Alexa hails from Boston, Massachussets and is passionate about photography.
She is relatively new to the cosplay scene but has been recognized by geek culture sites and staff of the games she is cosplaying from …
for her phenomenal Lara Croft costumes and her fantastic interpretation of Ratonhnhaketon from Assassin’s Creed.
You can find some of Lexa’s tomb raider cosplay and assassins creed cosplay work below which we hope will inspire aspiring cosplayers looking for ideas.
Make sure to show your support for Lexa by clicking and sharing the images below on Google+ and Facebook.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
My name is Lexa and I am very passionate about the world of media including but not limited to movies , music , video games, comics and so on.
I started photos in hope of recreating my love for different aspects of movies and print media and it slowly morphed into so much more!
Today I use photography and now my own ability to make costumes and props to show what is really on my mind. I still use it as an artistic escape into a whole new world!
Where did your love for costuming begin?
When I think back and try and pin down where it all came from I guess I have always had the urge to design but it wasn’t until recently that I decided ” lets make this fantasy a reality!”
I was drawing costumes and outfits and putting together ideas since I was little but I was always a little too scared to actually try and make anything myself.
My real first attempt at sewing was taking an old pair of jeans and making a dress out of them.
Due to my poor workmanship at the time my mom mistook them as just torn up jeans (I didn’t get to far with sewing it together), and threw it away.
As of today and the future I am in the learning phase of costuming and I think much like any trade or talent you keep learning and I am still much of a newbie.
I have yet to use a sewing machine! (hides)
You are a cosplayer and a serious self-portrait photographer. How do these two hobbies influence each other?
They are a huge influence on each other. Since all my self portraits deal with characters and creating new worlds, cosplay is just another way to achieve this goal.
Cosplay itself has helped me take my photography to a whole new level.
Although most of my cosplay photos are pretty simple my goal is to work towards a more dramatic approach and more hollywood style portfolio!
Secretly my biggest goal would be to one day shoot behind the scenes photos for major blockbusters.
Until then I can enjoy shooting my own recreations and creations of popular media!
Could you describe one of your favourite costuming projects to us? Why did you enjoy this project so much?
To date my favorite would have to be my Assasin’s Creed: Ratonhnhaketon!
That costume was such a struggle to make but so rewarding at the end! I was inspired to do something I hadn’t seen done yet and this version of Connor was just the thing!
Maybe at first I was choosing something a wee bit extreme but I was determined to make it work!
The wolf head had to have been the most time consuming and aggravating part of the whole costume aside from the leggings.
At first I wanted to make a wolf head out of fake fur but slowly I realized it just wasn’t working for me.
I like to get the detail of real life and a fake wolf head just didn’t mesh well to me so I called up a friend who specialized in tanning and hides and put in a request.
Now first things first it is not a real wolf pelt one because they are very rare and endangered but also because I am small and it would be rather large on my head.
So I went for a more common and highly over populated coyote pelt.
The pelt when I first got it didn’t really work the way I wanted it to because it was pretty much like working with cardboard it wasn’t a soft pelt (I forgot about this).
So a lot of time was spent making it work the way I needed it to.
A lot of time was spent cutting the head just right and hand piecing the fur on the head dress.
Now a lot of people who have done Connor costumes all seem to struggle with the same thing, the leggings.
That was the second thing that really made me pull my hair out.
You would think it would be easy but to get the right look required a lot less effort than I put into it.
Its just something that looks more intricate than it really was and that was the only mistake that made it so aggravating.
Over all once everything was done and put together the response it got at PAXEast was out of this world! It was a real show stopper! I was beyond proud.
How do you balance your everyday life with your cosplay life?
It is hard to say because in one way cosplay is part of photography and photography is pretty much my life during the year (art school) but in another way during summer when I am not working on school projects it is just a side activity.
I guess for me to keep the stress down I build cosplay into what I do during my normal life that way it is less of an extra task and more of one big project.
During the summer and time off it is more of just a way to spend free time.
As a bigger picture cosplay is such a huge part of my future goals that is has become part of my everyday life now.
In terms of technical skills what would you say are your strengths in costuming? (i.e. Props, latex, embroidery, corsetry etc.)
Errr…I am not really sure what strengths I have yet since I am still getting my feet wet in the world of costuming and prop making.
I guess you could say that weathering costumes and objects is a strength and always adds heaps of realism to my work.
I am a bit obsessed with shading so it is only natural I would want to add that to my costumes.
Do you ever encounter any “artist’s block” with cosplay? How do you overcome it?
All the time! Even if I have a whole range of things I could make sometimes to me nothing really speaks to me and I try not to just make stuff for the sake of having something new.
When I get blocks I try and talk it out with someone and brainstorm ideas. Sometimes something that seemed to difficult to do could now be done a different way and that’s a way I overcome a block.
I think anytime I get a block it is mainly because I feel like I don’t have the right skills to accomplish some things, not that I really run out of ideas.
What are you most excited for when going to a convention?
Ekkk the atmosphere! The amount of energy and excitement is such a great thing and I love being surrounded by it! It is a place where the unexpected can always happen.
You can meet people from all over the world and network, make new friends, learn a whole lot, and sometimes even meet stars from some of your favorite things.
As far as cosplay goes conventions are a great place to show your love for costumes no matter what skill level you are. People can be overwhelmed and think maybe they need to be some kind of cosplay guru to get noticed but that is not true!
80% of the people at cons aren’t there to just see good cosplay they are there to find people who love the same things they do and even a last minute thrown together cosplay is one of the best ways to start a conversation with someone who likes the same thing you do!
Can you share with us any new costuming projects you have in the works?
Currently I am working on a female Aquaman! I am making armor for the first time with worbla and I am not sure if I even got enough!
Errrr I will have to get creative to make it all work!
That is the only costume I am really working on right now but I am still trying to decide on another for Chicago Comic Con.
Closing remarks?
I really hope I can help inspire people to get creative and just have fun! Cosplay has no limits so anything is possible!
I love to meet new people so please feel free to send me a message on my Facebook page or even say hi to me if you see me at a future con! I swear I don’t bite!
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