[Washu Takahashi]

Thought this might be a interesting thread to start up. Everyone started somewhere, even if their work is beyond amazing now! So feel free to share your first cosplay here, how bad it failed (or how awesome you did if that's the case, I personally failed lol), and what you learned from it! You could also talk about other early cosplays of yours that you learned from ^^

So I guess I'll start us off! For my first Acen (which was my first con and first attempt at cosplay) I decided I'd be a female version of Edward Elric. I had NO MONEY whatsoever (or at least none that I was willing to spend since I wanted the little I had for the con) so I made the costume out of things I already had. I took a pink knee length jacket and tried to sew on the flamel symbol. It went terribly. After like 3 tries I gave up and just tapped the symbol to the back. I took a pair of boots, slacks, and a black tee shirt to go along with it and ta-da! My Edward Elric cosplay. I even got my hair cut so I'd have his bangs. I was so proud of it and thought it was decent...then I got to the con and realized it was beyond terrible xD Still, great learning experience and a good place to start. What's your story?

[xxpixel8xx]

My first con was metrocon in Tampa, FL after being there the first day and seeing pokemon hats my gf got the bright idea that at 9pm we were going to create a cosplay for the next day. We went and bought the hats from the vendor, some tight clothing that we spray painted and painted our bodies with body paint. It was kind of miserable couldn't sit all day at all, but in benefit Kirby Morrow wanted his picture with us which was pretty cool that he asked.

[Kurama's moon raven]

My first convention was Youmacon since I live in Michigan. The first two year I went I could barely afford to go. The fourth year I started to cosplay but still was very shy about it.

It worked out pretty well since I had no sewing skills what so ever back then. A friend of mine and I worked on it together. I was the idea behind it and she brought it out to life. My first cosplay was Princess Serenity. I never even bought a wig for this cosplay as well since I thought just using my own hair would be good enough. xD It was a success in my theory since it brought out what I could do.

Since then and recently I have been making my own cosplays. Ninetails and Utau's concert outfit are my official two that I have been able to make on my own without ebay's assistance on outfits.

[Mansopp Longnose]

Ok is this our first con experience? Because the title says first cosplay. I cosplayed YEARS before my first con. My first cosplay was Kid Link when I was like 11.

[Rukariou]

My first con was Anime Detour 2009 and I cosplayed as Johan Anderson from Yugioh GX. It was pretty OK. I was not happy with the wig, it was a terrible quality that I dyed with sharpies. I've retired the cosplay almost right away until there is a better wig, lol.

[The Fujoshi]

Yami no Yuri from KOF in Acen 2006.

Basically had a black gi on, normal hair tied into a pigtail, headband, converse red shoes, and biker shorts.

*facepalm*

[Washu Takahashi]

xxpixel8xx -lmao, that sounds so cool! xD I think it's great that you guys made the cosaplays overnight. sounds like it was lots of fun! (Minus the no sitting)

Kurama - Lucky you had such a good friend ^^ To date my only costume completely from scratch is Vespiquen (because it's made out of duct tape lol) Everything else I've bought clothes and modified them myself. (I have enough sewing skills to modify stuff, but without a sewing machine and no experience using one anyways, I've never really made anything 100% mine besides Vespiquen)

Mansopp - For lots of people the two go hand in hand ^^ I was asking about first cosplay, but first cosplay at a con or whatever works too. And that's young O.O Did your mom make it for you or did you make it or was it store bought?

Rukariou - Sharpies are my best friends sometimes xD May not look the best, but dang handy when they're all you have lol

The Fujoshi - Hey, you tried xD Sounds better than my failed Ed lol.



I didn't expect so many replies so soon 0.0 Yay! xD

[STF]

Ha, ironically my first cosplay was also of a character from FullMetal Alchemist. My first cosplay was Lust, which was awesome on Halloween, but failed at ACen. It failed at ACen because I wore the wig on the way there, so my once perfectly styled wig ended up becoming a frizzled mess. Plus in my hurry, I forgot my black lipstick at home and only realized I didn't have it until I was there. And for some damn reason I thought it would be a good idea to wear that green wrap that Scar died in (was a big ScarXLust fan at the time) instead of the "hooker" coat I wore on Halloween. I have banished that costume since, and I will probably never cosplay as Lust ever again because of how much fail it was. lol

[Washu Takahashi]

