Feature Friday: Amanda Finley Cosplay
Up until last week I was doing so great at not missing Feature Friday, but sometimes life just catches up with you. It couldn’t be helped, but I’m super excited to be back this week with Amanda Finley. I have followed her since I first started cosplaying. She makes so many great costumes, and has become a friend. I love getting to know her the more time I spend with her, and I hope you enjoy this short interview with her.
What is your cosplay name? Amanda Finley Cosplay!
How did you come about your cosplay name? I wish I could change it! I made my cosplay page years ago. At the time, I didn’t think much on it, but I wish I had come up with something more creative. It’s a bit too late to change it now, unfortunately.
What is your real world name? Amanda! Or Batmanda!
What do you do when you aren’t cosplaying? My real life job is Production Coordinator/Inventory Control for a Manufacturing Plant. My other hobby is writing novels.
How old are you? 31.
How long have you been cosplaying? That’s kind of hard to say since it started out as a love of Halloween and evolved from there. I’ve been piecing together costumes for years, but I only started “cosplaying” really in 2011.
What made you want to start cosplaying? My love of Halloween! Also, this one scene in Interview with a Vampire that featured an animatronic Lestat. I wanted to know how it was made. From there, I looked into special effects makeup and building my own costumes.
Why do you continue to cosplay? I like to challenge myself, and I love costume design. I’m also a huge dork, so it’s fun to make the outfits of characters I adore!
What is your dream cosplay? Not EXACTLY a cosplay, but I’ve always wanted to make a Warrior Mermaid costume.
How do you choose who you will cosplay? It’s whichever character/series I feel connected to. As a writer myself, I like well-written and intriguing characters.
What is your favorite cosplay you have done so far? Why? Probably Nightcrawler. First of all, I didn’t think I could pull the character off. Second, I worked really hard on making it as true to the character as possible. Plus, he’s my favorite!
Who is your favorite cosplayer? Twinzik Cosplay always wins me over with their skill! They can bring cartoons to life and I really respect that!
What is your favorite part of the cosplay process? When you first try on the entire outfit you’ve stressed and obsessed over, look in the mirror, and see your hardwork assembled for the first time! Also when someone recognizes your character and geeks out along with you. 🙂
What’s the hardest thing about cosplay for you? Going back and restarting when I mess up. I can be really hard on myself, so when I make a mistake and have to go back, instead of moving on, I get really frustrated. Also, I see all the flaws in the work I do, so I can be very hard on myself.
Tell us about your love of X-Men, and your goal to cosplay all the X-Men. The X-Men have always struck me as the outsiders of the superhero world. I’ve always kind of connected with that. When I was a kid, I used to pretend I was Storm. I guess I never grew out of it. As for my goal of being all the X-Men, that’s kind of a joke of mine. I’ve cosplayed quite a few X-Men so far — Pixie, Rogue, two versions of Nightcrawler, Magik, and I’m currently working on Kitty Pryde and another Magik cosplay. I’ve been joking that at this rate, I was going to photoshop all of my X-Men cosplays together and be my own mutant team.
Any cosplays in your near future that you’re willing to share with us? Besides Magik and Kitty Pryde, I’m going to be the Kotobukiya Edward Scissorhands soon!
What is your favorite convention? Probably HeroesCon for comics and AWA for anime.
What is your favorite activity or aspect of conventions? Hanging out with my friends — Some of them I only get to see at cons, so it’s always a blast to meet up, dress up, and geek out.
What is the best advice you have for other cosplayers? Everyone messes up. Don’t get discouraged and don’t be afraid to try again. You’ll get better the more you work at it. Challenge yourself. And ignore the haters online. The internet is full of angry, vicious trolls that just seek to tear others down. Let them hate all they want and enjoy your hobby!
Top 5 resources/tutorials you have found for cosplay help? Twinzik Cosplay’s Wig styling tutorials, Kamui Cosplay’s armor tutorials, Cupcake Cosplay and Sparkle Pipsi’s Sailor Senshi Tutorials, and Spooky Beauty’s Makeup tutorials!
Anything else you want to add? Thanks for the interview and feature! 🙂
I don’t know about you, but I am ready to go try harder after seeing all of her amazing cosplays. What is your favorite cosplay you saw or have seen of hers? Make sure to go follow Amanda’s social media at the links below. Leave a comment for her and me, and don’t forget to subscribe via email or Bloglovin’ to never miss a post!
Amanda Finley Cosplay’s Social Media:
Facebook: Amanda Finley Cosplay
Instagram: @the_batmanda
