Planning your Cosplay
Going to a convention can take some planning, throw in a few costume changes and a week of sleepless nights getting those costumes ready and you are in for more then you bargained for. Learn from others mistakes and you’ll do all right.
What is cosplay?
Cosplay is a compound word from “costume” and “play”. Cosplay involves dressing up as a character from pop culture and acting as the character would. It originated in Japan by anime enthusiast, it has recently become popular in the west and across different genres. There are cosplay communities dedicated to video games, sci-fi and comic books. Those who partake in cosplay range from amateur hobbyists to profession models. It’s a hobby that can be enjoyed by anyone of any age, race, and gender.
Before planning your cosplay…
Figure out you convention plan, including travel and accommodations. How you plan for a local con a short drive away is different from how you plan for a cross-county plane ride to San Diego Comic Con.
Some things to consider:
* Large props and delicate armour pieces don’t travel well on the plane. The number of sad tales about damaged pieces are too many to count.
* Taking public transportation? Skip the hoop skirt or change at the convention (which may be awkward.)
* Staying in a hotel room with other cosplayers is a great experience. You’ll want to be organized to avoid utter mayhem in the room.
Pick your Cosplay!
For some, this is their favourite part. For others, it’s the most dread. For most, it’s both. It’s exciting imagining the possibility of being your favourite characters, but the list can quickly get long. If it’s you first time cosplaying, start small. Pick 1 or 2 costumes. You’ll see people post big cosplay line ups online of 4-5 costumes, you have to remember that these people have been cosplayer for a while and have a closet to select from. Be realistic about what you can take on with the time you have.
How are you creating this character?
Purchasing a costume online, commissioning a cosplay, closet or thrift store cosplay and making it from scratch are all great options. Don’t let anyone tell you different! Cosplaying is bring all the pieces together and playing your character. There has been some fantastic costumes put together with things found around the house and a little creativity.
* Purchasing online: Always check the reviews, can’t stress that enough. Take a good look at the shipping time and assume the longest quoted time. If it seems to good to be true, it’s probably because it is.
* Commissioning a cosplay: There are a number of creators that offer up their service to create costumes for others. You can find them online, and some specializing in a particular area; dress-makers, armour builders, prop masters, etc. They typically work by time slots, so you’ll want to inquire early to ensure you get your costume in time.
* Closets and thrift stores are a great place to start when building a cosplay, particularly
when on a tight budget.
* Making from scratch: it’s the most time-consuming, stress-inducing option on this list, but if you enjoy making things with your hands, it can be the most rewarding. Plan for it to take 2-3 times longer then you think it will to make anything. Budget you money, craft supplies can get expensive. You may find your armour experiment has failed and you need to purchase new sheets of foam. If your making large props, design them to be able to disassemble for transportation and storage.
Before Day 1 of the Con try out all the pieces of your costume, wig and full make-up, this is called a “Costest.” This does a couple things; you can practise posing for the camera, and you get an idea of how long it’ll take you to get ready on the morning of the convention.
Packing and Travelling to your Convention
Before you start packing, make a list of all the pieces for each of your costumes. While packing, double check what you have against your list. A great way to organize your cosplays in the suitcase is by putting all the pieces of each costume in their own bag. Place the costumes bags in revers order you will wear them. Sunday’s costume bag at the bottom, followed by Saturday’s bag and so on. When you go into you suitcase, your next costume will be at the top and you won’t have to go digging for it.
For transporting armour and other delicate pieces, place them in storage bins with lids. Wigs are usually ok in plastic freezer bags in your suitcase. For delicate styles that can’t be put into bags, place the wig on a stand and put the stand in a box. Pack you make-up (and other bathroom toiletries) in a different suitcase then your costumes, as the bottles may break and ruin all your hard work.
Driving is your best bet for transporting delicate cosplays, but that’s not always an option. It’s possible to ship your costume to your hotel, but not recommended. You’ll have to decided if it’s worth the risk of damaging your costume and maybe opt to only wear delicate ones to local conventions instead.
Now that you know how to plan your cosplay go forth and create! That’s part 1 of the 3 part series cosplayers guide!
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