It is really easy to get bogged down by the negativity that comes to the surface of the cosplay community ever so often. With all the good that people get out of cosplay there seems to always be a handful of people ready to rain on the parade. I know what I have struggled with over the years is when someone goes out of their way to insult you. Presumably from people you have never met. I've been reminded time and time again that internet comments mean nothing and not to take them to heart. I don't take them personally but they still manage to sting and stick with me. Maybe I need to cosplay as an Onyx ginjika to thicken my skin. I have come to terms with the fact that trolls will be trolls and jerks will be jerks and they will be a constant presence on the internet. So today I'm airing out my dirty laundry and I hope it can serve as a lovely reminder to my fellow cosplayers that the ridiculous insults you get online are just that - ridiculous.
25 Comments
If you want to get even more organized you can also check out my blog about Cosplay Material Inventory Use a file organizer to store patterns Whenever I draft something on paper such as a prop (I'm old school and I do everything by hand instead of on a computer) I keep a copy of the pattern in my file organizer. Once the project is complete I staple all relevant pattern pieces together and stick it in the relevant slot. I'm also starting to use different colour of poster board to make the patterns easily distinguishable. Label your patterns. I use the Character/Series and prop name then label with numbers to keep track of all piece. For example, if your armour piece has 3 elements, label the pieces: 1 of 3, 2/3 and 3/3. Bins and Boxes I have bins for everything: Feathers, fashion patterns, leather supplies, zippers, trims, ribbons, cord, buckles, thermoplastic scraps, paint, paint mediums, dye, clay, plastics, foam balls, pom poms, prop guns, and (I kid you not) cylindrical objects (dowels, paper towel rolls, etc). It saves time to have one go to place to find that right material. I have a mix of purchased bins from the dollar store and empty model magic boxes but you can get fancy and purchase pretty colour coordinated ones. I like the Model magic bins because they can be stacked. Tips:
Shelf it To maximize the limited area you have in your crafting space, look into getting some vertical storage. Consider using a bookshelf, grid connected shelving, or wall mounted shelving to make the best of your space. Pros/cons:
Image from Creative Live - which has some other great tips for organizing your craftroom. Thread Organizers I used keep my thread in little pouches and I had to shuffle everything around to find one colour. I never went back after getting my organizer. I primarily use one similar to the first photo because I find it harder to fish spools out of the flat plastic cases (2nd photo). If you are working with a limited amount of space then I recommend option#2. I also highly recommend using a bobbin organizer (last picture). It makes for easy storage for empty bobbins and it's simple to identify available colours. Costume bags and boxes I use a combination of storage methods depending on my costumes.
Photo Folder Structure on your ComputerNow for some digital organizing. For your sanity's sake planning how you store images of your cosplays will save you a lot of trouble down the line. Now everyone has different ways of keeping track of their content but it important to be consistent and keep it simple. My folder structure looks a little something like this: COSTUMES > PHOTOS > GENRE (movies/anime/games etc) > CHARACTER NAME > W.I.P. and/or CONVENTION NAME and/or PHOTOGRAPHER'S NAME . The last sub-folders (in my case 3 - but expands the more photoshoots you have) helps compartmentalize your content and make sure you give credit where it's due. No second guessing which photographer took which image. You can also avoid this problem by including the photographer's name in your file names. Examples: AionBard-Jason-001, AionBard-Albert-001 Submission folder: I'm a member of many cosplay websites in addition to social media accounts and I tend to stagger the release of my images. To save time from having to double check whether I submitted an image or not, I have a folder dedicated to submissions. The folder structure looks something like this, starting from the same main folder as before: COSTUMES > SUBMISSIONS > WEBSITE NAME (Deviantart, Worldcosplay, Facebook, etc). A copy of the images are placed inside the relevant sub-folder and immediately deleted after it has been submitted to a website. The original photo will remain in the previously mentioned character sub-folder. Side note: most browsers remember the last folder you used for submitting content to a specific site, so you won't have to jump around your sub-folders to find your photos. More Tips: If you have multiple variations of the same image consider incorporating that difference in the name. For example, using HQ, SQ, LQ to indicate the quality of the image. Or you can make an additional sub-folders dedicated to the variations. For example, a watermarked and no watermark, or edited and unedited. What is one thing you always keep organized in you craft room?
