[Se Ga Hikui]

I think it would be really funny to hear people's stories about all of their cosplay mishaps. No one started out pro. Or, at least, that is what I say to myself so I can sleep at night and over-look some of the awful things I have done with my costumes...

1. I had very long hair when I first started cosplaying. My first Acen was coming up and I was super excited to pull together a Ciel Phantomhive costume from things I found at thrift stores. Of course I had not thought to buy a wig! I figured I would just get blue hair spray, pull my hair back, and hide it the best I could. It looked awful! Not only did the hairspray fade through the day, but the hair did not stay hidden. It did not even resemble Ciel's hair cut!
Moral of the story: Unless your hair looks a lot like the character's, just buy a wig.

2. At my first Acen, I did not know of the wonders of make-up. I put on my eyeliner and walked out of the house with pizza chin. When I walked in to the convention, I was shocked at how clear everyone's skin was and very self-conscious.
Moral of the story: The cosplayers don't have perfect skin. They wear make-up. If you are worried about breakouts and stuff, you can find a coverup to fix that at pretty much any store!

3. I bought a wig from CVS for Halloween. It was this giant, poofy, black wig. An anime convention was fast approaching and I decided I wanted to be Ritsuka. I figured, wigs can be styled, right? So I trimmed it and used a blow-drier to melt the plastic hair in to something straight and no longer poofy. It worked pretty well! The next day, under the light of the sun and the water from a beach, it poofed out in to a monster fro.
Moral of the story: Never trust a Halloween wig.

4. I was sewing a costume for myself and was guessing the sizes of the sleeves. I had been working on the costume for hours and was tired! The convention was the next day too. So I guessed. I wound up with one sleeve that was great, and another that was so tight I could not lower my arm.
of the story: Measure before you cut, sew, stitch, or do anything to something you will be wearing.

5. I decided that the collar did not need to be sewn on to the dress. I could just pin it on. Well, it fell off repeatedly! I spent more time adjusting the collar than it would have taken to just sew it on.
Moral of the story: Don't be lazy. There is some serious cosplay karma.

6. If you haven't noticed by now, I am pretty cheap. One time, I decided I did not want to buy a pair of dress shoes in my own size, so I used my little brother's shoes. He has feet two sizes smaller than mine. Most painful experience ever!!
Moral of the story: Have comfortable shoes or be prepared to suffer.

7. My costume was tight-fitting and I was cosplaying as a guy. Not wanting the chest to show, I bound really tightly with ace bandages. Never have I experienced such awful chaffing! I was lost downtown looking for the convention, so I had no place to go in to fix it either!
Moral of the story: When binding, know your tolerance levels or you will wind up walking around whining about it for hours!

8. I really wanted to cosplay as Lithuania. I was broke and did not have the time to order, so I chose a closet cosplay. For weeks, I tried to pull together all of the things I would need. Finally, I found the perfect pair of pants that would go perfectly with the costume and the shirt! And the con was the next day! When I got ready that morning, I noticed that the shades looked a bit different. I figured it was not a big deal. Little did I know the lighting in my house was bad. It was a big deal. A very, embarrassingly noticeable big deal!
Moral of the story: When closet cosplay shopping for things, try to keep the other pieces with you to compare.

I will probably come up with more things later down the road. I have made many really stupid choices and mistakes with my costumes. I hope that someone reads over this and winds up avoiding such a mistake. I also hope that I am not the only one who is so incompetent with cosplaying at times

[ravenfinch]

OMG YOUR SO TRUE MY 1ST COSPLAY WAS OK NOT FROM MANGE/ANINE YADAYADA BUT I WAS AWSOME LOTS OF PIC

[The Forumcat]

Oh, you're definitely not the only one, Se Ga Hikui.

1. My first ACen, I was Misa from Deathnote. Pretty typical first cosplay, blah, blah, blah...
Anyways, I forgot my stockings. In case you don't know, Misa has these really awesome striped thigh high stockings. I forgot them after spending four hours online getting them (finding ones I liked, finding the lowest price, checking they'd fit...) and I thought I'd cry. As it turned out, no one really cared and I met some really awesome Deathnote cosplayers, too.
Lesson learned: Don't sweat the small stuff. People forget things. Only elitist jerks care.

2. More Misa Mishaps
I made my bow out of pleather-y stuff. I really hated it, but vinyl was all I had on hand in red, and I was in a dormitory, so I couldn't go out and get more. It was really poorly made, and I was self conscious about it, but I got a lot of compliments on it, mostly "I never thought of vinyl" (in a nice tone, or it would be insulting) or "ooooooh!! SHINY!!!"
Lesson learned: Don't worry. SOMEONE will like it. If you think it's bad, add shiny or sparkles. I'd be willing to bet that 99% of the people at ACen have suburbia ADHD.

