Hey all,
Im putting this out here to sort of feel out the interest in this kind of panel as well as take suggestions for what an attendee would like to see from it. Im aiming for this to be an ~2 hour panel depending on what people feel should be covered or if it's worth it to break down into 2 panels to talk about certain things in more depth. (such as accuracy in cosplay and how to work within it to achieve a better overall look and fit )
The idea is one i've been playing with for awhile and touches on the main topic of: How to convert a digital character into a realistic/"believeable" cosplay that works with you as a cosplayer.
What would be discussed would be things like:
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As a seamstress who really delved and learned sewing through cosplay, I have noticed that there's a lot of focus on recreating the character and how to be accurate to the character without much discussion on the cosplayer portraying them and I think that that needs to change as the person wearing it ultimately affects the impact of the cosplay. If someone tries to be 100% accurate to a character without factoring in their own proportions and coloring they may make choices that dont really work for them and they're relatively easy fixes that I feel would also increase a cosplayer's comfort and confidence in a cosplay.
These decisions also have nothing to do with the skill of a cosplayer, there are cosplays I've made that technically were very well made but it didnt look as great on me because I didnt make decisions about how the style or cut or proportions fit me personally and vise versa where it wasnt well sewn but looked better on me because the style and colors and cut were better for me. These are fairly easy fixes and happen before any crafting begins but can radically improve a cosplay and make the difference between a great cosplay and an amazing cosplay as well as just make it more fun to wear. Noone likes wearing something that doesnt work with them and I dont want people to feel like they cant or wont cosplay a certain character because the style or proporitons of a character's outfit doesnt work with their body type/coloring when you can change that and still be accurate!
I also mourn the lack of sewing panels at conventions and would like to start hosting more of them.
I'm taking suggestions for talking points that people are interested in as well as just taking a general poll of who would actually like to attend this type of panel and if not, why!
Thanks!
Im putting this out here to sort of feel out the interest in this kind of panel as well as take suggestions for what an attendee would like to see from it. Im aiming for this to be an ~2 hour panel depending on what people feel should be covered or if it's worth it to break down into 2 panels to talk about certain things in more depth. (such as accuracy in cosplay and how to work within it to achieve a better overall look and fit )
The idea is one i've been playing with for awhile and touches on the main topic of: How to convert a digital character into a realistic/"believeable" cosplay that works with you as a cosplayer.
What would be discussed would be things like:
- Deciding whether or not the "real" look is what makes sense with a character/show's personality
ex. Adventure time has a radically different vibe than Dragon Age and fabric choices affect how a cosplay portrays that! Adventure time is cartoon-y and makes sense to portray it that
way, where Dragon Age isnt. Even anime like Le chevalier D'eon can be portrayed differently than Sailor Moon but they both can have a realistic aspect. - What fabrics are generally associated with different types of garments (shirts, pants, skirts, dresses, coats etc)
- The effect of fabric textures/types on a cosplay and how it makes a cosplay look "costume-y" or not
- How to pick colors/hues that work with a cosplayer's coloring while still being accurate to the character to improve the overall affect of the cosplay
- How to adjust a character's design to fit a cosplayer's body type while being accurate to the character to improve overall comfort and affect of the cosplay.
[/li][/list]
As a seamstress who really delved and learned sewing through cosplay, I have noticed that there's a lot of focus on recreating the character and how to be accurate to the character without much discussion on the cosplayer portraying them and I think that that needs to change as the person wearing it ultimately affects the impact of the cosplay. If someone tries to be 100% accurate to a character without factoring in their own proportions and coloring they may make choices that dont really work for them and they're relatively easy fixes that I feel would also increase a cosplayer's comfort and confidence in a cosplay.
These decisions also have nothing to do with the skill of a cosplayer, there are cosplays I've made that technically were very well made but it didnt look as great on me because I didnt make decisions about how the style or cut or proportions fit me personally and vise versa where it wasnt well sewn but looked better on me because the style and colors and cut were better for me. These are fairly easy fixes and happen before any crafting begins but can radically improve a cosplay and make the difference between a great cosplay and an amazing cosplay as well as just make it more fun to wear. Noone likes wearing something that doesnt work with them and I dont want people to feel like they cant or wont cosplay a certain character because the style or proporitons of a character's outfit doesnt work with their body type/coloring when you can change that and still be accurate!
I also mourn the lack of sewing panels at conventions and would like to start hosting more of them.
I'm taking suggestions for talking points that people are interested in as well as just taking a general poll of who would actually like to attend this type of panel and if not, why!
Thanks!