We recently connected with Abra Britnell and have shared our conversation below.
Abra, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
I learned everything I know from one of two ways: Theme parks or friends. I started working in the theme park industry in 2011, where I started as a Cosmetologist at Walt Disney World. From there I kept exploring my options and found myself in scenic painting, set construction, and special effects and makeup applications. I took everything I learned from Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and Hollywood, and Busch Gardens Tampa, and applied them to my freelance career in cosplay and fabrication. The other way I learned was just by asking people who inspired me for advice and feedback. I never stopped asking questions and surrounded myself with others who did the same.
There’s many obstacles that effected my journey, I think being a creative in a professional space is sometimes very hard. Not every work environment is going to gel with you as a person. I think we as artists need to sometimes realize it’s not that we can’t do it, it’s just that our wires are programmed differently.
Abra, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Abra and I go by Abradorable online. I am a professional fabricator and award-winning cosplayer. I started cosplaying in 2008 and started competing in professional cosplay craftsmanship contests in 2010. I have won multiple awards ranging from best prop, best construction, to best in show. I am internationally known and I will be traveling to Japan this summer to present an award at the World Cosplay Summit in Nagoya, Japan. I love to work with conventions as a guest in helping them judge their craftsmanship competitions, and I host workshops focusing on paint and armor building, and general craftsmanship feedback and advice panels. I love to help others obtain their cosplay goals and guiding them in their journeys to create their dream builds. I use my professional background in theme park fabrication, as a way to help cosplays think outside the box and provide them with useful information they may not find elsewhere.
I also love to stream and in my downtime I will often paint models and minifigures on twitch!
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
When I started in cosplay there wasn’t much as far as tutorials. You basically had to just do trial and error or hope to meet someone who had done something similar to what you were trying to accomplish and reach out and ask them. Now there are tons of tutorials, videos, patterns and info graphics for those looking to get into cosplay.
The best places to go to look for cosplay resources are:
-Youtube (video tutorials and essays)
-Etsy ( Patterns and file downloads)
-Tiktok and Instagram (Short format video guides)
-Discord (Communities of people with similar interests to ask for help)
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
My family is all logical and I’m the weird one out being the creative. I think the hardest thing for my family to grasp was that there is a career for art. If you’re like me and your family doesn’t quite understand, don’t let it deter you from creating. Sometimes you just have to forge your own path and if your light is bright enough your family will be able follow you. Don’t give up. There’s tons of communities online to support you if you don’t find what you need at home.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abradorable/
- Twitter: https://x.com/Abragator
- Other: https://www.twitch.tv/abradorable
Image Credits
All photo credits go to @woclass_weeb on instagram