Name: Jessica Schultz aka Frekki Cosplay
City: Irvine
Blog: http://frekki.wordpress.com/)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FrekkiCosplay
Photographer: Casey Kwock, Thach Nguyen, Ed Stuart
What was your first Cosplay Experience? Unless childhood Halloween experiences count, my first “official” cosplay was Anime Expo back in 2010. I dressed as Zelda and made my partner a matching Link costume from the Nintendo 64 game- Ocarina of Time. I got to be a princess for a weekend, who doesn’t want that? How long have you been Cosplaying? I’ve been dressing up since I was a little kid. I would wear my costumes weeks before Halloween in eager anticipation. I distinctly remember the unusual glances I got walking into the grocery store as an eight year old pterodactyl holding hands with my mortified mom. Again though, 2010 was my first real experience at a convention in full costume.
What is your favorite cosplay you have worn/created? It’s hard to choose a favorite, but I’d have to say my Luna Zhiri costume. She’s one of my dungeons and dragons characters, but her outfit was based on the devoted cleric armor seen within the Neverwinter character creation screen. Unfortunately I only got to wear it a few times before California weather and hours in the car melted the armor out of shape. Thresh is a close second. I’ve gotten a few free League of Legends skin cards and got to talk to the guy who did the splash art. That was awesome.
If you had unlimited resources, what Cosplay would you create? Hard to say, there are so many cool characters out there. I’d probably want to make some Brotherhood of Steel armor from the Fallout series. Or a Deathclaw. Deathclaws are cool.
What advice would you offer others trying to break into Cosplay? Never give up! Never surrender! But seriously, people on the internet can be both really supportive and really mean. I was once told that my Thresh mask looked like it had seaweed on it. It’s easy to take comments like that to heart, especially when you are just starting out, but in the end you really just have to laugh about it. Don’t take internet bullies too seriously. All cosplayers start somewhere. Also, if you have an idea, make it a reality! Don’t let anyone (including yourself) tell you that you can’t do it.