OK, now for some real mishaps

3. I was doing Beyond Birthday - because I love him to bits - and I opted for some old-school REAL denim (not the cheap spandex-y stretch stuff in stores nowadays) guys' jeans. I'd never worn them for more than about 2 minutes before, and by the end of the day (it was SoyCon, so the day was spent walking around) my whole bikini line was chafed. It was worse than my ultra-tight binding marks.
Lesson learned: Wear EVERY piece of your cosplay for an extended time before the con!

4. I wore high heels to my first ACen. The wearing isn't the issue. Heels are comfortable for me. The bit that WAS an issue was... the heel. I was wearing stilettos, and stilettos play very poorly with grass, gravel, ridges in floors, stairs, any sort of textured floors, and carpet. That sums up pretty much all of ACen. On day two, I decided to put tape over the ends (which were bare metal from the tips being walked off) and that solved the carpet issue.
Lesson learned: Keep in mind the variable terrain, and use a thicker heel whenever possible

5. I learned my lessons from Misa and BB, so after that I had clear sailing. Anyways, my Misa wig was crooked. Not just enough to irritate Death the Kid, but it was pretty much as crooked as it could be without one of the pigtails being a unicorn horn. I'd tried to put the tails in with the wig not on anything. I fixed it while it was on my head, but then they were uneven.
Lesson learned: Put the wig on someone else's head while styling.

6. BB taught me all my crossplay hints. While I was cosplaying, I definitely overtightened my binding. It wasn't a big deal, since I'm a singer and breathe from my stomach, with little to no chest expansion, but what I didn't think of was the edges of the bandages. I had my boobies squirreled away so tightly that they bit through my skin! I had two angry rings of blood on my chest, and I had to pull cloth out of my skin in areas. I had scarcely noticed, since I have a high pain tolerance and was distracted by my pants and unbroken shoes, but I, tragically, lost my bandages as a result.
Lesson learned: Don't overtighten bandages, belly breathing or no.

7. I put my ace bandages in the wash, on the hand wash cycle. That's no big deal, since we have an amazing washer, and it treated them just fine to get the sweat out. Unfortunately, my mom tossed them in the dryer, which made some of the elastic crack, some melt, some of the fabric shrink, and the whole thing got caught in the barrel and chewed up. I also had some bandages in the wash once, and a rogue bra's hooks munged them up.
Lesson learned: wash your bandages in the tub. It's just safer. Plus, they'll smell like shampoo

8. I'm cosplaying VY2 Yuuma in February, and I have a Luka wig. That's approximately an 80 cm difference, and I'm wondering if it's really worth that 4.99 I saved to have to deal with that wig.
Lesson learned: If you're prone to laziness, splurge the 5 bucks for the shorter wig. I don't know why the short wig costs more, but get it.

So... yeah. You're definitely not the only one with cosplay blunders!

This post has been edited by The Forumcat: 27 December 2011 - 02:06 AM

[Red Juliet]

I can sympathize. I went as Riza Hawkeye once and didn’t wear a wig, thinking I could get away with my blond highlights. Only in the photos did I realize how brunette I was… D:

1. I was cosplaying as Himeno from Pretear my first year and my wig was a violent shade of neon pink, rather than a soft, pastel pink. Plus it was cut as a bob and I figured it would be good enough without having to style it. Her hair is kind of flippy and it didn’t look close at all. Moral: A wig can make or break a costume!

2. My second year cosplaying I went as Fullmetal Alchemist’s Riza, and I had a prop gun with me. I was really proud of it because it turned out great but I kept it in the belt of my pants and somewhere it must have fallen out and I lost it. Moral: hold onto your props tightly!

3. One year I was in the dealer’s hall and I saw an awesome Grell Sutcliff figure that I wanted. I reached into my bag only to find out that I didn’t have my wallet! I had to run all the way back to my hotel only to realize that my card for the door was in my wallet, which was inside my locked room. I had to call my friends and wait for 30 minutes before they found me and unlocked the door. Moral: Keep your money safe and double check your stuff before you leave the room.

4. Cosplaying as Asta from Trinity Blood I had a super long white wig. I figured I could keep it tame with a wig brush and that it wouldn’t need any kind of gel or spray. I didn’t want it to lose that natural flow-y feeling. Well, after a few hours in the wind at ACen I realized it was a tangled mess and looked like crap. I spent ages de-tangling it. Moral: Wig detangler is a HUGE help. Also, make sure you have a wig brush and styling supplies. Longer wigs tangle more easily and require more maintenance.

[Gwydion]

I could not agree more with some of the things mentioned already! I have learned several of them first hand. And just to add to the general pro-wig feel, I'll just say that my experience with that topic involved colored hair spray. Do yourselves a favor and listen to these lovely folks - just buy the wig!

1.) This is something I still have problems with, but I have fortunately at least gotten better with over time. I am a horrible procrastinator, and early on I decided to tackle two difficult costumes for the same con, one for me and one for my sis. I worked so hard on hers, but mine was barely to the halfway point by the time the con came. I still wore it and had a good time, but looking back on the photos makes me cringe. I regret not waiting until I had more time and experience to try and make them. Moral: Give yourself enough time to finish, and don't bite off more than you can chew.

