Ambokiko - Learning and Doing
ALOHA, EVERYBODEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's time once again for another feature! Today, we have Abu/Ambokiko who's quite adept with make-up techniques (yes, he does his own make-up and yes, he's pretty good at it), and when it comes to accuracy, he spares no quarters for it. Heck, he's so into character accuracy that he even shaped his eyebrows for his Amaimon cosplay(his is one of the best Amaimon cosplays I've ever seen, mind you). He's such an interesting person and I daresay that I'm pretty fortunate to have met him, not only as a fellow cosplayer, but also as a friend.
The man started late 2008, but went serious, and I quote, " cosplay is srs bznz" in 2010. The story behind his debut is pretty simple. He was bored, and wanted to get out of sitting at home, cleaning dishes and babysitting his nephews. One day, he went to the mall, had his hair colored blonde, and was invited to join a group called Bakaloid.
When I asked him about some of his favorite cosplayers, local and abroad, he said, " local: JM Chua, Jin Joson, and a certain Marko Villaluz *nudge nudge, wink wink* (for real, man. Your stage performances are awesome); abroad: Kaname, Sara, Yuegene Fay." (What is happiness? ohohohohoooo~~~ *flies away*)
What Ambokiko says about cosplay is that "It's an activity that I enjoy doing. Much like people who take up photography, or play a certain sport, or just plain spend millions tuning up their prized cars, I simply find cosplay something fun to do." He's a lover of Tocino, tapsilog, tuna sisig, Pancit Shanghai, Hawaiian pizza, carbonara, shawarma, Snacku, cheese Pringles, strawberry yogurt, cookies and cream ice cream, raw tomatoes and washes everything down with Lemon Yakult(something I've never tried before in my life). He's a fan of Neon Genesis Evangelion and Gensomaden Saiyuki. His quote in life is "Live long, stay strong, rock on!", something that's a pretty nice saying to go by.
Here's how Abu prepares for his cosplays:
" I make as much stuff I can do on my own as I can. Sometimes I do wig and costume trials in the bathroom a few days before the event/shoot. I usually stay up late the night before one, watching video game footage or cooking shows. Then in the morning, on my way to the venue, I furiously shake my arms around since the effects of lack of sleep usually target that part of my body. I also go to the nearest 7-Eleven or Mini Stop and buy either Cobra or Red Bull, whichever one is colder. Keeps me awake the whole day."
and now here's how he chooses his characters:
" I choose characters whose designs I'm really fond of and I feel are going to be fun to portray. If I think the character's design is wicked awesome, chances are he'll be part of my cosplay list. Like when I did Death the Kid from Soul Eater. Even if he's just wearing a simple black suit, his design really stood out for me with those streaks on his hair and his whole skull motif. Personality-wise, he's almost always calm and collected. But when his OCD kicks in, he goes all-out neurotic. That was an instant "yes" in my book." He gets as much reference materials as he possibly can, whether it be fan-made or official. He even wants to know how that particular characters fans depicts the personality. (He even looks for their favorite food. WHOA!!!)
To him, cosplay is a big boost in creativity. He's learned a lot of things such as applying make-up, crafting props and even sewing. Cosplaying has also taught him to be more expressive and outgoing. He's found so many friends that share the same interests as he does! He does admit that this hobby can result to many sleepless nights, and burn a deep hole in one's pockets, but he's not complaining. :)
It's time once again for another feature! Today, we have Abu/Ambokiko who's quite adept with make-up techniques (yes, he does his own make-up and yes, he's pretty good at it), and when it comes to accuracy, he spares no quarters for it. Heck, he's so into character accuracy that he even shaped his eyebrows for his Amaimon cosplay(his is one of the best Amaimon cosplays I've ever seen, mind you). He's such an interesting person and I daresay that I'm pretty fortunate to have met him, not only as a fellow cosplayer, but also as a friend.
The man started late 2008, but went serious, and I quote, " cosplay is srs bznz" in 2010. The story behind his debut is pretty simple. He was bored, and wanted to get out of sitting at home, cleaning dishes and babysitting his nephews. One day, he went to the mall, had his hair colored blonde, and was invited to join a group called Bakaloid.