STF - Lol! I know the pain of forgetting things xD I'm usually really good about not forgetting costume pieces...I'm the type of person that always manages to leave behind a camera charger or something xD But I know the feeling of never wanting to use that cosplay again xD I've seen enough really good Eds that i'll just take pictures of them and be satisfied...living through them or something lol

[Kurama's moon raven]

I have been able to learn how to sew and now I know how to work a machine and that helped a lot with Ninetails and Utau. My mom helped me out with that but she doesn't know about Utau's outfit xD. shhhhhhhhhhh. I made that on a last minute whim last friday night when she was away and finished it Saturday night rofl.
Pictures are in Cosplay Progress of everything I have made Videl, Kurama, Utau and Ninetails.
But yes I love my friend for making me those to outfits. Jasmine was my rave outfit for like a very long time. She's going into retirement now along with Raven.

[Santa Finland]

I count Sango from InuYasha as my first cosplay as I wore it to my first con. It was originally a Halloween costume, that my mom sewed. That part looked alright but for the dark pink parts of the kimono, I simply painted it on. While this itself, isn't a bad idea, I used acrylic paint instead of fabric paint. This caused the painted part to become very hard and uncomfortable. My wig was also bad because it was the typically cheap Halloween wig. It would be a long time until I learned how to spot a good wig.

However, Sango wasn't the first anime costume I did. I did Misty from Pokemon and Sailor Venus. Misty was pretty good and it was pieced together from Goodwill items. Sailor Venus was sort of slapped together at the last minute and I'm not as happy with that one.

[Demon Slayer]

My first costume was also Sango's pink travelling outfit. I bought a cheap wig for it, but I got so mad at the bad quality I just used my own hair, which is short, blonde, and nothing at all like hers. Oh well... My mom made it for me, and slowly I started to become more sewing proficient. Now I make all the costumes myself, though I still ask my mom for help with some things.

[Santa Finland]

Demon Slayer, on 10 May 2011 - 11:30 AM, said:

My first costume was also Sango's pink travelling outfit. I bought a cheap wig for it, but I got so mad at the bad quality I just used my own hair, which is short, blonde, and nothing at all like hers. Oh well... My mom made it for me, and slowly I started to become more sewing proficient. Now I make all the costumes myself, though I still ask my mom for help with some things.

Wow, we have a lot in common. We had the same first cosplay and both our moms made it. Also looking at your siggy, I plan to do Hungary later and I would love to do Belle, but I don't think it will actually happen.

[Washu Takahashi]

Kurama - lol! I really want to get my own sewing machine and slowly learn how to use it...(poor college student=sad/broke) And yay for hiding cosplay from moms! xD Like 3 or 4 years ago I wanted to do sexy no jutsu naruto and I was going to use a super conservative swimsuit and just glue cotton balls to it pretty much. My mom flipped. (The top of the swimsuit looked like a tank top and the bottom half had a skirt attatched so it wasn't showing ANYTHING) But now I'm doing it this year in a bikini xD Btw, love Utau <3 I actually did Sepharic Charm. I made the tutu from scratch. NEVER AGAIN. That thing caused me more headaches than it was worth lol.

Santa - lol, at least you learned from it And I think my "first" cosplay would have been a Jigglypuff outfit I got for Halloween in like 3rd grade xD Loved that thing. No idea where the heck it went...But I onsider Ed my first since it was my first con and the first time I really knew it was called cosplay.

Demon - I hate bad wigs...did the hitachiin bros with a friend once and was scratching my head all night long. Didn't help that we decided to buy blonde wigs and attempt to spray paint them orange xD

[Dark Spellmaster]

Oh god. I want to forget my first cosplay....

Four years ago I went as goku from saiyuki, my sister was Sanzo and my dad we made go as the good old evil Doctor Ni. However...my staff was made of cardboard and well let us say that I learned quickly that spray paint and styrofoam do not mix. Then I had to have my cape attached with velcro, which kept slipping down my shoulders. And my pads wouldn't stay on so they looked really weird on me. To make matters worse, I could not for the life of me get my hair to spike up because it was too long and at the time I could not affored a wig. My sister's sanzo was better, however...when asked to take a picture of sanzo hitting goku, she litterally hit me with the roled up news paper so I couldn't pose at all. Kind of felt embaressed...

I do however intend to one day do him again, and right this time.

