Cosplayer of the Week: Lucky Diamond Cosplay

Cosplayer of the Week: Lucky Diamond Cosplay

We have a fantastic cosplayer for you this week, her name is Lucky Diamond and she is a cosplayer from Arizona! She typically cosplays as her favorite DC comic book characters but also delves into other genres! I’ve met her multiple times at various conventions and she is always so kind and welcoming. I highly recommend you check out her content on both Instagram and Facebook, although she is young, she is definitely going to go places!

I hope you enjoy our interview with Lucky Diamond Cosplay!

The Geek Lyfe: There may be a few Geek Lyfers who have not seen your work before, would you be alright introducing yourself?

Lucky Diamon Cosplay: I’m Kathy but I my cosplay alias is Lvckydiamond (Instagram) or Lucky Diamond Cosplay! I’m mainly based out of Southern Arizona but I hope to start going to out of state cons in the near future. I am a member of Justice League Arizona, a nonprofit charity cosplaying group that does events and hospital visits all over Arizona. I am from a small town in Montana but I have lived in Arizona for 5 years for school and am currently attending the University of Arizona. My main fandoms at the moment are DC, Overwatch, and Sailor Moon, but I’m into everything from Yuri on Ice to the NHL (not really a stretch if you think about it). I also have a cat named Batsy and he’s really cute but also evil just like his mom.

TGL: How long have you been into cosplay and what led you down this path?

LDC: I’ve been cosplaying for a little over a year and a half now, I got my start at Phoenix Comicon 2015. I had never been to a big con before but I was working for an Exhibitor at the time and had one free day to do what I wanted, and I felt like I just had to cosplay something. At first I was overwhelmed with ideas, but just a week before the con the first set pictures of Suicide Squad were leaked and I knew I had to cosplay Harley. In less than 3 days my roommate and I handmade her shirt, shorts and necklace so I was able to be one of the first SS Harleys to debut at a con! Needless to say I was hooked after that, everyone was so nice and I was just in awe of the scope of the event. I had always wanted to cosplay, but I grew up in a small town where fandom stuff is still kind of seen as a “weird” thing to do, so finally finding my niche was an incredible feeling.

TGL: What has been your favorite moment?

LDC: My favorite moment was definitely when I was promoting the Suicide Squad premiere in Tucson at Roadhouse Cinemas as Harley. We were doing little photo ops and crashing screenings with a big group of Squad cosplayers when this little girl also dressed as Harley spotted me through the window outside, her eyes got so big. Her mom let her run in and she glued herself to my side, then found me multiple times throughout the night to hug me again and tell me how much she loved me. I swear I almost cried right there because of how excited she was. Any Harley cosplayer can tell you they have had days where they just can’t put up with the criticism and being compared to other Harleys (and Margot Robbie like come on, that’s just unfair) so seeing someone who is just genuinely a fan of the character get so excited to see me made me pretty emotional. Sometimes cosplay can be a thankless hobby but that moment made it all worth it.

TGL: What was the worst day for you in your cosplay career, what happened, and how did you deal with it?

LDC: Thankfully I haven’t had that many cosplay related meltdowns but one I can distinctly remember was at Phoenix Comicon this year on Friday when I was dressed as Elizabeth from Bioshock. For one, we got a late start which is always annoying, and it was HOT. I was wearing a heavy wig, waist cincher, long sleeved shirt, long skirt and really high heels. I was doing okay for about 30 minutes until the heat started to get to me and I started to take it out on everyone around me (sorry Mom). I should have just left and changed right then but when you work so hard to get a cosplay perfect it feels like a waste to take it off early even if you are suffering. To top it all off right after I did some photos I got a stain right on the front of my skirt that even a Tide stick couldn’t save, which is basically a cosplayers worst nightmare. Next time I will leave the heels at home and go for a more summer con worthy cosplay, lesson learned.

TGL: When you aren’t doing this, what do you do in your spare time?

