In September of 2023, right in time for the spooky season- Netflix released the animated TV Series, Castlevania: Nocturne. It is a sequel to the dark fantasy by the same name, as well as an adaptation from the video game series. Set during the French & Haitian Revolution, this show follows an array of characters uniting to take down the current regime that is ruled by religious aristocrats. The regime uses the bodies of often poor deceased to spawn monsters from Hell, with the help from powerful (and really hot) Vampires to do their violent, political bidding. This show has magical and spiritual elements with plenty of epic fight scenes. The themes of this series speak to the rebellion and resistance of marginalized people historically, intersecting race and class in an effortless way.
This unique gem stands out from other anime with its array of diverse main characters. I chose to cosplay one of my favorite characters, Drolta Tzuentes, a compelling Black vampire with fiery pink hair. She’s dressed to kill in her platform shoes, wearing mostly black and intricate headpieces. She’s a priestess of the goddess of war, Sekhemet and delivers a notable appearance from the time she’s introduced on screen. Drolta prepares for the arrival of the Vampire Messiah, Erzsebet Báthory, and is unrelenting in carrying out her plans. Whether annihilating humans or battling with the other protagonists, she’s definitely proven to be a badass character and exciting to watch.
Making The Costume
This was a fairly simple costume to put together. I initially wanted to use it for Halloween but ran out of time. Luckily, I was able to get tickets to Anime NYC in November 2023, where I was able to show it off. I spent most of my time working on the wings. The rest was selecting clothes similar to hers, and a focus on the hair and makeup details.
Hair
I had originally wanted to somehow make my hair light up, to give it a fiery, glowing effect like from the epic scene of Drolta transforming and flying out with the rest of the vampires. I settled on using some inexpensive pink hair wax. This color was incredibly light on my hair, so I used it with a combination of red from the same brand. I had to use A LOT to make it look pink, and rather than getting it all over my shoulders (this stuff transfers quite a bit) I put my hair into a royal-looking bun. I used this same wax color to put on my eyebrows.
Wardrobe
The greatest part of this cosplay is that for the clothing I could easily use these items in a regular outfit.
—Black Corset Cami Top (I tried an actual corset, but this top was way more comfortable and stretchy)
–Black Skirt (with side slits)
–Black leggings
–Black Boots
Details/Accessories
–For Drolta’s forehead gem, I used a rhinestone from those Halloween spider rings from CVS. Don’t laugh, but I literally just scotch taped it to my forehead. But it actually worked and stayed throughout the whole convention.
—Black gothic cross earrings with rhinestone
—Black horns These were more goat like horns, but I was able to easily remove both curved ones on the sides. They have Maleficent horns online that were a little pricier.
—Vampire Fangs The fangs I used were great, but special glue was needed to really keep them in place. I opted for just using them in some photos rather than the whole day.
Making the Wings
I really enjoy trying to make as much of the props and details of my cosplays as I can. As mentioned in previous posts, Eva Foam and Foam Clay are probably two of my favorite, most versatile products to use in my beginner’s cosplay journey.
I initially started off using a small rectangular piece of cardboard for the base, and cut out two simple patterns of two wings out of the EVA Foam. I used contact paper for the wings. While it gave an okay look, I really wanted them to have an edgier appearance. So I took everything apart, made the base much smaller, and made new patterns on the EVA foam that were much sharper and longer. After I attached them to the base (duct tape) I used several coats of Black Acrylic paint, and then a finish of glossy mod podge. To create more of a dimensional look, I took foam clay to outline what would be bones of the wings. After everything had dried from the painting and final glossy layer, I rolled up the wings a little so that way they would curve around my shoulders. I used long Velcro cable straps for the arms, and voilà!
This was such a fun cosplay. While it may be a quicker and simpler version of the cosplay, there’s always this exciting feeling when recreating these looks. One of the best parts of cosplaying is you can make it your own, and put your personal style and creativity into it. It doesn’t have to be expensive or look like ones from the professionals.
If you’ve seen the series, let me know who your favorite character is! If you haven’t, the series is a very short watch with only 8 episodes, each about 30 minutes each. It has plenty of action, fantasy, and horror to keep you absorbed.
Castlevania: Nocturne is streaming on Netflix.