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Cosplay Corner: Sara Croft

April 17, 2018 Kate Sykes 0 Comments



Welcome back to the Cosplay Corner! Today, we bring you the first interview in the 2018 series with non other than Sara Croft! 
Sara is a US based cosplayer and Etsy seller, best known as the founder of tombraidercosplay.com which she first created in 2007. You could say she is responsible for bringing together a world wide communtiy and with her low cost solutions, it's known that new Laras go to her tutorials for help.
We are delighted to chat to her!
TDD: What made you decide to create tombraidercosplay.com?
SC: I created tombraidercosplay.com back in 2007 because to my knowledge, there was no other site that was a mother ship - so to speak- to all TR cosplay related material, like tutorials, reference, cosplay photos, blogs etc. I also wanted a space that I could dedicate specifically to that wonderful community, somewhere they feel they could call their hub. 
Now we have two sites, the classic laracroftcosplay.com and a modern more user heavy site that is very interactive and much more involved, the power and control over content is given to registered members. I want each and every one of them to think of it as their own website they share with all of us.
You can upload your own photos, make a profile with a pic, cover photo and bio, post blogs, also I'll launch a video posting tool very soon that allows you to embed videos into a very fluid viewing gallery.

TDD: Why do you think cosplay has become a lot more popular now?
SC: I am the eternal optimist, so the way I see it, people do it because cosplay is an expression of passion, respect and love for your favorite movie, game, TV, anime or comic character. It is a live tribute to a character, that had a massive impact on you.
It is turning your wildest dreams into reality for a brief moment. There are very few feelings in the world that equal being literally in your hero’s shoes. It is pure empowerment, so I see why that feeling would become addicting and more and more people get into the hobby.
Sara in her Tomb Raider (2013) costume.
TDD: Tell us about your Etsy shop.
SC: I sell mostly cosplay items, and replicas from Movies/TV/Games. I started with Tomb Raider, then got obsessed with Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead, eventually I made bits and pieces for Fallout, Mass Effect, Resident Evil, Farscape, Sucker Punch and Ancient Egypt.
It's been on vacation mode, because of health reasons but I launched it as a way to make money and do what I love. I hosted my website for 10 years without ads in it, I don't monazite my youtube videos or any other content so I thought this would be a great way to use my skills to earn a living and help out cosplayers who need it.
One of Sara's Etsy items - "Rise of the Tomb Raider" quiver.
TDD: How do you manage to keep the costs down when you create very accurate costumes?
SC: Necessity is the mother of invention, I live by that saying when it comes to making costumes, and I've had to get very creative with alternatives to keep my costs at a minimum. For example, I needed leather to make a Daenerys Targaryen chest piece, instead of buying it, I made it out of craft foam that I treated with various sealants and paints to make it look like leather.
This is the key, you have to think outside the box, and substitute things.
Sara as Isis from "Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris".
TDD: With 310 cosplayers featured on your old site, 381 members in the DeviantART group and over 3,300 members in the Facebook group, did you ever think you’d bring together such a large community of people when you first started out?
SC: Honestly, no. 310 cosplayers sounds insane, because it's 310 galleries I made myself for these awesome people.
The Facebook group, I owe it's success to my wonderful and kind hearted Jojo Neto. She combined forces with me and made one huge Tomb Raider community!
I honestly couldn't ask for a better group of people.
Sara's recreation of an official render for "Tomb Raider: Legend".
TDD: In closing, how has Lara Croft’s character played an important role in your life?
SC: She's not only one of my role models, and someone I strive to be like, but she's also been the reason I connected with so many exceptional people, they are my "raison d'etre". I love them so incredibly much, Their support and love throughout the years has been pivotal.  I may walk away for a few months, but I come right back because I can't live without them.
I’ve been blessed with many friends that I met through the Tomb Raider Cosplay community (like Kate Sykes). I’d like to think I’ve made family members of most of them. Some of us have known each other for more than a decade. and it's a privilege and an honor to know them.
EXCLUSIVE: Never before seen photo from Sara's "Rise of the Tomb Raider" photoshoot!
Also, did you know that Sara played the role of Sam in a Tomb Raider (2013) fan film written by Kate Sykes with Annie AKA The Cosplay Mom as Lara?
You can check that out below...
Thank you so much to Sara for doing this interview and remember, you can sign up to the new site and find all the tutorials at tombraidercosplay.com.
Tags: Article,Cosplay,Interview

Kate is a writer, actress, cosplayer and filmmaker from England. She has written fan films "Tomb Raider: Hunted" (based on Tomb Raider 2013) and "Athena" which she hopes can help change the way disabled people are portrayed on screen. She created "The Last Heir" web series, has written for other fansites and also guest posted on the Official Tomb Raider Blog.

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