What cosplay are you debuting @ Fanime 09?

[MikoChika]

I won't be doing any new debuts this coming Fanime Con. However I am makeing my sister a Alvis cosplay. but saddily enough I don't think she'll be able to come to Fanime with me and my friends from Arizona. So more then likely she'll debut it at Anizona, on the of few cons here in Phoenix Arizona.
But I'll see about convinceing her to come along to all you guys can see how cute she'll be.

[Yukue]

i may debut my Yuffie from ac cosplay at AOD in SF but i may do it at fanime. What the hell im doing is something i don't know.

[potatofreek]

Zexion from KH Chain of Memories

[Rodney_Pheonix]

I'm planning, provided I manage to arrive, to cosplay as Snake from Metal Gear Solid 3 on day. Mikami Teru, Deathnote (Beleive it or not some people who watch anime and read manga have never heard of Deathnote), after I shave my beard off, and probably Red Shirt (Treckie joke here about wearing the red shirts and not having a name) Ninja # 6 from Naruto.

[BSaphire]

I see that 13 people have taken the poll and currently the results are that on average the cost is about $225.

When I first started costuming the cost for one character was about $175 but now I average $300. It is nice to see many people still in the $1 - $150 range.

Now I put in all materials, and from head to toe accessories ie wig, earrings, shoes, undergarments, props, gloves, and rings to name a few. When I am doing a character I try to be very accurate (If you saw my Izumi Curtis from FMA then you understand) no matter how simple the character.

That is for me, however if I am doing a consignment for someone else I try to get the very best deal on everything for the person I am doing it for. Cost is an issue for everyone (even me ^^) and when most people want a consignment (in general) they want quality and accuracy, but they seem to want the Wal Mart price instead of the Macy's price. They forget that there is time into the creation and they forget to account for the cost of making the cosplay.

This has left me pondering a question or two...

How important is accuracy to the character when you cosplay?

Is it good or bad to see someone cosplay a character inaccurately?

Would you help the person with pointers and compliment their attempt?

Thoughts to ponder *giggles

Squidges & Smootchies cospeeps... keep up the polling!

BSaphire

[Charis]

I admit readily to being neurotic about certain things when it comes to cosplay, but I try to keep in mind that different people do it for different reasons.  Really, the most important one is to have fun -- that's what this is all about, right?  :D

I try to keep that in mind when I'm looking at other people's stuff.  Neuroses make it harder at times, particularly seeing things like unfinished hems or puckered seams, but there's a learning curve to cosplay (just like with so many other things).  I had the benefit of coming into this with almost ten years of (admittedly lazy and somewhat sloppy) costuming/sewing experience under my belt, between theatre and SCA/Ren Faires, and I still had trouble with my first cosplays -- partly because I had to learn how to read patterns!  If someone's new, and they're making an effort, I try to applaud as much as possible.  If someone isn't making any effort, then it's harder.  There's also community, and helping others is part of the learning curve -- I've learned a lot from my fellow cosplayers, and I like to think I've helped some in turn, and no matter how much you know, as trite as it is, there's always something new you can pick up.

But accuracy ... oi.  It's a big deal, for me.  I make some accomodations in my stuff, mostly because there's a certain amount of tailoring to one's self that's required in an outfit, and certain allowances have to be made for the fact that none of us are anime characters and can defy the laws of physics.  There's also things like not being able to see detail, and having to interpret based on that, and I'm the kind that'll track down period references or the like when canon fails me (and rage when THAT fails in turn).  To me, construction is the biggest thing in the accuracy criteria: how well you make it, and what you make it from.  It's not necessary to go out and spend a hundred dollars on silk for a kimono, but on the other hand, flimsy super-shiny cheap satin that frays at the drop of a hat isn't a proper alternative.  Skill level and budget are always important things to keep in mind when choosing a cosplay -- as important in their own way as whether you'll love it when you're done, because to me they influence that enjoyment so greatly.
(I can be a snarky accuracy-minded punk, but I'm even more neurotic about my own stuff.  Seriously.)