2.) For another early costume, I decided to thrift store most of it. I didn't bring references with me, but I figured I knew what the character looked like pretty well. Unfortunately for me, I knew what the character looked like pretty well in black and white. I was only familiar with the manga, and I ended up not only switching the colors of the characters hat and pants, but using a brown that was far too dark for the top. The costume turned out fairly good! Except, you know, that none of the colors were correct. Moral: Reference pictures can keep you from wasting time and money.

3.) When my anime club decided to cosplay as a group, they gave me the job of handing out series/character assignments. For the most part, everyone was happy with who they ended up with, except for two people. One of these people really didn't seem to care, but when the day came, he was clearly a little uncomfortable, and I ended up feeling bad as I'd suggested the character. The other person was my sister. I'd shown her several options I thought would work well, but in the end she just went with my decision as she didn't care for the series, and even though she looked great, she was very self conscious at the con due to the outfit being more revealing than she was used to. Again, I felt bad, and even though it was kind of fun all of us dressed up from the same series, I know it would have been so much better if everyone had been comfortable, especially for those two. Moral: Don't cosplay something that will make you feel uncomfortable because not only can it bring you down, but your friends as well. And, alternatively... Moral #2: Don't pressure your friends into cosplaying someone they don't want to cosplay.

4.) I decided to cosplay someone with pigtails, which meant I had to learn how to put a part in a wig. But I noticed that I needed a tool to heat bond the hair that I didn't have. Being the cheapskate that I am, I decided to try a different method. Sadly, this method did not work out as planned. While the wig actually did turn out fairly decent for a first try and held up nicely all day, as soon as I took it off, my penny pinching bit me in the butt, and now I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to fix it properly. Moral: Make sure to use the right tool for the job, or be prepared to face the potential consequences.

5.) Remember that cosplay where I mentioned I used colored hair spray? As soon as it was applied, I regretted it. So much so that I almost didn't even want to leave the bathroom. But my sis dragged me out and took me around the con. And you know what? I had a great time. The costume was fairly horrible even aside from my hair, but I still had people tell me they liked it and I still met a lot of great folks. Moral: Even when your costume does end up a mess, just remember: you're at an anime con! You can still have fun!

[Red Juliet]

Gwydion, on 05 January 2012 - 11:43 PM, said:

5.) Remember that cosplay where I mentioned I used colored hair spray? As soon as it was applied, I regretted it. So much so that I almost didn't even want to leave the bathroom. But my sis dragged me out and took me around the con. And you know what? I had a great time. The costume was fairly horrible even aside from my hair, but I still had people tell me they liked it and I still met a lot of great folks. Moral: Even when your costume does end up a mess, just remember: you're at an anime con! You can still have fun!

My favorite piece of advice! I couldn't agree more. The majority of people at these cons are great and friendly people. You're among friends and fans of the same stuff you like. ; ) That being said, don't be afraid to meet new people! I was a little shy during my first few cons but after I broke out of my shell I met some fantastic people that I still keep in touch with.

[LadyTennant]

Okay, seeking advice. I've heard the color spray horror stories, but what about actual professional Dye and cut?

[JujuFox]

LadyTennant, on 02 February 2012 - 06:58 PM, said:

Okay, seeking advice. I've heard the color spray horror stories, but what about actual professional Dye and cut?

Since color sprays don't show up on my dark brown hair I got my hair cut and colored last year for my cosplay! It looked awesome! My hair's best friend was dry shampoo since those types of colors do not last no matter what.

Here is a pic of my hair a few days before the con --->

[LadyTennant]

DavenEvanXaviour, on 02 February 2012 - 07:06 PM, said:

Since color sprays don't show up on my dark brown hair I got my hair cut and colored last year for my cosplay! It looked awesome! My hair's best friend was dry shampoo since those types of colors do not last no matter what.

Here is a pic of my hair a few days before the con --->

Thanks!

[cactusmomma]

General things learned from around the cosplay world:

- New shoes fit great! Feet feel like death after 5 hours. Moral: Break ALL shoes in WELL before con.
- You may be on birth control and think you're good before con.. but remember that stress will make things start late. Moral: Bring backup girl supplies..if not for you, someone else will thank you.
- Everything fits perfectly in fittings and wear arounds.... Murphey's Law will kick in at the worst possible time. Moral: Bring safety pins or a small sewing kit.

[SinosukeSatarume]

I know this may be a given but here goes

Just because a con says there is water around doesn't mean people haven't ravaged it long before you got there. Keep hydrated. If you notice you feel like you are sweating but don't have any sweat it's an early sigh of dehydration. If you are wearing a large costume ie armor, military gear, a gundam, or something of the like opt for a hydration carrier. You can get them for 10-30 depending on size, if its a backpack, and colors. And trust me having an ice cold hydration pack on your back all day in a hot outfit is wonderful.

