Feature Friday: Kyla Cosplay

This weekend is one of my favorite conventions that I have attended to date, PAX East. We are lucky enough to be back in Boston this year for my second year in a row. Maybe you’re wondering what this has to do with my cosplayer feature today? Well, I read a lot of cosplay blogs, and last year at PAX, I was lucky enough to run into one of my fellow bloggers, Kyla. Both of us didn’t recognize it until after the convention, so in honor of PAX I am featuring Kyla who I will get to see again this weekend.

What is your cosplay name? Kyla Cosplay

How did you come about your cosplay name? It’s an offshoot of my blog, Kyla Is Inspired. Nothing too creative there – just wanted to include my name and “cosplay” in there 🙂

What is your real world name? Kyla

What do you do when you aren’t cosplaying? I work full-time in marketing but I also blog in my free time, as well as draw. I’ve been known to play games and watch anime when I’m not sewing.

How old are you? 27

How long have you been cosplaying? Since 2013

What made you want to start cosplaying? If I’m not doing something creative I feel like I’m wasting time. I had always known about cosplay (I was huge on deviantart growing up, and a lot of my friends on there cosplayed), but never thought I could do it. When I played Bioshock Infinite, something sparked my creativity, and I just knew I had to make Elizabeth’s costume. I didn’t even have a sewing machine at the time – I hand sewed everything! Talk about a headache. And I haven’t stopped sewing since…

Why do you continue to cosplay? Cosplay has introduced me to a whole new community of other creatives who are just as obsessed with games and shows that I am – it’s fantastic. I love going to cons and fangirling over characters with strangers. And I’ve met a lot of good friends through the hobby! Not just cosplayers but photographers and “regular people” as well. Plus, I’m learning so many sewing and prop-making skills and I love seeing how far I’ve come when I look back at old costumes.

We met through blogging and then at PAX. What are some of your favorite things to blog about as a cosplayer? Usually when I post a costume on my blog I’ll post a breakdown of how I made it. This year I’m really trying to focus on creating tutorials and even more detailed walkthroughs of my costumes…I want to be able to provide details of challenging projects that I figured out so I can help others who are working on the same costume.

What is your dream cosplay? Well, I feel like I’ve been tackling my dream cosplays as the years go on…first it was Ariel, then Princess Peach. At the moment I would LOVE to cosplay Mei from Overwatch, but I’m not sure that will be happening any time soon 😛

How do you choose who you will cosplay? I have to like the character, and what they’re wearing, of course 🙂 Then I decide if it’s in my skill level or not…if not, I’ll ask myself if it’s something I’m willing to tackle and try to learn. For example, I’m doing a casual Mercy from Overwatch, and I swore off ponytail wigs long ago. I decided to break that rule in favor of creating her costume. Also, her staff is super intimidating but with the help of friends we slowly tackled the project and learned new things on the way. I’m so happy I ended up creating it!

What is your favorite cosplay you have done so far? Why? Princess Peach is my favorite costume I’ve made, hands down. Not only is Peach one of my favorite characters of all time, but I poured a lot of hours into making her costume and I’m really proud of how it turned out. It’s also my most recognized costume when I’m at a con and I LOVE being able to interact with kids when they come up to me.

What is your favorite genre to cosplay from? I typically cosplay from anime and games equally.

Who is your favorite cosplayer? I have so many! Yaha Han is a HUGE inspiration to me – I’ve been following her work before I even started cosplaying. I mean, she’s made it – talk about dedication and hard work. Kamui Cosplay is also incredibly inspiring and her prop guides have been so helpful to me. I also really admire Anna Berten, Dessi-Desu Cosplay, Vensy, and Designer Daddy.

Which is your all time favorite photo of you in cosplay? Nate Buchman Photography took some Alice Madness hall shots at Anime Boston 2015 and the whole set is my favorite.

Outside of PAX what other events will you be attending this year? I’ll be heading to Anime Boston at the end of March, Connecticon in July, Boston Comic Con in August, and probably RI Comic Con in November.

What are some upcoming cosplans? Of these, which costume will challenge you the most? Currently I’m working on Faye Valentine (her casino outfit) from Cowboy Bebop and human Luna from Sailor Moon. They’re both pretty in my skill level so I think the biggest challenge is time – gotta finish them both before the end of the month!

What’s the hardest thing about cosplay foryou? In cosplay (and in so many other aspects of my life) I have a hard time not comparing myself to others. I’ve gotten better over the past couple of years but it’s always hard when you pour your heart and soul into a costume and someone else has done it better. But that will always, always be the case so the best thing I can do is enjoy the hard work and keep going 🙂 Also, I’d just like to say, I despise wig styling. Definitely the hardest part about making the actual costume.

What is the best advice you have for other cosplayers? Just keep going! It’s hard because cosplay has really grown lately and it’s hard to try and stand out. But, the growth is also a good thing! It’s so, so rewarding when you can go to a con and make friends with strangers, and it’s such a wonderful feeling when you finish a costume and you can be proud of your hard work.

You are also an illustrator/ graphic artist. Tell us about your artwork! Yep, I’ve been drawing since I could hold a pencil 🙂 Cosplay is my biggest hobby at the moment but I’m trying to keep drawing every week using #arteveryweek. I love drawing pin-ups and do fan art as well.  

Anything else you want to add? Just that I’m very, very glad I decided to pick up cosplaying as a hobby – and I don’t think I’ll be stopping anytime soon.

After reading this I feel like Kyla and I might be separated at birth. Which one of her cosplays is your favorite? Follow all her social media before you go. Leave a comment for both of us, and don’t forget to subscribe via email or Bloglovin‘ to never miss a post!

Kyla’s Social Media:
Instagram: @kylacovert
Facebook: Kyla Cosplay
Twitter: @kylacovert
Blog: www.kylaisinspired.com