Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Keyo Zee. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Keyo, 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?

Ever since I was little I loved art, movies, and dressing up. Nothing was more exciting to work on than something that involved getting to be creative. (Even if it was just bonus marks for wearing a costume for a presentation in English class — if I could dress up for it, I would!)

I can still remember the day it all started, a time that I now recognize had much more significance to my life than I would have ever thought it could. I would come home and turn on the TV – which just so happened to be playing an episode of Wizards of Waverly Place. Usually this would be a very mundane occurrence, but this was not just any ordinary episode. This was Season 2, Episode 8 “Harper Knows” of Wizards of Waverly Place. Where Alex (the main character of the series) would find herself at a comic book convention. At the time I had heard about conventions in other media, but there was something about this episode that cemented the idea in my mind. Aside from the magic and chaos of the rest of the episode, I had set for myself a distinct goal: to find and actually attend a convention. Not only was it an event about your favourite media, but dressing up was encouraged? If only an event like that existed in real life and wasn’t just made up for TV!

You would not believe my shock when a few days later I heard an ad playing on the radio of my parents’ car talking about a huge fan convention in the city. And, with that fueling my excitement, I spent the following months making my first cosplay from scratch to wear to the event, Zelda from Skyward Sword. It was thrilling to experience the crowds and energy of my first con. I had so many people recognize and show enthusiasm for the character I was cosplaying! While I may not have spoken to too many people, taking everything in for the first time brought me a newfound excitement for cosplay and conventions. Since then, I have continued to create cosplays and while I still have a lot to learn and improve on, I can see how much progress I’ve made. Recently, I have even entirely remade my Zelda cosplay – so it all feels like it’s come full circle now that I’ve grown so much more as a creator and cosplayer.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

For those who may not know me, I’m Keyo! Otherwise known as KeyoZee. I’ve been cosplaying for over 10 years and have been sharing my work online for just about as long.

I’m incredibly grateful that I’ve gotten to share my cosplay journey for as long as I have online, and over the last few years I’ve been a lot more involved in the cosplay community at local events. A lot of my time recently has gone towards making interactive panels alongside my friends (who I also met through cosplay!). I love working on these panels and game shows because I want to create something inspired by the media I love that other fans would be excited about too. My friends and I spend a lot of time creating these engaging experiences for the community just for fun, and it’s always so nice to receive positive reactions.

As for what I share online, I focus a lot on cosplay progress while incorporating my background in art into what I post. I love being able to work in so many mediums and bring the characters I love to life. I think one of the most fulfilling aspects of cosplay for me has been embodying the characters wholeheartedly – which translates into the way I create the concepts for a lot of my photos and videos. My work not only focuses on the costume itself, but how I can show the character and their personality, which I usually share on my Tiktok and Instagram @keyozee. With my background in animation, I have been able to create VFX and 3D models for additional details that I otherwise couldn’t recreate in real life. Editing has become just as involved and complex as the costumes I make since I want it to further accentuate my cosplays and I can further improve my own skills when it comes to art, editing and 3D modeling!

I like sharing the progress and behind the scenes of my digital work, and wig work. I hope that by sharing more of the process alongside the final outcome, my audience can have a new appreciation for the projects or feel inspired to create their own works. I plan to eventually offer wig commissions publicly, but for now I have taken on occasional projects and have been sharing my personal wig progress online through aesthetic videos and Youtube tutorials.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

One of the most rewarding aspects of being an artist, and more specifically a cosplayer, is the connection with others. Being able to meet others who love a piece of media as much as you do — who also put so many hours into creating and breathing life into characters they care deeply about — not only helps build a community but really allows you to make connections based on shared passion and appreciation. Seeing others’ work has inspired me to want to improve my own and has motivated me to try new techniques or introduced me to new shows I maybe wouldn’t have otherwise found. So, beyond my love of the creative process that goes into crafting each individual cosplay, it is the other creators in the community I have gotten to know and love that have given me the most fulfillment. I have made so many of my closest friends through cosplay and I am so glad we all have this creative outlet to enjoy together.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I started my social media at the same time I had attended my first con in 2012. Back then, I didn’t really have a plan for it and social media itself was definitely not like it is now. There wasn’t the immediate goal to create a business or find fame, but most people were just posting for fun and didn’t have as tailored of a social media presence.

My cosplays have evolved a lot since then, along with what I share online. My first posts were mainly progress photos, selfies, and the occasional drawing — really, anything I felt like posting for the sake of having fun with what I was doing. Over time, as I became more involved in putting together my cosplays, they became the focus of my media presence.

Since then, I have been focusing more on storytelling and accuracy when it comes to the cosplays I create. I like to come up with stories and concepts that expand on the world of the characters I cosplay, usually referencing the original media that would be fun to remake for photoshoots or videos. I find inspiration in the character’s stories and it brings me a lot of joy to translate that into what I create.

Now having a background in animation, I have been trying to incorporate more of my knowledge from that into my work by using a lot of VFX, 3D and having a more cinematic style to my photos and videos. A lot of work and time goes into producing all of this, but I think it has definitely helped me grow recently and I think it’s worth it because I find joy in making it. I have found a clearer direction with my work and found an audience for it. Alongside the editing, I have leaned more into wig and makeup work. Some of my most popular videos are wig styling videos and it has become one of my favourite aspects of the cosplay creation process. The point of this being, my account has evolved a lot over time and I think doing what I enjoy and following that journey has been what has helped me grow as a creator.

For anyone looking to share their own work online, I have found it takes time for an audience to find you. It’s important that you enjoy what you’re making and have a focus in mind for what you want to create. When you first start, you may not immediately have someone looking at your work, but it’s important that you yourself are proud of what you put out and have a personal drive to create. Others will be able to feel your love for cosplay through what you make!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keyozee/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Keyozee
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@keyozee

Image Credits
Chell Photography (chell.creates.media) Ethereal (ethereal.ghost)