When I asked him about some of his favorite cosplayers, local and abroad, he said, " local: JM Chua, Jin Joson, and a certain Marko Villaluz *nudge nudge, wink wink* (for real, man. Your stage performances are awesome); abroad: Kaname, Sara, Yuegene Fay." (What is happiness? ohohohohoooo~~~ *flies away*)
What Ambokiko says about cosplay is that "It's an activity that I enjoy doing. Much like people who take up photography, or play a certain sport, or just plain spend millions tuning up their prized cars, I simply find cosplay something fun to do." He's a lover of Tocino, tapsilog, tuna sisig, Pancit Shanghai, Hawaiian pizza, carbonara, shawarma, Snacku, cheese Pringles, strawberry yogurt, cookies and cream ice cream, raw tomatoes and washes everything down with Lemon Yakult(something I've never tried before in my life). He's a fan of Neon Genesis Evangelion and Gensomaden Saiyuki. His quote in life is "Live long, stay strong, rock on!", something that's a pretty nice saying to go by.
Here's how Abu prepares for his cosplays:
" I make as much stuff I can do on my own as I can. Sometimes I do wig and costume trials in the bathroom a few days before the event/shoot. I usually stay up late the night before one, watching video game footage or cooking shows. Then in the morning, on my way to the venue, I furiously shake my arms around since the effects of lack of sleep usually target that part of my body. I also go to the nearest 7-Eleven or Mini Stop and buy either Cobra or Red Bull, whichever one is colder. Keeps me awake the whole day."
and now here's how he chooses his characters:
" I choose characters whose designs I'm really fond of and I feel are going to be fun to portray. If I think the character's design is wicked awesome, chances are he'll be part of my cosplay list. Like when I did Death the Kid from Soul Eater. Even if he's just wearing a simple black suit, his design really stood out for me with those streaks on his hair and his whole skull motif. Personality-wise, he's almost always calm and collected. But when his OCD kicks in, he goes all-out neurotic. That was an instant "yes" in my book." He gets as much reference materials as he possibly can, whether it be fan-made or official. He even wants to know how that particular characters fans depicts the personality. (He even looks for their favorite food. WHOA!!!)
To him, cosplay is a big boost in creativity. He's learned a lot of things such as applying make-up, crafting props and even sewing. Cosplaying has also taught him to be more expressive and outgoing. He's found so many friends that share the same interests as he does! He does admit that this hobby can result to many sleepless nights, and burn a deep hole in one's pockets, but he's not complaining. :)
Abu says:
"I only know basic sewing, like putting buttons and stuff. So I leave the clothesmaking to the seamstress. I do as much props as I can. My absolute prized creation is the Abuzooka. It's my first ever self-made prop that I used for my Okita Sougo (Gintama) costume. It's been used countless of times by some friends for their own costumes and photoshoots. "
Through his years of cosplaying, he's already done 20 so far. and those are:
Kagamine Len (Vocaloid) - 6 versions
Kaito (Vocaloid)
Okita Sougo (Gintama)
Marisa Kirisame (Touhou)
Takuto Tsunashi (Star Driver)
Death the Kid (Soul Eater)
Sebastian Michaelis (Kuroshitsuji)
Lucy Heartfilia (Fairy Tail)
Squall Leonhart (Dissidia: Final Fantasy)
Sakuya Izayoi (Touhou) - 2 versions
Musketeer (Granado Espada)
Bodie (Dance Central 2)
Male!Stocking (Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt)
Amaimon (Ao no Exorcist)
and his dream cosplay would be Akira Kazama(full biker gear/powered ver.) from the hit CAPCOM game, Rival Schools. (Complete with a choreographed fight. AWESOME!!! *A*) He prefers group cosplays because, "There’s never a dull moment when you’re in the company of fellow nutjo–err, friends, whether it’s in a convention or a photoshoot."
-Words of the Wise-
"Always put your best foot forward. Don’t mind what everyone else is saying. Others might think that you did not portray your character well; don’t mind them. What’s important is that you yourself accept that you did an awesome job, and you had fun."
Shoutouts to the Annoying people! And to my mom. Ma! Nasa Happy Hariography na 'ko!!! woooooooo!!!!!
(Ma! I'm in Happy Hariography!!! wooooooooo!!!!!)