[nouseforaname]

I have to agree about the shoes as well. Whenever altering shoes, always wear them around before the convention so they're comfortable. The pair I altered were so painful I bled from both heels.

[Esa]

I love this thread! haha I think we really all started out badly

[cactusmomma]

Oh totally. Which reminds me of things I had been told when I first started cosplaying:

Just because you think you can do it, doesn't mean you -can-. Practice with mock-ups of anything you may be unsure of, practice posing, look at how other cosplayers of the same fandom/character hold themselves, study your material. Do not be afraid to ask for help from others. As long as you're not trying to push all of the work off on someone else (without a proper commission) or to have someone effectively hold your hand the whole way, most people will be accepting and willing to help you out.

One I really hate to even type out: Cosplayers can be socially awkward.. some are just downright mean. Unfortunately, this may cause you to have to grow a thick skin. There are quite a few people who don't give a crap if you're out there to have fun, they'll crawl all up in your throat over small things. Many cosplayers are in high school or just never mentally left.

Your poses and mannerisms.. again, study your source materials. Doujin and fanart doesn't count (no matter what, fetishes will find their way in and as the saying goes: I've seen enough hentai to know where this is going..). Take Rinoa from Final Fantasy VIII for example.. she's sweet, fairly meek, and has a bit of a brat streak.. Most cosplayers will pose in her fighting stance, being a carefree teenager who can't figure out what she wants in a boyfriend, or doing her famous 'one dance?' finger in the air... that makes the photo/character mimic... and then a few years ago, there was a Rinoa who was giving the camera the next finger over.. it was crass and very out of character. It was kind of embarrassing to look at those photos. Moral: Prepare yourself.

[Hoshigumo]

Probably common sense for most people, but it's sometimes helpful to do makeup tests, even if it's nothing super-elaborate.

1) Allergies. Some people are allergic to certain compounds, or to latex, and may not be aware of it. Trying new makeup or new appliances out beforehand will ensure nobody has an untimely reaction.

2) New shades might look perfect under a shop's lights, but not so much when you get it home. Or, it could be great on you, but not so flattering on a friend.

3) Practice getting it "right" rather than winging it when you're there and expecting it to look amazing. Be comfortable with what you've decided to go with and it'll be one less thing to fuss over before you're out of your room for the day.

[Cellomanlove]

I'm new to making my own cosplay! So this is a very exciting thread to know things to avoid/do Since it's my first year making costumes, my best friend and I started a blog to document our failures/successes/etc. I figured I'd post it if anyone is interested (especially since we'll be wearing these costumes at Acen!)
http://learning-to-sew.tumblr.com/

[Rori]

When you are trimming ANYTHING, make sure you are actually cutting the fabric you intend to cut. This weekend while working on a cosplay, I was trimming off extra fabric from an inside seam.... and proceeded to cut a hole through the fabric next to the seam (and right through the nice part you can see from the outside). It had folded over itself and I neglected to notice. I think it was a combination of poor lighting and me just not paying enough attention.

Morals of Story: PAY ATTENTION to what you are doing. And work in a well lit area!

(And yes, I repaired it and am still going to wear it. Once I got over the initial shock, I realized I could shift another piece to cover it. But still! I know its there!)

This post has been edited by Rori: 13 February 2012 - 07:50 PM

[SinosukeSatarume]

I agree whole heartedly with the figure out a pose before hand.

When taking pictures try to avoid taking them from a dramatic ground level. No matter how thin you are or think you are the chin area will be unflattering. Ways to counter this are to pull your tongue as far back into your mouth touching the roof. It tightens the muscles and makes you look more fit.

As stances go some people take photos at odd angles. Try to pick dynamic stances/poses that look good in many angles rather than 1 or 2.

[OtakuAngelD]

1. I was cosplaying Wrath/Furher King Bradly a few years back. It was a hybred costume, two in one. Under the military coat was a back piece with four very heavy "swords". They were only held onto my body by an altered tool belt of sorts. After 3 hours, my back hurt so much I could barely move. Moral: Wear all heavy props BEFORE con to lean how they will wear. And distribute the weight properly. Your back with thank you.

2. Another lesson to do with props/large costume pieces:
I was the Wall from Revolutionary Girl Utena. I'd painted up this art of the shadow girls and wore it over my chest. However, I soon found out that the artwork was too big and I couldn't reach around it to look at or hold anything in the dealer's room. Moral: make sure you can reach around/move with a prop.

3. Another prop lesson:
I has made this Steampunk Jetpack. It was pretty awesome...Until the nosecones came off on the car trip up to the convention I was going to with it. Moral: Delicate props need packed safely

sub moral: Duct tape is your friend.

[Washu Takahashi]

Everyone's stories so far are great! I've got quite a few of my own too...more than I'm remembering probably.

