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Since our recent announcement of Cosplay Cosmodrome’s return, we are sure you waited with bated breath to see your favorite characters come to life. We’ve been brimming with excitement every time our inbox hinted at the possibility of new photos. It’s hard to overstate how much we enjoy seeing the immense passion cosplayers have for their craft as well as the love people have for our characters. This year was more exciting than ever with everyone working on specific characters. Finally, the wait is over, as we've started to reveal the masterpieces our cosplayers have been pouring their hearts and souls into.
Cinderys (FR) as the Witness
There is no better way to conclude Cosplay Cosmodrome than by coming face to face with the entity that has plotted our demise over the last 10 years, the Witness, created by the talented Cinderys. We’re struggling to describe how awesome it is. Without further ado, take a look at what is surely one of the most hands-on cosplays ever:
Cinderys had this to say about the creation of the Witness:
“The creation of the Witness was a huge challenge. This project required a lot of organization and brainstorming. I wanted to include animation, so everything had to be meticulously calculated for the animatronics (motors, voltage, batteries, cables, resistance, programming, material compatibility, space inside the costume to allow the cams to rotate without touching me, etc.). It was a first time for me, so I spent dozens of hours watching tutorials and experimenting, making adjustments until it worked and got the desired result.
“There were also adjustments for the smoke machines, so they could create smoke that was both dense, ethereal, and wide enough to cover the headpiece. By the way, my favorite part of this cosplay is the headpiece. I worked on sculpting and adjusting the head while Xia Cosplay handled the molding of all the masks of the smoke column. I loved creating the organic effect with EVA foam and foam clay, and I am very proud of the result of the eyes. I replicated Leonardo da Vinci’s painting technique from the Mona Lisa to give the impression that the eyes follow you.
“Another challenge was the pattern making, maintaining the tall and thin proportions of the Witness while being able to fit inside the costume. The result: the actual size of the costume is 3.20 meters (10.5 feet). We cut and assembled 5000 panels to cover its coat.”
While the creation of the costume itself was nothing short of a herculean effort, the photoshoot took it into Formula 1 race-car driver territory. Cinderys mentioned having to be very conscious of staying hydrated, because the heat from being inside of the costume coupled with bracing her core and neck muscles made it a very challenging shoot. Luckily, she was well supported, both by the people around her during the shoot, as well as by ladders to put the costume on and a pole with clamps to relieve some of the weight of the headpiece. (8.8 pounds/4 kg and a 4-foot/1.2-meter wingspan!)
“To do justice to the character, we also focused on extensive post-production work. You don't realize it with my size in the costume, but we had to use a 10-meter (33-foot) green screen! Acael modeled 3D backgrounds for the photo and video renderings. We are very proud to present the result of all this work today!”
And they’re right to be proud! The Witness and Cinderys have something in common—creation is all about control, and they both master it.
For more of Cinderys’ fantastic work, check out her Instagram, Twitter (X), TikTok, Twitch, and her website.
WhereisDanielle (ANZ) as Micah-10
We are joined by a Guardian of great renown. Australia’s WhereisDanielle [REDACTED] character that we referred to in our Cosplay Cosmodrome announcement article is revealed: she’s our den-mother for unpaired ghosts, Micah-10! Now, hopefully, you've been helping Micah-10 in The Final Shape and are already curious about her. To get to know one of our oldest hunters and member of the Six Coyotes, WhereisDanielle gets you up close and personal in an amazing video and set of photos.
WhereisDanielle has shared some thoughts on her approach:
“Getting to make such an iconic character from Destiny lore has been the coolest experience, but also a challenging one. Everything I knew about Micah-10 came from lore entries, flavor text, and the single turn-around reference render provided by Bungie that was the only visual guide to her character. Sitting on the secret was also incredibly hard —I’ve just been so excited about the whole thing. She’s REALLY cool, and I’m stoked that everyone finally gets to see her.
“The costume is incredibly mixed media. A large majority of the armor parts I modeled in Blender and printed in PLA on my Bambu Lab X1 Carbon, and the armor parts that I didn't print are high-density EVA Foam from Lumins Workshop. I think the braided foam ropes turned out so cool!
“All the straps you see on the armor are both accurate and structural, which is super cool and not something you see often in video game armor. So, if you can see a strap, that's both accurate to the game and genuinely holding the costume on my body. A big shout out to the artists who designed this set. It was super fun to make and wear.
“By far the hardest and most rewarding part of this costume was the paint job, or more accurately, the three different paint jobs across the whole costume. The helmet was a standalone paint job, and it was black—a notoriously hard-to-paint color. But I learned a lot, painting through shades of grey to add depth and a sense of realness... to something that ultimately ends up hidden under the hood. Oops.
“The chest/torso was another standalone paint job, with lots of different color fabrics to weather and metal armor. With metallics also being notoriously hard to paint, I had to mix a custom gold for the chest plate and add a lot of texture and color variation with washes and dry brushes to my faux leather pieces made from EVA foam.
