[KungPowKirby]

Ive read several comments that mention it as a factor. Mind you, some characters are purposely portrayed as tall or short. But what about those characters that are not?

[S1NN3R]

There's only one question to ask when planning a cosplay: "Will I enjoy being this?" If the answer is yes, than do it. Height only factors in for safety. If your looking to cosplay as a 20ft mech... then worry about it. Don't let minor details such as height weigh you down. Have fun and happy cosplay

[Ranko]

Even though the character I am attempting to pull off is shown as tall in the anime, I don't honestly think height should matter... As I've been told many times, the only thing that matters is that you are having fun.

[Dany]

I think it depends on the situation you are in at the time.

For photographs, I don't think it's a big deal. You can always "cheat" height in photography using camera angles..shooting from below makes one seem taller, shooting from above makes one seem shorter. Not to mention, people can stand on stairs to help adjust sizing even further.

The challenge comes in person, or even on a masquerade stage. But even then, you don't need to worry about actual height quite so much. If anything, you just might want to take consideration for scale..how tall people are in relation to yourself.

For example: I'm 5'8. In the past, I've cosplayed Vampire Hunter D, who is probably well over 6 feet tall. By myself, I didn't look particularly foolish. I'm not ideal height, but it can be overlooked, especially if I'm in a certain height of heels. But put me in a shoot with my husband, at 6'3", dressed as a vampire? I look a little chibi XD.

Now, put me next to a 5' even Charlotte? Things look a little less awkward.

[Voxx]

Honestly it should only matter to you. If you wouldn't be comfortable doing it, then don't do it. It shouldn't matter what others thing. Look at girls that cosplay Tsunade from Naruto. Some actually have the body type, but not all and that doesn't stop them from doing something they love.

[cactusmomma]

Everything Dany has said, I'd love to support.

Besides, I'd rather see a 5'3" Rugal Bernstein with the correct shoes, than one with huge platforms. That is honestly the first thing I notice.

[HaruHE]

I hate the fact that I'm as tall as they come, but height isn't something that should stop you from doing what you enjoy, really just go with the flow and do your thing. Those who would look down on you for such a detail that you can't help (being too tall for a shorter costume) aren't really worth the time to bother about.

[TaiyakiOni]

Before I got into cosplay I cursed being shorter than most people, but now that I do cosplay ( or more like crossplay ) being short has it's advantages. I think size shouldn't matter in picking your cosplay choice, because if you love that character and want to dress up as them then as long as you enjoy yourself what worry should you have about how other people react to it, though it is nice when people react in a positive manner.

Enjoy it and surely others will notice your enjoyment and make your cosplay that more attractive~

I swear they put fertilizer in the food and water in this area, everyone who grew up here is mostly taller than me >__<

[HaruHE]

Heh, pretty much mirroring what I'd said yes, heck if size DID matter, us crossplayers would be out of a costume! But really it's all in just what the player wants, do what you feel is best!

[GITS SAC Motoko]

I agree with everyone here. I mean I feel odd because I'm only 5'2 and EVERYONE is taller than me mostly, and it's a 99% chance that the characters I think about doing are taller than me. I've only cosplayed once, but if you have the right costume people don't care. I mean if you got as a girl, and she has a large bust size, so what? It's who you are, and if someone is THAT PICKY on something as uncontrollable is that, they are truly not a cosplay lover. They're a perfectionist, and that does not go very far when it comes to cosplaying. I personally think that if a cosplayer is not as tall/body typed/etc as the character, and they at least try to make the costume work, I really respect that, because they put their money and time and tons of WORK into it. So go for it!!!! I know I'm a cosplay newbie but I'm just putting in what I observed at ACEN, my first.

[antisocialist]

It doesn't. Honestly, however, if it matters that much to you -

I'm curious to know how tall you are. If you're short, HEELS ARE YOUR BEST FRIEND. Also, presence matters. If you have a larger than life personality and presence, it makes a big difference. I'm not that short, but I am the shortest person of all my friends (standing at 5'4"), so I do have to wear heels. But wearing heels is a GREAT thing.

[KungPowKirby]

I'm 5'5" and while I consider myself fine height wise, a lot of people consider me short.

I cant wear heels for long periods of time. lol I'd have to carry them around and put them on for pictures. (Weak ankles)

[Cherry_Wolf]

To be honest, I am short myself and someday I'd like to cosplay-- but! When I see someone short cosplaying someone who is obviously tall in the series, I don't criticize them. If anything, I wibble a bit at the fact that they are dedicated to do so anyways and boosts my own hope on cosplaying as I only stand at 5'1!

