Nipunika is an aspiring designer in her gap year before university. She’s a member of many fandoms and has a penchant for becoming too attached to fictional characters.

“I began cosplaying because I loved the idea of being able to become a character you admire, and costume wise bringing my own ideas into play whilst keeping the character’s story and personality intact. Getting into character is always a lot of fun as well.”

“I usually wait for a character to come along that sparks my interest, and personally I prefer cosplaying villains. The actual costume is also important as I generally like to play around with it and incorporate my own designs into it in addition to keeping iconic elements.

My favourite cosplay materials are rexin, cloth and wire, however this varies on what props and accessories I need to make. Hardware shops always seem to have a few useful materials as well. The making period of my cosplays depend on how complicated the cosplay is and the time I have to complete it as I’ve found I can get the same amount of work done in a week as I can in a month. Close deadlines really motivate me, even if it means I’ll be working on my cosplay till the hour before an event.!

Really getting into character and meeting people that have a love for the character is an amazing experience. Cosplaying has taught me to be patient, manage my time better, and to always carry around extra tape, superglue and thread for myself or any other cosplayer in need.

I’ve cosplayed Raven, a Sith Lord, Princess Azula, and punk Harley Quinn. So far Azula has been my favourite because it was the first time I constructed rexin armour and ensured each piece was secure and stayed in place for the most part. Some parts of my previous cosplays hadn’t been put together well and broke or didn’t sit well so this was an achievement for me. “