Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Yoko
Name: Colleen McCone “FoxyKitsune”
Cosplayer, Prop Builder
Location: Delaware, US
Experience:8yrs.
Skimpy clothes and huge guns! :3
I’m excited to begin my 2012 cosplay features with Colleen McCone, a cosplayer since Otakon 2004. My first feature was with Seras-V from Singapore, a phenomenal cosplay and prop designer. Bringing cosplay to a large audience in the U.S., Colleen creates all of her own clothing and props for her cosplay projects. She may have just started attending conventions since 2004, but she’s been Halloweening as video game characters since childhood. Nerd.
Chii… Chii! CHII!! A frilly pink dress and a “really shitty blonde wig…” later, she had her first cosplay – Chobits (Chii). Colleen called it, “Amazingly terrible.” First tries are what they are… Mine was a poorly cut black dress and a really shitty pink wig.
Chobits: Chii
A regular conventioneer, she’s attended several conventions over the last year alone, including, Nekocon, Anime USA, Katsucon, and Otakon. She also works as a booth girl for Chobie Studios – So keep an eye out! O.Ob
Evangelion: Asuka
Colleen is a super, crazy, awesome cosplayer and she does art stuff too, like paint and draw. She also likes pudding.
* Below is a Q&A section, so get to know more about how she creates her cosplays and read some entertaining stories! 
Most difficult item:
I actually was commissioned by a friend of mine to make two engagement pendants from FFXIII. Easy right? NO. I decided to make them in plastic, since I had some Friendly Plastic lying around from a previous project and it seemed the most convenient. I swear to God, I burned myself every few seconds trying to make the damn things. Then when I got them PERFECT, and I just needed to straighten them just a tad bit more, I lightly heated them with the heat gun that I was using. They then proceeded to fold upon themselves and become indiscernible blobs. I wept.
Most embarrassing cosplay:
OH GOD. I decided in my younger years that I wanted to go as Warrior Rikku from FFX-2 (I was like…14. I didn’t know any better.). Ugh. At that point, that costume was WAY too difficult for my skill level, and it just looked like I was wearing a strappy weird patchwork quilt. With cleavage. It was pretty awful.
Hot to stay motivated:
Well, I have a lot of friends who cosplay or who are artists, so when I’m working on a project and I just lose steam as I work on it, my friends are right at my heels supporting me to get it done, and I do the same when it happens to them.
Most memorable convention:
My first convention ever: Otakon. It was so ridiculous. I didn’t even know what to expect, or if there would be other people cosplaying, but I went with a bunch of friends when I was 14 and was BLOWN AWAY. There were so many people, so much going on, and SO MUCH HENTAI. Holy Mother of God.
Proudest cosplay project:
Easy. My Asuka plugsuit. Even though there is a lot I would like to alter and fix on it, it was the first catsuit-like costume I’ve ever made, and in a really difficult material to work with (4-way stretch pvc). Even just engineering ways to get in and out of the costume was a chore, but it was SO worth it. I love that damn thing.
Strangest item used to create a cosplay:
Strange? Hmmm….Probably a plastic hanging mannequin for Asuka’s boob armor. I got plenty of weird looks when I got that in the mail.
Words of wisdom:
Always have fun. Never lose sight of the fact that this is a HOBBY. We are all just nerds playing dress up, and there’s no sense in bringing drama into the equation. Never let ANYONE tell you that you can’t do something or that you’re not good enough…cosplay is always better if the person wearing it has confidence.
ALSO….haters gonna hate
What she hopes people will remember from her cosplay:
“Wow, look at those neat seams!!!”
Best lesson learned through cosplay:
Don’t ever take yourself too seriously, have fun in and out of costume, and never make anything in 2-way stretch pvc.
Guys vs. Girls in cosplay:
I actually do think they are quite similar, as both guys and girls can get equal amounts of attention, have the same level of craftsmanship and showmanship, and both genders can enjoy themselves equally in costumes. HOWEVER, since there are many more females involved in cosplay than males, I find that females are more often than not the source of ‘cosplay drama’. But I guess that’s just a girl thing too 
Closet cosplayer or cos ‘n tell?
Usually I’ll only tell people that I’m a cosplayer if they already know what cosplay or anime is. Cosplay for me is like Fight Club, you’ve got to be in the know before we talk about it together, because I’m not telling you otherwise. Its not that I don’t like to be inclusive, I just have other things besides cosplay that I’m involved in, and I usually just like to keep cosplay a compartmentalized part of my life.
Would like to cosplay as…
Hmmm…Asuka was my dream cosplay by far, but I would love to tackle Rei’s plugsuit eventually, probably in neoprene.
How to choose a cosplay:
I always cosplay as characters that I can identify with, from a series that I love. I’ve never cosplayed as a character that I hate, I just wouldn’t put that much time into someone that I don’t like.
Time spent:
It really varies, but I usually give myself a few months to finish a costume, working on and off, and this can vary depending on if there are props involved, or if I have to order materials from overseas. For example, bunny suits can take me just a few hours, whereas the Asuka plugsuit I made took months of planning, preparation, and construction. But I tend to work fast when there’s coffee involved, so that helps.
Self-Applied Make-Up:
YES. I am pretty particular about make-up actually, I’ve worked as a make-up artist for a theatrical company in my town, and my Mother was a cosmetologist, so I’ve been learning about make-up since I was quite small. I even have special convention make-up that comes with me to conventions, I’m that much of a dork.
What’s a normal photoshoot like?
FUN. I love just going with the flow, joking with the photographer, and bouncing ideas off of each other. More often than not there is also walking to different locations involved, weather permitting, since I love to shoot at different locations. I like photoshoots to be enjoyable not just for myself, but the photographer as well, so we can work together and capture some great images.
Cosplay Photographers:
Anna Fischer, Eurobeat King, Chris Mangune, and Mike Tyminski
Jason Benson Lampucende
/ January 15, 2012I mean, I know people who are into that kind of thing my brother used to take days and days to create everyone he could on WWF games.