I’m excited to introduce a fabulous cosplayer I recently met through Instagram, Naomi VonKreeps. You may have run into her destroying hordes of demons in Diablo III, rocking the floor of Canadian Comic Cons as a badass Demon Hunter, or destroying Rebel scum for the Empire. I’m immensely excited to have her here on AiPT!, talking about her passion for cosplay, Diablo III, and love of Star Wars.

Check out the interview below, and also the gallery of some of her favorite cosplay shots!

AiPT!: What first got you into cosplay?

Naomi VonKreeps: I’ve always been a big Star Wars fan, and I kept seeing photos of people dressing up as characters from different movies, video games, etc, and every time I saw someone dressed in a Star Wars cosplay all I could think was OMG, I MUST DO THIS.

AiPT!: How long have you been cosplaying?

VonKreeps: About six years now. Sweet holy poop that’s a long time.

AiPT!: Why do you cosplay?

VonKreeps: For several reasons. I like to pay homage to characters I really enjoy playing, watching, and reading but mainly because I absolutely love the making of the costumes. Particularly now that I’ve gotten into making armour, that is all I want to make! No more sexy cosplays for me. It’s all about making giant armour builds!

AiPT!: What was your first cosplay?

VonKreeps: The worst Stormtrooper costume in existence. I cringe just thinking about it.

AiPT!: What was your first convention?

VonKreeps: My hometown–Ottawa Comic-Con.

AiPT!: What was your last convention?

VonKreeps: [Also] Ottawa Comic-Con!

AiPT!: What is your next convention?

VonKreeps: I’m not sure yet. I’ve basically retired from cosplaying and attending conventions. I only make one cosplay a year now and attend one or two conventions only.

AiPT!: Is cosplay a hobby you see yourself doing in 10 years?

VonKreeps: Probably not unfortunately. As mentioned, I’m down to only making one costume a year. As fun as cosplaying is, it is so time consuming and EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE!!!!

I‘ll continue for a couple more years, call it quits for good, then start making armour for my cats as a hobby LOL!

AiPT!: Do you create cosplay from scratch, do you cobble them together from existing pieces, or is a combination of the two?

VonKreeps: At the beginning it was cobbling things together. Now I make everything from scratch. It is my favorite part of cosplaying!

AiPT!: What is your favorite costume?

VonKreeps: My Demon Hunter cosplay from Diablo III for sure!

AiPT!: What makes it your favorite?

VonKreeps: I’ve mained a Demon Hunter since Diablo III came out in 2012 (I AM STILL PLAYING THIS DAMN GAME – SEND HELP, I CAN’T STOP). I have wanted to create this cosplay since then, but was wayyyy too chicken to even attempt something so complicated, and waited three years until I finally did it!!!

AiPT!: What is your favorite part of putting on your costume?

VonKreeps: I actually don’t like putting on the costumes! Every single costume I have made, I’ve waited until the very last minute to try everything on. It’s the worst thing I could do, yet I do it every single time. I tried on my entire Demon Hunter cosplay a week before the convention. I like living dangerously. Haha.

AiPT!: There’s a huge debate within the cosplay community surrounding who and what can cosplay. What’re your thoughts?

VonKreeps: My thoughts are anyone can cosplay anything they want. Body type, gender, race shouldn’t stop people from cosplaying a character they love. This is what cosplaying is about. You cosplay someone, or something you are passionate about. The people who think that costumes should be race, gender, species, specific can go $%#& themselves.

AiPT!: Have you ever had a cosplay that was extremely uncomfortable or painful? What’re you willing to put up with to have a great costume?

VonKreeps: ALL. OF. THEM. Seriously. I have not made one comfortable costume to date. If you see me at a convention I’m basically dying a slow death of discomfort. And if they are semi comfortable, they are usually too hot, so I’m dying a slow death of heat stroke.

AiPT!: How far into your character do you get? Are you Naomi casually playing a character or are you THE character?

VonKreeps: I’m Naomi casually playing a character. I’m too goofy to totally get into a character.

AiPT!: What advice do you have for people who want to cosplay but have no experience with sewing and craft creation?

VonKreeps: WATCH ALL THE YOUTUBE TUTORIALS! I knew nothing when I started. I still have no idea what I’m doing when I start making a cosplay, but YouTube tutorials have helped me tremendously!

AiPT!: How is the cosplay community?

VonKreeps: The cosplay community is full of super nice and positive people. I don’t have enough good things to say about all the amazing people I have met within the community. They absolutely rule!

AiPT!: What is the best and worst cosplay advice you’ve received?

VonKreeps: Best cosplay advice was to cosplay anything I wanted. Worst advice was to not cosplay blonde characters because blonde didn’t suit me.

AiPT!: Where can we find you online?

VonKreeps: EVERYWHEREEE!

I’m most active on Twitter and Instagram. Find me on both under @naomi_vonkreeps.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/naomivonkreeps

Tumblr: http://naomi-vonkreeps.tumblr.com