[Lady_Aeris]

So i have 2 cosplays planned for ACen and i have almost everything for the construction but its costing me SOO much cause i want as accurate as i can get it...ive spent $100-125 so far and i still have to buy another $30 in supplies at least and then i have to pay for my wig and my ponytail which is another $60. YIKES! but im doing a RARE cosplay and an original version of a VERY well known character....Anyone else spending more than they planned?

[PikaAxel20]

Well sorda, I mean I had to buy my pleather for my Axel coat, plus material for my friends, and I still have to the chains for the jacket and the wig coated me $30 and plus 3 bottles of hair die, $10 each, so yah! But I also had to get the pleather pants, which I have, and gloves, which I got, but it was all so expensive!!! And I'm also doing daisuke niwa, and I have to buy his shirt, from china town!!! Oh boy, this has cost me a lot...I'm in the same boat as u!

[Sweet Sunshine]

AHAHAAHAHHAA.

WAY more than planned. : |

What am I at now, $600? $700? It just keeps going up as I end up back at Jo-Anns, Hobby Lobby, Michaels, etc buying more supplies. >< Plus little things like accessories, contact lens, makeup (OH GOD MAKEUP). I've spent hundreds on makeup alone ;_;

I find though that if you bite the bullet, use good supplies and go for high accuracy when you make the costume the first time, you'll save money in the long run from not having to redo/remake things, plus you can always rewear a high quality cosplay instead of creating a new one~

Cosplaying: The most expensive art habit since Photography. XD

This post has been edited by Sweet Sunshine: 19 April 2010 - 09:18 PM

[Yumei]

Oh yeah definatly over spend when it comes to cosplays.
But then again whenever I go to the store to get something I end up buying stuff on sale for future cosplays or buy it cause its on sale and can always use it later.

[Lady_Aeris]

i agree i didnt do that with my Crisis Core Aeris cosplay its not horrible but it could be better but im doing Nailah and ive only seen 2 cosplay attempts at her and those were in pictures i allowed $200 in my budget for cosplays to split between the 2 main cosplays im bringing to ACen. I just hope people know Nailah and i know people SHOULD get the other one but idk how it will be received

[S1NN3R]

Although Michaels and such are indeed great for raw materials, I've found that eBay and thrift stores are the way to go. I'm doing a cosplay from Letter Bee. At retail its 200, raw materials is about 130. I spent 93 and it looks better than the retail.

The main thing is how much effert do you plan in puting in. The details matter but don't go broke in doing so

[Voxx]

Jeebus people. I only spend a max of 100 bucks on a cosplay or less depending on the material/accessories. Always check fabrics stores for sales!!!!!

[Yumei]

LOL my definition of overspending definitely differs from everyone else's.
I never go over 60-80 bucks when doing a cosplay.
What takes up most of my money are wigs....that usually what pushes it from 50 or 60 to 80 bucks.
40 to 50 bucks is cool I can afford it.
60 is kinda pushing it
80 overspending to me!

[akiba64]

Last year my cosplay stole my tax return from me.

[KusanagiRobin]

You know how they say "champagne tastes on a beer budget"? I'd call my cosplay strategy "Ebay looks on a Salvation Army budget".

Anyway, it's not so much overspending, but once in a while I'll spend money on something I forgot I already have tucked away in my CSB (Cosplay Supply Box). For instance, I had a big bottle of yellow paint already, but then I went out and bought two small bottles of yellow paint for my Bombchu. >.< Oh well, at least they were only 60-something cents each. And it wasn't a complete waste; the new yellow paint was a little brighter, so I could use it for touch-ups and such.

So far, I've spent...like, $77 or $87 on cosplays, which isn't much for me, but I still have a couple more things to get (like folding fans, or the supplies to make them). As long as I don't go over $100, we're cool.

[akiba64]

I try my best to take advantage of any sales going on. That's why I love Jo-Anns's so much. Two days ago, I got a yard and a half of some broadclothe at half-price! And I'm still sitting on two coupons, waiting to be used.

