Interview with the cosplayer Katy-Angel [Russia]. A selection of the best works. Specially for Gamer.ru
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Hello, dear inhabitants of the site Gamer.ru. Today I want to introduce you to a wonderful girl. She is a cosplayer and goes by the nickname Katy-Angel. In my opinion, Katy is the author of some of the best cosplays of Lightning (Final Fantasy XIII) and Alice (American McGee's Alice). I managed to take a small interview with her, specially for our site.

Hello, Katy. To start, I have a question: on deviantArt you hide behind the nickname Katy-Angel. Would you like to reveal your identity especially for the participants of the Gamer.ru project?

- Hiding behind a nickname wouldn’t be appropriate here because Katy is more of a stage name for me, which I’ve had for many years, and for people engaged in creativity, it is simply necessary. Many Russians who use social networks have already revealed that my real name is Ekaterina Arkhangelskaya, so it's not a secret.

Ekaterina, can I call you that from now on?

- Yes, of course.

Thank you. When did the thought of getting into cosplay come to your mind, and what served as the impetus for it?

- It was about five years ago; there wasn't even an impetus at that time, just an interest.

So, did you see someone's good cosplay on the Internet, and you wanted to create something similar?

- No, my first cosplay was Alice from American McGee, and it was something like a dream come true to be a character; the concept of cosplay came a bit later.

Does this mean that your favorite character is Alice from American McGee?

- I think so, at least one of the favorites.

Ekaterina, can I ask why Alice from American McGee became your first cosplay character? What attracted you to her?

- Because her type and character are very close to me, and this happens with almost every character. I believe this feeling visits everyone, not just cosplayers, when we see something similar or dear to the soul between ourselves and the hero.

In my opinion, your best work is the Lightning cosplay - the main character of Final Fantasy XIII. Can you briefly tell us about the process of creating this cosplay?

- Like all my works, I made it completely by myself. The process of creation is the same as always: first, you need to find all the necessary materials, then think through the sequence of actions, and finally craft. At the end, a photoshoot is always conducted to finalize the result.

What does cosplay mean to you – a regular hobby or a way of life?

- A way of life, and nothing else.

Is there a cosplay that you treasure the most and feel a warm affection for?

- I can’t name anything specific because my closet is entirely full of costumes and stuff that I just can't part with for various reasons.

Tell me, is there a character whose cosplay you would like to do the most?

- I always achieve my goals, so a new character I want to get closer to arises again and again =)

Ekaterina, can you tell us what cosplays you plan in the near future?

- As for games, I plan to continue working on Alice and do a couple more characters from Final Fantasy; concerning everything else, I would rather keep it a surprise.

How do your friends and family feel about your passion for cosplay?

- Of course, they support me because they understand that it's not so easy, and they are also interested in the result.

Are there people among your friends who are into cosplay, and do you communicate with other cosplayers from Russia?

- Of course, there are, and I not only communicate but also help them a lot)

So, do you have a community?

- No, I work alone.

In the gallery on deviantArt, I found many cosplays of characters from anime and manga (Code Geass, Death Note, K-On!). When did you get acquainted with the world of anime, and what titles do you prefer?

- It happened gradually; in anime and manga, very interesting and unusual characters are often found, so everyone who has tried to enter the world of cosplay inevitably faces the world of Japanese culture. I wouldn’t say I prefer anything in particular because I love diversity, so I choose heroes from various sources.

Are you not planning to visit such world-famous festivals as ComicCon, Otakon, and DragonCon?

- I’m not planning anything yet, but I would very much like to at least be there once.

Since I am conducting an interview for a gaming site, I can't help but ask you about your passion for computer games. When did you first meet the world of games?

- It first happened when I was 5 years old and saw the first PlayStation, but it wasn’t as serious until the arrival of the computer.

So, it was after getting a PC that you became a real gamer?

- That’s right.

And what was your first game?

- I don’t remember, I think it was Tomb Raider.

Do you have favorite games?

- Alice, Devil May Cry, Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Resident Evil, S4, the list can go on.

Impressive portfolio. You are a true gamer! By the way, are you familiar with gaming social networks? Our site is one of them.

- To list all the games I’ve completed would take several hours, but as for social networks, no, I’m not familiar because I've spent little time on the Internet lately, but that’s easy to fix =)

Ekaterina, thank you very much for your attention and for giving me the interview. It was a pleasure to talk to you. I will eagerly await your new works.

- And thank you ^^

Below are the works of Ekaterina.

Game cosplay

Lightning (Final Fantasy XIII)

Lightning (Aya Brea ver.) (Final Fantasy Dissidia)

Serrah Ferron (Final Fantasy XIII)

Alice (Alice Madness Returns)

Dante (Devil May Cry)

Trish (Devil May Cry 4)

Aya Brea (Parasite Eve: The 3rd Birthday)

Aqua (Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep)

Kairi (Kingdom Hearts II)

Luise Meyrink (The King of Fighters)

Anime / Manga cosplay

**Dark Master (Black Rock Shooter)**

C.C (Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion)

Yin (Darker than Black)

Misa (Death Note)

Vivaldi (Heart no Kuni no Alice)

Chrome Dokuro TYL (Katekyo Hitman Reborn)

Gokudera Hayato (Katekyo Hitman Reborn)

Akiyama Mio (K-On!)

Moka Akasia (Rosario+Vampire)

Suigintou (Rozen Maiden)

Shizuka Hiou (Vampire Knight Guilty)

Vocaloid cosplay

**Hatsune Miku**

Megurine Luka

Gumi Megpoid

Meiko

Comix cosplay

Black Cat (Spider-Man) [Marvel]

Movie cosplay

Babydoll (Sucker Punch)

You can see Ekaterina's other works in her personal galleries on deviantArt.com and cosplay.com.

Thanks for proofreading the interview - fr4ntic