Difference between cosplaying in New Zealand and other countries

By Daddylion. 08/02/12, 01:31 pm

Hello, I am new to this forum. I am a cosplayer from Thailand who is moving to Wellington later this month. I would really like to learn more about the cosplay community here because I think cosplay communities are different in every country.

First things first, how big is the cosplay community in Wellington? And in NZ in general. Is it well known here? What about rules and etiquette? Is there something that's a big 'no' here that I should know about? For example in Thailand female cosplayers have trouble getting away with a very revealing outfit since some people are more conservative. You're also not supposed to insult anyone's outfit or looks or question their suitability for cosplaying characters they love but i hope that's true for cosplaying communities anywhere.

What about crossplaying? Is there a lot of crossplaying in NZ? In Thailand, lots of women crossplay, in fact there's very few women I've met who haven't crossplayed before. There's also a lot of male crossplayers here, but i'm told by friends in other countries that male crossplayers are rarer where they are.

What about the sizes of cons? Is it really crowded? And how often are they held usually? Is there a changing room for cosplayers usually? Or are they usually reserved for people in competitions only?

Any help would be appreciated. I hope it's ok to post this here. Thank you.

By Paul. 08/02/12, 01:52 pm

Cosplayers here are generally nice and respectful of other people and what they choose to do.
It is common for females to play a male characters but not so common the other way around.

I think in New Zealand there is more focus on making the costume than 'play' roleplay, acting in character.
The size of the cosplay community is large for our population size.

The main convention here is Armageddon Expo: http://armageddonexpo.com/nz/
Held once in Auckland, Hamilton (First time this year), Wellington, Christchurch each year.

Generally there are no changing rooms available (Other than the bathrooms). Most people arrive and leave the convention in costume, changing at their (nearby) Hotel room.

Other people may have more / different opinions...

By sakuramiyabi. 08/02/12, 01:55 pm

First things first, how big is the cosplay community in Wellington? And in NZ in general. Is it well known here?

In general compared to other countries the cosplay community in NZ is rather small. It is still a very niche thing here. But it is growing every year. (hehe neighbours~ I'm Malaysian, recently went to Comic Fiesta)

What about rules and etiquette? Is there something that's a big 'no' here that I should know about? For example in Thailand female cosplayers have trouble getting away with a very revealing outfit since some people are more conservative. You're also not supposed to insult anyone's outfit or looks or question their suitability for cosplaying characters they love but i hope that's true for cosplaying communities anywhere.

In general the same basic social etiquette that you'd apply in public places applies here as well, we don't like giving cosplayers a bad reputation. Anything goes here but if you're going to cosplay something revealing make sure you cover up when not in the con centre, especially outside as there could be strange people about.

And yes it is definitely rude and a big no-no to simply go up to some random person and say "OMG YOUR COSPLAY SUCK YOU TOTALLY DON'T SUIT THE CHARACTER etc."

What about crossplaying? Is there a lot of crossplaying in NZ? In Thailand, lots of women crossplay, in fact there's very few women I've met who haven't crossplayed before. There's also a lot of male crossplayers here, but i'm told by friends in other countries that male crossplayers are rarer where they are.

Plenty of female crossplayers not so many male crossplayers (a couple of gags >>;; ) . Example we have a big Starry Sky group planned for this years Wellington Armageddon~

What about the sizes of cons? Is it really crowded? And how often are they held usually? Is there a changing room for cosplayers usually? Or are they usually reserved for people in competitions only?

The size of the cons are BIG for us anyways because space is limited. There is usually one per city per year though we do travel around to other cities and stuff (I'm from Auckland but travelling to Hamilton and Wellington as well). And unfortunately we don't have dedicated changing rooms (I think? Well not yet anyways). If you're not in a terribly revealing cosplay that could attract unwanted attention or as long as you cover up we usually take the 5 - 10 min walk and from our accomodation (for us out of towners) in our cosplays.

Don't get me wrong, we do have our share of close-minded people but it's not something you'd get arrested for.

