lives in a land of warrior princesses, sailor scouts and comic book characters.
After graduating from Jasper Junior/Senior High School and completing a brief production internship at the 51暗网 in 2011, the Philippines native packed up and moved to Calgary, enrolling in the Alberta College of Art and Design鈥檚 (ACAD)
bachelor of design program.
Despite spending most of her four-year degree holed up in some classroom, practicing her character design and illustrations, Zuniga stumbled across a hobby that would quickly consume her and her art career.
鈥淚 did a bit of Cosplay in the Philippines, but when I moved to Jasper no one else was doing it so I just stopped, but when I moved to the city I found a lot of people in that community,鈥� she said.
For those not in the know, Cosplay, short for costume play, is when people dress up as a character from a movie, game, anime or comic book. Usually people get pretty intense鈥攃arefully focusing on the fine details, hoping to perfectly re-create their character of choice.
鈥淚 met so many great friends, so for me it鈥檚 about more than just dressing up. It鈥檚 about having fun with my friends,鈥� Zuniga said.
In between classes and stacks of homework, Zuniga would spend hours dreaming up different characters that she could transform into for the weekend. Once she picked a character she fabricated everything from the costume to picking out the proper make-up, wig and eye colour.
鈥淚t was just something on the side, but it鈥檚 totally became my passion.鈥�
Zuniga started out simple, directly copying the look of well-known characters, but in time she started using Cosplay as an avenue to further express her own creativity, putting a twist on some of Disney鈥檚 most famous princesses.
She started swapping the royals鈥� usual pristine and puffy ball gowns for gladiator armour. In a few months, Zuniga had created a whole princess army, complete with battle wounds and weapons.
鈥淏eing in ACAD for four years, they drilled the fact that if we wanted to become artists then we needed to find our own unique style. I was always worried about that鈥攖hat I wouldn鈥檛 find my own style,鈥� Zuniga said. 鈥淏ut when I started the warrior princesses I finally felt like I had found my thing.鈥�
Donning her own costumes, Zuniga set up elaborate photo shoots and posted her creations on social media, gaining more than 49,000 followers on Facebook and nearly 80,000 on Instagram.
Shortly after, people from all over were contacting Zuniga hoping she could create costumes for them.
鈥淚t鈥檚 so great to see people supporting my work. Now sometimes people who don鈥檛 know me will come up to me at different conventions and tell me that they鈥檝e seen my work on the Internet.
鈥淧eople are starting to recognize my stuff, and as an artist nothing is more humbling.鈥�
After completing her degree, Zuniga started the hunt for artistic jobs in Calgary, stumbling across a sculptor position at Studio Y Creations, a company specializing in three-dimensional creative displays.
Having always been more of a two-dimensional artist, Zuniga thought she didn鈥檛 stand a chance, but decided to submit her Cosplay costumes as her portfolio.
鈥淐osplay was always a hobby, but this time I thought I would bring it into my professional life,鈥� she said.
Zuniga got the job.
鈥淚鈥檓 learning a lot, but it鈥檚 an entirely different world than drawing, which is cool because I get to see my work from all different perspective and sides,鈥� she said. 鈥淲ith sculpting you have to look at all the angles and points of view.鈥�
However, this artist isn鈥檛 ready to give up her two-dimensional career just yet. When she鈥檚 not engaged at the studio or dreaming up unique costumes, she鈥檚 sketching like mad in hopes of releasing an art book.
鈥淚t鈥檚 basically a visual myriad of how I design things. Basically I鈥檓 telling the story of the visual process of how I get from one point to another,鈥� she said.
In the past, Zuniga has illustrated books for Jasper authors Moira McKinnon and Sean O鈥橪eary.
鈥淚鈥檓 really grateful for all the opportunities I鈥檝e been given, but I don鈥檛 want to get too comfortable. I want to keep learning and creating and finding my own style,鈥� Zuniga said. 鈥淓ventually I鈥檇 like to be a freelance artist, travelling all over.鈥�
Kayla Byrne [email protected]
