The Cosplay Survival Guide!

A panel by Raiphin and Vera

Why Cosplay: Everyone has their reasons, what’s yours?

Cosplay is: Re-envisioning yourself, selling a 2D dream in 3 Dimensions.

Dedication: Knowing how far you are (or are not) willing to go to make a costume happen.

The “Me” Factor: What’s going to make your cosplay special?

What Makes Cosplay Effective?
Pattern Recognition
Visual Expectations- yours, theirs
Cosplay as improv (and not as a pain the…neck.)

Picking Your Costume:
What will suit your body type? Flattery will get you everywhere.
Easy to make, easy to recognize!
Make sure you can actually enjoy the convention.

How to Achieve Cosplay:

Costumes!
If they made themselves, it wouldn’t be as fun.

Commission                                Assembly                        Create
Local or Online                          Resale shops                   The “Do It Yourself” Option 
                                             And cheap clothing

Body Modification!
(Make-up, Prosthetics, Waxing, Contacts, Wigs!)
Many options, you can pick and chose. Some give a bigger effect than others.
Know how dedicated you want to be to your changes, what kind of change (realistic, or not) you’re going for.

Sewing!
Style- Hand sewing, adhesives, and machines—each has something it’s good at.
Fabric- What do you need it to do/be? Will it fight you? Remember finishing details.
Construction- Patterns will lie to you! Mock-ups are awesome.
Don’t forget your underpants.


Props!
Be realistic about your expectations of realism.
Existing- Can be easy, awesome. Can be expensive, rare, or impractical.
Assembly- Looking at the world as a series of colors and shapes.
Access- Tools, knowledge, time, money. How much of these do you have?
Experiment as much as possible!

Cosplay Philosophy: Making It Real

Costume Breakdown- How do all the bits fit together? Do your research!
Drawing the line- Perfection has a cost. Are you willing to pay it? (Cuz you don’t have to…)
Applying a Critical Eye- The first step is realizing you have a problem.
Failure- It’s an option, not an ending.


At the Convention:
Before you leave- INVENTORY! And Emergency cosplay kit.
On the Way- Your stuff, how will you move it? Also, rain. We’ve got some.
At the Con- You’re still human, even if you’re dressed like a pretty ninja vampire.

Posing & Photography:
Be Aware- Know where you are in relation to the camera, props, people, and your own body.
Interact- The more unique your picture is, the more awesome it’s likely to be.
Self-portraiture- Remember--pics or it didn’t happen.

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING!
Flaws become meaningless beneath the power of your awesome.

Remember Your Emergency Cosplay Kit!

Bobby pins

Wig Brush

Safety pins

Hot glue gun & glue sticks

Scissors

Needle & Thread

Charged camera

Nutrients

Your future self will thank you.

Love, Raiphin &Vera

Contact us! We welcome questions and friends.
Raiphin (Holly)- Raiphin on Facebook, dA, Flickr, Pinterest, Twitter
Via email: survivecosplay@gmail.com

Vera- Via email: ImpulsiveIngenue@gmail.com
Via Twitter: K0npeito

The Great Big List of Links:

http://survivecosplay.blogspot.com/2011/04/links-gathering.html