…Lilium66
Hello everybody, today I’m with Lydia. How are you?
Tired, as always ^_^
Hehe, fine! Can you introduce yourself to TICW readers?
Hello, my name is Lydia Engle, I am 19 years old and live in Minnesota.
Did you study in any art school?
No, I actually plan on becoming a biologist.
Do you think your hometown is a suitable place for creatives like you?
Its really half and half, there is a lot of inspiration in the Stillwater area, but also a lot of very uninspiring people.
When and how did you get passionate with photography and cosplay?
When I was 13 years old I signed my first modeling contract…the work was boring, and the Photographer seemed to be the one calling all the shots. I decided I wanted to be behind the camera until I figured out I couldnt AFFORD to be. That is when I started working to be better at what I was good at, I got into cosplay heavily when I was 18 and started being able to call my own shots and choose my photographers.
What are your main visual influences?
Well I mostly cosplay from MLP;FiM (my little pony; friendship is magic) so the show is a great influence on my cosplays. I let my modeling work just happen as my creativity demands it (I also put a lot of polls out on my deviantart page as to what to do next)
What can you tell us about this work?
That is so far my favorite cosplay, it is Princess Luna from the show My Little Pony; Friendship is Magic. It took me about a year to put the entire thing together (I am also pretty poor and cant afford things all at once).
this picture was taken in a cemetery in White Bear Lake MN. We were going for a look of mourning (clearly) and managed to capture it pretty well in my opinion. That dress nearly drags on the ground if I am not wearing heals with it, so it looks pretty good fanned out like that.
What do you like most about cosplay?
I love that people recognize WHO I am cosplaying, it makes me feel like my work paid off and I have captured the character I am attempting to be.
that and conventions…weekend long parties with no regrets ^_^ (mostly)
How would you define Internet’s role in your daily life?
Oh…it is pretty much my entire outlet, I hate being inside, so when I am, I am on the internet, mainly deviantart.com.
I run and manage a few groups that deal with my field of interest. I tend to stay MOSTLY off of facebook and other such sites….though I do visit 4chan every so often (or more than I like to admit).
Would you like to work as a pro photographer?
I cant say that I would….after six years of working my way up in the modeling world, and years of seeing what the photographers have to do…it has become unappealing to me. It is very hard work, it is expensive and it is greatly under appreciated by a lot of people. It is a job I dont think I have the patience for.
What are you working on these days?
well I am mostly working on perfecting a few cosplays, and getting outfits together for non-cosplay photo shoots. I am also preparing for a few anime conventions in the near future including Anime Fusion, and the….further off Anime Detour.
What about your plans for the future?
Well I plan to keep modeling as a side hobby and keep working towards a PhD in Biology. I plan on becoming a Shark Biologist
Thank you! Is there anything else would you like to say to our readers?
Thank you for reading and checking out my stuff!
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