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 Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2015 5:23 pm
Cosplay 101
Table of Contents
Rules
What is Cosplay
Types of Cosplay
How to Start out
Mis/to be named later
FAQ + question link
Featured Thread of the Month
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Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2015 5:32 pm
Rules
Please be Respectful to all in this thread
This thread will be locked, There will be threads for more in depth details where you may post questions
Please keep all comments and conversations on a PG-13 level. We're all adults here so act like it~
Have fun
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Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2015 5:36 pm
What is cosplay?
If you are in this guild you already have an interest in cosplay or already do cosplay. So this will be a short little insert.
Cosplay is short for costume play.
The term "cosplay" is a Japanese portmanteau of the English terms costume, and role play.[1] The term was coined by Nobuyuki Takahashi of Studio Hard[2] while attending the 1984 World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) in Los Angeles. He was impressed by the hall and the costumed fans and reported on both in Japanese magazine My Anime. The coinage reflects a common Japanese method of abbreviation in which the first two moras of a pair of words are used to form an independent compound. 'Costume' becomes kosu (コス), and 'play' becomes pure (プレ).
Cosplay is an expression of oneself, it is another form of art that can be shown off. For some it’s an escape from their daily lives, becoming a character for a day or so to live out another life. And others it may be a chance to make new friends, come out of their shells.
Which is it for you?
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Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2015 5:42 pm
Types of Cosplay
While cosplay may look the same to others, there’s actually several forms and genres of cosplay!
Some of them may include:
Crossplay
Western
Games
Horror
Anime
Movie
Original
Fan Art
Literature
Some of them are just as they sound. but let’s give it a little break down.
Crossplay: The art of cosplaying a gender other than your own. This includes girls binding and taping to cosplay a male character, or a guy perfecting make up and bra stuffing to cosplay a female character.
Western: This includes anything within the ranges of non anime series. This could include things such as the x-men series, Totally Spies, Disney Princess, Comics, well you get the picture!
Games: Just as it sounds, video games galore! this can be anything from Final Fantasy to Skyrim, to even Dating Sims.
Horror: Now this one I gave it’s own category, due to aspects added in that most people would not normally do for a cosplay. This can include things such as zombies from walking dead, to horrors like Higurashi. For these you would most likely be doing SFX make up, thus earning this type it’s own category
Anime: Well I think we all know this one, anything and everything that would fall under the anime category from magical girls to magical boys. DBZ, slice of life, OVA’s and everything inbetween.
Movies: Now this one is a fun one, it can be a movie from any country, and can even include broadway musicals. This would include items such as, Star Wars, Marvel movies and every other movie genre you can think of!
Original: This can be anything to be honest. Original designs most of the time fall under the OC category, however! if you attend things such as Jareth Labyrinth Masquerade you can wear an Original Design ballgown, and some cons will even have formal balls for this type of thing as well.
Fan Art: This one is a fun one. Fan Art cosplay is becoming popular everywhere. However remember! always get the artists permission first, unless you want to surprise them with the finished product photos. be prepared to carry around a print out of the fan art to explain the outfit to people though!
Literature: This is any cosplay that is based off of a book. This could include Harry Potter cosplays that reference the books rather than the movie, Enchanted Forest chronicles, or even the classics like the Three Musketeers or Song of Roland. This category is similar to original, except that it is based off of the author’s descriptions.
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Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2015 5:54 pm
How to Start Out
Starting out is always the hardest thing to do, Figuring out how to sew, pattern, budget, and even the storing of the items.
Starting out as a cosplayer when you are a bit older is easier, however if you are like my friends your years are limited as they all decided that they would stop at a certain age.
“I want to start cosplaying but how do I get my parents on board!” This is a common question among the younger generation. While some parents are ready to encourage a hobby, most will not. I have known people who hide it from their parents by storing things at friends houses, or building hiding areas in their closets for wigs. We will come back to this though! So hold tight.
For starting out, You always want to do a bit of research first. Pick a simple character to start with, to test the waters. I would not suggest Queen Ester from Trinity Blood as a starter costume, or anything with that much detail unless you feel you are ready to tackle it.
From here you want to decide if you want to budget this cosplay, or attempt to sew it all from scratch. Budgeting it could be anywhere from making bits and pieces, while the rest is bought from look alike items at thrift stores and department stores. Budgeting will save you a lot of money in the long run, however not every cosplay can be done on a budget unfortunately.
If you decide that you want to sew your entire first cosplay make sure you take the time to look at sales and start gathering up discount cards from fabric and supply stores. Most places will not advertise that they have them. however it never hurts to ask! Create a list of fabrics you would like to use, along with a list of backup fabrics. Figure out how much of each fabric you will need so you can price them. This includes the zippers/buttons and trims you would need for it. let’s put up an example here using my Terra Branford Costume ver 3.0. Terra consisted of multiple aspects.
