Ukraine 🇺🇦

Dryoma (solo): Hi, I’m Dryoma! My name Dromova Anastasiia I am 29 years old and I live in Ukraine. I am a fashion designer by education and work as a content manager in a costume workshop. Now I am also a part of the Ukrainian volunteer medical battalion as a combat medic in the Hospitallers team. Our team works in the frontline areas and helps evacuate and treat the wounded. Cosplay is an important part of my life that inspires me. Participation in ICL is very important to me, it is an honor to represent my country.

Okami Tenno (duo): Hello! I’m Okami. I’m 31 years old and I work in marketing. I’ve been cosplaying since 2017, though I’ve been crafting and handmade since childhood.  So far I’ve won several local conventions in Ukraine and it’s an honor to represent my country in an international competition. I’m very excited to join ICL this year and to visit Spain.

Margaret Owl (duo): Hello! I’m Margaret Owl. I’m 31 years old. I’m a jewelry artist but in my free time I also do other creative stuff: I’m a writer and video content creator. Starting 2021 my favorite hobby is cosplay. Since that time I have won several local conventions in Ukraine, but it’s the first time I represent my country in an international competition. I’m super happy to participate in ICL and I can’t wait to go to Spain. 

How did you discover cosplay and what made you start in this hobby? How long ago?

Dryoma (solo): My first cosplay character was Harley Quinn. Since I already knew how to sew, I just started creating costumes of my favorite characters and participating in competitions in 2018.

Okami Tenno (duo): It was about 5 years ago and happened to me naturally since I’ve been into geek culture since my teens. I’m in love with crafting and handmade, so I just liked how in cosplay all the techniques come together and bring to life certain characters. It was a trap but I love it too much to escape, ha-ha.

Margaret Owl (duo): Somewhere around 2019, I found an interest in the creation of fantasy outfits for my videos, and later I decided to try myself in cosplay. I instantly fell in love with this hobby, since it allows me to learn new things to infinity.

What does cosplay mean for you? And what is your favorite part of the hobby?

Dryoma (solo): Cosplay is a place where I can show my skills, where I can become a favorite character and add a little bit of my own to it.

I love it when I finish creating a costume, I love doing themed shoots and playing the emotions of that character. I love everything from choosing fabrics, sewing, crafting, styling wigs, to getting the finished photos or performing on stage.

Okami Tenno (duo): For me, cosplay is about learning and trying new stuff, so I’m really into the ‘process thing’. That’s why I need deadlines to have my projects done since I enjoy the process. I guess my favorite part is prop-making. I like to work with different materials and learn new stuff such as electronics and lights.

Margaret Owl (duo): For me, cosplay is a real art. I guess every part of this hobby is my favorite. But I’m really in love with the ‘process’. Starting with the choice materials and ending with some final touches, when you look at your creation and think: – Oh God, I did it myself!

What changes do you see in the cosplay community in your country compared to when you started?

Dryoma (solo): In my country, there are many strong competitors, people who always want to develop and become better and better. A strong sense of competition will not give you time to relax 🙂

Okami Tenno (duo):  I feel that the cosplay community in Ukraine is still super young but It’s a pleasure to see how it grows in number and quality of cosplays.

Margaret Owl (duo): I noticed that many young people in Ukraine began to engage in cosplay, and I am very happy about this tendency. After all, this is an amazing hobby that develops in many fields of knowledge.

Why did you choose that project for the ICL national selection? Is this your first time joining an international cosplay competition?

Dryoma (solo): Yes, this will be my first experience in an international cosplay competition. My choice was The Golden Woman, from the series Love, Death and the Robots. I had never done such projects myself, which made me very eager and interested. Secondly, this character looks very interesting and atypical. And to make she is to challenge yourself!

Okami Tenno & Margaret Owl (duo):  Yes, It’s the first time we represent our country in an international competition, and we are super excited about it. We chose Onmyoji for several reasons. First – we like this fandom and particularly the storyline of our characters. Second – when we choose the characters we immediately think about our performance. How can we present these characters? It’s super important for us because we want to tell the audience the story behind the characters, not only the costumes. But the complexity of the costumes also matters a lot. Onmyoji is famous for its super-detailed characters. Since we made our costumes together, each of us has a part to challenge our skills and level up. Can’t wait to show them to you on ICL.

What do you expect from your visit to Spain? Is this your first time visiting the country?

Dryoma (solo): This will be the first time I will be in Spain. I am very excited about it! It is important for me to represent my country. It is an honor. I want the world to see what talented and interesting people we have.

Now in our country there is no possibility to hold large festivals, and the opportunity to participate online is extremely important

Okami Tenno (duo): Yeah, it’s my first visit to Spain. I expect it to be hot in all possible senses, ha-ha. It would be nice to have more time to see your country, but still, I am happy with such an opportunity. I heard that it’s beautiful and the people are super nice and open, I can’t wait to see it myself.

Margaret Owl (duo): It’s my first time visiting Spain and I’m looking forward to this trip. What do I expect? I don’t know, I guess I just want to see everything with my own eyes. I have a feeling it’s gonna be a wonderful trip.

Have you decided your project for the finals in Madrid? May you give us a clue? 

Dryoma (solo): I created my costume before the competition, but I hadn’t had the opportunity to perform with it yet.

Okami Tenno & Margaret Owl (duo):  We chose already-made costumes since the decision to apply online selections for ICL was quite spontaneous. It was the first time we applied to such a competition and we just gave it a shot. And so here we are! It was a real surprise for us.

Describe the cosplay community in your country using five words.

Dryoma (solo): Curiosity, skills, talent, desire, and a lot of work.

Okami Tenno & Margaret Owl (duo):  Creative, responsible, brave, bright, promising

Link to your Facebook page, Instagram and Twitter (add other social media if relevant):

Dryoma (solo): https://www.instagram.com/anastasiya_dryomova

https://www.facebook.com/share/aK98JgaHkvNoPGqY/?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Okami Tenno (duo): 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victoria.shurigina

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/okami_tenno?igsh=MXJnMmw0YnpsNzJsbQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@okami_tenno?_t=8oodjAXkfcE&_r=1

Margaret Owl (duo): 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/sjp4XGyqvneLgHW1/?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/margaret_owl?igsh=b3hyZ2ZscGZ4djE3&utm_source=qr

TikTok (oc cosplay) : https://www.tiktok.com/@margaretowl?_t=8oombKw1FlG&_r=1

TikTok (cosplay) : https://www.tiktok.com/@margaret.owl?_t=8oomeWijiSr&_r=1

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Dryoma, Okami Tenno & Margaret Owl were selected at the ICL online selections.