My very first Acen I decided I was going to be a female version of Ed from FullMetal Alchemist. I had a pink jacket similar to his red one and clothes in my closet similar-ish to his. I even got my hair cut to have his bangs (I'm a blonde. And really the hair turned out to be the only good part of the cosplay) I attempted to sew the flamel symbol onto the back of my jacket...that went horribly since I was doing it by hand and had never sewn before. When the con rolled around I gave up and taped a picture on the back of my jacket. It was a terrible cosplay. But I still had a blast ever though no one wanted my picture or anything xD (It was my first year, so I was just kind of awe-struck the whole weekend anyways)
Moral: Who cares what you look like and you likes it as long as you have fun!

I went one year as Houndoom from Pokemon. This included these awkward foam anklets I made. To get them on I had to cut a slit in them, then attached Velcro to either side to snap them onto my leg. One of them was kind of loose and unsnapped once in a while, but I didn't think anything of it. It was gone after maybe 2 hours and then I wasted 30 minutes retracing my steps looking for it, no luck.
Moral: Make sure all parts of your cosplay are properly attached to you!

I went as Togetic from Pokemon. I had this amazing little crown my uncle had made me that was cut out of a same like sand bucket and had easter egg half "jewels" glued on. (Looked way cooler than I'm describing it) I was being careless and it knocked off my head and three of the 5 jewels popped off. I was devastated since the day had only just started and I ruined the best part of my cosplay. Still had a good time, but it took me like 30 minutes to get over the loss of my crown.
Moral: Be careful with fragile stuff

One year I went as Pachirisu. I had this giant tail made out of foam that was almost as big as I was. Everytime I turned around I whacked someone with it >< I felt horrible, but no one seemed to mind and it was really lightweight so it wouldn't actually hurt anyone, just might catch them offgaurd.
Moral: Try to be mindful of bigger props/accessories.

Last year I wore a pretty revealing cosplay (sexy-no-jutsu Naruto) Something that never occured to me was sunscreen. I had a nice burn over the magority of my upper body by the end of the day. And it wasn't particularly warm and there was even a nice breeze.
Moral: Don't trust the weather...if the sun is out and you're exposed, put on some lotion!

Last year something extremely funny happened depending on your point of view....my ex boyfriend ripped his pants. I have no idea how this happened and neither did he. One minute I'm taking pictures at the Pokemon photoshoot with him next to me, and the next minute he's gone! I found him hiding with his back to a wall and he told him the back of his pants ripped. He wasn't in cosplay, just regular jeans. And the rip was HUGE. Like 4-5 inches. No clue how he didn't know that happened. Luckily I packed with my a little "survival kit" which included invisible thread/needles/scissors. He wouldn't let me sew it and took them into the bathroom to sew them himself...he has no sewing experience. Whatever he did broke apart within ten minutes. But if he actually knew how to sew or would have sucked up his pride and let me fix them up, it would have been a good quick fix to hold until the day was over.
Moral: Bring an emergency kit with needles/thread/scissors! I also like to pack bandaids and aspirin. I've actually given out quite a few of each over the years, so if you don't end up needing them, there may be someone else thankful that you brought that stuff!

This post has been edited by Washu Takahashi: 24 February 2012 - 04:56 PM

[Fudgi P0pZ]

Gwydion, on 05 January 2012 - 11:43 PM, said:

I still wore it and had a good time, but looking back on the photos makes me cringe. I regret not waiting until I had more time and experience to try and make them. Moral: Give yourself enough time to finish, and don't bite off more than you can chew.

I can't agree with you more, Gwydion. Back in 2008 when I tackled my first "real" cosplay (in other words, I made it from scratch), I overestimated just how much I'd be able to finish. Thought that I could finish things up Friday night of the con? Yep, not so much. Sewing is truly a process. =_=() Best believe I still wore that costume, though! lol

Rori, on 13 February 2012 - 07:50 PM, said:

When you are trimming ANYTHING, make sure you are actually cutting the fabric you intend to cut.

This same thing legit happened to me last year. I had altered a pattern, making an otherwise button-down shirt into a seamless-front uniform dress (so basically, I put a pattern for one shirt-half on a fold so I could get one continuous piece). I was aware that I had placed the pattern on a fold but I didn't have my mind on it when I went around trying to clip all of the notches as indicated on the pattern piece. Coincidentally, one of those notches was on my newly constructed fold; I cut a plug into my seamless front dress piece! D: Of course I screamed and boohoo'd, but being the b.s. girl I am, I whipstitched the cut shut and rejoiced in the fact that my character wears a tie conveniently where the cut is.

-----------------------------------------------

Okay, replies aside, I want to add my own two cents here as well.

