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

Jedimanda, appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I learned to sew in college, and from there I started to work in Costume Shops locally and create costumes for the stage. From that knowledge, I turned my design knowledge to design and create cosplays for myself. It was my turn to wear my beautiful creations. I don’t think I would want to speed up any process, looking back. Each skill I learn while making cosplays leads me to learn something and then another skill, so on and so on. This organic way of learning is perfect for me.

My most essential skill would be sewing. Sewing is the base of all the cosplays that I make. With a sewn costume, I can then add on foam armor, wig creation, or 3D printed items.

To be honest, I can’t think of any obstacles that have been in my way of learning cosplay skills. Cosplay is an ongoing hobby that allows me to learn multiple skills. None of the skill sets require super expensive materials that I have no access to, plus there is always another person out there that can help you create something if you don’t have a certain material or machine to produce. Cosplay can be collaborative.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a cosplayer! For those who do know, cosplay is costume role-playing. The role-playing aspects can be different per person. Personally, I am a cosplayer that creates handmade costumes for myself to attend a convention and basically show it off and hang with friends. It’s wearable art with a big pop-culture twist. I compete with my cosplays and use them to advance myself further in the cosplay industry. I guest at conventions, post my work online and meet the fans that follow me. I’ve cosplayed for about 10 years and with that 10 years of knowledge, I wrote a book all about how to get into cosplay. Creative Cosplay was released in September of 2020 and I detail this entire world in it along with basic sewing knowledge to help kick start your own cosplay journey. Book link – https://amzn.to/3bKrczf

I’m the proudest of my cosplay creations. They are my babies, they are art, they are truly mine. I create both original designed costumed from my head and reproduce costumes from film and tv. From the design to the tangible item, I’m the proudest of the process and final item. To view my entire portfolio, check out my website, Jedimanda.com

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I think one of the most rewarding aspects of being a creative is being able to teach your knowledge to others. I have a Youtube channel and I make tutorials for practically all of my cosplays I make. I love to form together the videos and post them there for others to use to make their own cosplays. It’s super exciting when I see someone using my tutorial to make their outfit.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I built my social media audience by consisting posting my work. My community loves to see work-in-progress photos and videos so they can follow along with the project. It’s exciting to be a part of a project when you arent the one actively making it. Besides the work-in-progress posts, I love to do big photoshoots and post amazing final shots. I would work with my best friend, who is a photographer, and we create magic. It’s so fun to collab and posts our work online, and people love it! My biggest tip for social media is just to keep posting. Don’t hang on the analytics too much, just keep posting and people will start to notice. There is no fast way to virality, no fast way to gain thousands of followers. Develop a niche fan base and grow!

Contact Info:

• Website: jedimanda.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/jedimanda
• Facebook: facebook.com/jedimanda
• Twitter: twitter.com/jedimanda
• Youtube: youtube.com/jedimanda
• Other: tiktok.com/jedimanda

Image Credits
Please credit all to Alexandra Lee Studios