For costume costing, my range has been between about $40 (for a costume where I only had to buy about seven yards of fabric, an old clock key, and some eyeshadow -- I had everything else on hand already) to over $300 (my current Trinity Blood project, for which I still need to buy the resin and moldmaking stuff -- on the other hand, there's a hoopskirt and Wonderflex and dye and veritable miles of fabric and lace involved in this).  Don't even want to think about what they'd be if I were to factor in construction time -- I think that's one thing people forget about when they talk commissions and the pricing on those.  Materials can be cheap if you're savvy or lucky; it's the labour that's the kicker!  Neither of those includes a wig (unnecessary, for once!) or contact lenses -- contacts are actually the one area where I don't bother with accuracy, because my cranky, astigmatic dark eyes have enough trouble with just straight prescription lenses!  Wigs and contacts and shoes will definitely bump the costing on any cosplay up pretty quickly.

... and I'll stop babbling now.  If this made sense to you, or you read through it all, then I owe you a cookie -- I'm not even sure I was coherent through all that.  :D

[GomenNasaiPro]

I will be Debuting Host club Kakashi no not Ouran hahaa

[hellangel]

heya BSaphire~ I've been attending since 2004. PM me, I'm curious what you have planned!

As for accuracy...I'm extremely picky about the fabric I use. It has to make sense in that the garment has to drape correctly as well as the fabric needs to be a material that the character would actually use.
Recently I've been getting a little too over-the-top with this, but I do it because I like to (in a pinch or if it's TOO expensive, I'll go with an alternative that still works and looks good). For example, I'm currently on a hunt for 100% wool suiting from England for my Kuroshitsuji cosplay, just because Sebastian mentions that his tailcoat is "English sheep wool." ^^; (so far I've only been able to find some that's very subtley pinstriped, so maybe I'll go for that, or just use Italian. but no synthetic blends this time, since it's not historically accurate- setting is 1888.)

[BSaphire]

heya BSaphire~ I've been attending since 2004. PM me, I'm curious what you have planned!

Konnichiwa Hellangel ^^) When I posted that question a little while ago, you were one of 4 peeps who popped into my head *giggles and I am sooo glad your curious :P

I see that you plan to attend Sac Anime... is that still a go? That would be a perfect time to meet up, but I will pm you with the details *shhhhhh B winks.... it's a secret that I don't want to reveal to soon ^^)

English wools compared to Irish and Scottish wools are about the same in texture and if your looking for a lot of earth tones I would suggest looking into those ..... hey can't hurt England did govern over them back in the 1800's and it would be a safe assumption that many of the wools available at the time came from Ireland of Scotland.

[Druix]

Well, I ~intend~ on debuting my Genjo Sanzo from Saiyuki Reload, if all goes well. If I don't make it up to Sakura Con, then Fanime will also be my debute of my Yu-Gi-Oh cosplay (either Mai or Malik, whichever i get done first). Also, more likely than not, a new Sasuke Uchiha oufit, possibly the crossover I intend on working on, and maaaayyybe Utena Tenjou!~

^^; I have so much to get done for Fanime...

[iNSOMNiAC]

I'll be debuting pretty much all of them, to Fanime and in general. MC (Persona 3), A.B.A (Guilty Gear), Viola Cadaverini (Phoenix Wright) and possibly Link (OoT). I'm going to be bringing a few of my old cosplays just in case though.

[BunofGovt]

hellangel - you might try Britex in San Francisco for the English wool suiting.  They carry quite a bit of material, albeit a bit pricey.  Either that, or go into a men's tailor shop and see if they would sell you fabric directly (I don't think so but it's worth asking).

B - I love challenging myself to see if I can make a fairly accurate cosplay.  I'll look at the anime, the manga, artbooks, google images on the web to see if someone has made a sketch that shows extra details or colors that I haven't noticed.  Unfortunately my technical skills in putting the outfit together are a bit lacking.  I don't plan out very well so I end up gluing after when I could have sewn first, redoing hems or seams because the measurement wasn't exact, adding a detail at the last minute to the outfit because I forgot to plan placement of it in the proper order.  Meh, someday I'll have it all planned out step by step ...

I'll oft times choose a cosplay because I don't see anyone else trying it even if it appears to be difficult and beyond my skill level.  I love fabric stores and looking at magazines like threads because I can pick up sewing tips.  Mostly, the more cosplay I work on, the happier I am to be so busy (hopefully my friends won't see this because they may ask me for more challenging outfits in future!).

