Kieshar is a Texas-based, award-winning, cosplayer. They started cosplaying in 2007 as Roy Mustang from Fullmetal Alchemist and Unknown Riku from Kingdom Hearts. They absolutely fell in love with everything about it from the creation, to wearing it, and people’s reactions. They have a background professionally in fine arts painting and illustration. They heavily compete in craftsmanship and recently won Best in Show at Anime Frontier 2024 with 3 Cloud Strife dresses from FF7 Remake. They also specialize in texture, sculpting, painting effects, color and sewing. 

Digital Lavender (aka Tabs) has been cosplaying for over 10 years, starting with Pokémon gijinka and evolving into genderbending fan favorites like Johnny Silverhand. She specializes in sewing and wig styling, bringing 90s icons like Botan (Yu Yu Hakusho) and Ranma Saotome (Ranma ½) back to life, and is known for her many creative takes on Princess Daisy. 

When asked how to start a cosplay, Tabs responded by stating how she starts by having a fixation on a character and then breaking the cosplay down to it's components. "It starts with an obsession, and then I have to...bring myself down to Earth a little bit and see if...I can really pull this off." Tabs states. Keishar describes something similar, by having an "...intense love for the character" and then goes on to say "...even if you don't know the skill, you're going to go out and learn it." Keishar says. "...it's just the audacity that comes with being a cosplayer." Keishar states.

"There are so many skills that go into a single cosplay." Tabs says, and she states some of the possible practices that one could use, such as 3D printing, modeling, foam smithing, sewing, and wig styling. Keishar says that these techniques get more specific for them depending on if they compete in a cosplay contest or not. "...if its just for funsies, then you know, the way [I would go about making the outfit] would be completely different." Keishar states. They further describe a project that they recently worked for a contest piece where they decided to use a zipper instead of velcro as an example because they knew it was going to be judged by a panel. 

Due to the growth of social media, it has defintely made a significant impact on society, but more specifically on cosplay. "[It placed] cosplay on a bigger platform. It's not this niche hobby anymore." Tabs says. Tabs also explains that this "...brings more eyes..." on cosplay, which causes criticism to come out from people who may not be as knowledgeable about cosplay. She describes an example of this with her cosplay of Johnny Silverhand from Cyberpunk 2077. "I get so many comments being like 'his arm is on the wrong side'. First of all, no it's not. ... Also, I did not ask for a critique. So, even if it was on my right arm, why does it matter?" Tabs says. Keishar chalks this up to people being awkward and not being able to accurately express what they are wanting to say someone in cosplay. They also state that due to social media "...you can see more people that do get so damn close to these characters that they might as well be the physical representation [of them]. It restricts...the accepting of people just understanding that cosplay really is just for us to show our love for these characters. 

Both Keishar and Tabs explain that they had a familial connection when learning some of the skills that they have now prior to cosplaying; Tabs learning how to hand embroider with her great aunt and Keishar learning to sew with their grandmother. These two skills translated into their current projects, with Tabs Pokemon gajinka and with Keishar placing together patterns for the renaissance festival. Keishar goes on to explain that when they started cosplaying, materials were not as readily available on the market to buy, and that there is a shift to this with tarriffs and with the recent closure of the large fabric chain JoAnn's. "We're going to have to go back to old school because buying fabric is so much harder and the tools are just not accessible." Keishar says.