Feature Friday: Spiidermom
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of working with some really amazing cosplayers and photographers at a meet up where I had the honor of meeting Jess, AKA Spiidermom. She’s making waves in the cosplay community, and after spending some time chatting with her she is also super sweet. Do you ever meet someone who is just so confident in themselves and who they are that they inspire you to do go be awesome too. That’s this girl, so read the whole feature then go follow all her social media.
Spiidermom
What is your cosplay name? Spiidermom
How did you come about your cosplay name? I have an affinity towards characters that have to do with spiders? I’ve always loved Spider-man, and Black Widowm and of course all of Spidey;s girlfriendsm so it seemed right, and mom because in my friend group at cons I’m the mom friend.
What is your real world name? In the real world I’m Jess Clapper.
What do you do when you aren’t cosplaying? When I’m not cosplaying I’m a full time Tech Design Student.
How old are you? I’m 18!
How long have you been cosplaying? I started cosplaying in in May of 2013, so almost five years.
What made you want to start cosplaying? My brother really wanted to go to this local con one summer when he was home from college and he convinced me to go with him cause he knew I loved nerdy stuff too. We decided we had to cosplay even though we only had a few days and we barely knew what cosplay was so we threw together some really crappy “cosplays” and had a blast, after that I knew it was something I actually wanted to try at.
Why do you continue to cosplay? I love the friends I’ve made, I love the crafting, I love a lot about it in general and it makes me really happy.
What is your dream cosplay? Nahiri the Lithomancer/Harbinger from Magic the Gathering
If you could cosplay every version of a single character who would you choose? Aw man probably Mercy from Overwatch, she has some of the most insane skins I love them, or maybe Elizabeth from Bioshock? I love all her outfits.
How do you choose who you will cosplay? Honestly it’s all about the characters I love at the time, whatever I’m currently into, or whatever is making my nostalgia act up, but I always try to cosplay characters I really love.
What is your favorite cosplay you have done so far? Why? I did Hyrule Warrior Sheik last year and they were my favorite cosplay I’ve ever done. Mainly because I’ve had the HUGEST crush on Sheik since I was a little kid playing Super Smash Bros and Ocarina of Time on GameCube, but also because I made the entire thing myself and it’s a pretty difficult cosplay I’m just really happy with how it turned out.
What is your favorite convention? Why? I love Katsucon! It’s such a stunning venue and the cosplay game is strong. Plus I get to see people I barely get to see otherwise.
What is your next convention? Cosplay America in October
What are your upcoming projects we can look forward to seeing in the future? I’m currently finishing up Tracer, and starting on Prompto, and I hope to do Cindy and Captain Marvel sometime this year!
What cosplayer would you most like to meet in real life? Jessica Nigri obviously is a huge inspiration to me and I would love to meet her in real life.
Who is a photographer that you would die to work with? TheEndOfSomethingBeautiful has some absolutely stunning work, TobiousPhotos, DaniellinPhotography
What’s the hardest thing about cosplay for you? The constant need to compare yourself to others and keeping up with follower engagement can be really stressful
What is the best advice you have for other cosplayers? Do it cause you love it not because you think it’ll make you famous, have fun, don’t give up.
What is something you wish you had known when you began cosplaying? I wish I’d known where to buy nice wigs and how to style wigs, I wish I’d known how much of a scam most wholesale cosplay sites are (as in they cost too much), I wish I’d known how to do makeup right, and also that everyone starts somewhere and has to learn no one is born knowing everything or being perfect at costuming from the get go.
Anything else you want to add? Practice makes perfect, don’t give up on something you love because of what you see others do use others to inspire you not to make you bitter. Don’t be petty, it gets you nowhere, it’s mean, and it’ll bite you in the ass. Please be kind and spread love in the community, don’t shame people, cosplay encompasses so many different things, and the experience is different for everyone, never bully anyone because they don’t fit your definition.
Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to check out Jess’ social media accounts before you go. Leave a comment for Jess or myself, and don’t forget to subscribe via email or Bloglovin’ to never miss a post.
Spiidermom’s Social Media:
Instagram: @spiidermom
Facebook: Spiidermom
Storeenvy: http://spiidermom.storenvy.