Scoop: Please introduce yourself!!
Skeletim: Hi, I'm Tim, a/k/a Skeletim, and I'm a 25-year-old big dweebus. My day job is developing software, but every once in a while I get the itch to cosplay my favorite characters from webcomics, games, and anime. My last few notable costumes were Nozaki from Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-Kun, Fukutomi from Yowamushi Pedal, and Sanji from One Piece.

Scoop: What first got you interested in cosplay?
Skeletim: Every year for Halloween, I'd try my best to make costumes of my favorite cartoon and video game characters, such as Shaggy from Scooby-Doo. I also acted in school plays and loved exploring a large variety of characters. Then, I went to my first convention, Otakon '07, and found out people wore costumes outside of Halloween and put their hearts into their favorite characters. It was like a whole new world opened up to me and I knew I'd want to try it out sometime.

Scoop: What was it about cosplay that made you want to participate?
Skeletim: Initially, I wanted to look as cool/badass as my favorite characters from series like One Piece and Gurren Lagann. My teen self wanted to mingle with the other cosplayers and look super attractive (noble goals for young adulthood). I quickly found a huge variety of reasons to enjoy the hobby.

Scoop: What is your personal approach to cosplay? How do you pick a character to emulate?
Skeletim: It depends, but the biggest factor is usually whether or not I already mildly resemble the character. I know that's not the case for everyone, but I'm a tall, skinny guy and I love to pick characters that rock a similar physique. I tend to have a sense of humor about my cosplay too; characters that act in a goofy way or ones that solely exist to amuse fellow fans of a series always appeal to me. Also, I seem to have a track record cosplaying strong characters.

Scoop: Do you tend to make your own costumes, or do you receive help?
Skeletim: My friends and girlfriend help me so much. I would never get a costume done if I didn't commission pieces or receive a helping hand each time. I'm not good at crafting and sewing, so I like to throw money at my friends who are incredibly skilled and are trying to make a living off it. There are certain cosplays I make myself, but they're almost always simple gag characters. When I don't have disposable income and can't make it myself, I don't cosplay and this simple choice keeps me sane.

Scoop: What has been one of your best or most memorable experiences in cosplay?
Skeletim: I like to cosplay typically un-cosplayed side characters or be the first to cosplay a new series, and one of my most memorable experiences was being one of the first to cosplay from the webcomic Cucumber Quest with a huge group of my friends. I cosplayed Carrot and my girlfriend was Princess Parfait, a romantic couple in the story, and we got so many amazing pictures of us together. We also recreated hilarious scenes from the story and some of the pictures got the attention of the creator of the webcomic. She complimented our group and we could tell we really made her day.

Scoop: What issues do you think cosplayers tend to face?
Skeletim: Oh man, I have so many opinions about how other people live their lives! Like I mentioned earlier, I don't go outside of my means to make a costume happen. Many cosplayers have a lot of trouble prioritizing and it ends up costing them health and wealth. It's okay if a costume doesn't get done for a con and it's okay to skip a con if you can't afford it! Some of the best photoshoots happen outside of conventions. I guess other issues include people not in the hobby judging cosplayers harshly, and that's rude and they should stop.

Scoop: What do you think cosplay adds to the overall convention experience?
Skeletim: I went to a good number of conventions without cosplaying and they quickly got boring for me. If one person is bold enough to dress up, the convention morphs into a spectacle of wonder and awe. When huge groups of people cosplay, cons start to feel like theme parks with laughs and thrills. Once you don your own costume, the experience evolves into one with added stress, but also gains new opportunities for fun and excitement. You never know what kind of costume you might see and how it might let you connect to someone else entirely.

Scoop: Do you have any major convention or costume plans lined up?
Skeletim: I will be at Katsucon and MAGFest this month and PAX East in April. Later this year, I'll be attending Colossalcon, Otakon, AnimeUSA, and a handful of other cons. I literally just bought a terrible Waluigi mass-produced Halloween costume that I hope to transform into something more appealing. Other potential plans include a powered up version of Carrot from the webcomic Cucumber Quest, Leorio from Hunter X Hunter, and probably more One Piece characters.

Scoop: Any final thoughts you’d like to share?
Skeletim: Cosplay can be super fun so please try it! If you can't make your own, buy a costume (just don't enter any competitions, those are for craftsmanship, ya dummy!). Embrace your favorite character, meet some fellow fans, meme a little, Life's as extreme as you wanna make it!

Photo 1 by VintageAerith
Photos 3 and 5 by KDoran