The Legend of Dragoon was the first Playstation game I ever completed. I've played it to death. I especially loved all the female characters, but I never thought I would find myself cosplaying Shana. I became inspired to be her when I was looking for basic starter project for working with Worbla. While it's a pretty rough project (and I almost ran out of materials), I am really proud of what I made. I learned a lot, and it put my painting skills to the test - of which I realized I have almost none XD

Shana is loyal, dedicated and always wants to help. Sure, she has a bit of weakness, and it seems like she's always fainting, but it doesn't change the fact that within lies her greatest strengths and it takes her a long time to realize what she could be or become.

It's the cosplay that helped me come to terms with being an older cosplayer. A fair few of the cosplays I do are from anime and game from the early to mid 1990s. When I started cosplaying in 2004, cosplay was nothing like what it is today. I've been a part of this phenomena for a long time, and I thought Shana deserved some love.

Photoshoot and editing by AJ Brooks