[Millions_Knives]

spent about $200 at jo ann
honestly very frugal and not very expensive
(recovered 80% of cosplay from scrap)

[MOMO2]

I think I am close to $250- maybe $300. Needed some alteraions done. Hows the staff going knives?

[Sweet Sunshine]

Bah, here I saw Knives posting and I thought he would have some ridiculous budget number to stun us all. :< I guess he really does know what he's doing...

[KusanagiRobin]

Sweet Sunshine, on Apr 20 2010, 09:18 AM, said:

Bah, here I saw Knives posting and I thought he would have some ridiculous budget number to stun us all. :< I guess he really does know what he's doing...

You too? Well, that makes him even more of a cosplay savant.

[Cassie-tan]

Ive spent quite a ton of money in the last week for acen :<
For grell
costume materials itself- 134.00
contacts- 20.00
wig- 47.00
teeth- 65.00

Total: 266.00 = BROKE TIL NEXT WEEK ;_________________________;
and i still need to buy the shoes :<

And eugenie i have a budget about 75 dollars..I hope I can keep that budget :<

[Audri]

Im up to around 400.00 for the dress my avatar is wearing and I still havent started the staff..

[PikaAxel20]

$400.00!!!!!!

@.@ gezzz! I would be broke and broker!!!! Wat kind of dress did u get?
<something like Lolita?>

[Lady_Aeris]

i allowed $100 for each of my cosplays my "original" aeris isnt costing me the full 100 i allowed so im spending more on Nailah than planned but i want it to be as accurate as my budget will allow idk if ill have the armor done but im gonna try...i think im gonna use the spongefoam from like seat cushions and make like a pillow case and have the designs i need on the fabric and then stitch the details in so itll be lightweight and easy to hold up cause my tail is probably going to weigh about 5-10 lbs and im using a dog leash for the belt and attaching the armor and tail using clips. but so far its looking pretty good i am a little worried about dying my wig...cause its such and odd shade of purple/grey.

[short_pixie89]

I'm sure that all the costumes will look great ^^
For me, since I haven't done that much cosplay, I try to keep things as cheap as I can.
For fabric and such, I go to Joann and when they have deals they can be pretty cheap, depending on what you're going to get. I'm also a part of their email club thing so i get 50% off coupons and stuff pretty much every week. From this I just go buy one part of what I need at a time and get it half off which saves a ton of money. It also helps if you make pretty much everything by yourself or if you know someone that sews that works too also, Joann has patterns on sale a lot so if there is something similar to what I need for a cosplay or one i might want to do in the future, I snatch it up now instead of waiting and paying 16 bucks for it instead i get it for 2.
I think a lot of it for me is just trying to create something really cool from just some fabric and stuff, plus you can put your own style on it and tailor it to you

[Lady_Aeris]

I got my denim on sale for my jacket for 50% off on sale and i had a coupon for half off on the 1 1/2yds of white fur i needed which was $14.99 originally so that helped i have enough money for my cosplays now i just need someone with a steady hand that knows how to use a paint brush that wouldn't mind helping me Saturday morning with painting my tattoos on me lol

[nouseforaname]

I over spent on my first cosplay.

[Dancing_Mad]

Since I have no sewing ability whatsoever I always end up commissioning cosplays and that can get expensive real fast. The most I've ever spent on a cosplay would be my Beatrice (from Umineko) cosplay. The dress cost me 250 dollars (including shipping and handling), the wig cost me around 60 dollars (free shipping), and the props associated with it were mostly free.

My least expensive cosplay was my Kefka cosplay. I actually had my aunt (who CAN sew) help me with that one. It only cost around 60 dollars to make it. I managed to get a lot of it (shirt and pants) from Goodwill too so it wasn't too bad. The make up was a bit expensive but not too bad.

All my other cosplays landed in between those two, some closer to the less expensive side (my Haruhi cosplay at 80 dollars) to the more expensive side (my Euphemia cosplay at 150 dollars).

