Originally from Iceland, Valkyrie Creative has brought her talent to the UK, and boy are we glad to have her here. Being bluntly honest, she deserves to have so much more exposure than she does, because there is some serious talent oozing from this lady!
Age: 38
Location: Middlesborough
Favourite food: pizza
Who or what first inspired you to start cosplaying?
Well, I’ve always kinda gone to town on Halloween costumes, but about 5 years ago I met two amazing friends who shared my love for Mass Effect. We all decided to go to MCM London in 2014 as Femshep, Miranda and Jack. We spent weeks beforehand on our costumes, all with the same obsession about getting it right, but also being super worried we’d look silly… Then we turned up and the reception was just so positive and amazing, we felt like rock stars for the day. I started making more and more Mass Effect costumes as well as anything else people asked me to make. It was an immense learning curve but it was so much fun, I haven’t been able to stop yet!
What would you say is your favourite part of the costume making process?
Probably going wild on the details, once the main build is finished. Right now I’m adding oodles of puffpaint to my Atlanna suit, and it’s just so satisfying and chilled. On the other hand, there is something incredibly cathartic about going to town with a dremel carving up some foam!
What would you say is your most complex costume to date?
Probably Dark Xena. The build took over a year. I made the helmet base and sword on a weekend course at Artyfakes, and then it took me another few months to craft the chest and back armour out of foam as well as the gauntlets. Finally I made the skirt and a scabbard for the sword, as well as the chakram disc that is Xena’s signature weapon. Later on I remade the body pieces in latex so it was easier to wear. It’s still an ongoing project!
Do you have a dream cosplay? Could you use anything you’ve learned while making Xena to help you with it?
It’s not so much a dream cosplay as a dream build… I want to make a dragon! The thought is starting with a life size head as something that can be used as a prop for images, or mounted to a wall, then working up to a moving animatronic! Goals, right?
If you could go back in time and give newbie Valkyrie one piece of advice, what would it be?
Plan for the cosplay gods sacrifice. They’ll always take their pound of flesh or blood right before con, so make sure you allow for that and have band aids and ice packs on hand!