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You don't have to make your own costumes to be a good cosplayer

Has the title sunk in yet? Ok good. It’s been a while since I gave you guys text!

Recently my buddy Missy had posted up about this voting for ‘The Arcade Awards’ in Ireland where they have a category for ‘Best International Cosplayer’. Ignoring the fact that its 4 Americans and 1 Canadian (and the fact I hate these kinds of online voting things), I had seen quite a few comments on my feed and a couple on my dash about this fact. And several times I read this:

“Nigiri shouldn’t be on the list. She’s not a real cosplayer since other people make her costumes.”

Now, there are several reasons why you may dislike Nigiri as a person or as a cosplayer, and that is fine. We can all hate and like who we choose because humanity is fluid like that. However, if your reason for disliking her is that she doesn’t make her own costumes, your logic is flawed, I would like to kindly introduce this red building block material to your frontal cortex.

This is a growing problem I’ve seen not only in cosplay, but in different art forms as well; like the music industry, the movie industry, ect ect ect. The idea is that you don’t deserve the credit or fame if you don’t make 100% of the product, ignoring your talent for it anyway. Just in case you didn’t realize it: this is harmful to the community as a whole because it sets a demanding standard in very very large hobby group. In one sentence you impose that:

A cosplayer is measured by their craftsmanship skills

A popular cosplayer must make their own cosplay in order to remain popular

A cosplayer can only be good if they make their own work

A startup cosplayer should aim to grow big in order to become a ‘good cosplayer’

A cosplayer is also measured by their popularity

Cosplay is an expensive hobby at it’s base in buying and commissioning, it becomes extremely more expensive and time consuming when you decide to make your own. Like cooking, some people just aren’t good at sewing and attempting to learn the skill can also be very difficult. On top of that, many novice cosplay makers end up on ‘Shitty Cosplay’ blogs where they are ridiculed on their novice work for not being ‘up to par’ with other cosplayers. This causes many novice cosplayers to opt out of trying to make their own in fear of the social anxiety brought on by the internet where they insult beginner work. On top of all this, it draws people out to lie about making their own costumes, learning the materials without the skill, entering into craftsmanship contests, and actually winning at smaller conventions for lying through their teeth. It’s the idea that the award gives them the cred that they made it, even though they didn’t.

So when you say this about any cosplayer, no matter how popular and such, who do you think you are actually helping? Craftsmanship cosplayers? I’m afraid not. It is also indirectly harming us because it puts a belief that craftsmanship cosplayers are better than other cosplayers, shoving us as a group into the ‘elitist’ category. It’s also particularly amusing and sad that most people who make this commentary couldn’t tell me the difference between a hem and a stitch, why I put watered glue on craft foam, or the importance of heat-resistant wigs.

By making this comment to simply insult the original cosplayer (which do not lie, you wanted to hurt them) you are also demanding standards for an entire group by using this cosplayer as an example.

Unless you are actually judging a craftsmanship contest, you have no right to ask or demand someone to make their cosplay. The cosplayer doesn’t owe you shit. They don’t have to prove shit to you. If you want to ask someone how they made their costume? Fantastic. I personally love giving pointers and tips. If you tell me I have to give you proof that I made my costume outside a judging session? I may have to do my Brick Top impression for you then. Feed him to the pigs Earl.

In short:

You don’t have to make your own costumes to be a cosplayer

You don’t have to make your own costumes to be a good cosplayer

You can make your own costumes or order them and still be a cosplayer

You don’t have to have likes/followers to be a good cosplayer

You don’t have to make your own costumes to have lots of likes/followers

You don’t have to prove shit to any asshole behind a keyboard

So the question remains: How do you become a good cosplayer?

Dress up

Be in character (Though its technically part of the word, even I consider this optional)

Set your own goals and rules

Enjoy your hobby

For everyone else: If you ever demand someone make their own costume or prove they made it? Or tell them that their work isn’t good enough? You should feel like a terrible human being.

And then be forced to make your first cosplay and be judged on it by the cosplayer you insulted before.

Or allow them to kiss your face with a brick.

Both is good.

lywt

Yes all of this