Do you/have you cosplayed Kira now or in the past?
Yes - currently.

Have you any anecdotes about your experiences cosplaying Light?
Scared the daylights out of a lot of people when asking for a signature.

It was honestly very fun, because I helped a cosplay group "Squad Six" and worked in a group of other Death Note characters.

Cosplaying as Light Yagami, I got a chance to play Chess with an L cosplayer and I won! 😏

How would you go about creating a costume for Light Yagami?
I draft, so I normally see things in my head and make it really.

What clothing and/or props do you feel are essential Light Yagami costume items?
Bag of chips, Death Note, apple, flip phone and handcuffs.

Is there more to cosplaying Kira than the outfit? (Look/behaviour etc.)
Oh yes~ I had to keep that small smirk for the entire time while in cosplay. Also writing violently and trimming my nails down to look like I chew them.

What's your professional opinion about ready-made Light Yagami outfits, such as those in the Death Note News Cosplay Store? Any other pieces in there decent enough for a Kira cosplay? (Be honest!)
I honestly enjoy people who buy cosplay or Make it. As long as you have fun in the cosplay I am all for any cosplay.

If not anything there, where would YOU source items to cosplay Light Yagami?
I guess you could go to a clothing store or a yard sell and hope you get lucky

Any last tips for anyone reading, who wishes to create their Kira cosplay from scratch?
Have fun building it.

Is there any reason that you haven't considered cosplay for Light Yagami?

The male members of Squad Six Cosplayers have not considered cosplaying Light. They have all been heard saying variations of 
'Light is to simple and there are other characters that are more fun to portray'.
 
How would you go about creating a costume for Light Yagami?

Most likely we would buy a dress shirt because that's a complicated sewing process but we would defiantly make the tie from a matte silk  and  then make the blazer from a tan cotton and  the pants from brown cotton. Thought blazers are difficult, the lapels specifically, it always feels better to make your own cosplay.
 
What clothing and/or props do you feel are essential Light Yagami costume items?

At least the pants and the iconic red tie. A main focus of cosplay is to be recognized as the character so if you are cosplaying someone like Light you need to stick with his  recognizable outfit as well as a Death Note. Even though Light himself wouldn't carry his Death Note around, people see it and instantly recognize the cosplayer where as if you're in just a pair of brown pants, a white shirt, and a red tie people might think twice before approaching you.
 
Is there more to cosplaying Kira than the outfit?  (Look/behaviour etc.)

Oh yes! One of the biggest peeves about Death Note cosplay in general is when you hear people say that Death Note cosplay is lazy or easy. Cosplaying Light isn't just about wearing the right clothes and having the right hair or wig, you have to have that secretive but charming attitude too! No Death Note cosplay is easy and it does take time and money to make even the simplest of items.

What's your professional opinion about ready-made Light Yagami outfits, such as those in the Death Note News Cosplay Store?  Any other pieces in there decent enough for a Kira cosplay? (Be honest!)

The items in the Death Note News Cosplay Store are lovely and a wonderful option for those that do not sew. Another alternative would be going to a thrift store searching for the items. You don't have to make your costumes to cosplay, it's just our personal preferred method.
 
If not any of the above, where would YOU source items to cosplay Light Yagami?

The Death Note News Cosplay Store has a good option for a Light Yagami cosplay. You should never have to pay anything over 80 USD for a cosplay like his, not including the wig. Wig shopping can be difficult especially for men who have larger heads, so my advice on that is to be sure you know your head measurements  while you're shopping online and look for cosplayer reviews if you're buying from sites like Amazon. It's okay to go cheap with wigs but it's a personal recommendation not to spend less than 10 USD on a wig online because you want a decent head of hair and the more expensive the more realistic a wig is going to look.
 
Any last tips for anyone reading, who wishes to create their Kira cosplay from scratch?

Make sure to practice blazer lapels before trying to work on the actual blazer, pay attention to pants patterns because the waistline must add up, and don't be afraid to style a wig. A little cutting and a little Got2b hairspray will go a long way to making the costume go from eh to YEAH!

From l-r you are seeing:

Justin as Touta Matsuda
Lara as Misa Amane
Cayanna Carma as Light Yagami
Sara as L
Lindz as Near
and on the floor,
Logan as Beyond Birthday

The event was very well attended. Despite its late hour, three quarters of the venue was full.

It was great fun!  With a tremendous amount of audience participation too.

We had five grand prize questions with the winners awarded a very L-inspired Death Note prize.  It was a dessert glass with his iconic monograph printed on the side.

Inside was a pile of chocolate/apple flavoured candy, plus two bubblegums with wrappers sporting bright red eyes - shinigami eyes, if we ever saw them. In addition, those correctly guessing the answer received a packet of chips (crisps for our European readers) and an apple.

