Accounting major student, Arrika, at the Schulich School of Business also expresses her talent as a professional cosplayer outside of school. It has been 5 years since Arrika started cosplaying in 2010 when her friend from high school inspired her to start cosplaying. She participated in her first cosplay convention in 2008 in Asia when she had no idea what cosplay was and just wore a yellow dress with a Pikachu headband. However, after all these years, Arrika now makes her own cosplay costumes from scratch!
You may wonder how much does it cost to make these costumes so we decided to ask Arrika what is the most expensive cosplay project she made so far. She shocked us with her response, “My most expensive project is the one I’m currently working on, both in terms of material, cost and time. Materials could total up to $1,000 and it would take me around four months to complete the project.” The amount of dedication and effort Arrika puts into her costumes is impressive!
Cosplay may have many different meanings to everyone, but for Arrika, cosplay is a creative outlet for her as she was always interested in pursuing fashion design. However, her parents were not supportive of her decision to choose art as her career. Hence, cosplay became the platform to complete her designing dream. In addition, Arrika believes cosplay is all about having fun and being the character you want to portray. She told us, “As long as you’re having fun and enjoying what you’re doing, that’s all it matters!” and we can’t agree more with her!
Other than school and cosplay, Arrika considers herself to quite a nerd! She loves gaming, watching anime and eating during her spare time. She’s also interested in rock climbing, extreme sports and playing board games. Arrika will be going on exchange to Europe next semester and she’s looking forward to attend an annual gaming convention in Katowice! Best of luck to her during exchange! Also, don’t forget to check out her fan page!
Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/rikachuubear
Instagram: @rikachuuu