So please, don't let height be too much of a factor. If we all had to dictate cosplaying based on height, a lot of us would be screwed. XD

[Saturn's Pheonix]

Standing at 4'10 I tend to stick with the shorter and younger characters when I cosplay. Every time I try to do a tall person I end up uncomfortable and the victim of the chibi jokes. On the short end though I find its easier to stick with the short cosplays as its easier for me to design proportionally to make as authentic as possible. My Sailor Saturn and Ed Elric cosplays are a perfect example of this.

Depending on your height you may have to adjust proportions in your cosplay but at the same time its always fun to experiment as long as you make do with what makes you most comfortable for the amount of time you will be walking around in the costume.

[C4_Lieutenant]

It doesn't matter to me. I'm only 5'2" and I usually cosplay as taller characters such as Sanji from One Piece.

As long as my costume fits right I feel fine. And I wear my regular shoes. (They only have a one inch heel...they are more of combat boots, but they are super comfortable to walk in..even without supportive insoles in them.)

And I usually don't have anyone raging on me because of my size. Especially because Sanji is like 6 feet tall.

And I have no problem with people cosplaying that are short. If the costume works...it work's. I'm more of a detail-orienated person. I more prone to noticing overall designs and the little things on cosplayers.

I really never even notice height, unless someone is insanely tall like almost 7 feet.

[OnionKnight]

I'd say it doesn't matter to most people only based on the fact that the vast majority of comments I got on my cosplay were positive.

Granted I did get quite a few people saying how I was a little tall or too old, but I like to think they were mostly kidding!

[Washu Takahashi]

I don't think height matters. If you want to cosplay a character, do it! For example, I've cosplayed Edward Elric, a character known for being short. I'm 5'4", which is a pretty average height for a girl, but that didn't stop me! And I've seen guy over 6 feet cosplay Ed and do it really well! Who cares if you're too tall/short as long as you have an awesome cosplay (Or not so awesome. My Ed sucked, but it's the time and effort that counts!)

[Mizu_Haku]

I've cosplayed as Kiki frm Kiki's Delivery Service, Gaara from Naruto, and Skrillex... all of those characters are short. I mean, I know Skrillex/Sonny Moore is 5' 4" in real life.

I'm about 6' tall... and a girl.

I don't really think it matters too much about height. I mean, if you want to be a character, go for it.

[Kitsu-chan]

I honestly don't pay attention to height. I'm a nearly 6ft tall guy & I've cosplayed Chibi Moon, who probably isn't even 3ft tall.

[urbanfaerie]

S1NN3R, on 19 July 2010 - 03:20 AM, said:

There's only one question to ask when planning a cosplay: "Will I enjoy being this?" If the answer is yes, than do it. Height only factors in for safety. If your looking to cosplay as a 20ft mech... then worry about it. Don't let minor details such as height weigh you down. Have fun and happy cosplay

This exactly! I'm tall for a girl, 5'8", but I've cosplayed Radical Edward (I was really getting too skinny for my own good) and Fuu from Samurai Champloo. I wasn't in a group... my costumes looked GREAT! I was definitely WAY into character with Ed and it worked. She LOOKS very lanky for someone so tiny. As for Fuu, when I met her voice actress I said, "I'm too tall to be Fuu."

Kari said, "But you have a Fuu face and TINY hands and feet." (For poses next to other Champloo characters I'll usually kneel, since in my geta I'm usually nearly a head taller than some of the guys.)

I definitely play up the smallest parts of my body for a cosplay. I wasn't skinny when I did Fuu. I wasn't "fat" either, but I was heavier than I wanted to be. By showing and highlighting the smallest parts, you appear "small". My "mudflaps" geta are another device. I have really thin ankles and feet, the geta make them appear even smaller. (Sports bra for the girls and an Obi that was thicker than usual helped as well!)

In group cosplays, I love working with my friend Zack. He's 6'4" and well built... I go on the FAR end next to him, with the shorties on the other end. It works out quite well.

In the end, play who you want to play! Just take posing into consideration. You can be the tallest person in the group and still "fit in" in the group shots.

[ranefea]

Yeah, definitely height shouldn't matter, the cosplay itself should matter. It's one thing if YOU are wanting to be as freakishly accurate as possible for your own costume, but otherwise why should it matter? I've cosplayed Hotohori, who is about a foot taller than me. Also you can make the cosplay your own by putting a twist on it. When I cosplayed Kingdom Hearts 2 Riku, I did a cute, kind of chibified version by carrying a large Mickey Mouse plush that I dressed up as King Mickey instead of the usual Keyblade. =3

[steamphunk]

I'm short, as in under 5'1" short. I never really have a problem with height and cosplaying. No one has said anything to me. Yet. But for the most part, I doubt that they ever will. I have the tendancy to want to cosplay as the shortest person in the entire cast (Patty from Soul Eater aside). Height rarely matters to the true, hardcore cosplayers and to those who respect others. It's the annoying ones that it matters to.