You can see more of his work from the sites below:
Deviantart: http://kenken-abu.deviantart.com/
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ambokiko.cosplay
That's all for today~ Stay Happy, folks! :D
Marbs Tan - Gamer, Costume Maker, Cosplayer
photo by Happy Hario
Hi, guys! It's time for another feature for our behind-the-cosplay section. It's been a while since the last person under our limelight, it's just about right that I release a new one today. Oh yeah~
A lot of us are or have been into video games at some point of our lives. Some have only discovered gaming only recently, while others go way back since before Mario got proficient with jumping over barrels and smiting that over-grown gorilla, Donkey Kong. Playing video games is fun and, believe it or not, sometimes educational. Basing from my own personal experience, I got to enhance my vocabulary and my literary skills with the help of video games (RPG's to be specific).
Nowadays, gaming has developed into more than just playing. It has evolved into a form of social media of sorts. People are now able to get to know other people from around the world with the help of the internet. MMORPG's like World of Warcraft, and online console fighting games like Tekken, as examples, give you the opportunity to play and/or talk to other gamers from other countries.
Coincidentally, one would also be able to get characters to look up to and idolize/favor. Characters such as Sephiroth from the game Final Fantasy VII, or Seigfried from Soul Calibur. Yup, you know where I'm getting at. Cosplay!!
Today's feature is Mr. Marbs Tan. He's been cosplaying for more than 2 years now, and has been enjoying the hobby since day 1. He started cosplaying with his sister (Nikki Chan) because they were both into anime, tokusatsu, and manga. He learned about cosplay in 2004, but attended his first convention in 2009 which was Cosplaymania. It took him 5 years to attend because he didn't have the resources that time and then went out of the country (Dubai) in 2008.
He decided Hidari Shotaro(Kamen Rider W) to be his first ever cosplay. He said that his reason for choosing Hidari Shotaro and his other cosplays was due to the fact that he saw them as inspirations. He makes it a point to discover and learn as much as he can about the characters he loves.
His first and one(two) of his most famous works is Nikki's and his Rathalos armor pair. It took them a month to complete it because they did it part by part without the use of cyanoacrylate adhesive (grecco/mighty bond) but with contact cement. It garnered a number of major awards which led them to make a male-version Rathalos armor which won an award as well. He learned how to make costumes through the internet. He was motivated to give it a try because of the references he saw. He believes that crafting ones's costume is something awesome and one should be proud of.
A lot of us are or have been into video games at some point of our lives. Some have only discovered gaming only recently, while others go way back since before Mario got proficient with jumping over barrels and smiting that over-grown gorilla, Donkey Kong. Playing video games is fun and, believe it or not, sometimes educational. Basing from my own personal experience, I got to enhance my vocabulary and my literary skills with the help of video games (RPG's to be specific).
Nowadays, gaming has developed into more than just playing. It has evolved into a form of social media of sorts. People are now able to get to know other people from around the world with the help of the internet. MMORPG's like World of Warcraft, and online console fighting games like Tekken, as examples, give you the opportunity to play and/or talk to other gamers from other countries.
Coincidentally, one would also be able to get characters to look up to and idolize/favor. Characters such as Sephiroth from the game Final Fantasy VII, or Seigfried from Soul Calibur. Yup, you know where I'm getting at. Cosplay!!
Today's feature is Mr. Marbs Tan. He's been cosplaying for more than 2 years now, and has been enjoying the hobby since day 1. He started cosplaying with his sister (Nikki Chan) because they were both into anime, tokusatsu, and manga. He learned about cosplay in 2004, but attended his first convention in 2009 which was Cosplaymania. It took him 5 years to attend because he didn't have the resources that time and then went out of the country (Dubai) in 2008.
He decided Hidari Shotaro(Kamen Rider W) to be his first ever cosplay. He said that his reason for choosing Hidari Shotaro and his other cosplays was due to the fact that he saw them as inspirations. He makes it a point to discover and learn as much as he can about the characters he loves.
His first and one(two) of his most famous works is Nikki's and his Rathalos armor pair. It took them a month to complete it because they did it part by part without the use of cyanoacrylate adhesive (grecco/mighty bond) but with contact cement. It garnered a number of major awards which led them to make a male-version Rathalos armor which won an award as well. He learned how to make costumes through the internet. He was motivated to give it a try because of the references he saw. He believes that crafting ones's costume is something awesome and one should be proud of.
