Anyone interested in cosplay?

[CosmicRot]

So, I ended up checking on cosplay.com again, nostalgic for their forums I used to browse way back in 2008-2012 or so. Whenever they had a big update the site kept going down hill from there, and forums never really returned and I don't think it ever will, so finding a centralized and kind place that's well moderated to talk about cosplay since they got rid of forums has been.. well extremely difficult!
Most cosplayers and convention attendees tend to stick to sites like facebook due to being able to share hundreds of photos at once in a nice little album that won't spam followers and friends, with good image organization [or at least it used to be, I deleted my account a few years ago cause I hate meta], as well as having things like groups and whatever.. like a really bad form of well, forums ahah., and everyone else seems to be on sites with less community building [like instagram or tiktok] but despite that I figured there's gotta be at least a few people here who either cosplay themselves or like going to conventions and seeing cosplayers!!

So hi hello! I'm Rot, I used to cosplay super regularly when I was younger, from about 2008 until 2019, with a year and a half pause when I was in college. Primarily midwest conventions, and I've cosplayed characters like Honey from Ouran, Adelie from Space Dandy, two different versions of Miku... Tavros, Dave, AND John from homestuck ahaha, among some other one off cosplays[like sallyface] or simple ones! My favorite lazy sunday cosplay was always Zacharie from Off because it's mostly just pants I was comfy in, an altered turtleneck, a backpack, and the cool mask I made for it :) or sometimes I'd just wear a dinosaur kigu if it was very cold or I wanted to be extra comfy.

Do y'all have any favorite characters you've cosplayed?? or maybe just a cosplay event you had a lot of fun at?
What about conventions you really like to attend?
Also!! I'm unsure if anyone here does them but I've always thought skit and cosplay contests seem really fun! but I'm too laid back and my construction isn't clean enough for a cosplay contest and too nervous to do skits xD so I'd love to hear about them from anyone who does those.

I'd love to see some of y'alls crafts, costumes, or props you've made! I'm including a plushie I made for my adelie cosplay cause I used to often get asked where I bought it from <3 so I'm super proud of it.


The main reason I stopped cosplaying is being disabled and unable to find any kind of job, I've been perpetually broke, and after a few years of being extremely sick I lost a bunch of weight then gained 25lbs heavier than I ever was before, so as you can imagine most of my cosplays stopped fitting :p but such is life I'm such a healthy weight now that I'm happy that hopefully one day I can make new cosplays that fit me well 💖

Thanks for reading melonland!

[fairyrune]

that doll is so adorable, hi!! i got into cosplay about 2 years ago. due to expenses and... simply not attending many events, i've only really made one myself, which took a while, and i abandoned another project as it wouldn't be very accessible for me. currently i'm working on another, though, from one of my favourite games of all time, final fantasy tactics

it's a shame that hobby forums in particular have declined. there's so much to be gained from a forum format, if only because it's visible and permanent so long as the forum is alive (and even after its lifetime is over, thanks to archival efforts)! i find it hard in particular because i want to connect with fellow cosplayers i meet at events, but i can't do that so easily because i don't use the social media typical in these communities - mostly instagram and facebook like you say. some people use discord, which i do have. but i'd love to be able to see people's work easily, have big discussions in forums, etc.

cosplay contests are kinda daunting, but i don't think there should be a required level of skill. that sort of thing is subjective, right? i don't really do them, but the few i've seen are usually asking people to have a certain number of years experience creating cosplay parts, and from that they might be put into categories like junior/senior. i'm sure there are some that "grade" you and put you in different ranks...

regardless, why not give it a try anyway?

also, i can relate to the sizing thing. i'd have to upsize my first cosplay i sewed myself and remake it because i gained a lot of weight. it was a comfy cosplay to wear though, and i really like the character, so i might do that in the future!

[CosmicRot]

currently i'm working on another, though, from one of my favourite games of all time, final fantasy tactics

Ahhh good luck on your cosplay! That sounds like a lot of fun.

it's a shame that hobby forums in particular have declined. there's so much to be gained from a forum format....