[Vinja Ryou]

Technically, my first cosplay wasn't even for a con - it was for a high school homecoming week theme day, lol. I was the Tekken 3 version of Hwoarang for the Rock/Biker Day for our homecoming week back in...2001? Cosplay-wise, my first cosplays were Anna Williams (Tekken again), Mai Valentine (Yuugiou; Doma version), and Marik (Yuugiou). They were all pretty much just put together quickly - the Marik cape a friend and I made, and the Millennium Rod my stepfather and I made (out of actual wood). Mai and Anna were a lot of fun though, and I plan on perhaps remaking them sometime.

[Ranko]

My first cosplay was at Youmacon last year... It's the same as what I'm coming to Acen as this year, only slightly updated... When making the robe I misjudged the size needed and ended up with a robe that was way too short when the rope belt was applied. Not many people recognized me either, although that may just be due to the series being less well known.

[Fudgi P0pZ]

Ooh, interesting topic and very interesting experiences. ^^

The first time I cosplayed was at my first con because I then had a legitimate excuse to spend money on craft supplies and whatnot. The first year, I went as one of the ACen mascots, Jaye. Everything I needed for that costume I had gotten from the thrift store, so everything worked out quite well.

So... I decided, why not step my game up? With hardly any sewing experience at all, I decided to take on Shuurei Kou from Saiunkoku Monogatari for the next con. Since this outfit actually needed constructing, I consider this my first real cosplay. But let me tell ya, this was a big fail, lol! The costume wasn't very accurate at all, though I think I had the color scheme right. The one big thing I learned from this experience that has changed the way I sew FOREVER is hemming all of my seams! Don't ask me what I was thinking when I thought I could merely fold the cloth over and stitch. At the con, everything held up but I had loose strings arriving at the door before I did. I'd pull them off and more came. It was crazy and I have absolutely no idea why I didn't take better precautions. It was a great learning experience though and I seriously take pride in hemming and putting that finishing touch on my sewing. It has also taught me to reinforce stitching/crafting like a mofo so that there are no costume malfunctions. I've learned that comfort is key. Yes.

[cloudacmaster]

I was Shinji Hirako from Bleach. For my first cosplay, it wasn't that bad.

However, I wish to forget the wig I used for it for eternity.

[Darko]

cloudacmaster, on 11 May 2011 - 12:05 AM, said:

I was Shinji Hirako from Bleach. For my first cosplay, it wasn't that bad.

However, I wish to forget the wig I used for it for eternity.

HAHA! i remember that



well lets see my first was Kowaru from evangelion it was the basic of the basic

[bewd7879]

My first cosplay was at last year's Acen (3rd one I went to), and I did Luffy from One Piece. It turned out ok, but everything went wrong. Sandal strap broke Saturday, and someone accidentally broke the string I had attached to the hat :/ Besides that it was fun, and I think I did decent...

[levelsixtyseven]

Ohmygod memories! My first cosplay was Uzumaki Naruto. But never cosplayed it at a con. I just wanted to make the cosplay for the fun of it. It was horrible and is falling apart. Come to think of it I may redo it just for fun and give it a better polish look.

[Trini]

My second ACen, I decided to cosplay for the first time. I was Merle from Escaflowne and it wasn't incredibly horrible, but it was super janky to me. The dress was a random one my mom and I found at a thrift store. It was maybe a size too big and wrong hems and I drew the spots on it in marker. My sandals looked nothing like hers and I had no wig. I will say though, through that costume, I created my best tail ever. Unfortunately, like a fool, I let this girl in my Latin class a few years ago use it for Halloween and never saw it again. ;_;

[A True Elsewhere]

@Trini: I'm sorry about your tail.. D:

My first cosplay.. I was Mamimi from FLCL, and I just used stuff I had in my closet. Except I'd bought a white t-shirt and sewed a red star on it. I hand-sewed it, so it came on crooked. The shirt's too small for me now. I stitched together a "sailor collar" for my blue jacket without much effort, so it was a little ratty. I just pinned it on, haha. But I made a "cigarette" that said Never Knows Best on it, and I kinda liked that accessory. I also used my digital camera as an accessory, which was perfect.

Two people recognized me. The second person, now that's a funny story. I was with my best friend (as always) and HIS first cosplay was as Roxas without a wig, just spray-dyed hair. We were walking down the hall together and SUDDENLY OUT OF NOWHERE appears this other Roxas with a MAMIMI. We slowed down, I said, "Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!" And the other Roxas hummed the Twilight Zone theme song. It was a weird coincidence. Roxas + Mamimi seems like such an odd pair, we didn't think we'd see another couple walking around...... good first Acen memory.

