Feature Friday: White Knight Cosplay

I decided a few weeks ago that I wanted to create an outlet on my blog to help other cosplayers. I know I do tutorials every now and then, but I wanted a way to give people that have helped me and are just as inspiring a way to share their voice. Maybe even get a little recognition. So… welcome to Feature Friday! I’m going to be doing a cosplay feature on different cosplayers every other Friday starting today! Hopefully, this will eventually branch into featuring cosplay photographers as well as others in the cosplay community. I would also like it to get enough traction to end up doing it every week, but we’ll see. You get the idea.

First up is White Knight Cosplay. I first met her at SC Comicon 2015, and she has been a great person to talk to about ideas, tips, and life in general. I love her work, so read my interview with her below! Don’t forget to go give her some love on social media after as well!!

What is your cosplay name? White Knight Cosplay

How did you come about your cosplay name? Knights was my maiden name, and White Knight sounded heroic!

What is your real world name? Sybil Todd

How old are you? Hmm…not a big fan of this question, mostly because it requires too much math!  But I’m 44. I think. (Let’s not forget to mention, MOTHER OF 4!)

What do you do when you aren’t cosplaying? I am a drama instructor, actor, director and homeschooling mom.

How long have you been cosplaying? I have been cosplaying professionally for one year, and have been cosplaying for fun for about 2 years.  Costuming has been a big part of my life through theatre, so the transition to cosplay wasn’t hard.

What made you want to start cosplaying? My husband is a huge comic book collector, and we went to our first con several years ago. I was blown away by some of the costumes that I saw and thought it looked like a lot of fun. My kids thought so too! The next convention we dressed up as a Doctor Who family, and got hooked.  I decided that if we ever won a costume contest at a convention, we would do it professionally.  We won the group division at the next con we attended and haven’t looked back.

Why do you cosplay? That is a really complicated answer.  I love the theatrical nature of cosplay.  It’s fun to dress up and be a hero for a day. I love the volunteer work that has opened up since I started – it’s given a lot of meaning to the cosplay that I do. The challenge and excitement of a new cosplay is always thrilling.  The artistic side of creating a costume is a big pull for me as well.  I teach several classes on cosplay, and I love getting to help others discover the world of cosplay and work through some of the challenges of creating a new costume. I love that it’s a fun thing we can do together as a family. I think it’s also a great distraction from the heavy realities of life sometimes.  It’s also been great for building my confidence. I’ve never been one that felt particularly pretty or powerful and when I channel some of my favorite heroes I get to feel empowered.  You know, kind of a “I am woman, hear me roar” moment!

What is your dream cosplay? I would love to do a really complex armored video game character, like some of the ones from Skyrim or something. Plus I’d love to make an awesome Hawkgirl with full on massive, retractable wings!  Oh yeah!

How do you choose who you will cosplay? There are several factors that go into picking a costume.  Usually, I look for a character that inspires me in some way.  I love finding females that are strong or fierce but maintain their femininity.  Often these characters have something in them that I strive to have or really feel I lack.  Other times I look for a character that is just fun.  I recently did a Professor Trelawney (from Harry Potter) just for a fun change from a superhero. Another thing that I consider when picking a character is the complexity of the costume.  I like to find some element of it that will be a new challenge. The last factor I consider is if it is a character that I feel I can bring to life when I cosplay.  I always like to incorporate the acting side of my life into my cosplays.

What is your favorite cosplay you have done so far? Why?  Okay, that is a really tough question. Usually whatever costume I have just made is my new favorite!  However, I really like my Thor costume.  I have worn her a lot through the Heroes in Force team that I work with.  The hammer gives me a great ice breaker with the kids and a chance to talk to them about what it means to be worthy and what it means to be a hero.  I get a real kick out of seeing their faces light up when they pick up the hammer and discover that they are truly worthy! Thor was also the first time I worked with foam and I love how it came out.

What is your least favorite cosplay you have done so far? Why? Bombshell Hawkgirl. It was fun to make. It had some new challenges in the design of the backpack and the helmet, but it was really unflattering for my body type and my face shape, so I don’t think I will wear it again.  But I learned a lot from making it.

Who is your favorite cosplayer? There are so many that I love.  I think that Yaya Han is an incredible costume designer and has impeccable work.  I love It’s Raining Neon. She is a fun, quirky cosplayer that does some awesome work.  She also is great at really bringing the character to life in her photography.  I also love Golden Lasso.  She’s really inspiring and encourages cosplayers to stay fit.  Her costumes are just beautiful.

What’s the hardest thing about cosplay for you? Initially I struggled with whether I should even bother cosplaying since I wasn’t 20 and wasn’t a size 2.  Then I realized that it was really about the fandom and the fun and that the rest didn’t matter.  Now the hardest thing is the modelling.  I’m so self-conscious, and do not feel natural in front of the camera.  Thankfully, I have worked with several awesome photographers that really make me look my best.

What is the best advice you have for other cosplayers? Have fun!  That’s it.  Don’t worry about your age, size, body type, etc.  Love yourself as you are, and just have fun.  Dress up as any character that you want.  Celebrate your fandom, and celebrate yourself!

Top 5 resources/tutorials you have found for cosplay help? For foam work, Evil Ted Smith has some awesome Youtube tutorials. Arda Wigs has some great wig tutorials. Pepakura Library on Facebook has great free pepakura files.  Crash Culture has some fantastic tutorials on their site. Golden Lasso Cosplay has a great tutorial on corset making.

Anything else you want to add? Find other people to people work with.  Whether it’s doing a group cosplay, trading out skills, or just working on your independent projects together, cosplay is a great way to meet new people with similar interests.  I’ve make some awesome new friends since I started.  I’ve gotten to work with some of the coolest photographers, artists, videographers, prop makers, and other cosplayers.  I wouldn’t have met any of these awesome people if I hadn’t jumped into this crazy lifestyle!

Quirky fact about me: I love dinosaur humor!

Make sure to check out all of Sybil’s social media information at the bottom of this post! Also, make sure to check out her great photographers as well! Did you like this post? How can we do better? Do you have suggestions for cosplayers that may be interested in being featured? Leave a comment below! I love feedback, and don’t forget to subscribe via email to never miss a post!

Website: www.whiteknightcosplay.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/whiteknightcosplay
Instagram:@whiteknightcosplay
Email: whiteknightcosplay@yahoo.com

Photography Credit:
Phoenix photo credits to Lee Parks Photography
Rey, Zatanna, and Thor photo credits to Angel Ruff Photography