*Dress base: 3 Yards of Red cotton, originally priced at $3.99 a yard. However the fashion district in LA had a sale on the fabric which got me about 8 yards for $10.
*Zipper: 18inch red, $3.15
*Trims: bolt of beaded multi color trim, $8.00 for the whole 20 yards of trim. Ivory Gimp trim, 10 yards for $4.50
*Associated Fabric Paints: $1.99 X 7
*Chiffon: 4 yards for the cape to be custom dyed, $5.99 a yard - had left over from a previous project
*Cape chain: gold chain links, $5.00, Beads, $3.50 for a pack, buttons for the chain, $1.00
*Shoes: $60
*Tights: $3.00
*Wig: $20
*Total: $250 - give or take for mis, items that were previously acquired, and replaced
This is where budgeting and coupons come in handy. If you know there is a costume you want to do in the future, start gathering the materials in advanced. some items such as my chiffon fabric was left over from a previous project where i had bought about 6 years and only used 2 for the project leaving me 4 for my cape. The red fabric was on sale taking it to $1.25 a yard thus buying extra for future projects and versions. All the jewelry was acquired years previously and just renewed for the outfit.
Now if you are making your own outfit, here comes the fun part. Sewing and Patterning. We do have some nice threads here in the guild for these items which will be linked below. start with small projects first though before attempting the outfit! make something simple like a hair bow or a pillowcase to get use to how your machine will act. Also remember different fabrics will act differently as well, so a good exercise is to go through the remnants bins at your local store and practice on remnants. For example a chiffon/georgette fabric will be very slippery and will not like holding in straight pins. it is very hard to get a good seam without it slipping about. while costume satin will stick to itself and be a bit easier to sew, but is not recommended for cosplays. Some fabrics require special needles, such as denim or leather, so do a bit of research.
Storing the items.. the funnest part of all. now if you are like me, you have more props than you do outfits. My collection includes a ball gown and a shorter costume with a cape and tons of small pieces. My personal storage style is putting all the accessories for one outfit into a plastic bag and hanging it on the hanger with the outfit, while a retired costume gets put into a vacuum storage bag and is stored away in bins.
Alright now back to the “how do I approach my parents” question. First off, how are your school grades, they will look at those if you want to attend cons during the school year! Put together a small list of costumes you would like to do, with photos so they can see that they are age appropriate. Also if you have friends who attend you can even let your parents know who they are, and they can speak with the other parties parents to get another parents view.
Put together a budget list also to show them that you are thinking of the cost of this, this list should include your costumes pricing, hotel fees, carpool (gas and all), food, emergency money, and pocket cash, and the con ticket price. Also go over the cons website with them. Set up a check in schedule with them as well, such as calling them when you arrive at the hotel, check in around lunch and let them know when you are back for the night in your room. Some parents might want to tag along the first time as well, that is perfectly fine! let them see what it is first hand.
Many parents will have their concerns about this whole con and cosplay thing. It is important to communicate with your parents to see what their specific doubts are. If you have specifically address those concerns and maintain open communications, your parents will be less concerned and more comfortable with the whole endeavor.
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Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2015 6:18 pm
Surviving The First Con
Being in a cosplay at a con is a lot different than muggling it up. You will get tired quicker, and you will dehydrate faster as well.
So be sure to pack these items to be safe!
💖Bring a Water Bottle! conventions held in convention halls will have prices jacked up to $4-$5 for water.
💖A little bag lunch or bagged snacks. Keep yourself fed, even if it is just snacks till you return to your hotel/home
💖Mini Sewing kit, Needle, Threads, super glue, anything that you may need to fix a prop or costume. I’d recommend always having a bit of duct tape and safety pins. You can do wonders with those!
💖Extra shoes! Your costume may have those amazing stiletto heels that you are so proud of finding, but after about 2 hours of being on your feet you’ll welcome a change of shoes for walking in.
💖Phone charger! This is a must! you will notice that your phone will die faster at a con. the amount of people in the area will jam your phone's signal up sending it into an eternal loop of trying to find service towers and draining out the battery. I even carry an external battery for charging. This is a must especially if you are walking to your hotel late at night, or taking public transport
💖First Aid Kit, include band aids, antiseptic, advil/tylenol. better safe than sorry.
💖Optional: a notebook and pen, sometimes your phone will not want to work but you really want to friend that awesome cosplayer so this will be handy for trading information!
💖A FRIEND! well ok this one is not mandatory either, but hey come on! cons are always way more fun with your friends.
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Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2015 6:32 pm
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2015 11:50 am
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2015 11:54 am
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