“But the single most challenging thing on this costume was the paint for the arms and legs. It's such a weird pinky-grey base with green chipping along the edges and high surfaces, and it's a color combo that honestly shouldn't work but really, really does. I picked an incredibly light pink as my base and added depth to it with a slightly darker and warmer toned pink using my airbrush. Then I darkened it all with a candy black to get it more in line with the grime on the reference.”
We are blown away! WhereisDanielle managed to create something from scratch and has done so with excellence. Hopefully this badass cosplay got you fired up for another lost Ghost hunt around The Pale Heart.
Find WhereisDanielle on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.
Mowky (DE) as Mara Sov
Mowky from Germany has a Queen to cosplay, and that certainly isn’t an easy task. Just like Mara’s character, her costume is quite complex; it requires a wide range of textures and materials. Mowky was clearly up to the task and absolutely knocked it out of the park. The small white dots on her cosplay resemble an eternity of stars, and the bright purple color makes us dream about galaxies far away. Mowky shared some thoughts on her creative process:
“Mara Sov was a highlight for me on all levels. Her design is geared towards combining many different unusual materials and concepts and challenged me above all in the choice and processing of fabrics. From thick faux leather and large-pored linen to foam and real metal elements and 3D printing, everything has found its place.
“The color scheme also provided a certain challenge because you don't always find unusual fabrics in a wide range of colors. I had to arm myself with brushes, paint cans, and airbrushes and rework every single cosplay piece. Creating the patterns was exciting because there were so many different shapes involved in the design, so I spent a lot of time transferring everything into reality and adapting it to my body. It was a nice bonus to finally be able to add the glitter dots to everything, which felt like the final touch.
All in all, I am very grateful to be able to officially cosplay Mara Sov and hope that I was able to deliver!”
The Awoken Queen is always strategizing, and her plans aren’t trivial. There is always a game of chess in Mara Sov’ head that Guardians didn’t even know was being played. We are impressed with the majestic result of Mowky’s efforts on this costume. All bow to the Awoken First Lady!
Find Mowky on Instagram, Twitter (X), TikTok, YouTube, and Twitch.
Willow Creative (NL) as Mithrax
Willow Creative from the Netherlands is sharing her vision of the Kell of Light—and we are amazed. The warm colors of the costume and the realistic, highly detailed pair of extra arms blew us away. A little bit about the creation process from the creator:
“After a few weeks of hard work, I finished my Mithrax costume! I've received a lot of comments from Destiny 2 fans who love the character and his quirks, and I've rediscovered my love for handcrafted EVA foam-rubber armor and props. Sometimes the best way to tackle a project is to just start doing instead of overthinking for a million hours.
"Mithrax’ costume had a little bit of everything: sewing clothes, armor pieces, some mechanisms and LED lights, and (my favorite) painting. Figuring out the extra arms was a cool challenge as well, and I think that worked out well. By the way, a vest with cooling gel packs underneath the costume was a lifesaver in summer weather photoshoots! I'm excited to see the results of all the other cosplayers, and the variety of characters and amazing craftsmanship we present for this year's Cosmodrome.”
The Eliksni Kell is sneaky, careful, and cautious. Kell of Light has his own reasons behind everything he does, and Willow Creative has done an exceptional job translating that to these photos. We are thankful to have such an ally and are especially thankful to Willow Creative for bringing Season of the Splicer, Season of Plunder, obtaining Vexcalibur, and all these Mithrax memories to the top of mind again.
Willow Creative is on Instagram, Twitter (X), Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and her website. Operasionshutter, her photographers and videographers, are on Instagram, too.
LittleBlondeGoth (UK) as Savathûn
It’s an ambitious task to create a cosplay of the Witch Queen herself. Happily, LittleBlondeGoth was prepared, as she already participated in Cosplay Cosmodrome in 2022 with her Savathûn costume. We didn’t know it was even possible, but she succeeded in bringing that amazing, existing cosplay to the next level. LittleBlondeGoth used her unique perspective to add more armor pieces.
“I'm absolutely thrilled to be able to finally reveal my second take on everyone's favorite Sister of Shapes. I was very conscious that everyone saw nine Savathûns for Bungie Day last Cosplay Cosmodrome, so I wanted to create something that was different but still true to her character and design.
"Keeping the Warlock-inspired Guardian theme, this build had to be bigger and bolder than before, so the choice of fabrics, materials, and colors was very important to me. Some things needed sheen, others needed to be 3D. Parts of the garments needed to match the color of the armor, and of course there's so much armor. I thought it would be cool if the fabric was visible underneath the bones, so each bone is modelled round a piece of wire, enabling you to see through. It's had spray paint, airbrushing, dry brushing, and color washes to get it looking just right, and dynamic directional lighting really makes it sing.
"And of course, there's Immaru, too, the ghost everyone loves to hate. It's been a challenging project, but I hope everyone likes her as much as I do.”
We love Savathûn 2.0’s unique look and impressive armor pieces. While we have other foes to deal with in The Final Shape, the Witch Queen will always be in the back of our mind, just like Immaru’s ramblings and creative jabs at our Guardian.
For a look behind the scenes, take a peek at this video of the costume creation process:
Find LittleBlondeGoth on Instagram, Twitter (X), and Facebook.
