/manga Naruto. Genderbending is when a character of a certain gender is redesigned in the opposite gender, as seen in many of Henchmen and Niq Cosplay’s stunning designs. Examples of each have been included as part of their features. Many

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Image: Scarlet CosplayPhotography by Lexa One Photographie