Convention Tips

**Guest** Guest

Thought we needed a sticky with basic tips for surviving ‘geddon. :3 If anyone has anything else to add, please post~ whee

Compiled from threads on Coscom & external cosplayers sites, as well as a few bits of personal experience. 8D;

At the convention~

Preparing for the convention~

Costume issues~

By Rikki-Leigh. 10/11/08, 07:50 am

Quote :: Remember to eat, sleep and drink. I cannot stress this enough.

Seriously, guys.
Go to talk to Angie (Aura) about what happened on Saturday at Auckgeddon if you wanna know a reason why you should eat.

Another thing to add is with your camera, ALWAYS make sure your camera has a working set of batteries as well as at least one spare set BEFORE you leave home.

By Kitten Slave. 10/11/08, 08:02 am

lol, remember to shower, I always laugh at that one!
Its like a gamers conference or something whee

Dont ninja? Ok, very guilty here....
Dont have all your money on you at one time... I know. Knowing didnt help.
stare

make sure you dont drop your camera... several times...

By Pyro. 10/11/08, 09:15 am

I reiterate: EVERYONE, EAT!

Everyone knows my notoriety for not eating at cons.

It's a bad habit, kids.
Don't get into it like I have.

By Pura. 10/11/08, 09:27 am

Aurellion wrote:: Don’t ninja photograph other cosplayers too much.

Yeah, JP xD.

This thread is a good idea whee

What happened to Aura?

Last year three of my friends and I decided we were hungry, so we went to go get Sushi. The shop was closed, so we went to the Willis food court, it was closed Dx. So in the end we walked to New World Metro and got potato salad xD.
This was while the cosplay judging was on, so no one was around Dx.
Though some people noticed we had been missing for about an hour xDDDD.

By **jpwise**. 10/11/08, 11:06 am

Pura wrote:

Aurellion wrote:: Don’t ninja photograph other cosplayers too much.

Yeah, JP xD.

This thread is a good idea whee

What happened to Aura?

Heh, yeah, I was gonna say if Kittens guilty, I'm convicted and they threw away the key! sad

Oh, well, I generally screen the photos and take out any that aren't suitable anyway. They may be caught out of character in casual poses, but they still look great. :) But yeah, if anyone wants me to ease up on the casual photos just let me know. I'm not exactly known for asking to take photos first. Rolling Eyes

But yeah, what happened to Aura? (being nosy here)

Edit: PS: Good thread.
Edit2: For linguistic value. Words are funny things.

By Rikki-Leigh. 10/11/08, 11:10 am

jpwise wrote:

Pura wrote:

Aurellion wrote:: Don’t ninja photograph other cosplayers too much.

Yeah, JP xD.

This thread is a good idea whee

What happened to Aura?

Heh, yeah, I was gonna say if Kittens guilty, I'm convicted and they threw away the key! sad

Oh, well, I generally screen the photos and take out any inappropriate ones anyway. They may be caught out of character in casual poses, but they still look great. :) But yeah, if anyone wants me to ease up on the casual photos just let me know. I'm not exactly known for asking to take photos first. Rolling Eyes

But yeah, what happened to Aura? (being nosy here)

Edit: PS: Good thread.

...You were there!
YOU HAVE PHOTOS OF IT, JP!

By **Auroa**. 10/11/08, 11:11 am

Oh, awesome threadie there Jen nodnod

By **jpwise**. 10/11/08, 11:16 am

Rikki-Leigh wrote:: ...You were there!
YOU HAVE PHOTOS OF IT, JP!

oooohhhhhhhhhh... That bit! Now I'm with ya. Razz

Thought she mighta part fainted somewhere or something instead. With ya now. Razz

By Suixelo. 18/11/08, 04:49 am

Guilty about not eating... I forget to eat normally anyway lol. And if you eat, your stomach expaaaaands which is bad for photos XDD
DONT TAKE ADVICE FROM ME EVER. Haha...

Um. I think because we know JP will be ninjaing it's okay... somehow haha. I certainly don't mind it, the more photos the better in my opinion. Although I still have to find the time to go through all the Geddon ones DX

By **jpwise**. 18/11/08, 05:01 am

I'm weird like that. :)

As for the eating, you should eat anyway, even the ladies!, just don't overdo it if you're worried about stomachs expanding. A light snack is usually all you need to keep going and then a decent dinner later on. :)

**Guest** Guest

if you are completely drained resort to caffine and can stave of hunger for an hour or so (NO MORE THAN THAT!) make sure to bring drinks with you cause 8 bucks a drink isnt cool! also if possible have a car near the con that you can deposit the goods and then lock this saves you the trouble of lugging around 3 tons of figures, manga, DVDs, Games, plushies and everything else that the con spits out at you.

try to stay in groups of cosplayers (with atleast 1 cameraman attached to the group) also dont worry too much if people ninja shot you they are generally too shy to come up to someone as confident as you (take it as a compliment)

By firecat70. 22/11/08, 02:29 pm

Foood =D
We always look at the timetable at the start of the day and find time when we can go into town and get food.
Yay for KFC!

By Static. 22/11/08, 02:37 pm

Yep, I'm throwin' my full endorsement on the EATDAMMITEAT wagon here. Migraines suck. sad

Oh yeah, and also: cosplaying solo is the pits. The absolute, mother physics pits. Kids who think they're cool abuse you. Seriously, nothing hurts like a ten-year-old yelling at you from across the hall - he is too small to bash.