Anhyra (SP) as Lord Shaxx
Looking at Anhyra’s fantastic photos, we feel Shaxx’s confidence and energy through our screens. Anhyra definitely succeeded in recreating the proportions and the pose of the Warlord. Only one thing is missing: a tiny skull above him!
Anhyra on the creative process: “Creating Lord Shaxx was a lot of fun! One of the biggest challenges was trying to faithfully represent his masculine anatomy, so I had to adapt the pieces of his armor to become a big and strong Warlord—I even used foam to get his biceps without going to the gym! The main material I used to create his armor was EVA rubber, which is very versatile and lightweight. I also used different types of fabric for his clothes, such as leatherette, cotton, and denim.
"The helmet was one of the most complicated parts, due to its shape and the number of details, but I am very happy with the result. When I create my cosplays, I like to imagine what the characters would look like in real life, fresh from the battlefield. I textured their armor and aged the fabrics to get a worn, dirty, and dented effect from their thousands of battles. I hope you like the result!”
Time on the top of the mountain definitely made Shaxx's costume a worn one. Speaking of, hopefully that Mountaintop roll you saved from the BRAVE arsenal will help you during your fight against the Witness.
Anhyra has also shared an amazing video of her cosplay that will definitely make you feel the presence of the mighty Lord himself. Go on, claim some Crucible bounties, he (probably) won’t bite!
Follow Anhyra for more cosplays on Instagram, Twitter (X), Facebook, and Twitch.
Solomon Taisa (JP) as Zavala
While Shaxx is able to hype a legion of Guardians and energize them with motivational speeches and a surplus of grenades, you can’t have your yin without your yang. So, we look for wisdom, patience, and honor in our dear Commander Zavala.
Zavala is wise, calm (most of the time), and decisive. As a leader of the Vanguard, he needs to have all these qualities and more, especially considering what the Witness plans. Japanese cosplayer Solomon Taisa relayed these qualities through the costume he created.
A few words from Solomon Taisa about the costume creation: “In creating Commander Zavala, I emphasized his qualities of presence, sense of security, and dependability. I made many adjustments and reworked the cosplay to create a sturdy frame that was easy to move in but also stable, and it conveys the strength of his armor as protective gear. I put a lot of effort into the sections of the cosplay that you can’t see from the outside to make it solid.
"Also, I was very particular about the surface texture. To accurately represent the texture, I tried to create an uneven base by beating gesso in with a brush and finishing it with silver paint. This method gave the armor a cast metal texture and added a sense of gravity to the work. I used red velour material for the cloth inside the armor, and I think that texture and color also makes Zavala’s presence stand out and contributes to his authority.”
We value the attention to detail that Solomon Taisa paid to the costume creation. Combining all the minor costume aspects creates an amazing representation of this iconic Destiny character. (Space) magic is in the details. Today, the Vanguard is proud!
Follow Solomon Taisa on Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube.
Kamichan83 (IT) as Crow and IlGritz (IT) as Cayde-6
Kamichan83 and IlGritz are a couple from Italy who started playing Destiny together in 2015. “We’re very proud of how the Cayde-6 costume turned out! The character really suits llGritz, and he was very much at ease during the photoshoot, to a degree that during the shoot he kept repeating, ‘How's your sister?’ every five minutes.
“Creating the Crow cosplay was quite the challenge. The costume is so different from Cayde-6’s. A funny thing happened while we were crafting the Crow cosplay (well, funny now, because while it was happening, we went from panic to despair). We didn't intend to hand-attach more than 1200 scales, so we thought of sewing them, but the sewing machine didn't agree and abandoned us, forcing us to sew them by hand anyway.
“In the end, I really enjoyed the process of creating the costume, and I even started to bond with Crow, which—as an absolute Cayde-6 fan since 2015—was a big step for me!”
If you played the final Season of the Wish mission already, you might have seen an iconic duo brought back together. Please welcome Kamichan83 as Crow and IlGritz as Cayde-6:
Now, we’re not picking sides over who’s relationship is more complicated between Cayde-6 and Crow or Romeo and Julliet, but it’s undeniable that Kamichan83 and IlGritz made Crow and Cayde-6 come to life in their stunning Italian surrounding. We’re grateful for the amazing work you’ve done on these cosplays and photos!
If you’re as big of a fan of Kamichan83 and IlGritz as we are, make sure to give them a follow. You can find Kamichan83 on Instagram, Twitter (X), Facebook, and TikTok and IlGritz on Instagram.
Enter the Cosmodrome
Feel like getting crafty yourself? We got you. We recently added a cosplay reference kit for the Witness to our artist reference collection! As always, make sure to include #DestinyCosplay and #Destiny2Art in any content you post. We love seeing the stuff you’re putting out there in Orbit.
Final words
It was an honor for us to team up with talented cosplayers from around the world. Their work consistently blew our mind and we’re thankful to all cosplayers, photographers, videographers, and everyone else involved. Your hard work definitely paid off.
We also want to extend our gratitude to our community; your warm reception of the project was heartwarming. While Cosplay Cosmodrome has finished, we hope that we are leaving you inspired and challenged, and we hope to see you pop up on our radars soon.
Stay creative, dream big, and achieve greatness, Guardians!