Oh, and re accuracy, I go more for appearance than true accuracy with materials.  I need to wear mostly cotton/linen so I'll do my best to match color and texture rather than go with exact materials.

[RurouniKarly]

My costume schedule for Fanime '09 is rather chaotic. I myself am only debuting 2 costumes, but I'm making several others for my friends to debut. Very few of my friends have the coordination or skills to make their own cosplays, so they pay me for materials and I make them for them. So this is how it's working this year.
Me:
Freya - Chobits
Kushina Uzumaki - Naruto

Others:
Yuki Cross - Vampire Knight
4th Hokage - Naruto
Naruto - Naruto (pre-time skip)
Kyoko Mogami - Skip Beat
Ren Tsuruga - Skip Beat
Chii - Chobits

As you may have noticed, we are in sets. My friend and I will be doing Chii and Freya together for most of the weekend, and on one of the days 4 of us will be doing Kushina, Minato, Naruto, and Hinata (this one has already been debuted and my friend is borrowing it from me). We'll be a family XD! The 2 Skip Beat people are dating, so that should be fun, and the Yuki is part of a different group of VK cosplayers.

[BSaphire]

My costume schedule for Fanime '09 is rather chaotic. I myself am only debuting 2 costumes, but I'm making several others for my friends to debut. Very few of my friends have the coordination or skills to make their own cosplays, so they pay me for materials and I make them for them. So this is how it's working this year.
Me:
Freya - Chobits
Kushina Uzumaki - Naruto

Others:
Yuki Cross - Vampire Knight
4th Hokage - Naruto
Naruto - Naruto (pre-time skip)
Kyoko Mogami - Skip Beat
Ren Tsuruga - Skip Beat
Chii - Chobits

So how much do you spend on average per cosplay?

I hope that some of you will be at the Jump, Beat or Weekly gatherings! ^^)

[RurouniKarly]

It depends on whether the costume is for me or someone else. I tend to spend more on my own costumes than ones I'm making for others since most of my friends have rather limited budgets. For my own, I would estimate about $200-$300 depending on the costume (I get very picky about accuracy, so I'll spend more for something that fits better rather than go with something cheaper but not as accurate). For the costumes I make for others, I spend about $70-$120 since they aren't willing to pay more for some items or materials. Sometimes, if there's an accessory or aspect of a costume I really want them to have, but they don't want to pay for it, I'll give it to them for Christmas or their birthday. They've taken to describing me as a costume purist XD.

[BSaphire]

They've taken to describing me as a costume purist XD.

Welcome to the serious cosplayers ^^P Accuracy is important to every serious cosplayer I know and if you notice the higher amounts are starting to be selected on my poll then you understand why :P

Purist or Serious... ALL cosplayers are cool! Hey... any day is a Great day to COSPLAY! ^^)

Squidges
B

[sky-chan]

Well, this year is going to be my first actual time cosplaying, so it'll kinda be like my own debut, too. I'll be going as Rima Tohya from Vampire Knight, and I'm planning on going to both the Vampire Knight and Shoujo Beat gatherings, so see you there!

[kittyk12]

This is the first year, I am seriously making a costume and wearing it.  I 'm making costumes of Princess Nuala and Prince Nuada from Hellboy2 for my sis and I.  It not really anime or manga related but we love the characters and the clothing is very Asian in design. I am very picky on detail but my execution sometime is not very good, but you live and learn.

[BSaphire]

This is the first year, I am seriously making a costume and wearing it.  I 'm making costumes of Princess Nuala and Prince Nuada from Hellboy2 for my sis and I.  It not really anime or manga related but we love the characters and the clothing is very Asian in design. I am very picky on detail but my execution sometime is not very good, but you live and learn.

... & BLEED *LOL every great costume has cost me at least one drop of blood. Fanime 05 my daughter and I did a dozen new cosplays for Fanime (and in 3 months!) We were doing 6 -15 hour shifts at the sewing machine alternating our time. We went through two dozen bandaids and when it was all over neither of us could feel the tips of our fingers. In fact I had poked one finger so many times that it hardly would bleed when it got poked... it had to get stabbed! :P

[OniCourseMusha]

Hopefully I can pull off Little Mac from Punch out by Fanime.  The problem is finding green boxing gloves and buying them and spray painting regular ones aren't such a good idea when I asked my cosplaying friend.