From Vet Student to Superhero...

"Life as a Vet Student" category award winner Holly Abney - UC Davis 

There is a hidden world out there with artists who bring their love & enthusiasm of all things geeky to life through cosplay. Whether it’s creating the costume from scratch, altering second hand clothing, or getting into character through special effects makeup, cosplayers spend a lot of time and effort on their craft. My name is Holly Abney, I’m a third year vet student at UC Davis, and I am a cosplayer.  

 

The childhood I grew up in was the perfect breeding ground to create a cosplayer.  My mother had been making me Halloween costumes since I was 2 weeks old.  I remember coming up with crazier costumes every Halloween throughout my childhood, just to see if there really was nothing my mother couldn’t create! She and my grandmother are both amazing seamstresses, and I spent my summers at my grandmother’s house learning to sew from a very young age. My father had his own role in the recipe, as he had exposed me to a lot of geek culture as a kid. We watched every superhero movie together, played video games for hours, and shared a strong love for Batman. As I got older I found myself making costumes and playing dress up as regularly as possible.  Then I attended my first convention in 2009 (in costume even!).  It was love at first sight, and I felt like I was home.  Since my first convention I have been sinking deeper into the cosplay world. I have made nearly twenty hand-made costumes, nine of which I made while attending vet school!

Finding the time to create costumes while going to vet school has proven to be very challenging, and it has been difficult to attend the conventions that I used to frequent.  Cosplay, however, has helped me with vet school by being a stress relieving creative outlet.  I also hope that being a seamstress gives me an advantage in surgery! My first neuter is happening in three days, so keep your fingers crossed for me! 

If you would like to check out more of my costuming work please visit my cosplay page on facebook.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pokypandas

Photography courtesy of Lucky Monkey Photography and Eurobeat Kasumi Photography.