He cosplays with his sister, Nikki, as well as making costumes together. He finds joy sharing the same hobby with his sibling. One of their most recent team-ups was their cosplays of Kenshin Himura (Marbs), his current favorite cosplay today, and Misao(Nikki) from the hit series, Rurouni Kenshin. There were times when he experiences difficulty juggling cosplay with his studies. There was a time when he had to skip 5 straight days to help Nikki and Iban finish a costume Nikki was going to use for the STGCC. He believes time management is truly essential. He motivates himself by wanting to improve his crafting skills as much as he can as he believes there's always room to be better.
I asked other questions to Marbs, and here they are~~
who are some of your favorite cosplayers(local or international)?
- international would be naoki of thailand, rainer of singapore, denka of taiwan, kipi of japan
- local would be jin joson(coz of her kenshin cosplay), ikumi ces(coz of her cloud cosplay), zhel guiral(coz of her noctis cosplay), and of course marko villaluz(coz of his whiplash cosplay and master asia stunts during cosplay mania x)
what are your other hobbies?
video games specially monster hunter on my psp and counter strike source on my laptop, sketching and drawing random stuff, watching anime and tokusatsu specially kamen rider series, fliptop and pickup battles? haha ;D
advice to newbies
talking about newbie, i consider myself still a noob when it comes to props making, anyway i just wanna say, it's much better if you cosplay your favorite character and you research about the character before cosplaying it, don't cosplay a character just because it is very easy to do or it's a current trend, at the end of the day you'll still be the one to ask yourself, am i really satisfied with what i have cosplayed?
shoutouts
shout outs to my friends, classmates and to those people who know me, special thanks to nikki and iban, we're always the 3 man team when it comes to props making
for promotion
i do have a page, if you have time to spare, please do like it
http://www.facebook.com/marbstancosplay
my da account
http://marbstan.deviantart.com/
and my cure account
http://en.curecos.com/profile/?ch=238775
thank you~~
I asked other questions to Marbs, and here they are~~
who are some of your favorite cosplayers(local or international)?
- international would be naoki of thailand, rainer of singapore, denka of taiwan, kipi of japan
- local would be jin joson(coz of her kenshin cosplay), ikumi ces(coz of her cloud cosplay), zhel guiral(coz of her noctis cosplay), and of course marko villaluz(coz of his whiplash cosplay and master asia stunts during cosplay mania x)
what are your other hobbies?
video games specially monster hunter on my psp and counter strike source on my laptop, sketching and drawing random stuff, watching anime and tokusatsu specially kamen rider series, fliptop and pickup battles? haha ;D
advice to newbies
talking about newbie, i consider myself still a noob when it comes to props making, anyway i just wanna say, it's much better if you cosplay your favorite character and you research about the character before cosplaying it, don't cosplay a character just because it is very easy to do or it's a current trend, at the end of the day you'll still be the one to ask yourself, am i really satisfied with what i have cosplayed?
shoutouts
shout outs to my friends, classmates and to those people who know me, special thanks to nikki and iban, we're always the 3 man team when it comes to props making
for promotion
i do have a page, if you have time to spare, please do like it
http://www.facebook.com/marbstancosplay
my da account
http://marbstan.deviantart.com/
and my cure account
http://en.curecos.com/profile/?ch=238775
thank you~~
Crunchee - Release the Creativity, Keep the Memories
photo by: OS Harmonizer
WHOAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'VE BEEN OUT OF THE GAME FOR SO LONG!!! *A*
I've been quite busy for the past months, so I haven't had much time looking for awesome cosplayers to feature. But now that I've got time and motivation, I'll be resuming with this humble project of ours. I just hope I can continue doing this at a more regular basis.
