could I pull this character off?

(We really need a section or a thread of this forum where people can ask who they can pull off, and if they should do a costume... it would be such a good area)
So before I go into investing into this costume along with my three others, I feel I should ask If I could pull it off (just so I don't waste money.
I want to be Nathan Drake from the Uncharted series (since I only have to buy two things to finish the costume... I owned every other piece of the costume from the collectors edition, and I just have some very similar clothes that could be modified.)
Here's me: I would probably use some very minimal aging makeup under my eyes and such, just to make myself look a little older and have more similar features, thin my eyebrows, and then of course the blue contacts.

Here's Nathan Drake:

For what it's worth I think you can

If you have most of the stuff to do it, I'd say it's worthwhile.

I have the shirt, pants, belt, and necklace... do get the rest of the stuff made and such, it will probably be around 250-300 if that means anything.....
If anyone doesn't think that I look that much like him, please let me know so I won't go and blow 250+ dollars

You've got more than a passing resemblance, in my opinion. The only minor differences are your cheekbones and nose. Other than that, your facial structures are pretty similar.

Logermeister said:

You've got more than a passing resemblance, in my opinion. The only minor differences are your cheekbones and nose. Other than that, your facial structures are pretty similar.

Click to expand...

Awesome, I may be able to fix my cheeks with makeup, the nose on the other hand, maybe I can kind of, but not completely.

Even if you didn't look at all like him (though you do have a good resemblance) why would the money spent on the costume be a waste? People should never restrict themselves only to costumes they have a superficial alignment with--if you love a costume and a character you should be proud to embody it and no one should knock you for it, no matter what shape or size or color or age you are.

Makes my skin crawl when I hear anything along the lines of "only people that look a certain way should _____" Screw that noise. Do you want to do the costume? Then do it.
What if someone like booksandcorsets, for example, had never started their Pan's Labyrinth project simply because she didn't resemble Doug Jones? Guess what, nobody really resembles Doug Jones, he's built like Jack Skellington. Doesn't mean we can't be inspired by the characters he creates, and doesn't mean we can't pull of something amazing based on his influences. The world and this site would have been robbed of an incredible costume and build for the silliest of reasons.

Don't look for excuses to restrain your creativity. There's enough bullies in the world without us taking on their attitudes towards ourselves before we even begin. The only people who can't "pull off" a certain costume are those that don't believe they're worthy to pull off that costume. But we all are worthy. We deserve to embrace the things we love wholeheartedly. So either do the costume and don't give a damn because your reason for starting it is purely enthusiasm for the character that meant something to you, or don't, because your reason for starting the project was something less than that. Your choice. But don't look to others to make that choice for you.


Also:

RINZLERTRON said:

(We really need a section or a thread of this forum where people can ask who they can pull off, and if they should do a costume... it would be such a good area)

Click to expand...

No we do not, and no, it would not. For all the reasons I listed above.

Lunaman said:

Don't look for excuses to restrain your creativity. There's enough bullies in the world without us taking on their attitudes towards ourselves before we even begin.

Click to expand...

Nothing really to add (apart from: definately do the costume) but I just felt this part needed repeating. Costimung and cosplay is meant to be fun, not for others to go through a check list and say "Sorry but this, this and that aren't like actor/character, so you can't play". If that wa the attitude then we wouldn't get the gender-swaped Justice league (awesome costumes, all of them), or Bearded-Male Kaylee, and that would just be sad.

Lunaman said:

No we do not, and no, it would not. For all the reasons I listed above.

Click to expand...

I understand what you're saying, but I think it would be a good idea. But I think you can agree with me when I say that I enjoy dressing as characters who I can really pull off (come on man, I've seen your Dread Pirate Roberts and Ultimate Spidey.... you knew when you went into making those that you could pull those off SUPER well... and you did!)
But, the reason I said the thing bout that we needed a section of the forum for that is because of this: have you ever been to cosplay.com? They have a forum, and a little section in that forum is called "cosplay suggestions". Now, you have the choice to ask whether or not you can pull off a certain character, but what it's actually for is for posting a picture of yourself, giving your stats, and then people tell you who they think you should make a costume of. I think it's a really great idea!

RINZLERTRON said:

I understand what you're saying, but I think it would be a good idea. But I think you can agree with me when I say that I enjoy dressing as characters who I can really pull off (come on man, I've seen your Dread Pirate Roberts and Ultimate Spidey.... you knew when you went into making those that you could pull those off SUPER well... and you did!)

Click to expand...

