Cosplayer Interview: Kathryn C. Del Rosario

I really enjoy it when I get contacted and then a simple email becomes an interview.

This is how this interview with Kathryn C. Del Rosario came about. She emailed me to say she liked the interview with her friend Kuri Curry. After a few email exchanges - we now have another cosplayer interview :^)

She is multi-talented as you will soon see and a force to be reckoned with. She does not take any challenges lightly and is very passionate about the craft of cosplay. She has done some very informative posts on her personal blog, so check them out after the interview.

I guess it is time to stop the banter and get to the the interview ~

What is your name, where do you reside and what is your age?

I don't mind being called by my full name, it's Kathryn C. Del Rosario. *waves* But friends call me katz.. yup that's with a "Z" hehe! I live in the Philippines & I'm turning 27 this October. :3

What first started you on the road to cosplay? 

It started when my friend wanted to try it out. I never thought she was the kind who would do such a thing. Coz' back in college, we would be the ones by the corner sharing mangas, drawing our favorite anime and drooling over cosplay magazines. Then she decides she wanted to do Rinoa, the lead female in Final Fantasy VIII game.

Coincidentally, I was into one of the characters in the same series too. After graduating & finding work to earn money, I finally agreed to collaborate with her.. then BOOM~ We got hooked ever since!

How do you choose which characters you will Cosplay? 

There is always a certain aspect of that character you find so similar to you. Once you grasp it, it's easier to portray the character you choose to Cosplay. I choose mine because I see myself in them, not completely but essentially. Sometimes I get the opinions of others, but for guidance only, not for them to choose for me.

You have a very adventurous goal of 12 cosplays for 2012. How did you go about picking such a wide range of characters? Which one do you think will be the most challenging? 

HAHA! Because last year, a friend of mine noticed I was able to do 11 cosplays in 2011. I didn't expect I did that much at all haha! So why not try going for 12 in 2012? I tried to pick a balanced list of characters that I would like to challenge myself this year, so far achieving four of them now. I think the most challenging would be doing another Mecha/Armored cosplay.. bcoz' it is the most costume that needs careful handling and maintenance.

For your cosplays, I noted that no style is outside your skills (cosplay, crossplay or mecha). Which of these styles do you like the most and why? 

Aha! That's another thing a friend also told me once, "You haven't cosplayed if you haven't done Crossplay, Mecha, or Anthro" he meant it as a joke but i think i took it seriously! :))))

But in a serious note, I personally liked the idea. Not to prove a point or anything, but if I can pull it off, hey why not? that'd be awesome! If not, then mehhh. *wink* I enjoyed doing them all actually, it broadened my perspective of how different each cosplay can be if you open yourself to it. Besides, sticking to one category is.. no offense, booooring if you know what i mean. >:3

You did a very enlightening post on your blog called ‘Cosplay: It’s not HOW. It’s WHY'. Can you elaborate on why you posted this article? 

Lemme just state that it's probably just happening here in our country, since I'm seeing a lot of things I'm not supposed to or gets me frustrated. So I dunno about the other countries, but I wrote that article to make a very simple statement:

Know what you get yourself into when you decide to Cosplay.

Because altho an expensive hobby to boot, it has a purpose and that's to solely have fun portraying & acting your character.. nothing more, nothing less. Instead I hear news about Cosplay as a means to stardom & fame, or using it as a tool for a modeling course or earning money for the wrong reasons. It's seriously just depressing.. We do not need cosplay for that!

I saw that you have another artistic talent and started a manga series several years ago called ‘Faces of Moonstar’. Do you plan on continuing this digital manga? 

Faces of Moonstar was the fruit of my labor back in the college days, I was a crazy manga-artist addicted to cotton candy and bananaque hehe! I had three of its chapters already sketched out, two of the first are already colored and uploaded but I had a permanent artist block when I got to the third Chapter. :( Sad. I even had a script where I finished the story, just didn't have the time to continue drawing anymore.

Hopefully, when I take on Cosplay hiatus someday, I'll be able to relive my passion for drawing manga again :D

When not cosplaying, what do you do?

Human things: eat, sleep, play. Going back to reality hehe! I currently design shoes for children. :D

I also manage an online tailoring & propsmaking service called Feline en Masse, where I get to experience making other cosplayer's dream costume come true. Another best part out of cosplay is, I got to meet awesome friends to hang out with!

Wild people doing normal things!!

For any aspiring cosplayers a little shy, what words of wisdom do you have for them to get started?

KIDS READ MY BLOG

 -- seriously, everything you need to know about starting Cosplay is there *wink wink* if you have any questions, feel free to drop a message!!

Where can we catch more of your Cosplay? 

Weblog  |  deviantART  |  Worldcosplay

Here is a Shout Out to our Photographers: 

AdoboRamen  |  Jene Kirishima  |  angelicamari  |  BladesofSky  |  crossfireblitz  |  glitch88  |  glnvash  |  jamframephotography  |  jeromesantos  |  Happy-Hario  |  Huzafan  |  lukedecena  |  ninjapeps  |  Os-Harmonixer  |  Ron del Rosario  |  shimekops  | Tony Wong  |  Vesty Piedad  |  z3LLLL

Some Additional Cosplay Photographs

 

I want to thank Kathryn C. Del Rosario for taking the time to write to me and to the Photographers for the great photos that you get to see here today.

Want to be my next interviewed COSPLAY STAR? Drop me a line a bluedrakon (at) gmail (dot) com!