Onto event listing for New Zealand:

Hamilton Armageddon
Wellington Armageddon
Christchurch Armageddon
Overload (Auckland)
Auckland Armageddon

We do also have a few privately organized events like the Wellington Cosplay Ball and Auckland Cosplay Ball but whether or not those events happen is entirely up to the organizers~

By Icarus. 08/02/12, 02:08 pm

The biggest difference I've noticed is the amount of photographers. In other countries, their cons are around 40% photographers to the amount of cosplayers, cosplay in NZ is still in a growing stage/still not very well known to the general public so there aren't that many photographers around a con.

But yeah, general rules for all cons. No real weapons etc.
We don't have any rules about the amount of clothing we wear cause not many go that far haha.

By Daddylion. 08/02/12, 03:51 pm

Oh that sucks about no changing rooms... what about places to put our stuff? In Thailand it's generally safe to leave our bags on the floor in front of where we change when there isn't a changing room, or we leave them in changing rooms when there is one. There's usually no need for lockers though even if valuables are kept on our person at all the timea... Some costumes doesn't allow for us to carry stuff around, so if you have stuff to carry and a difficult costume, what do you do?

kagerouhi: hi neighbor!

I see, only one per city per year? Wow, that's not very many at all compared to here (usually atleast 2 per month in Bangkok, more than that during school holidays). But it's good there's private events too.

That sucks about the lack of photographers. I myself try to be both a cosplayer and a photographer but i've come to realise how painful that can be when you have to wear a near floor length costume with high heels and carry bombs, a spear and a camera at the same time. I really have trouble getting good pictures of myself though, I always need a good photographer to look good in photos so it sucks that there aren't many around.

No real weapons, does that include prop aluminium tonfas? sad

It's lighter than a real one but it's still metal. In fact, is there a ban on all metal props?

Another question... do you guys have Doujinshi stands at cons? We have a lot of those in Thailand, there's a lot of local doujin artists here. What about the acceptability of yaoi and yuri?

One last question...

Yaranaika?

(If you understand the significance of that phrase without having to google it, please tell me.)

By sakuramiyabi. 08/02/12, 07:53 pm

What Icarus (I'm going to start calling you Icchan >3) means by 'no real weapons' is no weapons that can potentially cause harm intentionally or unintentionally.

So prop aluminium tonfa should be fine. While there is no ban that I am aware of of metal props there is a size limit. Although if you enter the competition exceptions can be made but you have to leave your prop in the judging room. There's a whole set of rules on the main website http://www.armageddonexpo.com should be under cosplay competition rules.

And it's very unadvisable to leave your things unattended as most of our cons aren't purely anime/cosplay based. Our main con Armageddon started out as a Sci-fi convention so there's a lot of that mixed in as well. In general, NZ is like any other country, just be vigilant and don't leave things unattended.

Also what Icchan said we have very few cosplay photographers. I know in Singapore it's a 50:50 ratio. Similar to Malaysia. We are still getting out there~

We do have doujinshi stands. Though it's been only very recently that it has really been incorporated into Armageddon. Overload in Auckland (end of July) is based around doujinshi and fan-art so you can definitely get a lot of stuff there too. Yaoi & yuri is acceptable but it is R-18 (but you do find stuff like that in the doujinshi stands they're just sealed up) and all events are at very most PG13 so no public displays of affection, sexual behaviour etc. Anything you wouldn't do outside your home I guess or in Thailand for that matter.

I think if you act just as you would in Thailand (assuming respect and such etc.) you should be fine.

And

Yarimashouka /naughty eyebrows, pulls down zipper slightly/

By Daddylion. 08/02/12, 08:10 pm

Thank you so much for the info :) I think I get it now. I think the aluminium tonfas should be fine then, so long as I don't actually swing it at anyone. I'll save showing my swinging skills for outside the con.

I read the rules though, it says no metal props sad

And it can't be bigger than 1meter in any direction so my Kazeshini is out hehe.

So there's no places for people to keep things at all? That really sucks. My friends sometimes bring an extra person to help with watching our stuff but I never really had anyone to help me like that.

In Thailand I'm not sure of the exact ratio at a con, but whenever there's a private photo session we always get 50:50 ratio of cosplayers to photographers hehehe (usually it starts with me asking one photographer, and them saying "I'm busy" so i ask another photographer, and another and they all say they're busy... and then suddenly on the day of the private cosplay session they all said they're free and show up).