[Washu Takahashi]

Dark - Haha, I know the feeling xD One day when I actually get a sewing machine and some skills I might re-do Ed...just as a "haha! Take that past self!" kind of thing.

Vinja - Wow! Sounds like your first couple cosplays came out well even if they were quickly thrown together Love the fact that you made the rod out of wood. I probably would have rolled up brown construction paper or something and taped it together xD

Ranko - Sounds like you already had experience in costume making even if that was just your first cosplay. Dang it I need my own sewing machine lol

Fudgi - At least you learned from it xD I;ve modified all the clothes that go with my cosplays, so thankfully I haven't have to deal with that yet...when I finally get a sewing machine and start making things from scratch I'll remember that though!

cloud - A lot of people seem to have had hair/wig fails on their first cosplay...

bewd - I know that feeling D: I went to Acen as Houndoom last year. I had these leg cuffs I made out of styrofoam and painted on that were only attached by a tiny piece of velcro. Lost one half way through the day and I went through panic mode running around the con trying to find it @.@ After 30 minutes of searching I just gave up and pretended not to notice lol.

level - You should The more I look back on old cosplays the more I keep feeling "Wow, I could do that a million times better now" Might pull out some of my old ones and re-do them if I ever get time xD

Trini - Ouch D: I hate when stuff like that happens. My houndoom cosplay has literally disappeared off the face of the earth. I have no idea what happened to it. Makes me sad because I REALLY liked that cosplay

A true - Wow! That is funny and an odd combination! xD I love con moments like that xD My best friend was dressed as the white mushroom from Kingdom Hearts last year, and late Saturday night we bumped into another white mushroom and she flipped out xD

[nouseforaname]

My first costume was Ikki Tenryou from Medabots back in 2009. Two people recognized me. The shoes I worked off of made both my heels bled through my socks so odds are I'll probably not wear that costume again.

This post has been edited by nouseforaname: 11 May 2011 - 01:33 PM

[Ranko]

Washu Takahashi, on 11 May 2011 - 07:35 AM, said:

Ranko - Sounds like you already had experience in costume making even if that was just your first cosplay. Dang it I need my own sewing machine lol

I stole my Grandma's sewing machine XD

[Mansopp Longnose]

@Washu: I made it from an oversized green shirt, and it was a halloween costume. but I made a deku shield out of a piece of bark I found and used a plastic knight sword and modded it into the kokiri sword. I loved it, until NO ONE KNEW WHO I WAS. Someone actually guessed GREEN SANTA CLAUS. WTF. SANTA HAS A BEARD, and I'm pretty sure HE WEARS PANTS. And DOESN'T HAVE A SWORD AND SHIELD. People fail.

[Washu Takahashi]

Ranko, on 11 May 2011 - 12:54 PM, said:

I stole my Grandma's sewing machine XD

That is an epic win xD

Mansopp Longnose, on 11 May 2011 - 01:00 PM, said:

@Washu: I made it from an oversized green shirt, and it was a halloween costume. but I made a deku shield out of a piece of bark I found and used a plastic knight sword and modded it into the kokiri sword. I loved it, until NO ONE KNEW WHO I WAS. Someone actually guessed GREEN SANTA CLAUS. WTF. SANTA HAS A BEARD, and I'm pretty sure HE WEARS PANTS. And DOESN'T HAVE A SWORD AND SHIELD. People fail.

Wow...some people really do fail. I only played a little bit of Zelda back on the Nintendo and even I would have easily recognized you. I dressed as the Hitachiin version of the Chesire cat for Halloween once...I didn't expect anyone to know I was a Hitachiin, but people couldn't even recognize the Chesire cat

[KusanagiRobin]

I don't even count my first "cosplay": in ACen 2007 I commissioned Robin Sena (Witch Hunter Robin) cosplay, but it didn't come in time, so the night before I was set to leave, I ran around Wal-Mart trying to scramble together an Elena cosplay (one of the Turks from FF), which was even worse since I was in college at the time. I found a suit (an oversized one at that) but I didn't have a blonde wig, so it was pretty nondescript--though some people thought I was cosplaying the ACen mascots (and a McDonald's cashier thought I was a man, lol).

Robin Sena was fail only because it came two weeks after ACen (that and I didn't have a wig again, but I actually preferred using my natural hair. At least it was the right length for the handlebar ponytails). That and the first pendant I made for it was made out of what I could buy on an out-of-state college student's budget: Model Magic and glittery paint. Second pendant was oven-bake clay, acrylic paint, and sealant.