We were lucky to catch up with Bennett Atlee recently and have shared our conversation below.

Bennett, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I had… not a traditional learning opportunity to get into cosplay. I had started out by learning how to make wigs and do theater makeup from an award winning makeup artist and wig maker. I had started learning around 10 years old when I had first done the opera “Madame Butterfly”, where it takes place in Nagasaki, Japan. This show in particular was the first for me to learn how to even attempt different types of makeup and how that reflects on camera, stage and in person.

After Butterfly, I had continued to do various other operas with the company that I was working for. from there I had taken a small step back and started going into high school theater makeup and costume work for my theater department.

If I had to change anything from when I was starting out, I would probably have worked on sewing earlier on in my cosplay career than I did. I have only started this past year after making Howl Pendragon’s coat and Sophie Hatter’s dress.

A lot of the essential skills are being open to not getting something right on the first try, that it takes time to be good at something and to learn a skill. I also think that getting into the core skills for a craft is best early on instead of specializing in one thing over another.

The main obstacles I’ve had were money and time. Getting into a crafting hobby is one of the most expensive and time consuming things I have ever done. However, there are countless ways to get around those if a person is resourceful and has access to the internet.

Bennett, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have been around in the cosplay/theatre/crafting world as long as I can remember. I first started getting into hair and makeup when I was roughly 10 years old, then grew into learning special effect makeup, from there I had started getting into cosplay when I was a freshman in high school. I then had started going to conventions with friends and started getting into my social media presence and cosplay space. Eventually it turned into starting to learn how to actually sew and construct my cosplays versus piecemealing them.

While I am sure that my friends and peers in the community could tell me what they think sets me apart from the rest of the cosplaying community, it’s hard to say for certainty what I think sets me apart form the rest. I am a trans cosplayer who strides for perfection in the work that I do for my hobby.

The thing that I am most proud of is how far I’ve come in terms of my skills that I was nervous about starting. Specifically with Howl’s coat, it was the second thing I had ever sewn and it’s something that most people don’t believe that I had made it as my second sewing project.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Selfishly, the best thing is getting the recognition of when something goes well. It’s being able to show off the progress of how things are going on a project, even if it is minuscule to the whole project. The best thing is being recognized at conventions and online and being praised for how good something looks.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

my goals for my creative journey is being able to show off my love for a character from various media types. I have such love fer different characters that I want to be able to make their costumes and designs, being able to make those characters come to life and show them off to people is my biggest driving factor in my journey.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/royalbeecosplay/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RoyalBeeCosplay/

Image Credits
any Jester lavorre photo was taken by Spencer T. Rice the Percy De Rolo photos were taken by Lilio Camere