Cosplayer Of the Week: Ninjah Kitty

As our Geek Lyfe family continues to grow it’s always great fun to uncover more talented UK cosplayers to introduce to our community. It was actually through watching the Studio Ghibli film Princess Mononoke that I started thinking about cosplays inspired by the studio. This was how I stumbled across Ninjah Kitty‘s fantastic skills and she was very obliging in letting us interview her! Although Ninjah Kitty does a range of cosplays from film and anime, I would say my favourite has to be Princess Mononoke – the attention to detail definitely makes it!

The Geek Lyfe: There may be a few Geek Lyfers who have not seen your work before, would you be alright introducing yourself?

Ninjah Kitty: Hello everyone, my name is Ninjah Kitty! I am a cosplayer based in Hertforshire, and attend varied conventions based mainly in London.

TGL: How long have you been into cosplay and what led you down this path?

NK: I have been cosplaying for roughly 5 years now, and I found out about it through my obsession of anime. After attending my first ever convention in 2011, I have always had a strong passion for dressing up as a character. It has been

a big part of my life, as it developed my confidence and personality.

TGL: What has been your favourite moment?

NK: The best part about being in cosplay is when people approach you for pictures and want to talk to you about how you made your costume. My favorite moment was when I was at a convention and a young girl came up to me, as she was so intrigued in my costume. I’m sure that she didn’t know who Princess Mononoke was; however I loved how curious she was to see someone covered in fur, with a large spear.

TGL: What was the worst day/experience for you in your cosplay career, what happened, and how did you deal with it?

NK: My worst cosplay experience has to be at London MCM Comic Con last year. I hadn’t placed my Princess Mononoke mask on my head properly and after being at the con for 5 minutes, it fell off. This resulted in the clay mask breaking in half and I then spent the whole day trying to putting it back together again, but it unfortunately didn’t work.

TGL: When you aren’t doing this, what do you do in your spare time?

NK: I am currently a first year student at uni, studying Costume design in West Sussex. The course has been great so far, and it should help me with a future career in theatre or film; as well as improving my skills in making cosplay.

TGL: What geek medium (Video Games, Comic Books, Novels, Movies etc.) has made the biggest impact on your life and why?

NK: I’m a HUGE anime fan, and I have been completely addicted for many years! I find the animation really appealing to me, as well as its interesting and random story lines. Occasionally, I will also get out my old Pokemon games on my Gameboy and Nintendo DS. Pokemon is my childhood, and I’m still madly in love with it today!

TGL: You are sent into a dystopian future from which there is no return. Which previous costume do you use and take the powers from, to survive and why?

NK: I’d probably have to go with my Nui Harime cosplay! Even though the costume isn’t very practical due to the 6 inch boot heals, she is pretty much invincible. Her large scissor blade would be very handy to chop down any obstacles.

TGL: Do you have any projects in the near future we should be excited to see?

NK: Due to uni I haven’t been working on anything just yet, but I do have many future cosplay plans! I hope to be cosplaying Kiki from ‘Kiki’s Delivery Service’, and hopefully I will start working on an armour based cosplay linking to a Pokemon gijinka, or a game from my childhood. I like to keep people wondering about what I do next, so it’s more of a surprise when I reveal my new cosplay!

TGL: What advice do you have for any aspiring cosplayers out there?

NK: My advice would be to just go out there and do it! It doesn’t matter if you can make a costume, buy a costume, or even if you think that it won’t look great, just go ahead and do it. I think it’s best to just do what you want to do, and not worry about what others think, and that’s where you will build your confidence. If you’re struggling to find out what you want cosplay, then look at others for inspiration! When I look at other cosplayers, they really inspire me to do better and push me to achieve more.

TGL: Out of the costumes you have done in the past, which one has been the most difficult and why?

NK: The most difficult one has got to be a cosplay that I made for one of my good friends. This was one of the first props that I had ever made from scratch, and it took me around an entire year to make! The hobby horse prop was mainly made out of expanding foam, which ended up taking ages to carve. This prop is around 5ft 3’ tall from the game ‘Alice: Madness Returns’, and its pretty light for its size. I recon the paint job on this took the longest overall, as I decided that painting it with a paint brush rather than spray painting it would be faster. Although, it ended up looking way more detailed and defined when finished! If you want to see progress images of the prop, you can find them on my Facebook page.

We want to give a huge shout out to Ninjah Kitty for taking the time to answer our question! Please go and spam her social media with love because she deserves every single ounce of it!

Cover photo by: Petits Pois Photography

First Photo by: https://www.facebook.com/martinsiggersphotography

Second Photo by: https://www.facebook.com/progenitorphotography

Third photo by: https://www.facebook.com/RossSiggersPhotography