A good cosplay is always something to be appreciated, but Alyson Tabbitha takes it to the next level. Her range and accuracy of the characters is pure art. We caught up with Alyson and asked her about her personal cosplay journey.
How did you first get into cosplaying?
Ever since I was little my family would use any excuse to dress up! So naturally as I got older when I found out people make cool costumes all year, not just for Halloween, I was so excited to try it! My friend Sam invited me to join them at a convention one year back in 2014, I made a costume and joined them, had an amazing time & I’ve been hooked ever since!
What does cosplay mean to you?
Costume play. All it means to me is play dress up and have fun. Like seriously what a cool hobby! Get to be artistic and make cool costume, meet people who enjoy the same things you do, and have tons of fun, it doesn’t get much better than that!
What’s the most difficult part of cosplaying?
I would say keeping up with the all different character I want to make! There’s a lot of limit such as, time, money, skill level, that can make turning out new costumes regularly pretty tricky! I always am working on something, and make as many as I can, as fast as I can! Because I love it so much!
Who are some of the characters that inspired you to begin making your own costumes?
The first character I ever made was Jack Sparrow as a young teen for Halloween. I loved the pirate’s movies and Captain Jack so much, and his costume had a lot of different details and stuff. I didn’t love the quality of the costumes at stores, and the more authentic ones online were just so expensive that I thought the best option was homemade! I had so much fun studying all the different pieces & making them that I just continued doing that!
What are some of your favorite piece(s) to make? Maybe a quick tip?
I really love sculpting, but not many costumes call for that but I also really enjoy painting and I paint almost everything, as some people may notice in many of my tutorials. From my wigs, to the fabrics and other details, I think painting is a great tip I use often that can make things look way more authentic!
Do you incorporate cosplay in her everyday attire? If so, how?
Haha, no my everyday attire is my break from costuming! But also, I do get comments that I still look like characters based on my face or style, so maybe I do subconsciously!
What advice would you give aspiring cosplayers?
Well cosplay doesn’t take anything more than playing dress up. So, I can’t think of advice I could give to make that more enjoyable! If they are stumped on how to make something, I would go to YouTube, there are so many tutorials out there that can help them out! Also keep fun as the main reason you do this! There is no right or wrong way to cosplay, you don’t need to look like the characters, you don’t have to have pro skills, you don’t need to spend tons of money and have fancy tools and materials! Have fun, be creative, make friends!
What are some things you personally feel this community can improve on?
I personally don’t have any issues with the cosplay community, I have met so many amazing people, way more fun, kind, creative ones than not. I met all my closest friends through this community. I’m constantly inspired by people in this community! There are a few bad eggs in any hobby, or really with anything you do in life you’ll bump into bad people. But I don’t think that’s a reflection of the overall community, & this has been one of the best ones I’ve had the pleasure to be a part of. If anything, just like I would want applied to most things in life, I wish people weren’t so critical of others & just let people be, and enjoy things. Especially something as innocent as playing dress up.
Do you have any other passions outside of cosplay? Do you have any upcoming projects we should look for in the near future?
I have many other passions outside of cosplay! Such as painting, crafting, animals, charity work, any kind of physical activity like rock climbing, paddle boarding, biking, etc… I’m a very excitable person, and love doing anything and everything. I think it’s really nice to experience many different things, and have diversity and balance with what you do! But cosplaying is definitely the sweet spot for me! 🙂
To see more of Alyson’s amazing work head to her Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube channel!