No, I don't agree with you there, either. I dressed as the Dread Pirate Roberts because The Princess Bride is my favorite film. I dressed as Ultimate Spider-Man because he's my favorite comic book character. Not because I thought I could "pull off" the costumes well in other people's eyes. Believe me, even though there's plenty of praise that's come my way, I get a lot more "You're too skinny", "Why's he so thin?", "You ain't him, you're too little" "Eat a sandwich" comments when I'm out in public than you'd imagine--probably more often than the supportive comments. If I was doing this for the approval of others, I'd be gutted, because many-to-most people don't think I can pull off those characters super well. But the people who really love costumes and REALLY love the characters are really enthusiastic and excited--because it's the shared connection of loving a character and putting in hard work that matters, not the phenotype of the person who's suited up. That's what makes sharing these projects worthwhile.
AND I don't think my (or your) striving to look as much like a character as I can and succeeding in the eyes of some people negates that point at all. Folks should be welcome and encouraged to try to replicate any aspect of a character they desire to; where we need to tread carefully is the offhand implication that people who aren't like a character in certain ways aren't also welcomed and encouraged.

RINZLERTRON said:

But, the reason I said the thing bout that we needed a section of the forum for that is because of this: have you ever been to cosplay.com? They have a forum, and a little section in that forum is called "cosplay suggestions". Now, you have the choice to ask whether or not you can pull off a certain character, but what it's actually for is for posting a picture of yourself, giving your stats, and then people tell you who they think you should make a costume of. I think it's a really great idea!

Click to expand...

There's a lot of toxic aspects of the cosplay community at large, and just because something's been done before or often doesn't make it a good or healthy idea. The drawing of lines between "can pull off that costume" and "can't pull off that costume" doesn't create a supportive environment. It breeds the kind of gross 'value-based' discussions of costumers that results in the kind of negativity that's been leveled at people like Chaka Cumberbatch over the years.
If a section of the forum like that existed, the answers should all be emphatic yes's anyway, so what purpose would it really serve? If someone wants to start a thread asking for costume suggestions, that's super and their own choice, but to dedicate a section of the forum to people asking a la this thread if they are good enough to attempt a costume sends the wrong message about inclusiveness here. This should be a space where people are encouraged to make any prop or costume that they love.

You do look similar.

My two cents...
Great costumes look even better when the person resembles the character... i.e. you could have an awesome spidey suit but if you're 300+ lbs you're not gonna win any contests. On the other hand, more power to the guy who just wants to dress up as Spidey even if he doesn't have the physique. I have dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow for 6 years now and had it not been for my slight (very slight) resemblance to Johnny Depp, I don't think I would have won any contests as my costume wasn't really good at all.

Lunaman said:

Even if you didn't look at all like him (though you do have a good resemblance) why would the money spent on the costume be a waste? People should never restrict themselves only to costumes they have a superficial alignment with--if you love a costume and a character you should be proud to embody it and no one should knock you for it, no matter what shape or size or color or age you are.

Makes my skin crawl when I hear anything along the lines of "only people that look a certain way should _____" Screw that noise. Do you want to do the costume? Then do it.
What if someone like booksandcorsets, for example, had never started their Pan's Labyrinth project simply because she didn't resemble Doug Jones? Guess what, nobody really resembles Doug Jones, he's built like Jack Skellington. Doesn't mean we can't be inspired by the characters he creates, and doesn't mean we can't pull of something amazing based on his influences. The world and this site would have been robbed of an incredible costume and build for the silliest of reasons.

Don't look for excuses to restrain your creativity. There's enough bullies in the world without us taking on their attitudes towards ourselves before we even begin. The only people who can't "pull off" a certain costume are those that don't believe they're worthy to pull off that costume. But we all are worthy. We deserve to embrace the things we love wholeheartedly. So either do the costume and don't give a damn because your reason for starting it is purely enthusiasm for the character that meant something to you, or don't, because your reason for starting the project was something less than that. Your choice. But don't look to others to make that choice for you.


Also:

No we do not, and no, it would not. For all the reasons I listed above.

Click to expand...

As a Hispanic/Asian man under 6ft who loves Captain America and is currently putting together a Steve Rogers costume I whole heartedly agree.

I'm asian, and if I cosplay as Nathan Drake, would I be "wasting my money"? Although I'm sure you didn't mean it like that, it does come off as such, and I can't help but take a little offense at that. With that, I whole-heartedly agree with Lunaman that a "cosplay suggestions" forum is not a good idea. Your cosplay should not be limited by your appearance. Of course, if you DO look like a character, then all the better! But the features you were born with should not define your cosplay. Just my $0.02

HIGH5orDIE said:

You do look similar.

