LEXI WANTS TO BEGIN COSPLAYING. 8D

 

But, yeah, I have some questions cuz I've never done it before, and all I know really is that you dress up as a character.. >.>

 

So, basically..

 

1) What do you do while you're there? Just stand around or.. what?

 

2) How do you get the costume? Is there a cosplay store or do you make your own?

 

3) How long do they usually last for? A few hours, a day?

 

4) I am having a heck of a time finding any in VA. I found some conventions that have already occured, but..

 

5) Are people dressed up as only one kind of anime (ex. Fullmetal Alchemist), or are there multiple ones there (ex. Fullmetal Alchemist, Kingdom Hearts, Ouran High School Host Club, ect.?)

 

I haz so many questions. :'D Please help meeeee.

I've only ever been to one convention, so I'll do my best to answer these questions. I didn't dress up, but I'm going again this year, and I'll probably be James from Team Rocket.

 

1) Basically, you just stand around and talk to other people. If you're in costume (not everyone is), then people will often ask for photos and such.

 

2) You can get the costume wherever you like, buy one or make it, it's up to you. Stores exist which sell costumes, but of course you can make it yourself.

 

3) It runs the whole day, usually for a few days at a time. So, it might run on Friday, Sat and Sunday. Typically people will come in, stay for a few hours and leave, however it's common for people to stay the whole day, or come in on multiple days.

 

4) Dunno, use Google.

 

5) Generally these events aren't specific to one anime. ie. people are dressed as everything.

Adding on!

 

1) You can stand around, make friends, and get photos. Also, you can go to an event that's happening at the con. Ex. Cosplay/skit contest, guest interviews, cosplay wrestling, etc.

 

2) You can make your costume or buy it from a store, generally online. Honestly, it's more fun doing it by hand.

 

3) They range. Ex. Some last only six hours, and others last a whole weekend.

 

4) http://www.upcomingcons.com/upcomingcons/near?q=Virginia Some of the dates aren't updated, so if you find one you're interested in, look it up on Google to get more info.

 

5) They range from all sorts of animes, games, movies, etc.! Some get on the creative side and dress as, say, a guy with nothing but a black censor bar. :'D

Thanks guys. 8D /sillyquestionsaresilly

Never been to one (unless you count the time I happen to be at the Rivercenter Mall in San Antonio while San Japan was occuring) but I've heard stories and conventions seem like fun (I'm going to my first one this year).

 

1) You basically walk around, make friends, go to panels, ect.

2) Like Danne said, you can make your own or order one. I ordered mine from Milanoo, but there are many other websites to order from, including eBay.

3) A day or two from what I heard.

4) Plan ahead for next year if you can't find any upcoming ones or ect., since usually conventions are like annual. That's what I've been doing (:

5) Any anime you can think of is usually there. I saw Yu Gi Oh cosplayers hanging out with Kingdom Heats cosplayers and a Naruto thrown in the mix :'D

I've never been to a con before, going to one this summer though! I'll answer the questions from what I've seen in con videos and DA journals.

 

1). Mostly, it depends on what's happening at the con. There are skit competitions where you and a group of people have a prepared a few minute skit to perform. There are walk-on competitions, you just walk onto a stage and act like your character. Judges will be there to decide who had the best walk-on performance, and your cosplay of course. Then there are photo shoots. Just basically a photographer will go around taking pictures of a specific fandom. So cosplayers usually prepare before hand on who they're gonna cosplay as if they're going to a photo shoot. Then there are just people who go around to hang out with people. I've seen videos of Vocaloid cosplayers dancing at cons, or people just being random. So when you go to a con, best to go with a friend or two. Also, if you can find a group of people with whom you get along with, you can form a cosplay group together.

 

2). There are stores online to buy cosplays. But you can make your own if you feel like you're able to. Ebay is a pretty reliable store, just make sure to check the ratings of the seller. If it's a top-rated seller, then it's safe to trust them. Some good sellers that I've found so far are: hellocosplay, tvmaniajapan2010, animeshop777, Fantasy Sheep. If you want to make it yourself, then you can look up patterns and tutorials online to help.

 

3). Usually, cons last 3-4 days. If you register ahead of time, before the con begins, then you can go an extra day --this is the case with most cons. You don't have to go all the days, since the more days you want to go, the more you have to pay to register yourself.

 

4). I'm sure you can find some if you google search for it.

 

5). There's no limits to what you can cosplay as. ...Well, there is a limit, you can't walk in naked. As long as you follow the rules and guidelines (and weapon + props policy) you can be whoever you want to be. When you're first starting out, I suggest one cosplay for the con, but if you really like it, then you can do multiple cosplays. I know some users on youtube who do multiple cosplays per con. But usually, they're the ones who dress up for photo shoots, so they're in a cosplay, do a photo shoot, then go to change into another cosplay at the hotel they're staying at.

1. Just stand around and talk to people really. Some people though really like to get into character and act as if they are the person they are dressed as which I find really cool. Sometimes they will move about and pretend to do things that their character actually does. For example someone in an Assassins Creed costume may move around and pretend to assassinate people.

 

Some larger conventions also have a theater where other people do skits and often have costume contests

 

Others just goof around in costume with no relation to what they actually are. It's funny to see recognizable game characters do something you would never expect to see them do.

 

2. Some people make their own and usually the ones that do have really high quality and realistic costumes. However there are plenty of places online that sell convincing stuff.

 

3. Several days but the majority stay for only a few hours. However a good portion will stay for one day and a few might stay for the whole time only leaving to sleep. Occasionally die hard fans might sleep at the convention!

 

4. I don't know of any. It seems that the major conventions are in LA or NYC but google should point you in the right direction.

 

5. People are dressed as whatever the heck they want. A lot of them from anime. Other popular ones are Assassins Creed, World of Warcraft, and Team Fortress 2. There are also a lot of KH cosplayers but if you have any originality you won't go as an Organization 13 member. About 70% of the KH cosplayers do that...