And yeah like.. I think a lot of forums were and are either way too niche or way too broad[ie, too many topics without allowing subforums/sub-topics especially if not an easy way to tag or search kind of thing.. like spacehey's forum suuucckks if I'm real] and when they're too niche they often die out pretty quick unless they have a huge membership [which is really hard with niche stuff] or they have other things than *just* the forums [like melonland! the art section is soo amazing. If there were folders/collections too, and a few more sub topics or something I bet it could be even more lively]
like gaiaonline was soo popular for so long because of the mixture of forums [could have been more robust though] and having cute little avatars and such.

cosplay contests are kinda daunting, but i don't think there should be a required level of skill.[...]regardless, why not give it a try anyway?

For cosplay contests, there kind of?? is a required level of skill, because if you don't meet it you will never place, and sadly might be looked down on cause even the lowest categories have such a huge range of skill the people who are a lot more basic tend to get fully looked over or treated poorly.. All because a majority of cosplay contests are for construction/etc mostly so it's not just the look it's the time, care, cleanness, etc, of the cosplay. It's why they require you to have made at least a certain percentage of said cosplay [slightly varying per convention]
There are definitely contests that *aren't* construction based, but the primary ones are so heavily, that they often even flip costumes inside out to see how well they're sewn, if there's things like safety pins etc.. and well I'm WAAYY more about the fun, than the cleanliness and top-tier construction of my cosplay haha, so it's just not something I'd vibe with unless I could find one that wasn't like that [though they're all either that, or skit/performance contests, which are something I heavily would not want to do due to stage fright and clumsiness.]

also, i can relate to the sizing thing. i'd have to upsize my first cosplay i sewed myself [...]so i might do that in the future!

I'm probably rambling a little haha, but yeah! I think redoing the cosplay could be fun. At some point I wanna redo my adelie cosplay cause it was the first ever cosplay I made *entirely* by hand, from the shoe covers to the wig to the plushie, not a single thing was not sewn by me [or heavily altered ie, turning a body suit into thigh highs for the shoe covers] so having a version that fits me as I am now would be amazing <3 I'd probably finally add the space penguin's little head dongle I never added cause I ran out of fabric and time :p

[fairyrune]

And yeah like.. I think a lot of forums were and are either way too niche or way too broad [...] or they have other things than *just* the forums

that may be part of it. i think niche forums would really benefit from a space to talk about related subjects, like how melonland is primarily a home for those of us in the old web revival space but we have places to talk about video games and art too, besides the webdev side! that way, they can stay on topic, but people can talk about other interests they're likely to have if they're in the same space (lots of cosplayers are gamers, for example!)

For cosplay contests, there kind of?? is a required level of skill, because if you don't meet it you will never place, and sadly might be looked down on cause even the lowest categories have such a huge range of skill the people who are a lot more basic tend to get fully looked over or treated poorly..

yeah, this is what i see sometimes. it's sad because i think these contests can be a fun way to show appreciation for people's work, but often it becomes "who can make the most elaborate thing". that's not what it should be in my opinion! judging for what speaks to you and what is creative would be nice. the categories are a nice start, that way people who are just starting don't feel too overshadowed by those who have been in the hobby for decades or might even be professional cosplayers, but sometimes it doesn't work out. i do still think it's a fun thing to try - but i suppose it depends on the event.

Ahhh good luck on your cosplay!

thank you! i don't have very long to finish it, but once i'm done sewing, it will be a lot easier. this time i'll be working on a wig as well, and they're a bit tricky.

[CosmicRot]

that may be part of it. i think niche forums would really benefit from a space to talk about related subjects[/font]

Yeah this exactly. Like, I wish melonland did have a few more categories for art related stuff, but I understand why they don't.. a lot of forums I've seen in recent years will be like 20 sub forums for a single topic though and it can get confusing, or it'll be like ONE single forum for 5 billion topics [ie like, all "art" all "fandom" all "etc" are single "primary" forums on said site with no sub forusm in them, so you have 100s of topics inside each forum of vastly different things, as well as really weird overlap of same discussions happening in different sub forums]

yeah, this is what i see sometimes. it's sad because i think these contests can be a fun way to show appreciation for people's work

Yeah! I really wish they had actual different contests, cause majority of them not necessarily about it being elaborate, but the blatant skill. I've seen some SUPER simple cosplays win contests before because the skill of the sewn pieces were so clean and perfect, and they had a little bit of hand embroidery, as well as some props that has zero visible seams despite being like 12 pieces glued together, that the construction just beat out almost anyone else there.

