How to Cosplay Sonya Blade from Mortal Kombat
Research and behind the scenes of what goes into a GAAM show cosplay assisgnmentHow easy of a decision was it to participate in a Sonya Blade cosplay?
General of Earthrealm Special Forces, Sonya Blade is a beautiful, stern, tough-as-nails General. Sonya represents a very emancipated and headstrong woman, but for all her stubbornness and pride, she deeply cares about the lives of her friends and comrades. She has a long-standing enmity with the Black Dragon leader, Kano, who had murdered a former partner of hers, and stands for everything Sonya despises. She has also feuded with other Black Dragon members such as Jarek.
After reading her official character description, it just further cemented the idea when Ryan, co-founder of GAAM, asked me to be a part of the promotional cosplay photoshoot for their upcoming event, GAAM VS.
GAAM, short for Games Art and Music, has held cosplay photoshoots in the past but usually kept top secret until the event. But this year, we were allowed to document the entire process and I’m now sharing that with you.
Read along to see how you can create your own Sonya Blade cosplay and all about this year’s GAAM show…
Sonya Blade Cosplay Breakdown
CHARACTER SHOPPING
DIY/Already Owned
- Grabbed an old pair of socks and cut off the toes to make the arm cuffs
- Used some spare black fabric for the waste wrap and headband.
- Black faux leather pants, boots, shirt and hat.
- Airsoft pistol from previous Lara Croft cosplay
Purchased
- Pink battery powered lights
- Custom military dog tags
- Fingerless tactical gloves
- Army colored seamless sports bra (retro only)
- High wasted olive colored leggings (retro only)
- Red earrings (retro only)
- Mortal Kombat patch (retro only)
- Chuck Taylor’s (retro only)
- Tactical right handed leg holster (modern only)
- Black utility/tactical belt (modern only)
- Faux leather vest (modern only—not shown in pictures because it’s too damn hot outside to wear all that)
DIET AND FITNESS
Disclaimer: I’ve always loved working out and while I make a half-assed attempt at dieting, I really wanted to challenge myself for this cosplay. But after this photo shoot, I don’t care to eat another helping of spaghetti squash or cauliflower pizza crust for as long as I walk this earth.
Before this shoot my idea of a diet was only eating junk food on the weekends. However, all the cosplayers stepped up their fitness routines and shared diet goals and FAQs in a private Facebook group—which was an incredible help.
For my diet, I cut out sugar, limited sodium intake and only had 50 grams of carbs on gym days for three weeks. Then the final two weeks leading up until the shoot, I followed this diet.
After the shoot, it was a slow challenge to reintroduce the normal crap I ate into a body that was used to eating clean. And I’ll tell ya, the difference in energy levels and overall how I felt was noticeable. I’ve since kept up with a lot of the tricks I learned during this process and now regularly follow a low carb/sugar lifestyle.
I also meal prep more frequently now that I own a food processor and veggie spinner. This helps to save money and keep my fitness in check on a long term basis.
FROM START TO FINISH PHOTO GALLERY
From research to the released photos, hit the “next” link in the gallery to check out all of the step by step captions for this Sonya Blade cosplay.
Photography: Mark Painter Pariani
Mortal Kombat’s lone female character Sonya Blade made her debut for the franchise’s release back in 1992.
Sonya’s first outfit is essentially green yoga pants and matching sports bra—which is what I wear daily therefore I knew this character would be a perfect fit.
The modern day Sonya Blade costume has a more military feel to it and is dominated by the color black which is another reason why this character and I mesh so well.
The “Kiss of Death” is Sonya’s signature move that allows her to power and manipulate pink-colored energy.
After the research is done, the hunt begins to find the matching items. First stops? Amazon and Etsy which led to the purchase of a Mortal Kombat patch. I affixed it to the sports bra found on Amazon with E6000 glue.
Next step was to create the power glove used to manipulate pink colored energy. This is where the pink battery-powered lights come into play.
Isn’t it pretty 🙂
The trick here is to buy two sets of gloves with one set slightly larger than the other. Stuff that battery pack inside where the on/off power switch is easily accessible and the wire comes out of the other side.
I could have just shoved the lights into the second glove and created a simple pink light but after trying it, I wasn’t getting the effect I wanted. So I grabbed some spare hook-and-eyes, glued them to the top of the glove and wrapped the wire of the lights all around them.
This is the entire Sonya Blade costume. Yoga pants, sports bras, arms cuffs made from old socks, an old piece of black fabric for the waste wrap/headband, black bikini bottoms, dog tags and my trusty Converse Chuck Taylor’s.
If you were following GuysGirl on Snapchat you would have seen this picture months ago–just an FYI.
The modern day Sonya Blade costume used some of the same items. The only difference was all black clothing/hat/boots, leg holster and utility belt—all purchased on Amazon. The airsoft gun was a spray painted weapon from my Lara Croft cosplay.
Not as comfy as the other outfit but still feeling pretty fierce.
We made it to shoot day! And I’ve already made friends with the franchise’s most iconic character, Chun Li.
Chun Li cosplay
Female Ken cosplay
Male Cammy cosplay
This was one of the photos snapped off the preview computer—If you’ve ever been on a shoot you know you want to see those pictures ASAP so this computer is a God send!
When the shoot’s over and you just want to see a glimpse of the result so you give Ryan of GAAM a vodka drink and he shows you a sneak peek.
AND THEN YOU FINALLY GET TO SEE THE PICTURES AND THEY’RE EVERYTHING. Photography: Mark Painter Pariani
Photography: Mark Painter Pariani
Photography: Mark Painter Pariani
Photography: Mark Painter Pariani
Photography: Mark Painter Pariani
How to attend GAAM
BUY TICKETSIf you’re new to GuysGirl, you might not be aware of how far GAAM and I go back.
The short answer? YEARS AND YEARS.
I first met Ryan, the co-founder of GAAM when…hell I can’t remember. But it was around the same time we both started our businesses and knew we could feed off of each other.
Since that day, both companies have grown and GuysGirl has even worked with Belle of the Blvd, a fashion truck and the brainchild of Ryan’s finance, Holli Nygren.
This power couple both love what they do and they’re some of the best people you’ll ever meet in life.
In addition to being great people they also put on some kick ass events, like the GAAM Show.
FAQ
Q: What are the event details?
There are a few pre and post GAAM-related events over the weekend but the main event is Saturday August 13th at 6pm located at ‘The Museum and Gardens’ in Jacksonville, Florida.
Q: How much are tickets?
Advanced tickets are $30. But if you wait until the last minute and need to buy them at the door, they’ll cost you $50.
Q: Booze and food included?
Beer and wine, yes. For food, Happy Grilled Cheese food truck will be on hand.
Q: Do I have to dress up?
A lot of people do cosplay at GAAM, but many show up in their favorite geeky t-shirt too. I’d say the ratio is about 50/50 of those who cosplay and those who go casual. So don’t be afraid to do either!
Q:What’s the overall feel of a GAAM event?
Anyone ever say you ask too many questions? JK. Sorta. The event can professionally be described as cool as hell. Imagine all your friends geeked out, playing video games, looking at awesome art, checking out the cosplay plus drinks, great music and some of the best people you’ll ever meet in this life.
WHERE TO BUY
Like I mentioned in the FAQ, you can buy your tickets online or at the door. But if you buy online, especially the two-pack deals, you’ll be saving a lot of money in the process.
Tickets include free beer, too. So we got that going for us. Which is nice.
