We recently connected with Vanta Black and have shared our conversation below.

Vanta, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I started attending comic conventions in college. My college roommate suggested that we go together, and I was apprehensive because at that time, many black cosplayers were criticized for their skin tone. After attending that first comic convention, I realized that I finally found people like me, nerds like me.

I realized I wanted to pursue an artistic path professionally, after seeing so many cosplayers. I wanted to learn how to sew, build foam armor; the whole works! I started using my grandmother’s sewing machine and made basic stitches, then started watching more youtube videos, and the rest is history.

Vanta, 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?

You know the artsy fartsy kid in class, who always had the best poster? That was me. From macaroni art (which my mother still keeps in her scrapbook), to papier mache masks, to a full diorama of Canarsie, I was known in school as the artsy fartsy kid. From a young age, my parents saw my potential as an artist; my father bought every art supply he could find, and my mother took me to every art museum in New York.

I started cosplaying in college, because it was a fun way to combine my love for art and my love for pop culture.
Although I taught myself how to sew, prop making is truly my passion. It feels like becoming a 21st century blacksmith, but with fun colors. I’m a tactile learner; making things with my hands enlightens my creative spirit. In the beginning stages of creating, everything looks like the bare bones. When I start making a prop, get into the groove of molding, sanding, and then I start adding my own personal touches. That’s when it becomes art. In every thing I’ve made, I add a small bit of myself to it. That’s the one thing I want everyone to know about me; I am passionate. From a quiver to a battle axe, I imbue every bit of creativity into everything that I make.

I wanted to become a cosplayer, because I wanted to emulate my favorite super heroes. Think about it; who doesn’t want to dress up as Wonder Woman? It gives you such an adrenaline rush, to emulate characters that speak to you. In our day to day lives, we are ordinary humans. Why not have an opportunity where you can be, even if its just for a few hours, be extraordinary? That’s what prop making means to me; it’s a reminder you’re extraordinary too.

One of my proudest moments was creating a breastplate for a friend of mine. She wanted to cosplay as Yara Flor, DC’s new Wonder Woman, who is Latina. My friend is Afro-Latina, so I knew this was her “extraordinary” moment. She did everything right; she sent me her measurements, gave me ample time to create the breastplate, and I forgot. I realized four days before she needed to wear it, that her messages were stuck in my inbox. Creatives will always say diamonds are made out of pressure, and it’s true. Those were three days were full of anxiety-induced creativity, that I promised to always put special dates in my calendar. Sleep? Out the window. I drank enough coffee to power a building, because I knew that I had to give it my all. It was so beautiful, even I was impressed with myself. I packed up the breastplate in a nice box with tissue paper, added my logo, and presented it to her. Even now, thinking about her face when she saw it, fills me with joy. I profusely apologized for not bringing it to her sooner, for not being timely, worrying about professionalism, and she said “this is probably the best gift I’ve ever received”.

That is why I create.

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

Be authentically you.

I’m a black, outspoken, nerdy girl from Brooklyn. In the 90s/20s, the connotation of being a nerd, went hand in hand with getting bullied. I had the audacity to hang out in the Barnes and Nobles manga section after school, and sneak comic books in class. Back then, being a nerd made you an outcast; a weirdo, and being a black nerd made it even harder. My school was predominately white, so a loud, silly, black girl, talking about Dragon Ball Z and Justice League, made everyone uncomfortable. I laugh when I think about it now, because I was authentically me; being bullied never stopped me.

Becoming a cosplayer has let me embrace all aspects of who I am. When there’s a character that stands out to me, I want to fully immerse myself into that character. My best friend is going to laugh when he read this, but a few years ago, he told me that I’m Toph (from Avatar the Last Airbender). He said ‘In the face of adversity, you always come out on top. You don’t even bat an eyelid, you just keep going” and that stuck with me. There have been many moments where things just wouldn’t go right, or I was doubting myself. I was an essential worker during the pandemic; and I had moments where I needed to remind myself, “You’re Toph”. This year, I decided to cosplay Toph, and a few days ago the Avatar the Last Airbender official Instagram account shared my photo. Yeah, having your photo go viral is awesome, but it’s the meaning behind it that stands out the most to me.

If someone told me when I started cosplaying in 2015, that my props would be featured by HBO, BET would reference me in an article, or I would attend red carpet events, I would have laughed. I will always see myself as a nerd from Brooklyn, but someone who had the audacity to dream big.

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

As creatives, I don’t think we understand the impact that we have on people. I think we have tunnel vision; we’re so focused on what we’re making, we don’t realize everyone is cheering and waiting for us to see our potential.

In 2018, I attended my first away convention, and I mentioned to a friend that there aren’t a lot of black people in cosplay panels. I jokingly said to her that someone should have a panel on using their natural hair in cosplay. She encouraged me to apply for the panel, and I laughed because (a) I don’t like public speaking (b) I just started cosplaying, why would anyone listen to me? So I kept laughing at the idea for a couple of months, and then I saw a Toni Morrison quote that said “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, you must write it”. I said to myself “alright alright, I’ll apply. I’ll get rejected and that’ll be the end of that” Wrong! In 2019, I hosted my panel at New York Comic Con, it was standing room only, and BET wrote an article about it. I came up with the panel idea only because I saw that there was a gap in our community, and I wanted Black people to embrace their hair.

In 2022, I presented my panel at Anime NYC, and during the Q&A, three people told me how I inspired them to host their own panels at conventions. One woman said she wanted to encourage more black women to talk about anime and pop culture, so she started a podcast. To me, seeing other people go out, find their passion, and encourage others to live their truest version of themselves, is the best reward.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vantacreates/
• Twitter: twitter.com/vantacreates
• Tiktok: vanta_creates

Image Credits
Pyramid Head- Ron Gejon Toph- Provisions Media Bulma – Archmax Studios Yara Flor- Fantastic Frankey