Reno, Nev.-based costume designer Mel Hoppe, aka WindoftheStars, has spent the last seven years turning a cosplay habit into a business creating, modeling, and selling her own character outfits, accessories, and posters. One of her favorites is this take on Japanese manga character Sailor Moon.
Mel Hoppe in Lake Tahoe as Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim's Aela the Huntress. She says that besides liking Aela's character and garb, "her being a badass warrior werewolf was just icing on the cake."
Deadly elegance is on display in this take on Zhen Ji from Dynasty Warriors 6. Mel Hoppe says the costume took more than three months of "hard, hard work."
Duela Dent of Batman fame was one of Mel Hoppe's outfits for last year's Comic-Con. In this particular version, Dent is actually portraying the Joker and wearing a battery pack that lights up the costume. Quite illuminating...
Mel Hoppe says Harley Quinn, another Batman character, is one of her favorite villains of all time. It was part of her ensemble for Comic-Con 2011.
"Getting to flex all my creative muscles while making the costume is liberating, but then getting to share my work with others at events or through photos online is very rewarding," she says.
A huntress of another kind, this DC Comics villain from the Batman series switches back and forth between baddie and heroine, but for cosplay purposes, Mel Hoppe's version is more "Bad" in a Michael Jackson sense of the word.
Another vintage WindoftheStars piece, this costume was inspired by the game Devil May Cry 4 and was completed in 2008. Amazing what can be done with pleather.
