Today we’d like to introduce you to Kevin Lewis.
Kevin, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
As a kid I was really into Halloween. Once I became an adult and started my career working at advertising/marketing agencies as a creative designer, I was apart of their holiday committees and helped plan our Halloween parties. I would be encouraged by my fellow co-workers to enter the costume contests. So I started making my own costumes to enter contests both at work and at large public Halloween parties with much success.
But I’ve always been into pop-culture, horror, sci-fi, comic characters too. So once I found out about “comic cons” and cosplay it was an instant fit for me and I was hooked after my first con experience! I realized I could create costumes all year long and enter contests at the conventions. I eventually got to the point where I started to be asked to judge these contests instead of just entering them. I’m also a frequent guest at the conventions with my own booth and do speaking panels as well.
I’m also very passionate about doing charity work with my characters. I work with non-profit organizations that assist children with disabilities, who are ill, and less fortunate. I also make appearances at children’s hospitals as well. One charity organization in particular that I work with is Heroic Inner Kids. They partner with other non-profits and work with cosplayer/character volunteers to help give back to the community especially involving children. Another event that I am proud to be apart of is the National Adoption Day.
Has it been a smooth road?
I get a lot of positive feedback and most people think what I do is really cool and creative, especially when I’m told I look like I stepped right off of a movie set, but you do have those that just don’t “get it”. They don’t understand the whole cosplay and pop culture thing. They don’t understand why a grown man dresses up in costumes and goes to conventions and other events. Haha.
Also, since I do have my other full-time career as a creative art director in marketing/advertising it’s hard to make time for everything since my hobby as a costume designer and special fx makeup artist is very involved. Even though it started as a sporadic hobby it has evolved over time into something much bigger, which requires a lot of my time, effort, and money for materials.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I’m a special fx makeup artist, costume creator, character impersonator, and cosplayer. My niche is prosthetic makeup effects.
I’m probably most known for my Night King character from Game of Thrones, which I was flown out to LA and filmed a show with Nerdist as that character. Also, I’m honored to have been featured by Marvel.
I pride myself on my screen accurate characters that I bring to life through special fx makeup, costume design, props, and character acting.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
It really depends. For someone looking to do special fx makeup as a career Dallas doesn’t have much of a TV/movie industry here. There are independent filmmakers that are based here, which could be a good start for someone new in their career, but most of those projects will be pro-bono work. Dallas is much cheaper for film studios to do business here than LA. LA is expensive and that’s why Atlanta now has a thriving film industry there since it’s much cheaper. It would be great if Dallas could be one as well.
As a cosplayer I have seen the con industry grow exponentially over the last 6 years from when I first got into cosplay. While cosplay is more of a hobby for most people there are numerous conventions held throughout the year that cater to particular genres of pop-culture/cosplay which attracts people from all over. So for someone that’s just looking for a creative outlet that’s fun the con/cosplay scene in Dallas is great.
Contact Info:
- Website: ImaginaryFX.com
- Email: info@ImaginaryFX.com
- Instagram: ImaginaryFX
- Facebook: facebook.com/ImaginaryFX
- Other: Youtube.com/ImaginaryFX
Image Credit:
Joe Uribe – SuperHeroPhotos.com, Brad Barton – bradbarton.us, Curtis Garrison, Photopersuasion.net, Bree Adams
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
