I lately somehow got the impression that a rant on this is necessary.
I cosplay a lot. Ive explained before that I still dont really see myself as a cosplayer. In the fandom Im an actor in first place, a director, a stage worker. Cosplay is the pastime for my pastime. My shows and my beloved musicals come first. Cosplay fills the gaps in between.
But here on DA, I represent me as a cosplayer. So I will talk as one now.
Sometimes I do cosplays in a slightly different way than the reference would be. Sometimes things are altered, some things look off and some things are really not perfect.
First of all, you have to understand that I do and did cosplays that were really dear and important to me and some that werent. Some I did just for the fun of the moment, some I did for friends, some are just old. I mind the ones dear to me more. The difference between me and a cosplayer who keeps his money tighter is probably that I dont just do the ones I really really want. And of course, I mind the rest not as much; thats natural and understandable, Id guess.
To me, cosplay starts when wearing the outfit, not when sewing it. Im perfectly content with wearing the shit and having fun. I dont have some kind of I made that myself-honor- feeling. My feeling of honour in cosplay (which is: what is important to me as a cosplayer and what I demand of myself) is having good photos, special photos, fitting locations, new ideas, something that carries the atmosphere. To do difficult characters, characters I love. Sexy characters. I love to do sexy cosplay. Ah, yes.
To me, a good cosplayer is someone who looks good and who manages to look like the character. The costume doesnt always necessarily need to be exact to the last tiny detail for that. Of course, its the cherry on top. But not the essence.
Maybe you say how can one ever look like a character if the costume isnt totally correct?
A character is a character. A person, of course with certain looks, but if hed take his clothes of and different ones on (what happens seldom enough in anime ^_-), hed still be who he is. Thats also the concept of Street Style cosplay to me: become a character by looking different and still like him. Its a special challenge on its own. One I enjoy a lot.
Im my own definition of a cosplayer and I have my own goals and things I dont find to be that important. It doesnt mean that I dont care about a cosplay. I do, a lot. I especially like to pimp them a bit, to give them more accessoires or glitter or whatever than they actually have. I want them to look cool. Im picky with fabrics and materials, Id rather pay more than take something less beautiful. But I dont let it ruin my day if some tiny thing doesnt turn out the way I imagined (as long as its something not too noticeable and big). And if someone does something for me who can do it better than me, Im glad to accept it. Im not sewing all my costumes myself, and Im not ashamed to tell everytime Im wearing a costume I didnt sew myself, Im noting it in the artist comment (I don't buy ebay shit or something. The help I get is the precious one of my talented friends.). I dont want praise for something I didnt do. But I do a lot. Im a very active cosplayer, sometimes Im doing two outfits a month without a show or convention ahead, just like that. Theres no way to be too painstaking with that. Because Ive got a life. A very full one, Id like to mention. I dont want to spend it sewing all the time.
But at the same time, I dont want to dispense with something.
And also, I alter things because I believe it to look better in the end.
Example some of you may have noticed that I changed Kujas skirt in the front. Its not that I didnt look properly or that I was too lazy. I did it the right way at first and found it to look ugly. And I like it falling loosely, like a piece of cloth accidentially stuffed into the leather strips like that, its sexy. I liked it better. I did it that way.
I can be very very picky with details. When it comes to cosplaying Nanjo Koji, for example, but hes not popular enough for most of you to understand what I mean.
I mind my costumes a lot. But I interprete them my own way. A reference is the raw material I make something out of. We all do, and our results are different. We all find different challenges, different things important to us, things we want to convey, reasons why we picked this very character to become us.
I hope I made my way of thinking on this topic clear enough. This is a great pastime, to all of us.
What is important about cosplay to you? What makes a good cosplayer? Im sure this is a very long discussion. My personal view on it was already long enough^_-