Oh great to hear that there's doujin there too :) And when i asked about yaoi and yuri i don't just mean in terms of doujinshi but rather people's attitude towards the genre in general.

hahaha good to know Abe is everywhere.

By **Tamoo**. 09/02/12, 01:59 am

Oh my god this post is so full of discussion and quality I think I might cry.

And when i asked about yaoi and yuri i don't just mean in terms of doujinshi but rather people's attitude towards the genre in general.

Well, the public are still close-minded to the idea but a few of us rather enjoy it. I like to read yaoi manga in my spare time ahuhuhuhu.
When you say yaoi and yuri - do you mean cosplay-wise as well?

By **Duckeh**. 09/02/12, 03:27 am

Yaoi and yuri are fine, so long as you're not being all, "HEY. YURI IS GREAT. PEOPLE WHO DON'T LIKE IT ARE STUPID. I LIKE IT BECAUSE IT'S HOT. YOU GUYS, DO YURI NOW FOR MY PHOTO." Razz

Some people will like it, but there are people who will feel uncomfortable talking about it, so just be aware.

As for cosplaying from a yuri/yaoi series, I've done that before, it's fine. But posing wise, again, just be respectful of who's around you.

By Kitten Slave. 09/02/12, 03:33 am

kagerouhi wrote:: Plenty of female crossplayers not so many male crossplayers (a couple of gags >>;; ) .

Lol, you love every moment of it.
Yeah, the very few males that "crosplay" are sort of an internal running joke.

Ive always thought the smaller number of photographers here were relatively nice - cosplayers are unlikely to get mobbed by people looking for shots where some people are generally not to enthused about being shot... Most photographers here are quire respectable!
*cough*

whee

By **Tamoo**. 09/02/12, 03:43 am

As Kitten said, the smaller number of photographers is sometimes kinda nice.

I cosplayed as a Pikachu gijinka to Comic Fiesta in Malaysia and I was absolutely MOBBED. I couldn't walk for two minutes without getting stopped and then I had to stay in my position for 10 minutes or so. I was actually getting pretty uncomfortable and claustrophic (I don't like crowds) sweatdrop

I had to change out of Pikachu after only 3 hours into the event!

So yeah, very small ratio of photographers here Razz

It's better to get a photographer for a private shoot if you're fishing for nice photos.

By neimhaille. 09/02/12, 06:57 am

There are a lot of random attendees with cameras though, there are some costumes I don't wear too often because of the random snapping (Catoman is one!) They just are camera phone type things on the whole so you never find the photos after.

Cosplay/costuming in general at the cons has had a very very painful period of acceptance here ;) I think we are finally through the worst ;) When I began in 2003 at Armageddon I was one of a small handful of people (let's put it like this small enough to know the names of everyone even if we didn't interact very often). And I was well on the outside doing movie costume and not Star Wars or anime! I copped a lot of hate that followed me for years. But there have been dedicated cosplayers from then to now who have proved that cosplay can be anything you make of it: closet cosplay, roleplaying, photgraphy or building the craziest things you can ;)

It also used to be that the most active forums online that would discuss the cons were game forums so you can imagine the unflattering comments. Now there are more blogs and general geeky forums for a more even spread of views.

There is still a bit of an issue with general public touching costumes. For some reason they think nothing of pulling on costumes (including latex appliances glued to my head) when they never would do that to someone wearing everyday clothing. Or a wedding dress. Or a judges robe....
Then again I saw kids climbing all over the WWII exhibits at the museum *cringe*

So maintaining a good public presence is still important, one person in costume can still affect the general public perception. I have been involved in a number of media interviews and it is always hard to know what kind of angle they will take. Mostly it has been good or good natured kidding.

By sakuramiyabi. 09/02/12, 09:16 am

Oh and also a note about photo-taking etiquette. Here like any other country you get your photogs who aren't quite so polite and take pictures of you without asking or when you're not even ready/just resting and say they want "candids".

If it does happen to you and you don't like it just tell them firmly but nicely/politely that you would prefer they not do that or that they ask properly before snapping.

By Kitten Slave. 09/02/12, 09:20 am

Oh, and cosplayers here are rather protective of one another, so if anyone is giving you grief, well, cosplayers and their friends do tend to look out for their own.

