Cosplay Confidential: Hanari Cosplay

Jeffrey Lyles November 7, 2014October 28, 2016 1 Comment cosplay, Cosplay Confidential, New York Comic Con 2014

Hanari Cosplay is an amazing cosplayer

Anyone who attended this year’s New York Comic Con no doubt spotted Hanari Cosplay. This fantastic cosplayer as she had easily one of the most eye-catching and unique costumes that I’m willing to bet most of us haven’t seen cosplayed before.

Hanari Solomon doesn’t go for the typical hot cosplay choices, which help make her stand out and the quality of her costumes is very impressive. Read on to learn about one of the soon-to-be bigger names in the growing field.

Name: Hanari Solomon

How I got into cosplay: Homestuck, surprisingly enough in 2011. I dressed up as a mediocre Sis Strider and received such positivity from everyone around me that I just decided ‘Hey maybe this could be a good thing’ and I went from there.

How long have you been doing it? I’ve been cosplaying for about 3 and a half years officially.

What was your first costume? My first cosplay was a really badly done Temari in 2008 at Megacon. I even entered the cosplay contest. It was really upsetting but it reminds me where I came from and how much I improved.

What was the hardest costume you’ve done? The hardest costume I think I’ve done so far is Jinx from league of legends. A friend and I worked on the props, he built them and I painted them, but they all moved and spun and lit up and rushing to finish them before the convention absolutely drained me.

How much time does it take to make an average costume? The average time it takes me to make a costume, depending on complexity, varies a lot. I’ve made cosplays in a literal day and I’ve made cosplays that spanned 6 months of work, but regularly it takes a couple of weeks from ‘I’m gonna cosplay this’ to ‘ohmygod its done’.

How much money do you typically spend on your outfits? I normally spend maybe a few hundred on an elaborate cosplay. Miss Pauling was like 25-30 dollars and Jinx was 600-700 dollars. It all depends on how complicated the cosplay is. Opal cost me about 200-300 dollars.

What makes it so rewarding? The thing that makes it the most rewarding is the kids. Thats one of the biggest reasons why I cosplay. I like cosplaying characters because I like the recognition I not only get from the fans, but the little kids that light up when they see their favorite character out on the floor, and that makes me incredibly happy.

Sometimes I run into voice actors and show writers and I tell them how much they inspired me and show them the cosplay and they tell me how much they appreciate it and that’s probably one of the best feelings in the world. The feeling of knowing that you care enough about something that somebody else made that you want to bring it to life to show them, and they love you for it. It’s one of my favourite things about cosplaying.

Do you have a regular group you partner up with for costumes? I don’t have a regular group I partner with for cosplays. I have a lot of cosplay friends that help me with things and I’m in a couple of cosplay groups, but most if not all of my cosplays are solo endeavors.

What would you say to people who have thought about doing cosplay, but haven’t quite worked up the nerve yet? If I were to give advice to anybody who wants to start cosplaying, practice. Invest in a sewing machine. Have patience.

You will always be able to fix it and you have an endless amount of time to learn and better your skills. You can’t become great overnight. Give it time and work within your abilities. You’ll be able to do great things if you don’t push yourself too hard.

Do you have a website people can check out more of your costumes? I do have a website people can check for my cosplays!