Friday I arrived in DC on Thursday with no issue although they bumped my initial and connecting flight an hour later. Thursday was easy going. I stitched down eight beads to finish my Beryl costume then went on to help Calamity with her projects while watching Rambo II and III. I had a late start to Friday since my first shoot started at two, so I got dressed in Beryl at around noon. I learned the importance of planning how to put on a costume with some many layers. It went something like this: Corset on - corset off - hoopskirt, tulle, slip, skirt on - then corset on and finally put on wig and accessories. Thanks to Kudrel for lacing me up twice. I started off the day by shooting with Anna Fischer, followed by Jason Chau. I then went to meet up with my No Flutter Sailor Moon group and everyone looked gorgeous. I’m so happy we had such a good turnout. We had scouts from all over Canada and the costumes were all well-coordinated. After we did some group shoots we went to go see the artist that designed the costumes. No Flutter was excited to see the costumes and even gave me support for my original design to match the group. It was very flattering because I tried my best to match the style. I’ll get more into that when I post my construction breakdown for the costume. Here's a few shot of our group. First photo is by Martin Wong and all others are from Octography
After freeing ourselves from our costumes, some of us went to dinner at a nearby seafood place and stuffed our faces. The rest of the night was spent hanging out with friends and finally getting my badge. On that note: WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON WITH THAT LINE-UP? It really defeats the purpose of pre-registering if it ends up such a hassle. There was a 2,3,4,5, even 6hr long wait to get badges on Thursday and Friday. I waited till 11 pm Friday and waited 5 minutes. I was only at G-anime for Saturday but I had a great time. I spent the morning hanging out in Vickybunnyangel's room getting my costume ready. After doing some running around and errands I got changed. I ran in Elemental shooting my friend Amurita in her Mask salesman costume. We also snapped a few quick photos before I was settled in the greenroom. I got to hang out Jayuna Cosplay and Kudrel while we waited our turn on stage. It went smoothly except for a little trip on my way off stage. I wrapped up the day by having dinner with friends. All in all a good day. See you next year. Greenroom photo by Katya Perin Stage photos by Pretty & Deadly Photography 2014 was the year of the plunge neckline and the year of the Cosblog. I'm glad I was able to make my return to writing thanks to a little inspiration by my buddy Calamity. Now if only I would get motivation to do more videos.... It was a productive year: more costumes, more conventions, more blogs, more group cosplays, and more masquerades (judging and competing). It was overwhelming at times - flashback to 4 conventions in 8 weeks with 4 new costumes - but it was a great experience. Other milestones include: My first original costume - the Earth Dragon My first animated Disney costume - Cruella My first light up prop - Sharla's rifle Anyone who has a fanpage for their cosplay work has probably been approached by another cosplayer to engage in a "share for share" or "like for like." If you have not been approached then consider yourself lucky because it is pretty rampant. The share for share explosion is a reflection of how cosplay has changed over the years. There is definitely a greater focus on visibility and getting your brand out there. It may even be a goal that people have when starting this hobby. A goal which was unheard of 5 years ago. I hold no ill will against people who do this. I understand there is pressure to get some name recognition to get more opportunities, such as invitations to events and visibility to potential collaborators. That pressure can be overwhelming at times and it can be discouraging to see others get social media success as you remain stagnant. I also understand the joy of people accepting and encouraging you and your work publicly. When I decline a share for share it is not something personal. It is not a reflection of the quality of their work or the content of their page. I do it because of a long list of reasons and because I don't think the process really helps anyone. I would like to provide a little insight on this issue beyond the usual (valid) arguments that you should not go on a witch hunt for fake geek girls/guys. Full disclosure here, I have cosplayed characters I did not know on several occasions. *gasp* My first cosplay was a character I didn’t know. So please here me out.