Nor were we the only ones in cosplay.  There were several others in the audience, including a few in Death Note cosplay.

One of our great coups was to have famed cosplayer Cayanna Carma as our special guest at the Death Note Ichibancon panel. 

She is renowned throughout the North Carolinian cosplay circuit for the realism that she brings to her roles. Cayanna Carma didn't just dress as Light Yagami, she became him.

It was in the subtleties, of which no photograph will ever adequately convey, no matter how many taken of her in action.

It really felt like Kira sitting there, ramrod straight and charming. Watching everyone and reacting, as Light Yagami might believably react, to all that occurred.  Serious, even in the face of Sara's shenanigans as L.

Her presence went down a storm with the crowd, just as we hoped it would. In fact, many of those there might have attended simply to watch Cayanna Carma cosplay Kira.

Sitting alongside her on the panel, interacting like we were with Light Yagami himself, was certainly a pleasure for Squad Six Cosplayers.

Once again, we thank Cayanna Carma for being our very special guest at Ichibancon 7's Resurrecting L: Death Note 10th Anniversary panel, and hope that these pictures provide some glimpse of what it was like watching our star cosplayer perform on the night.

They included the L cosplayer pictured left - our old friend Christian Morrison in costume and character - and another Misa Misa too.

Cayanna Carma will be Squad Six Cosplayers' special guest at Ichibancon. Joining forces at our Resurrecting L: Death Note 10th Anniversary panel.

She will be cosplaying Light Yagami for us, and we just know that will bring in a huge crowd.

Cayanna Carma is known through the convention community for her ability to encompass the attitude and personality of each character she portrays. She's just fantastic.  She's a 24 year old that can draft her own cosplay patterns, taught herself to sew, and can piece together shoes, props, pants, shirts, gloves, and even wigs with no issues.

Though Cayanna Carma will be taking on Kira at the Ichibancon anime convention, she's MOST known for her cosplay from Kuroshitsuji and Naruto. You can check out her ability to become each cosplayed character on her Facebook page, though nothing beats seeing her in action.

Now all Squad Six Cosplayers have to do is live up to that precedence too. No pressure then!

Nowhere is this more true than in anime related cosplay, wherein its much more than a mile spent traipsing in another's footwear. It's probably several, and not just the shoes either.

All day spent in character at conventions, or clambering into awkward places to position oneself for photographs - after minutely studying the manga or anime for clues on how to appear recognizably convincing - can certainly provide insights into the persona being aped.

So much so that you have to ask yourself - if it happens to me, then it certainly has to have been experienced by the original character too.

The old adage states that none may be understood, until a mile has been walked in their shoes.

Like the anecdote shared by a friend, blAIRbender, following her quest to create a cosplay for Death Note's Matt that was exact in every detail.

Many hours were spent scrutinizing images from the manga; sourcing and moulding materials; then engaged in painstaking assembly. Finally she held a perfect replica of Matt's goggles. It was only when she came to wear them - particularly over several hours - that she realized Matt must spend a lot of time demisting said goggles. The slightest hint of perspiration saw the lenses fogged from edge to edge.

Also his peripheral vision was non-existent. 

My Mello cosplayer informed me that she was the only person in her group not losing focus and fainting with hunger.

She was the one with a bar of chocolate to hand, which kept the energy levels raised nicely.

Maybe that's why Mello risks all to ensure he has his confectionery to hand (fifteen boxes at least)?  Perhaps he's prone to bouts of low blood sugar. The Mafia would be terrible company within which to loose concentration, or collapse in a heap on the floor.

Or he's worked out the advantage in always having food to hand, when you never know what meals will be delayed and what leadership opportunities could arise on a bite of chocolate.

Best one I heard is a little too risque to share here. Let's just say the cosplay didn't end with bedtime, but did scream to a sudden halt shortly thereon. 

Instead I'll mention the friend of a friend who ended up in an emergency room, due to the crucifix - on the end of her cosplay Mello rosary - swinging up to nearly take her eye out, after it got caught on the furry costume of a tall man in front. A strange combination of her shrieking, him stopping dead and a sudden crowd surge from behind did the rest.

Such things must occur to Mello too, though I can't help thinking that when they do, somebody could well end up dead.

You'd be amazed on what a rosary can get stuck on, trapped inside or otherwise threaten to garrotte its wearer in any number of inventive ways.

Unless you habitually cosplay Death Note's Mello, in which case none of the above even counts as news anymore. You've been there; not only got the t-shirt but also the thread burn scar on the back of your neck.

Nor do you have any patience with those who blithely state that the rosary should have snapped.

You also have snapping rosary stories. Plus a plentiful supply of 'nearly snapped Mello cosplay rosary' scares to add into the general mix.