Cosplay at a con - How much attention do you want?

joeranger

Sr Member

• Mar 21, 2016

• #1

First and foremost, I would like to thank all the people who spend a s#!tload of time and money just to maintain a standard at a con. Stormtroopers are the best example. A ton of effort, the costume is hot, uncomfortable, difficult to go to the bathroom. However, a con would be a sad thing without a bunch of troopers just milling around. They create the atmosphere at the con.

On the flipside, there are the professionals and extreme cosplayers who are competing for attention. The con is their stage and the attendees are the audience. BTW, at C2E2, there were some amazing costumes. Chicago is finally becoming a con/cosplay city. Hulkbuster and Ludo were jaw-dropping.

I have always been somewhere in the middle, but this year I did Han Solo with Kylo's saber sticking out of my front and back. Pics here: http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=257968 Although I was proud of my work, the attention I got was not for the amount of effort or talent. It was shock value.

The other question is what kind of attention/praise do you want? Do you want the most pictures taken and posted on social media or do you want fellow enthusiasts to scrutinize your costume and admire the attention to detail? To ask questions about how you made it or where you got the material? How long did it take?

I think the shock value costume is the same as a female showing a lot of skin.

 

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samuraibunni

Member

• Mar 21, 2016

• #2

As much as possible! I try and put as much effort as I can into my costumes, and I love the attention. My latest build is no exception and will hopefully allow me to scare some people..mwahahah!!

 

George

Master Member

• Mar 21, 2016

• #3

I would love to just hang out with fellow Marvel fans who,just like me,would create their own costume and visit a convention,get out pictures taken (either in a photo shoot or with selfies) and have a great day together.
Attention is not my main focus,although I wouldn't turn down a compliment; for me it would be about sharing and experiencing fandom through creativity and assembly.That's it for me in a nutshell.

 

B Wo

Well-Known Member

RPF PREMIUM MEMBER

• Mar 22, 2016

• #4

joeranger I saw your costume on Instagram, and thought it was really clever.

My costumes at C2E2 were not totally obscure, but also not mainstream. I like niche characters. You may not get as much attention as Captain America, or Spiderman, or one of the 10,000 Deadpools done to varying degrees of sophistication, but I'm able to put an exorbitant amount of work in, feel proud of my final product, show up and have fun, and when I do get recognized, that's just icing on the cake.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Nov 8, 2018

Cameron1138

Well-Known Member

• Mar 22, 2016

• #5

I honestly enjoy pretty much any kind of (positive) attention. I really like people asking for pictures, and it's always fun when I'm cosplaying something more obscure, or perhaps a personalized take on something, and I get recognized. I love it when people ask how I made something, what it's made of, etc too, but that doesn't happen quite as much.

 

Bigdaddy

Master Member

• Mar 22, 2016

• #6

I haven't done a con yet, almost made it to C2E2 this year. I'd like to go in costume, but having never done one I don't know how much chance there would be to check stuff out.

 

Ninka

New Member

• Mar 23, 2016

• #7

While I'm not new to costuming (focused on early and medieval costumes) my foray back into cosplay is only a couple of years old. At a con I'm more interested in learning than in getting the most photos. Photos are fun, don't get me wrong (though I suck at posing for them) but I really enjoy the icebreaker for conversations about all kinds of new things/ideas/etc with people I don't know that the costume provides. That, and I just love making and wearing costumes.

 

SKS Props

Sr Member

• Mar 23, 2016

• #8

I absolutely love talking to people about building costumes and props. I was thrilled with how many people came up to me last weekend at C2E2 and expressed their joy in seeing my Orc because they had been following the build for months!!

 

bummer6

Well-Known Member

• Mar 23, 2016

• #9

People taking selfies and asking questions is lots of fun! I do like the attention, but there is a point where it just becomes too much. Like when you get stuck in one place for over an hour because people keep stopping you for selfies ever two seconds or so. I'm happy people like the costume, but I wanna be able to walk around a bit.

 

STLAssassin

Active Member

• Mar 23, 2016

• #10

Ive only been to 3 cons so far and I am slowly adding to my list of costumes but so far I dont mind when I get stopped a lot for photos. Makes all of the money, time, and effort worth it. Plus when I where my Captain America, I get tons of kids wanting photos and thinking Im really him which is so cool. Watching kids point out car windows while walking downtown Atlanta for DragonCon was so much fun. I usually spend one day at the con either in no costume or something not super popular to check out panels, buy some art, etc.

 

MattgomeryBurns

Master Member

RPF PREMIUM MEMBER

• Mar 23, 2016

• #11

I by no means consider myself a cosplayer, but have dressed up for a few cons this past year with my dog. The end goal is to get him enough instagram followers so he can book some paying gigs and I can be a crazy stage dad. I love when people take pictures with him, but would prefer to stay out of the pics myself.

Here we are at Long Beach Comic Expo a month or so ago.

 

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samuraibunni

Member

• Mar 23, 2016

• #12

Holy sweet mother of God that is a thing of beauty!!

SKS Props said:

I absolutely love talking to people about building costumes and props. I was thrilled with how many people came up to me last weekend at C2E2 and expressed their joy in seeing my Orc because they had been following the build for months!!

http://i.imgur.com/bkOlC30h.jpg

Click to expand...