Mt two cents...
Great costumes look even better when the person resembles the character... i.e. you could have an awesome spidey suit but if you're 300+ lbs you're not gonna win any contests. On the other hand, more power to the guy who just wants to dress up as Spidey even if he doesn't have the physique. I have dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow for 6 years now and had it not been for my slight (very slight) resemblance to Johnny Depp, I don't think I would have won any contests as my costume wasn't really good at all.

Click to expand...

You and I are on the same page. Anyone can do whatever theyre enthusiatic about, but if you expect to get really well publicity, looking like the character helps.
Now, I don't care what anyone else does, that's all cool, but I personally enjoy hearing who and what people think I should do. Doesn't me everyone should enjoy or do it, but I do. That said, you sont always get great public approval, even for thibgs that some may consider great (like lunamans spidey.... my gosh that's a cool suit, and in my opinion, he fits the role of the ultimate spidey the closest out of anyone I've ever seen.. it looks like hjumped right out of the comics.) But as lunaman said, people are still rude and cruel, even if it is good. If I offered nded anyone by asking if I MYSELF (hear that keyword?) could pull something off, thats a personal choice I make to ask. Doesnt mean you all have to do the same, but I personally pick character from things I enjoy and think I can do well. I personally would not dress up as a samuel l. Jackson character because I'm a 5'11 scruffy white male.

RINZLERTRON said:

(We really need a section or a thread of this forum where people can ask who they can pull off, and if they should do a costume... it would be such a good area)
So before I go into investing into this costume along with my three others, I feel I should ask If I could pull it off (just so I don't waste money.
I want to be Nathan Drake from the Uncharted series (since I only have to buy two things to finish the costume... I owned every other piece of the costume from the collectors edition, and I just have some very similar clothes that could be modified.)
Here's me: I would probably use some very minimal aging makeup under my eyes and such, just to make myself look a little older and have more similar features, thin my eyebrows, and then of course the blue contacts.
http://i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g334/RINZLERTRON/20130905_183738_zpsd4dc447a.jpg
Here's Nathan Drake:
View attachment 228259
View attachment 228260

Click to expand...

With the magic of makeup, you could totally pull him off. I've seen some incredible transformations with simple makeup shading techniques. I say go for it.

I don't think your question should be "can I pull this off?" but rather, "What do I need to do to pull this character off?"
I like the spider-man fitness thread for this exact reason.

RINZLERTRON said:

I personally would not dress up as a samuel l. Jackson character because I'm a 5'11 scruffy white male.

Click to expand...

Why not? Samuel L. Jackson dresses up like a David Hasselhoff look-a-like with an eye patch on screen and no one bats an eye.

Moral of the story, be whomever you want to be. A "look" might get you noticed, but your charisma as the character and the depth that you bring to it that will make you stand out over all the other Nathan Drakes running around any given convention.

Work on immersing yourself in the mannerisms and nuances of the character, and you'll find he/she/it starts to look like you.

Actually Mr Jackson dressed up like an alternate universe version of a character that was drawn to look like him years before he was cast that just also happened to have his main universe version played by Mr Hasselhoff



/totes not a Ultimate fangirl

spacebat said:

With the magic of makeup, you could totally pull him off. I've seen some incredible transformations with simple makeup shading techniques. I say go for it.

I don't think your question should be "can I pull this off?" but rather, "What do I need to do to pull this character off?"
I like the spider-man fitness thread for this exact reason.

Click to expand...

I also like the fitness thread for that reason! And yes, I was planning on doing a bit of makup shading on the cheeks and nose, but I don't know where else lol!

I think RINZLERTRON is merely trying to maximize the amount of attention he receives of his costume (as we all love when our hard work is admired). So in my eyes it's understandable that he wants to make his character choice based upon resemblance to the character. When saying he doesn't want to waste his money buying items for a costume of which he looks nothing like the character, I believe he means he would not achieve his goal of not only dressing as the character but resembling that character as well. NOT that others, whom do not have the same goal in mind, would be wasting their money.

...At least that is how I interpreted it.

RINZLERTRON said:

I also like the fitness thread for that reason! And yes, I was planning on doing a bit of makup shading on the cheeks and nose, but I don't know where else lol!

Click to expand...

Definitely need some shading and eyebrow shaping not sure how far you want to go but, you might want to pluck. There are TONS of youtube videos out there for this. I'm actually trying to pull off a character myself that has quite a bit of detail. Would be awesome to see your progress. I'm completely new to this, my experience with makeup has mostly been stage (highschool) and haunted house.