hey mango, i was wondering if you would ever consider making a video abt cosplay mistakes you've made. things like bad seam work, dyeing gone wrong, chipping paint, things like that. I personally am a perfectionist and it really gets me down when i see my mistakes in my costumes when other cosplayers look so flawless. seeing a someone i would consider a professional making mistakes would really make me feel better abt my mistakes. if you would be uncomfortable with that, thats also okay ! <3
I’m not sure if I’ll ever make a video about it, but I can talk about it here, no problem!
Every costume of mine has a mistake. Every single one. I don’t say this to degrade myself or be self-deprecating, just stating the truth! Every costume I’ve tackled has been a learning process, and mistakes are part of the learning process. By the time I’ve completed a project, there’s always at least one thing I would do differently if I had the chance to remake it. I’d choose a different fabric, a different method of detailing, a different wig color, etc. Maybe I messed up on a top-stitch or smudged a paint line or cut a bang section too short. Maybe I proportioned something wrong, maybe I had to rush through something to get it done on time, maybe I didn’t finish something on time and had to make due with an alternative. Trust me, those mistakes absolutely happen for me. All the damn time. Why? It’s because I’m still learning, too.
Learning = mistakes. Just accept that. Be at peace with it. If you’re still learning something, you will make mistakes. It’s okay. If you’ve never done something before, you can’t expect that it’ll be 100% perfect, no matter how many tutorials you read or how many walkthroughs you watch. Understanding a concept doesn’t automatically result in flawless execution. Cosplay, like any other art form, takes practice.
I spent the last ten years of my participation in cosplay really dragging myself down for all of these little mistakes. I’d get to the con and not even want to put on my costume because that stitch wasn’t perfect or the wig doesn’t look quite right and, man, it’d just bog me down. It was the pits. It took a lot of the fun out of wearing my costumes because I was so hung up on every mistake I’d made in the construction process, certain that people would notice and criticize me for it.
But you know what? For the most part, people didn’t care -- if they noticed at all. Most people were just happy to see someone dressed up as a character they liked. At Daishocon, no one cared that I had some proportion/silhouette issues with Moa; they were just excited to see another Show by Rock!! fan. When I wore Panne, no one pointed out the paint that had chipped in transit, they just yelled “OH MY GOD BUNNY WAIFU” at me. While in Lan Fan, no one got hung up on a slight gap between my sleeve and the automail; they complimented me on my automail and then we’d talk about how amazing FMA is.
I think, as an artist, it’s important to be aware of mistakes. It’s important to acknowledge them so we can learn from them and improve our craft. But don’t let those mistakes cause you to lose sight of the best parts of cosplay: bringing a character to life and meeting other fans who love that character, too. That’s what separates cosplay from general costuming: the ability to emotionally impact another person over your shared connection with a character or fandom. Don’t lose sight of that just because of some messy stitches. You’ll have better stitches next time. <3