By Highlander. 09/02/12, 10:45 am

The rules for prop safety are mainly the contest ones. The only rule I have noticed outside the contest is never draw a metal weapon at auckland armageddon or security will confiscate it. That being said there are usually some mad choke points, like doors that so many people try to get through it is shoulder to shoulder. So anything which will break, or hurt someone, is a bad idea.

Generally keep your bags on you, just put them out of the way for photos. But for a few minutes you can probably go to a corridor (in wellington near the entrance) and find a friendly group of cosplayers lounging around. Ask them if they are going to be around for a few minutes and would they watch your gear. But there is a chance they not will stay, even if they say so. Normally gear will be safe even if unattended. But it is not worth the risk. Never risk your valuables or props/costumes.

Also be friendly. There will probably be lots of people who dress up in costume but don't really identify as part of the cosplay community. But they are normally still willing to talk a bit. But do find the groups of cosplayers and get to know them. You will find the cosplay community in NZ is younger than some places I think? But it is growing up as more cosplayers grow up.

Wellington is probably much smaller community than you are use to. But private events may be organised by people in Wellington, so keep an eye on the wellington threads. Also if you are into Sci-Fi there cons include cosplay now. There may be other small opportunities from time to time. But the lack of opportunity, and the great friends are what make cosplayers in NZ travel all over the country to Armageddon/NZAE cons. If you can only afford one, travel to Auckland, it's the largest. (YaY for $60 airfares.)

As for clothing, well most people are very respectful, but dress to what sort attention you are prepared to put up with

PS. Beware the kitty. >..>

PS Sylvie and Hide are both very good photographers.

By Kitten Slave. 09/02/12, 01:08 pm

Shhh, dont listen to Highlander.

The Kitty is harmless.
Cuddle the Kitty.
Even more so if thine costume is in any way revealing.
The Kitten likes cuddles.

Resistance to his cute fuzziness is futile.
Make this your creed, consider it the number one rule of cosplay in NZ.

Nyaa~<3
nodnod

By Pura. 09/02/12, 01:29 pm

The Wellington community is smallish - we don't often do much, usually a lot of the cosplayers that go to Wellington Armageddon (our main convention) come from all parts of the country. But if you'd like someone to hang out with, you're welcome to just ask Very Happy

. I live in Wellington! I quite often go to a friend's house to do cosplay making stuff, and I know other Wellington people do the same. We all know each other, and we're all friends, but we stick to our closer friends a lot (: The Wellington community is probably a lot bigger that what I seem to think it is - every time I organise a picnic not many people show up, haha! (There's a cosplay picnic on the 18th or 19th of Feb, so if you're here by then you're welcome to join us to meet a few of us cosplayers (: Or we can always just go chill in general if you want to meet us! I like to think New Zealand cosplayers are all amazing, nice people Razz

With weapons I think you would get away with longer than 1m weapons ... it's mostly just the contest for safety. Non-contest stuff falls under general armageddon rules (which I'm not actually sure of). I've seen lots of big weapons around, I'd mostly be concerned about them being broken.

Also, there is a 'changing' room at Wellington Armageddon. Well, there was last year, but no one really used it, and I think it may have been locked. In the past I've actually left stuff at the Information desks, but I remember one year my friend's Kingdom Hearts keyblade was stollen by some guys who claimed it was theirs - none of the stuff is named, so the people behind the desk just have to trust you. I find that if they put your stuff out of site it should be fine.

I'm pretty sure more than 50% of the female cosplayers here like yaoi, haha Razz

. I'd say we're all fine with it. Although if you're cosplaying from a yaoi and you're asked to kiss - just no. (I did get asked when cosplaying from no.6 OTL)

For general etiquette, just being friendly, nice, etc. is what we all do. I've come across people who are at Armageddon for the sci-fi part who don't understand cosplay as much and they can be a bit rude, but really, all the cosplayers are all really nice. You aren't frowned upon if you cosplay something revealing, but males will be males and expect to get lots of unwanted attention. Especially if you've ventured away from the con area, because then people won't even know you are attending an event and just assume you're dressing like that to be slutty.

Wellington armageddon (it's in April this year, although not too sure of the dates, haha) is actually considered small, but because the venue is small it gets REALLY crowded. A lot of the time the cosplayers chill outside the event or on the second floor on the seating area, haha.

