The metamorphosis of a cosplayer
A wiz at SFX, Opula Fonseka aka Bluebloodelf, can turn herself into any ghoulish creature and is now sharing her experience with other cosplayers
Already late, Opula Fonseka stands in front of the mirror, putting on the final touches to her cosplay. Opula isn’t the type of cosplayer that tries on her cosplay before the event. Instead she perfects it till the last moment, puts it on, and goes. Looking at herself in the mirror and seeing the cosplay come together the way she had envisioned it, is her favourite moment of cosplaying. Suddenly the hours of work she spent to achieve the picture perfect cosplay she saw in her head is a reality.
Opula is one of the best, and arguably the most well known cosplayer in Sri Lanka. With her masterful special effects makeup (SFX) Opula can turn herself into any ghoulish creature. Of all the amazing cosplays Opula has done, her cosplay of Sally from A Nightmare Before Christmas stands out for its authenticity and detail. Her first cosplay, Corpse Bride, progressively got better and better as she remade it three times. Another phenomenal cosplay was her Pinhead from the Hellraiser series, where she literally nailed even the tiniest details. Fans may also recall the Mayuru Rakshaya, the yaka (demon of death) from Sri Lankan mythology that Opula did in collaboration with Nipunika Fernando and Dominique Sedra Croos.
One cosplay where she was completely unrecognizable was the Demogorgon from Stranger Things, a creature lacking any facial features that has petals lined with many sharp teeth. Opula accurately recreated that inhuman beast, further solidifying her skill of craftsmanship.
Opula is known as Bluebloodelf on social media. And if you go to any event that has cosplay incorporated into it, you will most likely find the 20-year-old there with a cosplay that will surely grab your attention. “When I started cosplaying, it was because I wanted to feel like I belonged, but it turned out to be so much bigger than that. It was my happy place, a place devoid of all negativity, for a while. It became a place where I made so many connections with the people I now call friends where I could explore and reinvent who I am. A place free of judgement, where I can continue to grow and improve my skill set. For me, cosplay was a gateway,” says Opula.
Moving back to Sri Lanka in 2015 from Bahrain, she was introduced to the cosplay community here by Nigel Wayne White. “At this point, I was living with my aunt in Ja-ela and I would save up all my money to buy materials for my cosplays at the first Lanka Comic Con 2016,”