Leah Stevo

Props Artisan and Cosplayer

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I am a lifelong video game nerd and that’s essentially what introduced me to prop-making in the first place. I tend to lose myself in games and then catch myself wishing that I could wear the armor or weapons that I encounter while playing them. I am also entirely self-taught. I started my first armor build (the Daedric Armor set from Skyrim) without knowing how to hold a Dremel or use a heat gun. I have hundreds upon hundreds of hours logged into that game, and I was pretty envious of my character and how cool he looked in his armor set. I thought why not try and make a set for myself? I went in with basically zero knowledge of costuming and fabrication, and built the whole set entirely out of a yoga mat and discarded floor mats I had acquired from work. It’s also how I learned that hot gluing everything together isn’t going to hold up for very long! I think with all the repairs I’ve made to it so far I must have already rebuilt the entire set at least twice.  The passion I had for the first project and the absolute unshakeable need to get it done was the reason I was able to power through tons and tons of frustration and mistakes. I haven’t had any formal training in terms of fabrication or the materials I use. Just a TON of sitting down and reading and learning. I don’t want anyone to think that creating the costume of their dreams is beyond their reach. It took thousands of hours of research, and tutorials, and trial and error to acquire the skillset I now have, but I loved every second of it. I’m still learning and still growing as a maker. All of us are. Learning is the best part.

You are currently a props artisan. Where do you work and how did you get into making props full time?

Thanks to the skills I’ve acquired in the cosplay and prop-making world, I landed a dream job as a full-time maker. I’m currently serving as the casting & molding specialist at Meow Wolf here in Santa Fe. I feel super fortunate that I get to create art for a living.  I first realized while doing props as a hobbyist that I absolutely thrive on the endless stream of challenges that arise from pulling ideas out of screens and heads and being tasked with bringing them into reality. It turns out that the seemingly weird skill set I acquired as a costume armor and prop builder was exactly what Meow Wolf needed to add to their team! The techniques I use at work every day have helped me in my cosplay work as well, so I feel incredibly energized when I get home to work on personal projects and commissions.

When did you realize you wanted to get into cosplay?

I never really wanted to get into “cosplay” as much as I wanted to get into fabrication and “making”. I didn’t know what cosplay was at first, only that I wanted to make a full set of armor from my favorite video game, no matter how long it took. But I finished it and even though I felt insanely proud of it, I remember the terror of walking across the parking lot for the first time, dressed head to toe in floor mats, getting ready to walk into my first convention in a costume. I was thinking “oh my God who does this? I probably look ridiculous” and I almost turned around. But as soon as I walked in the doors I felt the magic of others recognizing what I had built, and being able to bring something virtual to life and geek out with other fans. I didn’t have many friends before this because I am incredibly shy and anxious about socializing in general. But I realized this is something that brings people like me together in the most earnest and exciting ways and I have never looked back.

What is your favorite cosplay that you have made?

I consider all of my costumes and props my children. But to pick a favorite, definitely Star Guardian Urgot. Even though it now takes up half of my garage. I put EVERYTHING I had learned up until that point into Urgot. Robotics, LEDs, sewing, armorsmithing, everything. I really wanted to push myself to my limits in terms of size, complexity, and original design. I wanted it to happen so badly for Urgot, it was such a crazy idea and the community support was so strong that it was an easy choice to begin. I treated it kind of like a thesis project and with the exception of a few structural issues that I’ll need to address before I wear him again (HE IS SO HEAVY OMG), I am so proud of how it all turned out!

What has been your highest achievement as an artist/cosplayer?

This might be the part where I am supposed to list awards that I have won but honestly, overcoming the crippling effect of social anxiety and actually being able to sit here and consider myself a worthy artist has been the most important achievement to me. After 30 years of struggling with self-image I don’t think I could have ever seen myself the way I do now without the cosplaying and propmaking community. Seriously, you’re all amazing!

For a close second, I have to say getting to walk the BlizzCon stage as a costume finalist is the most surreal dreamlike experience I’ve had. I watched the costume contest and dreamed of being good enough to walk that stage for YEARS. I still can’t believe I’ve been able to do it TWICE. I can’t even think about it without getting nervious. The Blizzard stage is just epic!

Do you have a story of a problem that you had to overcome or figure out how to solve using unconventional techniques or ideas?

Absolutely, when I first started building Taric (the pink armor) I knew that I wanted all of his gems to glow brightly from within. However, at that point in my making career I was super intimidated by the process of casting and mold-making and figured it was sorcery that I could never master in time. I was stumped on how to create glowing gems without using clear resin or expensive acrylic sheeting. It was during this struggle that I discovered standard Wonderflex is INSANELY good at diffusing LED lighting and giving me the exact magical glow effect I needed. I ended up folding Wonderflex like paper origami to create the faceted gems I needed, painting it with translucent paints, and putting LEDs inside the hollows of each shape. I am a huge evangelist for this method now, as it’s super cost effective, lighter weight than resin or acrylic, and Wonderflex is faster to heat form than other translucent thermoplastics

What are your favorite materials, for construction, glues, painting etc?

Foam is my bread and butter. I find the EVA foam from TNT Cosplay and SKS Props to be the highest quality, but I regularly use foam from hardware stores and craft stores. Foam is inexpensive, lightweight, easy to shape and edit, and quite durable when treated properly. My most reliable adhesive for foam has always been Barge contact cement. It’s a bit pricey but I’ve never had it fail. I also try and incorporate mechanical attachments as much as possible, so I use a ton of Chicago screws, washers to protect the foam, and neodymium magnets. I’m also a big fan of Golden high flow acrylics for their transparency, and Liquitex Heavy Body acrylics for super vivid colors (when I don’t need a surface to transmit light). My absolute favorite thermoplastic is Wonderflex Pro, and I know someone is going to think I’m just “saying that” but it’s the smoothest, most rugged plastic I’ve worked with and it’s versatility has saved me so much time. It’s been a staple in my shop since it came out.

Leah was one of our beta testers of our new Wonderflex Pro. Here are some of the insights she has on our Pro!

If you are interested in following Leah and her fabulous work or commissioning a project. Find Leah on Instagram @leahstevoart, or Facebook @LSTVO

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