I think a lot of us have covered all the general stuff, haha. If you have more questions about Wellington and such I'm happy to help! Very Happy

Also, I think it was Kitten who said it - we NZ cosplayers pretty much all know each other and we're all protective of each other, so if someone of the general public is annoying you, just come chill with us - we're all friendly and approachable (:

Oh! Also with in the Wellington community, a few of us (mostly) cosplayers like to get together to play a game called mafia. If you want to meet some of us and play mafia you're very welcome to join us! We love it when new people show up, haha! It normally happens twice a month, and it's an excuse to get together,haha.

By Daddylion. 16/02/12, 08:14 am

Hey guys, for some reason the notification didn't go off at all and i didn't know there were so many replies to this thread. Thank you so so much!!!

Tomoo: Hehe that's good to hear. And that's too bad most are close minded to it. And yes, when i say yaoi-yuri i'm covering everything related to it.

In Thailand it's widely known enough, even if you don't like it, a lot of people, mostly of the younger generation have heard of it. It's not just a cosplay anime thing, but original fiction are being sold as well.

And lol, cosplaying Malaysia sounds EXACTLY like cosplaying in Thailand then from what you just said hahaha. You can't walk for 2 minutes without someone stopping you for a photo and then posing for another ten minutes. I don't mind it though as long as I'm not carrying one of my larger and heavier props.

Duckeh: hahaha yeah i can understand that. No one really does that here where they think people who don't like it are stupid... they will ask for a pose though, but people who are uncomfortable with it simply say no. No one will push it, at least from what i've seen so far... i mean they'll be cheering for it some times, but 'no still means no'.

Though usually you can talk about it at cons either way here.

Kitten Slave: Cosplayers DON'T get mobbed by people taking photos at cons? *is shocked* That's an alien concept for me hahaha. And there are cosplayers who don't want photos taken too? I've never seen that before.

When i cosplay, if it's a large group sometimes we'll even bring our own personal photographers to events. Our group has one she rocks!

And it's good to know you're all very protective of each other. Here it's a group by group thing. Within my groups we're pretty protective of each other, but some aren't, some groups are against other groups etc.

neimhaille: most photographers here are that too... it's very hard for me to find the photos after.

It's strange cause I never thought of cosplaying as anything that might be hard for anyone to accept at all. I know i was never there when the community first started out but even then i never heard from veteran cosplayers talking about a fight for acceptance in a community (especially within the fandom itself). It was smaller and harder to get props and stuff but i've never heard of anyone here saying that cosplay was ever hated. And honestly, I can't even think of a reason why cosplaying wouldn't be accepted... sure people see it as weird, but i can't wrap my head around the idea of cosplaying as a whole being seen as something so strange people would be against it unless people were acting in an unseemly manner in public.

Maybe it was not accepted before? i don't know, but there's never been a feeling like that here. Actually during the previous flood in bangkok, cosplayers were actually invited by the charity people to come and carry donation boxes at department stores for them and help out. Flashy costumes of characters kids love get more people's attention than a group of people in a charity t-shirt.

Honestly, i actually can't imagine the unflattering comments towards cosplay in general from them... is it cause they're afraid of what outsiders would think of the community as a whole because of cosplayers?

People touching your costumes without permission does sound pretty bad. I never heard of that problem here, though congoers who get a little touchy feely with cosplayers are the bigger problem here... doesn't happen all the time, but it does happen. Then again, it's not just a cosplay thing, there's always horrible people like that.

Oh i get what you mean. One person in costume doing something bad affects them all cause people in costumes are rare in NZ. And with people looking for a bad angle, you have you be extra careful too. There's interviews here at events and such but i never got interviewed :) Here one bad behaviour makes us all look bad too, but on the other hand there's so many of us that the feel is very different. There's not the same public image pressure. Most people at my work place, when i tell them i'm into cosplaying, they automatically know what it says and simply say "Oh cool" and leave it at that. It's not seen as like this super super weird thing only crazy/obsessed people do, you know?

kagerouhi: thanks :) I'll keep that in mind.

