[TCN’s Cultured Cosplay] Joanie Brosas
Welcome to another weekly edition of TCN’s Cultured Cosplay. In this series we recognize the hard work and talent of various cosplay artists and invite them to share with us their experiences and what makes them do what they clearly love doing.
We at TCN pride ourselves on only releasing verified news and releasing informative, inclusive content. We are a community of nerds doing what we are passionate about and hope to convey that passion to our readers and fellow nerds. This week, our Cosplay Interview column continues with well-known cosplayer Joanie Brosas.
Tell me about yourself and being first introduced to cosplay.
My name is Joanie Brosas, I’ve been cosplaying for almost 10 years now! My first introduction was a Star Trek convention and I decided I was going to paint myself green and cosplay as an orion slave! Go big or go home right?
What got you interested in doing cosplay?
I’ve always loved playing dress up and once I found out that people can do that at conventions, I definitely wanted to join in!
What was your first cosplay?
An orion slave!
What was your favorite cosplay/technique you are most proud of?
Favorite cosplay is Vampirella and my Data cosplay. The make up was difficult to perfect, but I’m very proud of how accurate and beautiful it turned out.
Do you have any upcoming cosplays you are excited about?
Leeloo!!! I love the fifth element and I have been waiting to do this for years!!
If money and time was no object, what is your dream cosplay?
The woman from mars attacks. She has such a cool and iconic look, but that wig is gonna be a challenge!
What is your favorite experience from doing cosplay?
When I cosplay as Rey, I love when kids pass me by and take a second look with excitement, it really is a magical feeling to make a kid believe that you’re the real character!
What is the most fun about cosplay?
Meeting new friends and people. I love to learn about cultures and people’s different background. I’ve been lucky enough to meet so many life long friends through cosplay!
What is the most difficult or challenging thing about cosplay?
Probably maintaining balance in my mental health. At times I exhaust myself with giving so much energy, I forget to keep some for myself.
What do you like doing when you aren’t working on cosplay projects?
I love to paint miniatures and to play video games, also I love play Kingdom Death Monster with my friends and family!
What’s your biggest pet peeve at cons?
Hmmm this is a tough one, and thankfully it doesn’t happen often, but I really dislike people crossing boundaries in my personal space without permission. Again, it doesn’t happen often, but it does put me and others in a difficult place on how to handle the situation with grace and kindness.
Which con would you most like to visit?
I would love to check out Dragoncon and NYCC, I hear so many wild and fun stories, I really want to experience it for myself!
If you weren’t a cosplayer, what would you be up to right now?
I would most likely be in Wedding coordination again. I had a blast doing it before/during my beginning years of cosplaying. I was passionate about it and really enjoyed my work.
What’s the most interesting thing you’ve read or seen this week?
Most interesting, probably the process in joining and maintaining a Twitch account haha. It’s a blast, but woah is it complicated!
What is one message you would give to beginning cosplayers?
Have fun and do it for you. Find people who inspire you, while also being an inspiration to others. It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks about your work, what does matter, is that you’re happy with it and you’re enjoying the process in sharing it with others.
Anything else you would like our readers to know about you?
I love meeting new people and I’m not as intimidating as I may seem. I would love to meet you and get to know you and help in any way I can, so please stop and say hi if you ever see me around!
Joanie can be found on social media platforms Instagram and Twitter. You can also support her on Twitch.