LDC: I am currently a Senior at the University of Arizona majoring in Archaeology with a minor in Religious Studies and Astronomy! I also like going to the movies a lot (I go about once a week), playing video games (I play on PS4), and hanging out with my kitten Batsy.

TGL: What geek medium (Video Games, Comic Books, Novels, Movies etc.) made the biggest impact on your life and why?

LDC: I would say it’s a tie between video games and movies. I have been playing video games since forever, I have distinct memories of watching my mom play the old Tomb Raider games with my sister because I was still too young to understand how they worked. I grew up mainly playing Halo and the classics like Spyro and Crash Bandicoot but I really got into them during high school with Bioshock, Assassin’s Creed, and Mass Effect being my biggest favorites. I’ll still go back and replay them to this day because every time I play them I notice something different about the stories and the characters. As far as movies, if you ask anyone that knows me they’ll know I’m a massive Lord of the Rings fan. My mom used to read The Hobbit to my sister and me as a bedtime story and we always like to tell people about the summer when we were in Elementary school and we literally broke the Return of the King DVD because we watched it so many times. The trilogy is still my go-to to watch when I’m feeling down or bored or literally any emotion at all, I’m always game for a LOTR marathon.

TGL: You can bring one fictional character to this world to be your best friend for life. Who is it and why?

LDC: I have thought about this question for so long, this is so hard. There are so many near and dear to me but I have to be selfish (and basic?) and say Wade Wilson aka Deadpool. I know everyone hates him but honesty we have very similar senses of humor and I think he would make a pretty sick partner in crime!

TGL: Do you have any projects in the near future we should be excited to see?

LDC: I’m hoping to make 2017 one of my most productive years yet, I am planning on finishing one cosplay a month this year instead of leaving all of my progress for right before cons to cut down my inevitable con crunching. I’m planning on doing Rogue and Injustice 2 Harley Quinn, starting with my Rogue cosplay in January. I really want to try to attend some out of state cons this year, Wondercon and NYCC are at the top of my list! I want to work with a lot more photographers this year and do as many shoots as I am able to so look out for those.

TGL: Out of the costumes you have done in the past, which one has been the most difficult and why?

LDC: Definitely Suicide Squad Harley, I made mine before all of the replicas were released so everything had to be handmade. I even dyed my hair for it for over a year because it was so hard to find a decent wig for it. For it being my first cosplay I definitely bit off more than I could chew with it but my roommate Lucy was an incredible help with it all. It’s actually how we became friends and roommates. We used to be coworkers and when she found out I wanted to take this project on she helped me with every single thing on it, and a few months later we moved in together (and got better jobs). There are still things I want to improve on my Harley and for now she’s retired, but I want to redo it completely one day soon!

TGL: What advice do you have for any aspiring cosplayers out there?

LDC: Probably the biggest lesson I have learned from making things and putting yourself out there in the cosplay community is that you can’t expect everything to go perfect the first time around. If you’re trying a new wig dyeing technique or doing a shoot with a different set up or photographer than you’re used to- don’t get down because it doesn’t work out perfectly the way you imagined it. The skills to make worbla armor or posing perfectly as a character don’t come naturally to anyone so every failure should be seen as practice, and you’ll do better next time. Pretty much every part of a cosplay I have made has failed at least once before trying again (sometimes 4 or 5 times does the trick). Also DO COSTESTS! Don’t wing your makeup or wear your cosplay for the first time the morning of the con. Speaking from experience, you’re setting yourself up for disaster, don’t be me.

Thank you so much to Lucky Diamond Cosplay for taking the time to answer a few of our humble questions! She had such wonderful answers and we’re so grateful! Be sure to check out more of her content at her Facebook and Instagram!

The Horizontal Harley/Top photo by Mort Productions, the Prison Harley is by Lee Ann Purtha, and the last Bombshell Harley vertical is by Keyhole Productions Photography. (Currently unable to link to their social media but they are on Facebook! I will update when I can with their links!)