 

Snikt

Sr Member

• Mar 23, 2016

• #13

SKS Props said:

I absolutely love talking to people about building costumes and props. I was thrilled with how many people came up to me last weekend at C2E2 and expressed their joy in seeing my Orc because they had been following the build for months!!

http://i.imgur.com/bkOlC30h.jpg

Click to expand...

I swear to god that is the coolest thing I have ever not seen lol. I go to SDCC every year, and I usually do something, but some years I bit off more than I could chew and didnt end up finishing the costume. Like most people have said, I like to get the attention from the real fans on the obscure characters. Nobody really asks me what its made out of, but the pictures are always a blast. To be honest, SDCC has been kind of been the same stuff, and I really like to go now for the opportunity to dress up, and see other peoples costumes. Uh oh. Am I getting old?!

 

krispikarim

Well-Known Member

RPF PREMIUM MEMBER

• Mar 23, 2016

• #14

While I love the attention, my costumes aren't usually mainstream, I love it when a few super fans of the fandom recognize the character, even if its only 4-5 people.

 

Rnc88

Jr Member

• Mar 23, 2016

• #15

I have always had a thing for gaming costumes, largely due to the sense of community that they tend to bring. At cons, I tend to draw less attention in the form of pictures, largely as my costumes never look totally professional due to constant experimentation. For this reason, I tend to prefer attention from/to fellow enthusiasts, case in point, the foam used to create the leather in SKS's Orc is what excites me most, as I have never seen anything quite like it. Having said that though, attending uni in Dallas means I can't interact with as many builders, so it has become something of wearing them whenever possible (football games, Charity events...etc). The best though is when meeting creators of the original design, be they comic artists, writers or anything else. Below is from a signing at my campus bookstore. (note the glove is off so I can use my video camera.)

- - - Updated - - -

 

DizzyStrmtroopr

Well-Known Member

• Mar 24, 2016

• #16

in my shadowtrooper I couldn't go 10ft without someone asking for a picture, in my sandy it was considerably less, but as crossbones (this was September 2015 and nobody knew who I was) only about 5 people knew I was from civil war and maybe 10 knew the character. out of a few thousand. I don't go for the attention, and this is why I look down on girls with the skin bearing Pikachu outfits. I go for the passion of being the character for a day

 

kialna

Sr Member

• Mar 27, 2016

• #17

I like to compete, just to perform in front of an audience. When I wear a costume, I become a character. Showing it off to an audience, and have a reaction from that audience, makes me feel amazing. I've had the biggest applause in three consecutive years, but not because my costumes were the very best. But because I play with the people. This sometimes continues off-stage. It gives you a kind of attention but I don't know... I like seeing some pictures, but generally i just enjoy hanging around with my friend and have fun times. Or nice photoshoots with scenery.

 

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TurnAgainDragon

New Member

• Mar 28, 2016

• #18

I recently did my second con. my first was a destiny hunter of my own design (that didnt go so well) but I was told it was made well which i was pleased with.

so i went away and wanted to put my all into something better for the following year.

I placed second (I hated being on stage even with a mask but been bitten by the bug more so guess more masked cosplay's) And I came away thinking exactly the same way. I see this and spot the bad joins in the thigh pieces and the gaps around the chest card port. the fact the torso part covers more of the purple mid section than it should! in all fairness I never expected to make it to the finals so when they told me you need a performance piece i panicked next time i may think of preparing one just in case I get lucky again.

 

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01Hawk

Member

RPF PREMIUM MEMBER

• Mar 28, 2016

• #19

I really enjoy the pictures and stuff but overall the best part for me is when a mom or dad is out with their kids and you can see the excitement equally in both their faces when they see a character the enjoy. You know that is building a memory and bond that they will have forever. My first con was NYCC a few years back and it was in my Umbrella Soldier ( early form of it) and it took a while to learn that I was supposed to pose, pretend to arrest people and point guns at kids heads lol. Also learned how to politely inform over zealous parents that their kid was * not * enjoying the forced photo based on their tears.

In the Biker Scout you get a good bit of attention but usually are called a stormtrooper. I used to correct people but now just go with it. I like the scout because you can kneel and get pics with little kids and let them hold the blaster. I have only had the Supertrooper Fett costume out to an anime based show and a small local con. I am excited to wear that to a big show this year. With that one it is cool when people who are in the know, point out some of the found parts ( such as the beach towel) on the costume. However I do expect to spend a good bit of time explaining " Isn't Boba Fett supposed to be painted?"

The best story in the Fett that made the most recent con ( which was otherwise not so good) awesome ,was when a really happy mom told her little girl ( may 6-8) " Look there is a stormtrooper!!!" The girl turned around, rolled her eyes at her mom , sighed and in a really annoyed tone said " Mom! That is not a stormtrooper ! It is a Mandalorian !" I looked down at the kid , smiled in my helmet and high five her lol. Those types of things are what I like best at the cons.

 

Ninka

New Member

• Mar 31, 2016

• #20

My recently finished cosplay was Scarlet Witch but in an outfit that is seen on one panel. At Toronto Comic Con I was recognised by 3 people. It was fantastic!