incoming giant ramble>>>

My friend was showing me photos cause it was their first ever contest and it was so good they got bumped up to the middle tier [most cons have two tiers, effectively beginner and master, master requiring a certain amount of wins and years doing it... IDEALLY though and like this convention my friend went to, they have three tiers, beginner ie, less than 5 years and zero wins, a middle tier for more than 5 years with zero wins, OR at least 1 win and 2 years contest experience, and a masters was anyone with 3 or more wins no matter the amount of years.. wins in this case mean placing at all outside of a "honorable mention" so, 1st to 3rd typically] and then won 1st place for the middle tier.
meanwhile I've seen people with INSANELY complex and elaborate and sometimes truly complex cosplays, not place at all, cause their construction is haphazard or looks uncanny, or like they threw it together in a single night even if it looks good you can just tell the construction is not there. Like there was some drama over a dude being mad he didn't win despite his giant costume having really clear seam lines and even visible glue in some places, while the person who won hand embroidered their entire costume, and had a semi-complex but not blatantly elaborate costume outside of the embroidery, but the construction was INSANE like god tier immaculate no threads out of place...

but uh yeah my main point is more I wish there were more different type of contests than the primary "Cosplay Contest" which 95% of conventions is the construction contest I talked about, even if people watching aren't aware that's the primary thing they're judging people on [secondary judging is how accurate the character is to what they're cosplaying, always secondary cause some artistic liberties are just done insanely well], and the skit/performance contests that a lot of conventions don't even do anymore :((
I sometimes see super niche conventions [like the sonic convention that happens in the US here and there.. there might be 2?? I can't remember] they have look-alike contests for a specific character, which is like 30% judge input, and the rest is crowd favorites. So it's effectively how in character you are meets how well you look like the character. Sometimes people who win are those who just embody the character a ton even if they are doing a parody version [hatsune eggman] or took a lot of artistic liberties or what have you, other times it's people who look like they stepped out of the game or show or movie.. But those aren't viable if there's only one or two cosplayers from a specific thing, especially because non-niche conventions you might not even know the character someone is cosplaying.

I think they could do like, contests specifically about like.. the creativity of it right?? like how FAR did you go. Who cares if there's seam lines, or glue, or whatever, how creative is it?? like some people LITERALLY cosplay the convention centers/hotels, or like I made my plushie by hand and have a wig bigger than my head for said cosplay that looks like a giant doughnut.. I've seen some people handmake mascot costumes with movable wings and shit. And these could be split into like "skillful and creative" "funny/parody creative" and "look-alike/general vibes" the last one being something like how much do they actually look like A CHARACTER even if you don'tknow what they're from it could just be like "does this look like they walked out of an anime" or something.. idk there might be better categories for that one xD but I just!! thing there needs to be stuff that isn't effectively cosplay version of those fashion shows where they aggressively rip apart the construction of every single item..

this time i'll be working on a wig as well, and they're a bit tricky.

Oh yeah wigs can be really difficult! I luckily was in cosmetology [dropped out though at some point] so wigs aren't too too hard for me.. but I could definitely be better. I really want to get back into cosplay again mostly for the props and wigs ahaha.

[ffix]

I did cosplay for the very first (and only) time last year, so I'm very inexperienced, but it was so fun I really want to do more!!! I was Lucca from Chrono Trigger, and got so many compliments, including from people whose cosplays were way better than mine :')

I'm especially proud of modeling+assembling her headset myself, since I don't know anything about 3d-modeling so it was mostly through trial and error haha...I was on a huge time crunch to finish the cosplay, too, but somehow pulled through and made something wearable.

[CosmicRot]

I did cosplay for the very first (and only) time last year [...] but it was so fun I really want to do more!!!

I'm glad you had fun! I think my first convention ever cosplaying was probably the most fun I've ever had at a con. Most of my cosplays have always been mega time crunches haha.

I'm especially proud of modeling+assembling her headset myself, since I don't know anything about 3d-modeling so it was mostly through trial and error haha...

That looks really awesome! Idk very little about 3d modeling and there's no where I could ever get something 3d printed here, so anything of mine like that would have to be fully hand sculpted which is wooooof really tough.. but yeah great job forreal!