Cosplay, memories, advice!

By Cactiberry. 09/08/09, 01:47 pm

Not sure where this should go, but I think it's this forum.
So! How is everyone doing on their cosplays? 'Geddon is around two months away. I really hope i'm not the only one panicking already, but that could be because i'm a newbie to cosplaying/cons.
Any past memorable experiences, be they good or bad, of cosplaying/armaggedon?
Advice for newbies going to Armaggedon, or an ideal budget? Good place to escape from the crowds?
There wasn't really a topic about this, but if i'm mistaken please forgive me Razz

By MissEevee. 09/08/09, 01:50 pm

favourite memory: in LA for AnimeExpo, meeting a whole bunch of lolitas and trying out my homemade CC and Suigintou cosplays. going to the Moi dix Mois concert in full attire and overheating like mad but loving it. going to a close by library for free internet and no one batting an eyelid at my Chii ballgown. <333

least favourite: second experience of Armageddon. first cosplay in NZ - Hatsune Miku. was completely unrecognised and incredibly disappointed. ._.

as for advice: just do the best you can, and don't get disheartened if things don't work out perfectly. people tend to be pretty easygoing at Armageddon, so it's a good starter con. :3

By fleyer. 10/08/09, 07:59 am

Fresh air is good XD
Get outside and creep the people out, the stares are always funny
~~especially if you are wearing a bright red jesters outfit walking up queen street with bells~~

Don't spend to much on anime and shiz best to save it for food ~~or maybe I just like food~~
Uhm I recommend you really do take a bag, cellphone is a must (really) bring a snack if you don't want to buy anything or there is nothing there along with a water bottle 'tis always good.
A mini sewing kit so it something falls off you can sew it back on, superglue and I always tend to take bandaids cause they are handy for anything even if Saint John people are there.

Homg yes stress much?!
Gotta make outfits though Seymours clothes are finished and A.B.A's will be half done soon.

By Cactiberry. 10/08/09, 09:28 am

YOU ARE BEING SEYMOUR?
Can have hug/glomp =D?

By fleyer. 10/08/09, 10:00 am

Hehe I am ^^'
And hopefully Tori will come up and be my Wedding dress Yuna to match be at the masq

Sureeee but I'd recommend staying away from the hair, it has bits of wood glue in it (not kidding) so it does hurt if it stabs you XD

By Pyro. 10/08/09, 10:02 am

MissEevee wrote:: least favourite: second experience of Armageddon. first cosplay in NZ - Hatsune Miku. was completely unrecognised and incredibly disappointed. ._.

You learn to live with the 'not recognised' thing, trust me.
Be glad in future times if even a couple of people know who you are~ I had a single person recognise my CHCHgeddon cosplay and that made me over the moon with joy.

Being recognized is a bonus; not a requirement. If you're cosplaying to be recognized, then... choose something popular, I guess. x_x

By **Admin**. 10/08/09, 10:10 am

Pyro wrote:

MissEevee wrote:: least favourite: second experience of Armageddon. first cosplay in NZ - Hatsune Miku. was completely unrecognised and incredibly disappointed. ._.

You learn to live with the 'not recognised' thing, trust me.
Be glad in future times if even a couple of people know who you are~ I had a single person recognise my CHCHgeddon cosplay and that made me over the moon with joy.

Being recognized is a bonus; not a requirement. If you're cosplaying to be recognized, then... choose something popular, I guess. x_x

@MissEevee: Being recognised is not all it's made out to be. My sister's boyfriend and I cosplayed as Naruto and Kakashi last year on the Monday of AuckGeddon. We left the convention at one point to get lunch. We walked about 10 meters before we were swamped by photographers and tourists. Half an hour to an hour later we started actually moving again. I kept getting stopped for photos all through out the day, it took forever to get anywhere. Being recognised is nice but it's not really what cosplay is all about. :/

By MissEevee. 10/08/09, 10:26 am

haha!
problem was, i thought i had chosen someone popular.
o-o
Vocaloid was all over everywhere as far as i was concerned.
was hoping to meet some other fans.
sadly, no, but i have since introduced it to countless people. :3

iunno.
i just felt like Chch'geddon wasn't about cosplay at all even though there was meant to be a competition and everything. T^T

By Pyro. 10/08/09, 10:31 am

@MissEevee- There was a competition.

Anyway; yeah, I see what you mean. In general, my personal rule with cosplay is 'no matter who it is, you're lucky if anyone knows it'.

By Pura. 10/08/09, 10:32 am

@MissEevee I am awesome at picking obscure cosplays. Pretty much no one ever recognises me

By MissEevee. 10/08/09, 10:32 am

yeah, the skits..? >.>;
was going to do one, but allowed myself to be disheartened.

a good rule, i suppose.
it was amazing when someone who knew me ran into a video store wroker who mentioned the Miku cosplay to him and he was like "THAT WAS MY FRIEND".
rofl.

By **JVCA**. 10/08/09, 10:36 am

Skits weren't compulsary for the competition - at wellygeddon this year hardly anyone did a skit, actually. C: Those that entered just the costume usually do a catwalky thing and pose for photos before leaving the stage.

By MissEevee. 10/08/09, 10:42 am

i know, that's how it was in LA too. u.u

in Chch we just had skits.

