What is it like playing dress-up with living dolls? Imagine having a character you dreamed up actually walk around, living and breathing. It's surreal and amazing.
Dress-Up
When you were a kid, did you play dress-up? Did you put on adult clothes and role-play being mommy, daddy, or did you don a cape and become Superman or Batman? In a sense, cosplay is dress-up for adults.
Merriam Webster defines cosplay as the activity or practice of dressing up as a character from a work of fiction (such as a comic book, video game, or television show).
The point is to portray a character. Cosplayers achieve accuracy by reproducing details, colors, and in some cases, materials used by the original character. But you can also create a gender-bender, such as a male Sailor Moon, or a female Loki.
You can create a cosplay costume from scratch, building each piece yourself from craft foam or other materials. Adding paint via airbrush or by hand takes skill, gained with much practice. Some costumes are available fully created and ready to wear.
Ritual of Strength Cosplay
When I worked with Nik to create the first cosplay of Pietas, he already had some costume items needed, such as white pants and black boots. We decided he would buy two platinum wigs, one for when Pietas has short hair and one for long. I also had a cape created to fit him. Because the maker could not ship directly, I shipped it from the maker in England, to my home, and then from me to Nik in Russia. Needless to say, shipping was one of the biggest expenses. In the package, I also included the mask Pietas wears, which I had bought at OutlantaCon, a local science fiction convention, for just a few dollars. In addition, Nik rented a room for the cosplay, hired the photographer, and made sure there was proper lighting.
Considering how much went into the first cosplay, the second, in which Nik wore armor, was a piece of cake. However, he spent a month crafting the armor from scratch, right down to the shoes. I ordered a patch for him to wear on the armor that said We Are War. That was the motto of the unit Pietas led.
Cosplay by Nik
The Pietas Cosplay on Oct 10, 2020
This cosplay is for a specific scene in my book A Stolen Heart. It will also provide more shots of Pietas for me to use in advertising and banners. You can see it live between the hours of 8:00 AM (Eastern) on Oct 10, 2020 by following Nik on Instagram.
Thank you to my creative team
My sincere thanks to cosplayer Nik Nitsvetov and photographer Belyaeva Yuliya for their tireless work in bringing my immortal king to life. Watching Nik as Pietas is mind-blowing for me. Is it any wonder I talk about this character -- and especially Nik -- so much? I also have others on the Kayelle Allen Creative Team who help me showcase my story universe. You can find links to all of them here.
Nik Nitsvetov - Cosplayer
Please follow the Nik in order to watch his cosplay of Pietas and also to enjoy the many other characters he portrays.About Nik | Instagram | Patreon | TikTok | Twitter | Nik's photography | Facebook
Belyaeva Yuliya - Photographer
Please follow Yuliya and enjoy her artistry at creating beautiful and meaningful photographic art.About Yuliya | Instagram (Photography) | Instagram (Cosplay) | VK
Thank you for sharing my cosplay :) You wouldn'tl believe how awesome it was. I have over 800 pictures to use and all of them on a green screen. Can't wait to get them all downloaded and start playing with them!
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