We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nova Sparks a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Nova, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
I keep my creativity alive in a variety of ways. The first way is by incorporating new techniques in every cosplay I make. Whether it’s a brand new skill, a new technique, or a new way of completing a skill, there is always something new you can learn. I find that this allows me to challenge myself and keeps me engaged in the project as I try to learn something new. For example, when I was working on my Star Guardian Janna cosplay, I wanted to add some texture to her staff. I learned about using wood glue and wood filler on the thermoplastic parts of the staff and it helped to give it the effect I wanted. Doing the research on these new techniques also allows for me to read up on what other creatives are doing which is very inspiring.
The second thing I do to keep creativity alive is expose myself to other artists. I find inspiration from multiple places including other cosplayers, digital artist, anime, TV shows, and live performances. There’s so much we can learn and build on from other creatives. I find that when I’m in a creative a rut I try to expose myself to more art forms. I love seeing how people made what they made, what they love about it, what they hate about it, and what their biggest challenge is. By learning about others’ processes, I find new and better ways to improve my own skills.
Another thing I’ll do is have multiple projects going at the same time. I can sometimes get stuck on a project and not be sure what to do. By working on another project, it helps my brain think over the issue. When I was working on my Fifth Spirit Elsa I was getting stuck on how to attach the fabric strips to the back without it having the back bodice of the dress fold over. I was getting extremely frustrated since I couldn’t figure it out. I paused working on that for a few months and picked up other projects in the meantime. While working on other projects, it helped my brain come up with a solution that helped me to solve the problem. Having multiple projects going also helps me add some variety. There will be times that I don’t want to sew or work on something specific so it’s nice to have options. This keeps me engaged in the creative process regardless of what I want to work on.
Lastly, I try engage in something creative each day, no matter how small. I find that if I create something, or even work on creating something, every day, it increases my motivation. I try to carve some time before or after my job to work on my cosplays and other creative projects. This helps me to keep my skills clean and develop new techniques.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I made my first cosplay over ten years ago for a Relay for Life event and have never stopped. Since then, my passion for cosplay has grown exponentially. I have created cosplays from a variety of fandoms including Marvel, DC, anime, video games, cartoons, and original designs. I make the majority of my cosplays and enjoy refining my skills in this area. Sewing is where the majority of my focus goes, but I have also been developing my foam smithing, wig styling, resin casting, and 3d printing skills. One of my favorite things to do is dying fabric and wigs, especially if I get to make an ombre with different colors. It was a difficult skill for me to master and the multiple colors look beautiful together. My more recent projects include adding details that make pieces pop like adding rhinestones and trimmings.
Competing in cosplay contest is something that brings me joy. I am currently working on a cosplay that I will be presenting at Nan Des Kan in Denver over Labor Day Weekend. I love bringing my favorite characters to life on stage with a performance that encaptures who they are. Growing up I did dance and competitive cheer events, and it’s nice being able to find that joy of performing on stage as an adult. Competitions are also a great way to meet other cosplayers and talk shop about how their creative process and how they created their piece. There is such a wealth of knowledge at these events and it really helps me to grow as an artist.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The three qualities that were most impactful on my cosplay journey are determination, ingenuity, and collaboration.
When starting to make cosplay it can be difficult to get started since there’s so many skills involved in the hobby that it can be disheartening you can’t do it all. Where do you start? How can you get these skills? The list goes on and on. By having determination you focus on what’s important and keep going. Most people look back on their first cosplays and find them riddled with mistakes. Having determination made me really want to focus on improving my skills and learning as much as I could. I look back at what I was making years ago and notice so much improvement. Without determination, I would have given up and missed out on so many wonderful experiences.
A lot of cosplay is figuring out how to make things. With media like anime, animation, and videogames it can be difficult to bring designs to life. It takes a lot of creativity to transform 2d designs in to wearable pieces. I unintentionally developed this skill by picking characters with designs that I didn’t fully think through in my initial planning process. When I first started cosplaying, the only skill I had was basic sewing from one year of class in high school. One of my first cosplays was my own design of Harley Quinn. I struggled with the hammer because I’ve never made a prop before and a lot of the cosplay supplies we have now were not easily accessible them. I had no idea what to make the hammer out of or where to even start. I looked online for advice and saw how someone made theirs out of carboard. Evening following someone else’s tutorial I struggled with how to attach the hammer head to the PVC Pipe since it kept falling down the pipe since the glue wasn’t holding. I used some tape to create a support structure to hold it in place so it wouldn’t slip off and painted the tape to blend in to the hammer. No matter how much you make there’s always going to be something you don’t know how to replicate in the new world. That’s where the ingenuity comes in.
In my opinion, cosplay is a social hobby. There is so much communication between talking with other cosplayers to build your skills, putting together groups, and problem solving together. Without collaboration skills, I would still be stuck with the same skill set and level I had ten years ago. Knowing how to approach others in person and in dms is essential. I have found that being direct and polite is the way to go. Most people will ignore messages that say “hey.” A greeting is a great way to start, but add on to the message. What do you like about their work? What exactly do you want. If you explain what you want you’re way more likely to get a response. Word gets around quick in the Colorado cosplay community. If you treat people disrespectfully or rudely people will know and not want to work with you. Make sure that while you are being your genuine self that you aren’t being rude. Cosplay will get lonely if you unintentionally isolate yourself from the community. I would have quit cosplaying if I didn’t make the connections I made during my first year of cosplaying.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
I’ve been feeling overwhelmed lately between exploring my creative hobbies, my day job, and helping staff a convention. The first step I take is to complete a breathing exercise. A couple of my favorites are box breathing and alternate nostril breathing. Once I’ve gathered myself, I like to make some to do lists. For me, it helps when I have separate lists for each event if I have multiple happening around the same time. For example, I currently have my day job list, convention I’m staffing list, convention I’m competing at list, and a miscellaneous list for things that don’t fall under the other categories. For me, chunking my list makes it more manageable and easier to rank importance of what needs to be done when. Once I have my lists done, I decide on when each list needs to be completed and how many tasks I need to complete in a week. i find that the number of tasks a week is more helpful than what tasks need to be done each week. When I work on the tasks that call to me, I find that I get more done than work on telling myself what needs to be done. Having these lists helps to keep me organized which relives some of my stress. Plus, nothing feels better than checking a task off a list.
An important thing that gets overlooked a lot when people are overwhelmed is self care. I find the quickest and easiest way for me to get burned out is when I’m overwhelmed. I try to make a point to drink water, have three meals a day, and get plenty of sleep, even when I have too much to do. I find that when I don’t take care of my basic needs I crash and burn a lot sooner. I make sure to take breaks and listen to my body when it needs rest. It can feel counterproductive to stop, but I’ve found that my quality of work improves after breaks as well as the overall time it takes me to complete a task. Movement really helps to reenergize me, so I’ll often do a yoga or dance video on YouTube to get my blood flowing. There is no deadline or item on a to do list that is more important than your wellbeing, so make sure to take care of yourself first.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://novasparkscosplay.weebly.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/novasparkscosplay
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NovaSparksCosplay/
- Twitter: https://x.com/novasparkscos
Image Credits
Yuki Cat Photography, Katya Nunez Photography, Aubry A Cosplay, Bokehnohero (featuring Personify Cosplay in the photo)
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
