Tell us a bit about yourself!

Epyra Does is a Cosplay duo (model/photographer and foam smith). We got into Cosplay to help each other out. I (Epy) am the model and main face. Nate is the foam smith and the major painter for any props. He is now also a photographer so our work is comprised of his photography work (Nate Takes) and my modeling sewing skills. All of which get put under the page epyra_does on Instagram.

What fandoms are you into?

Star Wars, Marvel and Anime (lots of them).

Can you tell us about your first cosplay?

Our first cosplay was Elektra. We wanted to keep to the comic book version because it was more to our taste. Nate basically did the patterning all himself and I cut the fabric and sewing of the costume. We chose Elektra because it was easy enough to learn but also challenging enough for amateurs. Elektra was also a strong female character in the fandom universe, being both sexy and powerful. It was also a classic, so why not?

Do you have a cosplay piece that you are most proud of?

We are most proud of the armored Supergirl. This particular piece was never done before because it was modified from fan art. This costume took extremely specific patterning and a very complex armor piece. This suit took the most trial and error but also turned out to be one of the most famous pieces on our page. It was a huge success.

What do you hope to achieve through cosplay?

We hope to inspire everyone to be creative and to show that Cosplay can be a safe outlet for everyone out there. We also hope to show that being a nerd can be a good thing and to show those who grew up feeling left out because of their entertainment preferences that they no longer need to feel that way. Everyone can all fit in with the Cosplay community.

If you could give any piece of advice to new cosplayers, what would it be?

Being canon is usually not the fun route. Let your mind be creative and try new things with your personal favorite characters.  You'll be surprised with the feedback that you can get and how fulfilling it is knowing that there's nothing else in the world quite like what you did.