1) I first attended ACen back in 2007 and, since it was my first con, I decided I wanted to try cosplaying for it as well! I chose one of the ACen mascots (Jaye, I believe) because it was simple and all of the pieces were purchasable. xD The pieces I found were pretty close to accurate (I even found a fedora!) except for the hair which was a brighter shade of violet. In general, the entire ensemble wasn't a problem, it was two pieces of the ensemble that made for an... *ahem* interesting time in a short skirt. First, the strong wind blowing down River Road blew my hat completely off of my head at least twice. Luckily, a sweet Renji cosplayer was the perfect gentleman and retrieved it for me. (Actually, I had a similar issue with wind the following year with my hair ornaments. If it's a flat surface that is facing against the direction of wind, chances are the wind is going to assault it. Be mindful of this with any accessory, not just hats.) Secondly, I also bought my pair of shoes second hand which I do NOT recommend whatsoever. More so than clothing, shoes have a way of forming to the wearer's foot and, considering everyone's foot is different, this can lead you into big trouble. My feet hurt so badly within the first hour that I actually put on a pair of gold sandals I had brought with. It wasn't accurate, but at least I was comfortable--which is ALWAYS the most important thing. Moral of the Story? Be mindful of the types of materials your props/garments are made of; they might not be able to withstand the elements. Also, caveat emptor when buying second hand shoes!

2) In a turn-around probably too soon to make any sense, I decided to sew my first real cosplay from scratch the year following my first con. Heh, heh. I had no idea what in the flying blazes I was doing. >.< The cosplay came out pretty well considering this was my first real sewing project EVER, but I made one graveeee mistake that I've since learned from. When sewing fabrics prone to raveling, please, please hem them. -sigh- At the time, I thought that simply turning under an unfinished edge and sewing a line across it would prevent it from raveling. Never guessed that it would ravel all the way up to the stitching~ I remember being in the dealer's room and reaching for merchandise and seeing fabric threads reach the merch before my hand actually did. xD I was pulling strings all day. I will NEVER not finish a raw seams ever again. D: Moral of the story? Hem your seams. Yes. ALL of them. Visible or not. I mean it. Unless it's like fleece or something... which I give you props for braving in the spring time. :3

This post has been edited by Fudgi P0pZ: 28 February 2012 - 12:21 AM

[Traydor]

D: some of these just sound like nightmares to deal with! Noted to make sure what NOT to do XD Here is some of my personal misadventures to share~~~



1. So my first acen I went to was in my senior year in high school, and I decided to cosplay as Ulquiorra from Bleach. Well I decided to get my helmet for him commissioned from someone else on deviantart....yea this sounded and looked good in the end but dear gods was I peeing myself because this thing wasnt showing up in the mail! (and I didnt even know if it fit!!!)I was trying to contact this person for months!!! And I thought I made it perfectly clear what day I needed it by. But I guess it doesnt mean anything to people in Germany that are commissioning me a beautiful product! It ended up luckily showing up at the post office THE MORNING OF the con before my friends and I left.
MORAL: Make sure to always have good communication with whoever you are commissioning whatever with, even if there is a language barrier!!! Also try to make sure that they HAVE commissioned before, as this person didnt and it may be been some of the problem.

2. Now I finally had this helmet. But good little me decided oh hell lets get my real hair cut like Ulquiorras! WRONG. Worst Idea Ever. My head felt like it was going to exploded after every day ended. Granted it looked really good, but it was soooo painful and it was pulling out my hair and leaving a bruise on my scalp!
MORAL: Test out your props before your stuck wearing them uncomfortably so you know if you need additional padding or whatever for your prop to be comfortable to wear or walk with.

3. This one isnt really my story but one of my friends. She was having a jolly good time at acen and whatnot, but she needed something out of the room. Seeing as this is acen there were about 5 of us in one room, and 2 room keys. Eventually she ended up finding us and was able to get in, but she YET AGAIN locked her self out of the room and had to wait till we were out of a concert to let her in.
MORAL: Try to always be with someone that has a card key to your hotel room, or to make sure you have everything you need out of the room!

4. I have been crossplaying since I started cosplaying. But my first was of course Ulquiorra and I decided to use ace wrap. It was dreadddddfull. It kept sliding off, being to tight and it even hurt to eat or drink when wearing it because Im sure it wasnt on properly. Lets just say the con was awesome but painful and I couldnt wait to get that darn thing off at the end of the day!
MORAL: Make sure to test your binding for your bust size. Or invest in a TransCompresser as they do the job nicely and are waaaaay more comfy and last longer than ace wrap (made for FTM persons to help keep your bust down).


There are tonnnnsss of other things that Ive done wrong too but these just happen to be my most memorable because it was all from my first acen :]

[Darko]

Never trust your electronic components
Always bring spare parts and stress test them well before the convention. ive had batteries die leds burn and fans fall out because of a stupid mistake.

double check everything

if anything electronic is going to be moving. shake the hell out of it and make sure everything is secure

[Kii]