By Daddylion. 16/02/12, 09:45 am

Highlander: Thank you for clearing that up. Umm but what if you're not in the contest but have a large prop anyway? Is that allowed? I know my kazeshini (it's a very large double axe) is definitely a 'no' since it's both large and heavy and potentially dangerou in a crowd (i only use it for small cons with very few people or private sessions)...However I also have a spear that I want to bring to NZ that i'm not sure if i can. it's made with PVC pipe and it can be taken apart into small pieces and is tough enough to not break easily... but it's definitely longer than a meter when it's all put together.

Well here you take your valuables with you too though gears are generally safe... but when you cosplay as a group, sometimes someone will bring along a helper as well as a personal group photographer. Someone who will help to look out for your stuff. Usually that person is one of the cosplayer's boyfriend hahaha.

You mean the cosplayers themselves are young? Or the community itself is young? I'm a little uncertain. And those people... do they just not see themselves as cosplayers? Or just don't associate with the community?

Thank you for that :) good to know there are private events too. I will definitely be on the look out. And sorry no, i'm predominantly an anime cosplayer, much like most cosplayers from the rest of my country. I was going to do a human version Transformers cosplay, but that's not really going anywhere at the moment. I want to be Barricade :)

And uh, well i hope i can afford to travel to events though i'm not sure yet. I'll be on a pretty tight budget, and it's not just airfare, there's other expenses everytime you travel.

Kitten Slave: HI TAICHOU!! (Ai ai, captain!) *cuddles* *cuddles* *cuddles* hahaha

And how do you know I'm not the dangerous one? *leers*

Pura: I'm very happy to hear that! We should totally hang out!! Probably won't be abel to make it to the picnic though... but once i'm there i would really love to meet.

And thanks about the 1meter rule. It's good i can bring larger weapons in. If i can't bring props larger than 1m and can't bring metal weapons... well, that's pretty much all of my props hahaha.

YOU COSPLAY NO.6????? OMG!!! <3<3<3 I want to too but i haven't gotten around to getting a costume yet. I want to do Nezumi but when he was acting as Ophelia on stage.

And people don't kiss in thailand in public at all, it's a big no! But you can act like you're about to and rely on camera angles... that's what a lot of people here do.

By Highlander. 16/02/12, 10:52 am

Daddylion wrote:: Highlander: Thank you for clearing that up. Umm but what if you're not in the contest but have a large prop anyway? Is that allowed? I know my kazeshini (it's a very large double axe) is definitely a 'no' since it's both large and heavy and potentially dangerou in a crowd (i only use it for small cons with very few people or private sessions)...However I also have a spear that I want to bring to NZ that i'm not sure if i can. it's made with PVC pipe and it can be taken apart into small pieces and is tough enough to not break easily... but it's definitely longer than a meter when it's all put together.

You mean the cosplayers themselves are young? Or the community itself is young? I'm a little uncertain. And those people... do they just not see themselves as cosplayers? Or just don't associate with the community?

I am not aware of any rules other than metal swords outside of the competition at Auckland. Basically you are an adult, you decide what is practical and safe. Until security decide otherwise at least. But drawing metal swords at Auckland aside I have never heard of any cosplayer being told off. Anyone else know of anyone being told off? I don't see a problem with the spear myself.

Well there have been plenty of young cosplayers, as in 12 up. There are some mother/grandmother - granddaughter/son combos you see, or poor kids young dragged there in superman costumes by their parents. But I probably meant the cosplay hobby/community is relatively young. I know some people have been doing it since the early nineties maybe? In fact Auckland armageddon is the oldest convention, wellington started in the late nineties? and then Christchurch in 2007? So it only really took off after that, and has increased markedly each year. Some other people on here can tell you better than me, being a relative newbie by those standards.

I guess the word cosplay is used so often at Armageddon that most casual cosplayers do realize that they could be called cosplayers by now. But there are plenty of people you see that only ever costume at armageddon, and don't go out of there way to talk to cosplayers much. They will talk to you, fan to fan, costumer to costumer, etc. But I have never asked them if they feel they are csoplayers or not. You see the teen guy or girl who is the only one of their friends in costume, and only hangs around with their friends. Now some of this is possibly shyness. But there is nothing that says that because someone dresses up in a costume occasionally that they call themselves cosplayers, or that they wish to be part of a community. People in the west did dress in costumes before cosplaying was invented, so maybe they don't feel different because someone is now using a different word for it? That is not to say that we don't have a reasonably large community considering the size of NZ.

