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CosBlog # 86: Diablo Monk Concept by Zerina
I can vouch for how impressive Zerina’s female monk from Diablo 3 is – having been in the audience when she won the costume contest at Blizzcon in 2010. More often than not cosplayers have to choose between form and function in their projects – sacrificing mobility for accuracy, or vice versa. Zerina’s hard work and prototyping resulted in a fantastic marriage of both, allowing her to pay tribute to the female monk in appearance, and through her love for martial arts.
Who: The Character
The cosplay featured is the female Monk from Diablo 3. This particular armor set was a part of the early concept art for the female monk, but never made it officially into the game.
Why: The
Decision
I'm a huge fan of martial arts movies and martial arts in general. Cosplaying confidant females in awesome sets of armor has always appealed to me. When I first saw this concept art, it was exactly what I had been looking for: A strong female warrior in fantasy armor that looked like she could bring the pain AND was a martial artist? I was sold. Combine that with being a Diablo fan meant that I couldn't wait to get started on the costume. I really wanted to bring her to life.
What: The
Process
The female Monk was my first time working with leather, so there was quite a bit of trial and error involved - about eight months worth, most of that being research. My biggest concern was how I was going to recreate the armor in a practical sense; I wanted to be able to move, kick and punch freely without fear of my costume ripping apart or the armor breaking in some form or fashion. Loose fitting pants allowed for freedom of movement, the top was a direct translation of a gi, and the leather allowed me to be rough on the armor without being worried that it would tear apart. It was difficult translating fantasy armor into something practical without losing too much accuracy from the concept art, and some details was inevitably lost here and there. I spent quite a bit of money on the initial investment of leather crafting tools, but they've gotten quite a bit of use in the long run.
Where and When:
The Debut
I had built this costume for Blizzcon 2010, where it was the winner of the costume contest that year. I had been a participant and finalist in two Blizzcon costume contest before that, and I was deeply honored (and shocked) to win that year.
I've had a few photoshoots with the Monk costume since then. My most notable photoshoots were taken in the rolling sand dunes, battered by the cold, sand-blasting-to-the-eyeballs winds with FiveRings Photography and the other being in a more peaceful, wooded location in southern California with photographer Tom Hicks.
Links: The
Cosplayer
My cosplay page can be found on Facebook and I can be followed on Twitter at @ZerinaX.
The Gallery
Photography by Tom Hicks and FiveRings Photography.
Miss the past few CosBlogs? Check out the CosBlog Hub for a full archive of past costumes.
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