People about Cosplay...

There’s a few things – one is that you you’re going to get asked for pictures, especially if you cosplay a popular character.

For conventions, make sure that you have a way of carrying essentials on you, even if your costume doesn’t have pockets. Perhaps make a simple bag to match your costume (same color as your outfit, or decorated with a suitable design, an example being a Jedi costume with the Jedi order symbol).

Wear your costume around before the convention, to make sure that you can move around in it, or that things don’t start slipping/pinching/falling apart after a little while. At home, there’s lots of time to make adjustments and fixes.

Don’t worry if you’re not as good as some of the veteran or professional cosplayers out there. Those cosplayers started somewhere too, and with practice, you too will eventually get good.

Fandom.
It’s a way of expressing your love for a particular anime/manga/video game series. You enjoy the world the author created so much that you feel like dressing up as one of the characters. It’s a tribute of sorts.

Escapism.
It’s fun to take a break from your real life and escape into an anime/manga/video game world, even if just for a day at an anime convention. You get to be someone else for a bit.

Attention.
Great cosplayers draw crowds of convention-goers, get their picture taken by lots of photographers and receive lots of compliments. It’s flattering.

Belonging.
When you walk through a convention and see other cosplayers, there’s a sense of belonging to a community of people with shared interests. People make eye contact, smile when they recognize your character, ask to take pictures and are generally pretty friendly.

Craftsmanship.
Some people really enjoy the process of planning and creating the costume. Making armor, sewing, and building weapons can be a fun and rewarding hobby.

There are so many things, and most people have different reasons. Some people go to an anime convention and see the costumes, some just love a character so much they want to be them, some like performance, while others are more into the crafting.

The main reasons I started, and still, cosplay, are the crafting elements and being able to bring my favourite characters to life. There’s a huge challenge in planning how to bring some of these anime and video game characters into the real world.

One other thing that can be fun is the reactions of others. I get a lot of comments, mostly positive, on my costumes and people can tell how much work I put into my costumes. I’m not the best at the performance, but I got a lot of positive feedback this past weekend in the costume contest at a local con. It’s my creative outlet and I love that there are people who accept cosplay. I have got some negative comments, mostly from people who don’t approve of costumes, but the positive feedback and friends I have made through cosplay keep me going.