By Pura. 16/02/12, 12:17 pm

Yes, I cosplayed as Nezumi last year Very Happy

(my friends keep joking I should cosplay the Ophelia verion |DD). There's photos on my DA Very Happy

http://purarokai.deviantart.com/

Personally I think you could get away with your spear weapon. You know, as long as you don't act dumb with it (i.e. don't attack people, lol)

The picnic is on Sunday the 19th xD (which is still really close to when you come, but you might as well know about it Razz

). It's at Fran Kitts Park, which is the one right next to the water front (google maps will tell you where it is Razz

)

And yeah, most of us started cosplaying around 2007/2008, so NZ hasn't had lots of years to get used to cosplayers either.

Oh, do you make or buy your cosplays? Is making them in Thailand more popular or do people mostly buy them?

If you plan to try and go to events around the country (we have like a doujin event in Auckland around July) then we can totally organise it together (: Staying with people you know is always best, haha.

By Kitten Slave. 16/02/12, 01:37 pm

Daddylion wrote:: Kitten Slave: HI TAICHOU!! (Ai ai, captain!) *cuddles* *cuddles* *cuddles* hahaha

And how do you know I'm not the dangerous one? *leers*

I can see we are going to get along wonderfully!
whee

By Daddylion. 16/02/12, 05:09 pm

Highlander: thanks again, I will see about bringing my spear but it'd have to be much later once i'm settled in i think. I'm not bringing any of my more complicated costumes this time. Only my Barnaby Brooks Jr. one.

In Thailand i've only seen one tiny Miku... and my own brother who's 11 who cosplayed (ironically) adult!Lambo from Katekyo Hitman Reborn with me as Hibari. He chose to be Lambo himself. Other than that my friend James cosplayed Nemu with her brother as Mayuri from Bleach from our group... I've never seen any family members cosplay together with matching outfits beyond that. Usually people cosplay with friends here.

I don't know when cosplaying in Thailand started... but it's only recently become mainstream that's for sure. And i kinda get what you mean now... 'cosplaying' is a relatively new term even if dressing up as characters isn't. And people don't always identify as cosplayers even if they are in costume. That's what you mean right?

Pura: thanks! I don;t know what mafia is, but I'd be happy to meet you guys and maybe play with you... Too bad I'm not bringing my Reborn cosplay, then it'd suit the mafia theme hehe.

For me i'm a newbie cosplayer too... i only started 8 months ago. And uh, i'm going to have to admit, i've never made a single thing myself in my whole life hehehe. In Thailand the cosplay community is large enough, you can always find skilled craftsman who will make anything for you from butterfly headphones to full body armour to a mecha suit.

That said there's both people who make stuff and people who buy stuff here... Basically what happens is a lot of veteran cosplayers often have a small side business doing something for the cosplay community like openning up an online wig shop, tailoring costumes, making props etc.

Like i said in the another thread, there's money involved in cosplaying in Thailand. Not just competition money, but a skilled enough cosplayer and with good connections can actually make money from this hobby quite easily.

I would love to go with you if i'm able to :) I'd love to meet all of you guys!

Kitten Slave: it sucks that you're in Auckland cause i think we'd get along wonderfully too *kiss*

By Pura. 17/02/12, 10:20 am

Mafia is quite easy to pick up Very Happy

. You can either watch a game first or pick it up as you go along, because it's quite simple in theory (but can get a bit confusing with what happens in the night phase, haha).

There are very few cosplayers here who have turned cosplaying into a living. And NZ is a pretty small country, so we don't really start our own events either, they probably wouldn't get very far. (I've actually had a vague idea of buy wigs overseas from China and setting up an online store to sell them on to NZ/Australian cosplays, but at the moment it's in the wishful thinking stages, haha).

Most people here make their own costumes as far as I'm aware. It's only been last year that I've noticed a few people buying them instead of sewing them. I s'pose when you can buy them off of Taobao it suddenly becomes a lot cheaper than to buy your own supplies here.

By Daddylion. 17/02/12, 05:09 pm

Hey Pura, do you mind givin me your phone number in new zealand via PM so i can contact you once i get there?

Thanks... and uh i hope you do get that wig shop one day :) I know quite a few people who does that here.

Good to know i won't be the only one who's always buying then. :)

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