At gamescom 2012 hosted earlier this month in Cologne, Germany, we crowned Svetlana Quindt the winner of our Blizzard Costume Contest for her stunning cosplay of the female barbarian from Diablo III. Check out a few snapshots of her costume at the event and follow-up studio session below, and be sure to continue reading for a quick Q&A!
Q. How long did this particular piece take to create?
It took about a month of full-time work to create the costume. Some years ago it took months to finish such a costume, but over the time I've learned a lot and knew this time just what to do and how to avoid mistakes. So, it was a pretty fast project.
Q. What materials did you use for this costume?
The whole armor is made out of the thermoplastic materials Worbla and Wonderflex in a combination with craft form. For the fabric parts, I used a lot of fake fur, furniture leather, or some orange fabric.
Q. Why the barbarian? What made you decide to cosplay this particular class from Diablo III instead of one of the others?
Well, I play a barbarian and a wizard. Last year, I made a wizard costume based on the amazing artwork of Wei Wang. I'm a pretty big fan of his work and he made an awesome painting of a kick-ass barbarian, too. I guess I have the right body shape for this class and just love to build armored, bulky, and very detailed costumes. And I just love the wild, aggressive, and very cool female barbarian in Diablo III. So, Wei Wang's barbarian artwork was just perfect for my next project.
Q. How long have you been an active cosplayer?
I started 2003 but only did it because everyone alse at the conventions in Germany did it. I really fell in love with cosplaying in 2005 when World of Warcraft was released and I had this really crazy idea of bringing my game character (the nightelf druid called Kamui) to "real" life. After five more handmade druid tier sets, I can say that 2005 and World of Warcraft were the real start of my cosplay carreer.
Q. What advice would you give to people who are interested in getting into cosplay, or are just starting out?
Over the years the cosplay scene developed a lot. People share their own costume progress on facebook or their blogs, make tutorials and are in many other ways very helpful. As a beginner it’s pretty easy to learn a lot just by following the work of others and then make your very first own steps in creating a costume. But besides doing your homework and research for some inspiration and help, it’s also important to plan well. Start early enough and expect problems and mistakes. No costume is done without some hard times full of frustration and desperation, but if you won’t give up and keep on fighting, you’ll be successful.
Q. What’s your favorite class in Diablo III, and why?
It's hard to decide between the wizard and the barbarian, but yeah, I guess it's the barbarian. I just love to jump into a group of blood-thirsty demons and kick them back to hell with my Whirlwind. I really like the wild and very aggressive style of the barbarian and the design of their huge and bulky armor.
Follow Svetlana's official cosplay page on Facebook for additional photos and updates, or learn more about her work over at http://www.kamuicosplay.com/.