By Lavi_x. 10/08/09, 10:45 am

We did?
But like, noone did a skit at chch >_<

By **JVCA**. 10/08/09, 10:51 am

I don't think you watched very closely then, because I saw a mix of both. o_O

By MissEevee. 10/08/09, 10:52 am

well, i would have.
but yeah. >.<

next year, if i go.

By **Admin**. 10/08/09, 10:55 am

My god! Please don't remind me that I have to work on my costume. >_< /hasn't even started, although it's not entirely my fault that I can't get to a fabric shop
I'm feeling rather overwhelmed. I need to get this cheque banked and then nag someone to take me to spotlight this weekend. I need supplies for the Clan Biscuit stand and my cosplay, and FAST. >_<

Best Memories: Armageddon-wise, it would have been my first Armageddon. I got to meet everyone I had met on Cosplay.com (this was before CNZ) and on the Sunday we all did a Kingdom Hearts 2 cosplay and had little struggle battles outside the event. On one of the days we all did the conga down Queen Street down to an arcade and crammed everyone in a photo machine. Photo machines are like a tradition for a lot of cosplayers at Armageddon, unfortunately with a new venue this year I'm not sure how accessible that would be.

Bad Memories: Would probably be being recognised TOO much as Naruto like I mentioned above. It' really nice to be recognised, but it's also nice to not have to eat your food half an hour later than you expected to because you were busy standing around for other people. OH THE SWARMS. THE SWARMS.

Advice: There's a new venue this year so I don't really know any nice relaxation points, sorry. Fortunately the venue is split into separate buildings and there's lots of outside space for getting fresh air. DON'T BE AFRAID TO SAY NO TO PHOTOGRAPHERS. Or you might be swamped like I was. Basically, one person asks and then everyone else takes it as "oh this person is stopping for photos, this is our chance!" so rather than asking themselves they just join the crows of photgraphers, meaning you're there for longer. If you've got somewhere to be, just politely tell them that you've got to be somewhere and that you're happy to let them take photos later.

A budget really depends on what you want and how much you want. Some things are cheap, but since anime, manga and figures can be rather hard to come across in New Zealand they can be exceedingly expensive. Some figurines can cost the whole $50. @_@
You're probably also going to want money for food and drink, unless you bring your own. Bringing your own can be a good idea for saving money, but I hear that a bunch of people have been asking for food stands to be hired outside of the buildings. :3 Don't quote me on that though. >>

By Rolly. 10/08/09, 11:22 am

MissEevee wrote:: haha!
problem was, i thought i had chosen someone popular.
o-o
Vocaloid was all over everywhere as far as i was concerned.
was hoping to meet some other fans.
sadly, no, but i have since introduced it to countless people. :3

iunno.
i just felt like Chch'geddon wasn't about cosplay at all even though there was meant to be a competition and everything. T^T

The niche of people at Geddon is different to the niche of people at Doujin Overload.

DO = more animanga, Geddon = more American/Western stuff.
That's what I think.

ALSO, SAFETY PINS, SAFETY PINS!!!! THEY ARE A LIFE SAVER!

Wish I could drive. ;w; No nagging needed. ;w;

Band memories & advice: PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF YOUR FEET AND LEGS, SIT DOWN REGULARLY THROUGHOUT THE DAY. Also, water is a must. You get so thirsty and your throat gets sore from speaking, if not shouting louder than usual inside amongst the crowd. Food. Must stop for food. Also, nature's call. Don't deny your body for its nature's calls because you will pay and suffer for it. D:
Also, new venue this year as Admin said, so, I don't know much about the place. Also bring lots of $$$$$$ if you have good self control, if not, don't bring as much or you'll go broke in no time. D:

Best memories: Meeting everyone from CNZ at Auckgeddon last year. >w< I LUFF YOU GUYS. Having fun, etc.

By MissEevee. 10/08/09, 11:33 am

safety pins and hot glue guns have to be the cosplayers best friend. Razz

By Lavi_x. 10/08/09, 11:35 am

Hot glue guns are brilliant >w<

By fleyer. 10/08/09, 11:39 am

Cept when they burn your fingers cause that's painful

By Wishe. 10/08/09, 11:48 am

Haven't been round to an event at ASB Showgrounds in quite a while but, foodwise, all I remember were the usual expensive hot chips and mini doughnuts stands... >.<''
Unless you're prepared to walk quite a distance (maybe it's not that far... bad memory) I suggest bringing lunch instead. It'll save you money either way. Razz

-plans to make sushi for one of the days-

So far, I've only been to Armageddon once and didn't cosplay. It wasn't much of an experience for me, but I'm looking forward to this year having cosplays planned and all~ ^^

By **JVCA**. 10/08/09, 11:58 am

Oh yes, I definitely recommend bring a packed lunch! D: I'm gunna miss the food court next to the Aotea Centre...

By sakuramiyabi. 10/08/09, 12:03 pm

lol havent even thought about starting ... waiting for the holidays ... in the meanwhile got sugar honey iced tea of stuff to finish for uni

By Cactiberry. 10/08/09, 12:27 pm

Thanks for sharing! >3< I'm pretty nervous, I have camp quite literally the week before the weekend of 'geddon D: So i'll be exhausted, excited and unable to sleep, and freaking out trying to perfect my cosplays.
OH AND WONDERING IF I WILL GET THE GUTS TO ASK TO HUG MY FAVOURITE FANDOMS D:

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