Today, we have Andrew/Dru, also known online as Crunchee, for our "Behind-The-Cosplay " segment. I was really and I mean REALLY impressed with his Gai Tsutsugami cosplay. I'm a fan of the character and I can say that he not only gave Gai justice, but brought him to life. I tip my hat off to this awesome dude. He started cosplaying for roughly around 3 years and obviously going strong(he currently has 15 cosplays to date). He started this hobby because of inspiration. He said, " I was inspired by how other fans put their hearts out to show their dedication to the hobby.I have been a fan of animation,and cosplaying is just me being a fan". He looks up to Ayafrea's team and team Verdana and has been fascinated by both Yuegene Fay and Kaname.
To Crunchee, cosplay shall always be a hobby and a channel to release his creative juices and fandom. He's a big fan of Yu Yu Hakusho, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a possible character from that immensely popular title here in the Philippines(Maybe Kurama Wolf version or Yusuke). I asked for his favorite quote and he said, " I've always loved Freya’s quotation in Final Fantasy 9 and it goes like this: “Despair - To be forgotten is worse than death.” .. I think I grew up with this quote subconsciously guiding me.This is why I enjoy creating memories with people, and hate burning bridges, even for whatever reason/s it may be". With this being said, it's pretty clear that he'd much prefer to be cosplaying with a group of friends than by himself.
I've been quite busy for the past months, so I haven't had much time looking for awesome cosplayers to feature. But now that I've got time and motivation, I'll be resuming with this humble project of ours. I just hope I can continue doing this at a more regular basis.
Today, we have Andrew/Dru, also known online as Crunchee, for our "Behind-The-Cosplay " segment. I was really and I mean REALLY impressed with his Gai Tsutsugami cosplay. I'm a fan of the character and I can say that he not only gave Gai justice, but brought him to life. I tip my hat off to this awesome dude. He started cosplaying for roughly around 3 years and obviously going strong(he currently has 15 cosplays to date). He started this hobby because of inspiration. He said, " I was inspired by how other fans put their hearts out to show their dedication to the hobby.I have been a fan of animation,and cosplaying is just me being a fan". He looks up to Ayafrea's team and team Verdana and has been fascinated by both Yuegene Fay and Kaname.
To Crunchee, cosplay shall always be a hobby and a channel to release his creative juices and fandom. He's a big fan of Yu Yu Hakusho, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a possible character from that immensely popular title here in the Philippines(Maybe Kurama Wolf version or Yusuke). I asked for his favorite quote and he said, " I've always loved Freya’s quotation in Final Fantasy 9 and it goes like this: “Despair - To be forgotten is worse than death.” .. I think I grew up with this quote subconsciously guiding me.This is why I enjoy creating memories with people, and hate burning bridges, even for whatever reason/s it may be". With this being said, it's pretty clear that he'd much prefer to be cosplaying with a group of friends than by himself.
He chooses his characters through their personality and physical similarities(height, etc.). His reply to how he prepares for a cosplay is this: "
AHAHA I love this question. First, I would like to give thanks to my “mentors” in the community, Ayafreya’s group(fb.com/ayafreya). I kinda adopted how they prepared, from looking for the perfect reference pictures, planning the “real world” counterpart of the details,scouting for the correct wigs, building/crafting/sewing costumes or props(or having them commissioned), studying poses, makeup(Gah I remember how I had to pluck my eyebrows to achieve the look of the character I was cosplaying *nostalgia*) Everything should be done PASSIONATELY ^___^". He'd even re-watch series just to be able to internalize the characters he's chosen.
Crunchee would like to share these words to everyone, " Love yourself, always do the things you love the most, and ignore what other people say about them" because he sincerely believes that you've got to live your life happily.
From Crunchee: "Mabuhay!! Many thank you to family and friends who have been very supportive! Thank you for all the wonderful memories, and I is Looking forward to making more precious ones with all of you!"
You can check out these sites to see more of Crunchee and his photos
DA - http://cruncheekiss.deviantart.com/
FB - www.facebook.com/cruncheecos
Crunchee would like to share these words to everyone, " Love yourself, always do the things you love the most, and ignore what other people say about them" because he sincerely believes that you've got to live your life happily.
From Crunchee: "Mabuhay!! Many thank you to family and friends who have been very supportive! Thank you for all the wonderful memories, and I is Looking forward to making more precious ones with all of you!"
You can check out these sites to see more of Crunchee and his photos
DA - http://cruncheekiss.deviantart.com/
FB - www.facebook.com/cruncheecos