By Pura. 22/11/08, 03:56 pm

No he's not. Kick him.

By firecat70. 23/11/08, 03:15 am

Static wrote:: cosplaying solo is the pits. The absolute, mother physics pits. Kids who think they're cool abuse you. Seriously, nothing hurts like a ten-year-old yelling at you from across the hall - he is too small to bash.

So true D:
I was at the main stage alone coz I wanted to film something, and this group of 10 year olds were being such litte twats. I didn't want to break my camera though, so I just glared emo

**Guest** Guest

Static wrote:: Yep, I'm throwin' my full endorsement on the EATDAMMITEAT wagon here. Migraines suck.

Oh yeah, and also: cosplaying solo is the pits. The absolute, mother physics pits. Kids who think they're cool abuse you. Seriously, nothing hurts like a ten-year-old yelling at you from across the hall - he is too small to bash.

Just ask them what the hell they are doing at a anime/Manga Con if they want to be ''cool''... stare

Guess if you want to cosplay alone, guess you have to be one of those ''brave people'' who doesn't really mind, what other people think of them and/or is able to handle abuse /harsh comments from others and smaller arrogant ''bully kids '' who think that they are really ''cool'' even though, they are hanging around with Dr. Who and Star Wars nerds..

**Guest** Guest

My first cosplay I wouldn't leave the sight of my cosplay buddy, now it's not a big deal for me to be alone. Although it's SO much more fun in a group.

As for eating, I always remember to eat coz I get so bloody miserable if I don't - stomach cramps, nausea, sweats. I never make it to fainting because I demand feeding. Plus having a little one along helps, coz I'm in charge of feeding her and she gets grotty if she doesn't eat too.

By Rissa Bayashi. 26/11/08, 01:54 am

I'm all for bringing a jersey or something to go over the top. Except that I had a poncho at Auckgeddon... That was not a particularly good look TBH. XD At least it was better than prancing about on Queen Street and being like "Hello bellybutton Very Happy

"

By MajorNightside. 26/11/08, 02:39 am

yeah food is a real biggie. i had a packet of biscuits and some lollies in my bag at chchgeddon, but i forgot to eat them, since i was going from one place to another. and there was milk, though i was disappointed that it only took an hour to start tasting awful (i was using it for a skit)

By **Auroa**. 26/11/08, 02:59 am

I never seem to eat when I have a lot of things to do/really busy - work is an example my average is 7-9 hours and I dont eat till I get home at 7pm (oh I know why, thats cause I dont take breaks,) so its become like a habit, so I often go the whole day without eating.
I get really thirsty at the con though, which reminds me I owe Matt some moneys hahah.

~ Do pre-book your tickets, unless you like staying in line for an hour (okay some cons may not have lines at certain times, but why risk it?)
~ Bring a little sewing kit thingie (pins, hotglue gun, whatever) it always comes in handy for someone.
~ If it helps make a timetable of the events you want to see before the day, then you can plan out when you can hang out, get autographs etc
~ Remember to actually get money out? lul.

**Guest** Guest

XD added in Angie's wisdom to the first post~ >> sorry I took a while.

Also, found this in my travels today: http://conventionfans.today.com/2008/12/22/keeping-the-con-crud-at-bay-6-tips-for-staying-healthy-at-conventions/

worth a read. :)

By Kitten Slave. 20/01/09, 03:07 am

Quote :: 6. Don’t Do Something Stupid…Like Make Out with the Sick Sailor Moon Chick

L.O.L, Epic.

By Dozy. 15/02/09, 11:31 am

Add to the getting wrinkles out of costumes point, it can make a costume look so much more professional and tidy if you spend 5-10mins ironing it. If you forget before you travel to the convention then most motels have irons provided usually in the same cupboard as the toaster and kettle.

And when you do iron it make sure that it is not set to high and melts your fabric, things like velvet and nylon do not like hot irons.

By neimhaille. 15/02/09, 12:37 pm

Adding to the eating thing. Though I find judging rather stressful so I tend to find it better to be very careful about what I have or I make myself very ill. So I tend towards making sure I have lots of hot chocolate rather than heavy meals- not recommended if you are able to eat a good balanced diet though! And remember to keep sugar levels even through the day. *looks at everyone who was hopped on sugar at AuckGeddon* Do not drink two cans of fizzy before the contest ;)

If you are on a budget, and who isn't, bring a small bottle of water and refill it at the taps to make sure you are hydrated during the day. A small bottle weighs less so you can carry it more easily. I have bought little 250ml bottles of kiddie drink just so I can have a small enough bottle with me.

I also have a lot of effervescent B vitamins. And will bring a few to the con with me. Saves on the fizzy drinks and lollies for one ;)

Work out the best way to fold your fabric parts of your costume when travelling. Sometimes rolling is better than folding to avoid wrinkles, can take up less room too. There is a lovely video online of how to fold a tailored jacket as well.
http://www.tailoringforwomen.com/index.php/2008/11/folding-a-jacket/

If you don't have an iron it is amazing what a bit of hanging overnight will do. I do a lot of SCA events with big dresses that have to be packed small and with no acces to irons. Also hanging in the bathroom while you have a shower can help as the steam will help ease wrinkles.

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