Wow, this is all really great and insightful advice!
I definitely agree with "Don't bite off more than you can chew". I just experienced this problem with my Zelda costume first-hand. I was like "This is it. This is the year I make a a full body dress, style a wig, craft a complicated prop, learn to embroider, etc etc!"
Well I'm sure I could have done all of that stuff.....if I wasn't flat broke and had more than a month to do it. About two weeks ago, after pouring all of my money and time into this costume....I screwed up the wig. I got to excited and strapped for time, rushed into it and it looked great....until I put it on and the foam I had sewn/hot-glued into the front of the wig hit my boobs and made the entire wig lift off of my head.Well, I can't move my boobs, and I didn't have time to order a new wig. I sat on my living room floor broke and defeated and pissed off at myself until I took a deep breath and decided, "You know what? I'll just take my time with this one and use it at another convention." And then I put all my craft supplies in the craft room until after ACen.Disappointing at first, but I'm glad I decided to do that instead of rushing it, being stressed, and having to hold my wig down by the cones all day next weekend.
Oh, and ALWAYS bring a sewing kit, safety pins, duct tape, and hot glue!

This post has been edited by Kii: 20 April 2012 - 06:30 PM

[Emre-chan]

You guys have really braved some treacherous waters ;u; Here are some of my stories, but they're pretty mild

1.) I went to my first ACen when I was 13. I was at the absolute peak of my weeaboo phase, as where my friends. I talked my dad into taking not just a few, but 10 of us. 10, 13 year old mega-weebs. We decided to only go Saturday, and as soon as we got into the dealer's room, everyone scattered. We had talked before hand about staying together since not everyone had a phone, but of course who would listen? If bringing 10, 13 year olds wasn't derp enough, here's something even derpier. We thought the dealer's room was the only part of the convention. Yes. We didn't research it at all. We spent 9 solid hours in the dealer's room and went home. Moral: Research the events of the con you're going to. And try not to take 10 weebs with you.

2.) At the same ACen as above, we all decided to cosplay. We had never really cosplayed before, so we all hit up Salvation Army. I wanted to be Haruhi Suzumiya, so I just got white, blue, and red shirts. I then proceeded to cut everything out and FABRIC GLUE patches of fabric together to (what I thought) resembled a school uniform. It was a hot mess. Nothing was hemmed, the fabric was curling at the edges, I don't know why, but under the ribbon that lines the sailor collar I had put toothpicks (to make it straighter or something? IDK) It was so embarrassing I deleted all the photos I had of it. Moral: Try your best not to just fabric glue random things from Salvation Army together

3.) Acen '10, I was crossplaying Luffy from One Piece. It was a very easy cosplay, and I was super into One Piece, so it was a win-win. Wrong. I had shrugged off the cosplay so casually that I had forgotten minor details, like that the shorts have a white cuff and that Luffy's red button up doesn't have a collar. After the con, when I was looking at the photoshoot pictures, I felt really embarrassed. Moral: NO matter how 'easy' or 'difficult' your cosplay might be, get on those little details!!

4.) Last year, one of my cosplays was Sumomo from Chobits. When I got to my hotel and went to put it on, I realized I had forgotten the sash that I would attach the big bow I made to! Luckily, I brought my sewing machine, so... I cut up one of the pillows and made a sash out of that u_u I felt terribly guilty. Also, I had made Sumomo's little headpiece out of model magic, due to a friend's suggestion. Before I even walked out of the hotel, it crumpled into a bunch of little pieces. What she had really meant was make the headpiece out of something stable, like papermache, and then cover it with modelmagic so it would be smooth. Moral: You can forget to list things on your to-pack list, so make it days before the con and check the list every night. And also model magic crumbles by itself sob

This post has been edited by Emre-chan: 22 April 2012 - 10:21 AM

[☆ MV]

Emre-chan, on 22 April 2012 - 10:17 AM, said:

We thought the dealer's room was the only part of the convention. Yes. We didn't research it at all. We spent 9 solid hours in the dealer's room and went home.

LOL I did the same thing at ACEN '09(except for only 3, 4 hours or so).


For mine, it's mainly these three things:

Make sure your wig actually looks right on you. :< For my Kyoko cosplay, the color would've been great for someone with lighter skin than me, but it didn't match my skin right, I cut the bangs wrong, and it could have been corrected early on. :x

Also agree with figure out poses beforehand. Last year was obviously a lot of firsts for me, and I wasn't sure how to pose since no matter what I did in the mirror, when I took a timed picture of me doing said pose, I looked strange. So when I went to my first gathering, I was so nervous that I did the same awkward nervous smile with my hands behind my back, and kind of pawing at the ground with my foot XD;;; This year I've been practicing diligently for my cosplays, so I hope when I take pictures I have improved.

Make sure you're comfortable. Even though you might look amazing, if something is beginning to hurt, or if you start to feel lightheaded, have a headache, have trouble breathing, or anything else - go to the source of the problem and fix it! It's not worth fainting or finding out you've seriously bruised something because you didn't want to take off your shoes for a bit or something D: I wore these sort of heeled shoes and did not sit down for around 8 hours because I was in line for registration before going straight to the concert, and stood around(and jumped around a lot) until it was over. I couldn't feel my feet at all, so we had to go sit down while I took off shoes and tried to massage some feeling into my feet just so we could go outside and get in the car to go home :/ So not only try out your cosplay and accessories beforehand, but make sure they're broken in and do not hurt you if you plan to wear them for long periods of time x_x;; Not wearing those shoes this year, that's for sure!