[Trini]

If I let my height decide my cosplays, I'd be doing pretty much all crossplays since you don't see too many 6' female characters. =___= Like people said, there are ways to cheat your height for photos if it's that serious. While it is nice to have that added bonus of being able to say you're the exact height of a character, height is just another one of those traits that shouldn't factor in to who you cosplay.

[Mizu_Haku]

@Trini Haha! True that! Then again I do crossplay a majority of the time. I feel like my figure is perfect for crossplay, and I seem to like guy characters....

But I won't let my height stop me from being a shorter character. Just like I won't like my, ahem, bust size keep me from being a character with ample assets. haha.

[okaonos]

The way I see it, if people didn't cosplay because of differences in height, weight, body type, etc... we would have no cosplayers.

[The Fujoshi]

No unless it's unrealistic scales like a gundam and you must be the size of a gundam.

But you could be a big Krillin and I wouldn't care or a short Goku. If it looks good go ahead.

The problem I have is with half done cosplay and you think it's better than the well done cosplay.

[GITS SAC Motoko]

I really can't stand the criticism people get (and I have received myself for that matter) when it come to height in cosplaying. I know earlier I said it doesn't matter to me, but for myself (who for some reason loves big, tall, crazy complex looking characters) I'm self concious on cosplaying as big tall characters. Like one day I would LOOOOOVE to cosplay as D'Etoile--the final boss from Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon. But he's a very tall and big mecha robot character, and I get self-concious with my short 5'2" little frame pulling off such a large, tall character. I would love to go as him, but I am somewhat afraid of people going "you're a little small for that" And I'll look like a mini version or something, and it won't look very good. I've even had people comment when I cosplayed as Major Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell "aren't you a little short for Motoko?" All I said back was that I chuckled and said "well, I can't control it..."
Yeah I say for everyone else "go for it! If you like it do it! Don't let it get to you!!!" But for me it's hard to follow my own advice because of my self-consciousness of my short little frame. IDK, for other cosplayers height does not matter to me at all. But for myself, because I'm short it's harder for me to be like "yeah! cosplay as big tall character!" Yeah...I second guess myself for sure.

This post has been edited by GITS SAC Motoko: 03 June 2011 - 07:19 PM

[Ranko]

GITS SAC Motoko, on 03 June 2011 - 07:18 PM, said:

I really can't stand the criticism people get (and I have received myself for that matter) when it come to height in cosplaying. I know earlier I said it doesn't matter to me, but for myself (who for some reason loves big, tall, crazy complex looking characters) I'm self concious on cosplaying as big tall characters. Like one day I would LOOOOOVE to cosplay as D'Etoile--the final boss from Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon. But he's a very tall and big mecha robot character, and I get self-concious with my short 5'2" little frame pulling off such a large, tall character. I would love to go as him, but I am somewhat afraid of people going "you're a little small for that" And I'll look like a mini version or something, and it won't look very good. I've even had people comment when I cosplayed as Major Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell "aren't you a little short for Motoko?" All I said back was that I chuckled and said "well, I can't control it..."
Yeah I say for everyone else "go for it! If you like it do it! Don't let it get to you!!!" But for me it's hard to follow my own advice because of my self-consciousness of my short little frame. IDK, for other cosplayers height does not matter to me at all. But for myself, because I'm short it's harder for me to be like "yeah! cosplay as big tall character!" Yeah...I second guess myself for sure.

I'm sure I'm in the exact opposite position, in that I'm likely going to be too tall for some people if I choose to cosplay anyone of short or average height...

This post has been edited by Ranko: 04 June 2011 - 03:28 PM

[Mecchan]

Me, personally. I always try to cosplay shorter girls. I'm 4'11, so I'd have to have some INSANE heels to even look like a normal size person, hahaha. The bigger issue is that I cosplay with my boyfriend and he's 6'6, so whatever I cosplay with him, I'm gonna look like a child. So, while I agree, that you technically could get away with it in photos, his facial structure would give that way in my case. I just use my height to my advantage. Me and my boyfriend are cosplaying Taiga&Ryuuji (Toradora)and Naoto&Protagonist (Persona 4) at an upcoming con, and those are couples with major size differences.

I've kind of accepted that I'll never be able to cosplay signaturely tall characters like Risa from Lovely Complex or I'd have to cosplay Chiyo-chan before I could even dream of Sakaki-san (Azumanga). I've been cosplaying for almost a decade, so it doesn't really bother me anymore.

[wenchman]

I don't think it should matter, just don't wear the chunky platform shoes with an unfitting cosplay and it's all good.