It was quieter than last year but that meant more time to catch up with friends and meet new people. I also spend a good amount of time encouraging people to enter more masquerades. I hope they go ahead and try a competition or two. I find it is such a great way to learn new tricks and to meet some really talented costumers. I watched the masquerade and I am so proud of my WCS partner Calamity being able to judge her first competition. Also a very big thank you to everyone who dropped by my table in the artist alley. I still get surprised whenever someone recognizes my work or name. I'm sure it helps to have a banner hanging up behind you. My highlight for the weekend was 3 nights straight of dinner with friends, with us chatting about cosplay, B-movies, and whatever came to mind. Friends are always what make a convention for me. Behold my photo dump of cosplays I snapped an shared on Twitter (@Meltingmirror) over the weekend. There is lots to see. I'm going to detail most of the advice I give out at "Cosplay on a Budget" panels, which are almost a permanent fixture at cosplayer heavy conventions. If you ever get a chance to check one out at your local convention, do it! They may have even more tips to give you, especially ones specific to your region. Some of my tips refer to Canadians/Americans companies, but overall it is general advice for all. More blogs in the 10 year Cosplay Retrospective Series: Week 1 -Wigs | Week 2 - Make-up | Week 3 - Armour | Week 4 - Cosplay Closet Purge | Week 5 -Planning | Week 6 - Inventory | Week 7 - Controlling Cosplay Costs | This blog details some of the advice I give at panels for cosplay beginners such as "Cosplay 101" or "How to start cosplaying" since not everyone can make it out to Canadian events. I hope you find it useful. More blogs in the 10 year Cosplay Retrospective Series: Week 1 -Wigs | Week 2 - Make-up | Week 3 - Armour | Week 4 - Cosplay Closet Purge | Week 5 -Planning | Week 6 - Inventory | Week 7 - Cosplay on a Budget
Comfort & Assistance Is your costume comfortable or uncomfortable? Will you need assistance getting around the event? Is your vision limited? The comfort of you costume will determine how long you can wear it, so you should budget your time accordingly. Prioritize your events (gatherings, panels, etc) to make sure you can attend and enjoy them. Inconvenient or awkward costumes may require you have an assistant (aka handler) to help you navigate the crowded con floor. Be sure to check the convention policy on large costumes, as some events require you have an assistant for large or vision impairing costumes. Consider some back up options to deal with uncomfortable costumes. I often bring a pair of flats if I'm wearing painful high heels. Also, you can make certain costume parts easily removable for maneuvering through crowds, such as wings or armour. I sometime bring a tote bag with me to carry certain costume pieces from one event to another. Bathroom Can you go to the washroom in this costume? How much time will it take you to go to the bathroom in this costume? This is very important because with cumbersome cosplays where you need to set time for washroom breaks. Respect your bladder and go to washroom whenever you have a window of opportunity. My Shiva costume was 30+ minutes ordeal to go to the washroom and that's not including putting everything back on again. I made sure to capitalize on some free time while waiting in the greenroom when I was competing in the masquerade. Materials Choices Knowing the properties of the fabric you need to buy for a costume will help you narrow down which one you need to purchase. Here's what I consider before I settle on a fabric.
Some examples: Charmeuse silk would be classified Shiny (somewhat)> Light > Opaque > Smooth > non stretch > Solid and/or pattern (depending on the costume) > dyeable > high budget. Compare to satin which can be heavier, have slight texture, can be stretchy, can be dyeable (only with polyester dyes), and low budget. If you can determine which attributes best describe your fabric, someone at the fabric store can probably help you pick something out. Having a reference photo handy always helps, especially if you have a hard time naming fabrics. |
MeltingMirror's Cosplay BlogLearn more about my experiences in the cosplay world, from conventions to photoshoots and everything in between. Categories
All
|