[Washu Takahashi]

☆ MV, on 23 April 2012 - 06:46 PM, said:

Make sure you're comfortable. Even though you might look amazing, if something is beginning to hurt, or if you start to feel lightheaded, have a headache, have trouble breathing, or anything else - go to the source of the problem and fix it!

So true! I went to C2E2 the other week and decided to wear heels. My tights got twisted though so the seam was on the top of my foot instead of the bottom, and my shoes were a little too tight so it rubbed a lot and was painful. But I never really got the chance to sit down and look at it. Two hours later, when I couldn't stand the pain anymore, I sat down in the middle of the hallway and adjusted my tights. About an hour later I gave up on the heels altogether and walked around essentially barefoot. I thought it was pretty pathetic that I only lasted about 3 hours in the heels, but when I got home I noticed a giant blister on my pinky toe from the friction of the seam and tight shoes. It basically took up my whole pinky toe. I was able to just pop it without it hurting too bad, but if I'd just taken the shoes off and fixed the seam earlier it wouldn't have happened :/

[The Fujoshi]

1) If you must wear cosplay shoes, make sure that they fit your feet, are not a size too big or a size too small. If you must wear heels make sure that you are not on your feet all day or/and you have something like Dr. soles/gel inserts. Heels+slab stone=pain I wore heels once and I will never do it again!

2) If you bind it's better to get sports bra+tape method or just sports bra. Ace is not 100% awesome and home made random methods are also not awesome! I tried the sports bra myself and it was ok, but my nipples got too hard. It's better to use a binder; they are 30-40 at the most and you can keep it for a while.

3) Don't act crazy and respect others. Yeah it's a con and it's fun but don't glomp, spit, hit, grab, or do anything you wouldn't do in a normal setting. Also don't be a jerk and curse someone out because they took the last pokemon ball that you had your eyes on or the last cd. Also don't put down or disrespect anyone.

4) Act comfortable but act mature. Don't overdo yourself and don't do something for others that you do not enjoy or don't want to do. It's ok to say no but do it nicely. Also don't think that the con is a party and you must act crazy/it's ok because it's a con.

5) When trimming a wig or styling it, make sure you use a test wig first! If it's anything major or something you can't fix later on, you won't waste a good 40-50 dollars for a wig. Get a cheap one that's a similar color and test that one first before you con wig.

6) Get your room situation settled before the con. Make sure that your friends know the 4/11 and that there is no disagreements and you have a keycard. Nothing is worse than rooming up with people who you end up having an arguement with, can't keep their hands to themselves or you end up sleeping on the couch because your roommate and their gf is sleeping/having sex in the next room.

[Jenya]

1) Take a picture before the con in your cosplay! I thought I looked good last year, but when I saw a picture taken I noticed how many details needed to be fixed up. Moral of story: Know how you look/how to pose before the con.

2) Be mindful of the weather! I was wearing a light tank for my Lara Croft cosplay and it rained, so the dark wet spots looked atrocious. Moral of story: Don't ruin your cosplay with rain.

3) I CANNOT EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF PINS.

[Wingypoo]

Lol...man some of your stories ; ; good lord. I feel so bad for you all D:
I think one of the biggest points i'd like to reiterate is : Wear your outfit for a while before going to the con
I actually am doing that with my lulu FFX cosplay atm since it's heavy as all get out xD. I was running, sitting, jumping (Yes...jumping), twisting, picking up the dress, all this little stuff. I wanted to be sure when i got to the convention i wouldnt hear something tear or wonder how i'd get around things. I'm still kinda nervous but it's super comfortable.
I was doing my Silent hill 2 nurse cosplay for the 3rd time (I had worn it at a pre -con party, halloween, and then the convention finally) and I was super self conscious about how i looked in it. I spent so much time making sure everything fit me and i still had some huge issues with how i looked in it. Surprisingly, no one seemed to care about my little "issues" i had. I get so worried that someone can see my bra since the costume isnt snug enough to me right around my chest area (mainly when i bend over though). It was one of those things i found out after all was said and done.

I also ended up losing the gloves i made for the costume but they were just 2 dollar gloves from a halloween store.
Moral: Make sure you have all of your items with you when you leave a panel (Whether they're cheap or not xD)

One story i have about costumes isnt convention related but i made a Harley quinn cosplay once based off of a drawing i saw and the pants werent sewn right >.>
I ended up not taking account into how much pants would move when i would sit and hadnt tested this out prior. Needless to say i felt like a plumber and luckily i could fix it before the hubby and i went out on halloween @@. Still was stupid on my part.

I'll definitely make sure to bring some stuff for my wig that i'll have with me after seeing all the wig troubles people have had. I also hope i dont forget anything when i come next year lol...