I met Drisana online through the Kumoricon Facebook group. Sydney had asked the group if there would be interest in joining their DnD Eeveelutions group and I answered the call!
After joining their private facebook group and chat, I got to know Drisana through all her progress posts. She’ll be our Leafeon Ranger for our Eeveelutions group and she’s not only making her cosplay, she’s helping make both female and male versions of our Umbreon Thieves! She works super quickly and has gained quite a following on her instagram, facebook, and youtube despite only officially cosplaying for a year and a half. I can’t wait to see what other cosplays she does in the future!
Like I mentioned in Sydney’s chapter, I got to meet Drisana in person when she hosted the cosplay work meetup at her house. She’s been gracious enough to offer me a futon to sleep on during Kumoricon weekend and I’m so grateful! It’s gonna save me so much money. It’s also a lot more fun to have a cosplay sleepover than to have a lonely (and expensive) hotel room to yourself. Thank you again, Drisana! You’re the best!
Drisana
Age: 25
Hometown: Castro Valley, CA
Current city: Vancouver, WA
Q: How long have you’ve been cosplaying?
A: Officially, a year and a half.
Q: What was your first ever cosplay and how old were you?
A: My first ever cosplay was Princess Serenity and I was 21-22.
Q: What was the first con you ever attended?
A: Fanime in San Jose, CA.
Q: Who or what introduced you to cosplay?
A: My dad, when I was visiting him one summer.
Q: What is your favorite cosplay you’ve ever made?
A: My favorite would have to be either Merida from Brave, or Mako Mankanshoku from Kill La Kill.
Q: What cosplay was the most difficult to make? What new techniques did you learn from it?
A: The most difficult cosplay to make was for sure my DnD Leafeon Ranger cosplay. I was determined to make it as professional as possible which included my own pattern making, dying and gradient dying my fabric, making clothing I’d never made before, using my serger and lining my fabrics. I learned, essentially, how to do all those things by failing a ton. I also learned fabric shrinks when you wash it. PREWASH YOUR FABRIC!
Q: What cosplays are you currently working on? When will you be debuting it/them?
A: I’m working on: Morgiana from Magi to debut at NewCon 2016, my Leafeon Ranger to debut at Kumoricon 2016, and the accessories for my D.Va costume to debut probably at NewCon2016.
Q: What’s your one dream cosplay if budget/time/skill weren’t an issue?
A: I’ve got several. Original Harley Quinn, Human Luna from Sailor Moon, Mercy’s original skin and her Valkyrie skin from Overwatch. I’m sure there are more that I’m just not remembering at the moment.
Q: What do you like/dislike about the cosplay community?
A: What i like about it is that it is a community. There are tons of people wearing their hearts on their sleeves, being remarkably vulnerable, and accepting others who are doing the same. You can make friends simply based on the costume you’re wearing or the pins you’ve got on your bag, or the panels you’re attending. Everyone, mostly, wants to have a good time and be happy, and to ensure that you have a good time and be happy. All in all it’s mostly a very supportive and loving community.
What I dislike is that due to Cosplay becoming really popular lately in the media, a lot of body negativity or negativity in general has trickled down into our hobby/community. For example, now it’s become even harder to cosplay a character that isn’t sexy or that is sexy without getting extremely toxic comments about your body, how you should look, what you need to change about yourself, etc.
Q: Who are your cosplay idols?
A: @Cosparade for her magical wig work, @Breezeeweezee for her cosplay design concepts and super positive attitude, and @Adrestia for her stellar armor making capabilities.
Q: Have you entered any contests? If so, how did you do? Would you do it again?
A: I entered my first costume contest at a mini convention in August 2016, so it wasn’t necessarily the same as a contest will be at a larger or non-mini convention. So, my first real contest will be at Kumoricon 2016.
Q: When you’re not working on a cosplay, what do you do with your free time?
A: Vidya games. Netflix. School. The norm.
Q: If you could give one tip to new cosplayers, what would it be?
A: Don’t doubt yourself. When you look at cosplayers who have been doing it a little longer or who have a bit more experience than you, things are going to look so daunting and unattainable. But really, they’re not! Make that costume you don’t think you’re skilled enough to make, style that crazy pointy wig, get started on that insane prop. As you’re working, you’ll learn new skills, learn better ways of doing things, and find out that you really are good enough, and talented enough to do that outfit or that character. You might not realize your growth until you look back on that first crazy costume you made and then you’ll see it, how neat your seams are now, how solid your pattern construction has become. But none of that growth and self-realization will happen if you don’t believe in yourself and get to work on that cosplay. You can do it!
If you want to follow Drisana’s work, check out all her different pages!
Ashweez Cosplay 
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