Hello! How are you doing meow?

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I doing great Cat! 🙂 Thank you for having me.

Tell us a little about yourself. How long have you been doing cosplay, and what influenced you to get into it?

My name is Vanessa but my online alias is Fruitcake. I have been cosplaying since 2005 but I didn’t start to work professionally till 3 years ago. I first got into it because I went to my first con at the age of 15yo and I loved seeing all the amazing costumes. I saw how fun it was to dress up and I’ve been doing it ever since.

What was the toughest part when starting to get into cosplay?

When I was younger, my confidence was definitely at a low. I also went through spine surgery because I had been born with severe scoliosis and the scar from the procedure definitely didn’t help with the lack of confidence.

The hardest part was accepting myself and not worrying about outside opinions. There are many more obstacles I had to get over when I started cosplaying but there are many memorable moments.

What were the most memorable parts?

My most memorable was when I cosplayed Kairi. There was a little girl who absolutely loved Kairi and was so happy to see my cosplay. I’ve had many moments such as that and it never gets old.

You’ve made over sixty purrrfect costumes! How long does it usually take to put one together? Shortest and longest times, and which costumes were they?

The amount of time it takes really depends ion the outfit as well as how lazy I am. lol My Gerudo Link cosplay from Breathe of the Wild took two days and my Videl cosplay from Dragonball Z took a day.

My longest time on a cosplay was three months. That was my Kos-Mos from Xenosaga. It took about a month and a half of planning and then a month of construction. It was also a collaboration with my friend Lionel who did the amazing props for the cosplay.

What do you do if you can’t find or make certain cosplay items? What cosplay did you run into this situation?

Luckily I haven’t had a problem when it comes to making something. I really try my best to make everything even if it isn’t up to my own standards. Cosplay is all about learning and I believe that you can only get better if you challenge yourself. If i do run into a tough problem I have a ton of friends who are there to give me advice. 🙂

What was the most difficult or most complex accessory you’ve had to make?

Probably my most challenging was my Current cosplay. My Mia from Code Vein, which was a collaboration with Bandai Namco, was probably my most difficult planning and sewing wise. The outfit has a crazy mess of belts on the back of the jacket and Bandai gave a few pics that vaguely detailed the construction. It was a lot of guessing and planning on how to bring a fantasy design into the real life. It’s always a challenge though for cosplayers. I feel like character designs are getting more and more ridiculous looking. haha

That one was an intense outfit! The accessories to it looks purrtastic!

How do you choose a character to cosplay as? Do you mostly prefer ones from video games?

I was into anime and video games as a kid but the older I got, the more I started leaning towards games. Now that it’s my job as a streamer, many of my costumes are from the games. I usually choose characters I love. I definitely choose characters whose personalities I admire and whose design I really enjoy. I find that I enjoy the construction process more when it’s a character I am passionate about.

You certainly have an affinity for strong, female characters. Who are your favorites that you’ve done, and are there any characters (male or female) you haven’t yet done but want to do? May we suggest a cat with a top hat and monocle?

I really do admire the strong female personality. It was something I didn’t have growing up and it’s a trait I really admire. My favorite female characters I’ve done are definitely my Ada Wong, Ghostbride Morgana, and Kos-mos cosplay. There are all strong and independent. There are many characters I wanna do, way too many to list, but I definitely wouldn’t mind a Cat with a Monocle. It will give me an excuse to buy a monocle. haha

How many events have you appeared at as a cosplayer, and which ones do you remember the most?

I would not be able to list all the events I’ve attended throughout the years. I usually attend at least 7 or 8 a year, with the exception of this year which was about 15 events. It really depends on work but there are a few I absolutely love and always go to. Anime Expo and Anime Los Angeles are two of my favorite cons to attend and it’s great to see friends from California. I call those my Reunion cons.

You’ve won some awards at these events. Congratulations! Which cosplays won, and what awards did you win?

I won awards for my GhostBride Morgana, Sun Shang Xiang, and Vanille cosplays. They are mostly Best in Show or Craftsmanship awards. I remember I won an award with my younger sister cosplaying from Dynasty Warriors. We re-enacted a fight and we ended up winning best in show for Novice. It was a lot of fun. Now I prefer judging than competing.

You’ve been asked to do cosplay judging for some events. Tell us about that. What do you look for when you’re judging cosplay?

I have had the honor of judging for a good handful of events and conventions. It’s always a fun time and and it’s great to see cosplayers who are both veterans and new, showing off their work on stage. I enjoy talking to contestants because I also find it helps with their nerves. As for judging, I usually look for, of course, craftsmanship and quality, but I also look for passion and potential. I try to make competing for the contestants an opportunity to learn. It’s great to help motivate some of the newer cosplayers because I definitely love to help others succeed in a hobby such as this.

Take notes cosplayers!

Not only do you cosplay, you are also into streaming. What types of streaming do you do, and how were you influenced to get into it? How long have you done it?

I love streaming! I define myself as a Variety streamer. I stream games, cosplay workshops, and IRL. I have always played video games with friends and once I moved out and moved to another state, I had to find a way to keep that connection with my friends. They told me to stream games and I ended up loving it. I have always held video games dear because I believe it brings people together. My stream is a community 2 years strong and growing. I am excited to see where it takes me.

What was the toughest part when streaming?

Definitely the hardest part was starting out and having to talk to pretty much no one. I had very little views in the beginning But i had to act as if I was talking to a crowd of people. Coming up with witty things to say as well as dealing with trolls was definitely a learning experience. It gets easier the more the stream grows and you end up making legit connections with people.

Any advice for cosplay or streaming newbies?

This advice goes great with anything you want to do. Do something because it makes you happy. If you enjoy a hobby don’t let anyone or anything stop you and when times get tough, don’t forget to have a great support system behind you. it can be friends, family, or a community. I love people and I love making connections but there are a handful of people I know that will always have my back. It’s a great feeling knowing that I can reach for the stars but if I end up falling, there are people there to lift me back up. Or a special cat with a top hat and monocle. 😉

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Always!

Thank you for taking your time away from your purrfect work to chat with us!

Thank you for having me ~ <3

You can learn more about Fruitcake on her Twitter profile, Facebook page, Twitch channel, and her store.