[TekoMuto]

the mech i'm workin on I've spent about $40 on. thank goodness for military dumpsters/overstock

Millions_Knives, on Apr 21 2010, 01:16 AM, said:

spent about $200 at jo ann
honestly very frugal and not very expensive
(recovered 80% of cosplay from scrap)

lol $2k angel arms

[Mr. N]

I think a better question would be who hasnt overspent on their cosplays?...lol..

I thought I was doing pretty good with my Renji at first. I just picked out fabric from the Clearance section at JoAnne's for $12 and had enough left over to make another one. I had to get a wig 40 and sandals 20 for the basic cosplay. Then there's things I cant put a price on. The foam used for my sword was free because I got it from work but JoAnnes would've sold the same amount of foam for 100. Then the most expensive thing of all is the time my poor GF and friend have to spend drawing and painting my tatoos. How much is 2.5hrs of their time away from a con each day worth? I pretty much cant say no to what ever they ask of me...lol...Even now Im probably going to have my tattoos air brushed on to save time but that still is costing over 100 to buy the paint and the air brush stuff.

My Kakashi Cosplay went from less than 50 to over 200. It started with a borrowed vest and a few accessories to get into character. Eventually I wasnt going to be happy unitll I made the cosplay from scratch. I finally did it just to wear it at one con for 2hrs.

It is better to just bite the bullet and just get everything you want the first time so you can really see how much you are spending. Getting it piece by piece adds up quickly and most of us dont notice it til we look back like "holy crap did i really spend this much?"

[sakuradreams]

I tend to spend more than I mean to. Usually, it's because I screw up using my actual fabric instead of muslin and have to go buy more. It's not too bad this con. I think I'm around $100 :<

[audaciouska241]

I've spent $700 on one costume before. X_X

[Lady_Aeris]

Mr. N, on Apr 29 2010, 09:14 PM, said:

I think a better question would be who hasnt overspent on their cosplays?...lol..

I thought I was doing pretty good with my Renji at first. I just picked out fabric from the Clearance section at JoAnne's for $12 and had enough left over to make another one. I had to get a wig 40 and sandals 20 for the basic cosplay. Then there's things I cant put a price on. The foam used for my sword was free because I got it from work but JoAnnes would've sold the same amount of foam for 100. Then the most expensive thing of all is the time my poor GF and friend have to spend drawing and painting my tatoos. How much is 2.5hrs of their time away from a con each day worth? I pretty much cant say no to what ever they ask of me...lol...Even now Im probably going to have my tattoos air brushed on to save time but that still is costing over 100 to buy the paint and the air brush stuff.

My Kakashi Cosplay went from less than 50 to over 200. It started with a borrowed vest and a few accessories to get into character. Eventually I wasnt going to be happy unitll I made the cosplay from scratch. I finally did it just to wear it at one con for 2hrs.

It is better to just bite the bullet and just get everything you want the first time so you can really see how much you are spending. Getting it piece by piece adds up quickly and most of us dont notice it til we look back like "holy crap did i really spend this much?"

LOL but i love you guys though!!! i cant wait to see u guys at ACen....mals currently at the sewing machine stitching my aeris dress together we want to have her game and my dark aeris done tomorrow to do a double photoshoot! video being posted on YOUTUBE right now so ill send u a link of FB mr n.......




BTW folks im nearing the $300 mark on my cosplays!

[KusanagiRobin]

audaciouska241, on Apr 29 2010, 10:57 PM, said:

I've spent $700 on one costume before. X_X

*faints* That would pay for my entire ACen budget...and leave something for the Dealer's Room!

[Mr. N]

KusanagiRobin, on Apr 30 2010, 12:45 AM, said:

*faints* That would pay for my entire ACen budget...and leave something for the Dealer's Room!

That would pay my rent for the month. That would buy me a heart attack after spending all of that money on the Mc Donalds value menue. That would pay for someone's child support! That would buy an azn child on the black market or um ebay...matter of fact thats how i came to this country...j/k

Us cosplayers need to buy stocks or start a saving account...lol