People about Cosplay...

I have a rather complicated attitude towards cosplay and cosplayers.

Part of me think of them as rather silly. I mean, grown adult dress up in game/amine/comic book characters with homemade costume, and act like they’re actually the character? Com’on…

But at the same time, I admire their creativity and bravery. Some of the costumes are really ingenious and of high quality! I mean, let’s face it, game/anime/comic book characters often have the most unrealistic physic defying clothing. It takes some real creativity and talent to create it in 3 dimensional reality and to have the killer body to wear it.

Cosplayers are very passionate about their craft, which is something I can relate to and appreciate. If one of those days I can loose 30 lbs, I’ll go dress up too.

The only place it should really matter is in competition. Don’t enter a workmanship based contest with something that you bought or commissioned, and don’t take credit for the work of others.

That said, some contests have a category for commissioned or purchased costumes, you would be fine if you entered there.

I think cosplay is a bit of an art form. A lot of time goes into some cosplay, especially the more meticulous, detail oriented costumes. Because of that, it’s more than just “dressing up” to me. I see it no differently than movie costumes or FX makeup in terms of seriousness. Some people even make careers into it. I assume some others are able to break into other careers like acting or the aforementioned FX makeup.

It’s not everyone’s cup of tea… and I respect that. However, there’s a lot more that goes into cosplay than what people see at face value.