Is DIY generally frowned upon here?

I'd consider most of my builds to be DIY, or at least to have elements of DIY. I didn't even discover EVA foam until a few years ago. The Lego costume in my profile pic consisted of all sorts of things. An upside-down wire hamper from Target was the frame for the chest piece. The head was a crazy combination of things... a paper mache hat box, wooden embroidery hoops, wooden sticks, needlepoint plastic canvas, garage sale signs, a CD-R spindle, electrical tape, insulation foam sheets, and more. Even after learning about great new techniques on this site, I still employ my own ideas into my builds... usually to find new ways to make things more wearable, more portable, and so on.
 
I created a C3-PO costume in 1977. I had *no* money at the time, so I used "available materials". My build utilized paper mache, riding boots, a trash can and Tupperware lids, 2-pound coffee cans for the knees and (because I ran out of time) tighty-whities for his lower section. And *lots* of K-Mart gold rattlecan spray! Screen accurate? Crap, I didn't even have good reference! I posted about it here in 2012 and was treated very kindly!

As mentioned earlier, with 3D printing, CNC's and other technology, there are fewer and fewer really creative "from scratch" builds. Screen accurate is cool, but often to achieve that authenticity you need a part (or ten) of a specialized nature that isn't easily fabricated. So do your best - you'll never hear me issue a disparaging remark.

The bottom line is: if you had fun making it and it pleases you, that's what counts.

Edit: it was 2011 that I posted! Here's the link; have a good laugh on me! https://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=115758&highlight=c3po+costume

This kicks ass !!

18dyjnn4lu7vjjpg.jpg
 
No matter what level you come into the RPF at, just strive to get a little better with each build. I shudder to think of some of the things I made when I first found the RPF.
 
Where are you looking on the forum? I see many "budget" builds. Most of the people here are Do It Yourselvers, just of varying skill and complexity. I'm more of a prop builder, so I'm not sure about costumes but taking stuff that most people would throw away and making a prop is what makes this hobby great. They used to call using off the shelf model kits to make sci-fi stuff "kit-bashing"... I think of prop making as "trash bashing". I have used so many interesting plastic containers and plumbing pieces to make props!! I do 3D printing too, but it's just another tool. The fun part is the creativity.

I've seen a few people post links to more basic DIY-ing in popular topics and the posts are completely ignored, is most of what I saw. Just gave off an air of "who cares" in the community.
 
I've seen a few people post links to more basic DIY-ing in popular topics and the posts are completely ignored, is most of what I saw. Just gave off an air of "who cares" in the community.
I think there is just so much going on in here, and so many different interests, that things dont always get seen by the right people. I've seen some amazing projects where i looked and thought "that's awesome" but didnt comment because i dont know much about the subject. But then objectively you see stuff that you just have to comment on.
 
I tend to stick to WIP threads where people share what they are doing vs discussions. I have not seen anything like that due to the nature of how I view the forums. To be fair I do this deliberately as I want to find people who inspire me to push me further in my expectations. I also look for threads where people are seeking advice. I don't just offer what I think should be done but will give ideas on limitations or suprises. Like cutting foam mats. Use a dremel to bevel not a craft knife. I basically filleted the end of a finger- got it to heal beautifully though. And that the blades will cut really quickly until suddenly they don't. They dull so suddenly, not just quickly!

Most of the time my super budget costumes are actually only super budget because I know how to shop and wait for years. I also make historic dress from blankets, curtains, extreme fabric sales. I stalk the $3/m fabric tables and often find gems. This isn't really the forum for my SCA gear but most of that has been from this. And then I have also stashed away beads and trims and lace since I was very young. And I now have a set of drawers full of greeblies, ends of plastic and other pieces for throwing together a fast prop.

As for inaccuracy... I love remixing. My Elissa gown from Phantom of the Opera (indeed all the gowns I've made) have been not so much budget but with a deliberate choice to be inspired by more than one production. Now that community is a mix of accuracy and remixes.
http://www.arrayedindreams.com/costume-portfolio/historic-inspired/1880-christine-daae-elissa/
 
I'm in awe of everyone on the RPF, everybody does fantastic work, ive looked on many different threads on the RPF ( not just my SW interests ) and I have commented ( nice work well done welcome aboard ) I'm not a costume builder but I've followed many budget builds with EVA foam and I'm totally blown away with what they achieve DIY is what they did, I've just built a custom saber DIY, didn't cost me penny, Guardians of the Galaxy present from mom DIY on a budget £5 they are not screen accurate and I totally enjoyed every minute and everybody recognises what they are and to me I've done what I set out to achieve, makes me proud of myself. Then there's the screen accurate thing I'm workin on ( expensive and time consuming) that's a totally different level of build, it's still DIY but I'm having to buy actual accurate parts and scratch build everything else. When I started on the RPF I got the same comments, nice work ! welcome aboard ! keep it up ! ( they meant everything to me) I still get the same comments and they still mean everything to me, I love my hobby and I appreciate every comment I receive, when I comment to other builders on whatever they are building I really do mean nice work, well done, it's a nice way to introduce yourself to the builder without belittling there work, that would be rude and demoralising, then you don't need to comment there is a like button or just look and do or say nothing but I feel encouragement is the way forward on the RPF, I don't think they are being ignored, some builds are more popular than others.
We have to start somewhere and we all have a budget ( big or small ) DIY, professionally made items or real used parts, it what makes the RPF great.

£20 budget build costume by my son
IMG_0998.PNG
 
I prefer seeing and doing DIY projects.

Many times I see people spend stupid amounts of time designing, 3d printing then cleaning the prints, where they could have saved most of that time and effort just making it from some simple objects.

Here's a sample of the parts I made for my niece's Rey costume.
Made from PVC pipe, couplers, sheet plastic, epoxy putty and other found objects.
All done by hand, the only power tool used was a Dremel.
Reys Parts.jpg

The machined piece with the X was replace with something from scratch to be accurate to the "Hero" light.
 
I think the negative connotation (if any) to using "DIY" would be from the sheer volume that it's being used (and abused) to describe something crafted by hand or in a garage. It's passe like "life hacks" and most things described as such in tutorials are mostly half-assed since they're geared towards something quick and dirty which requires as little skill as possible. You want as many people to benefit from your ideas and upping the difficulty a notch can alienate large groups of people. There's nothing at all wrong with it, but due to the term being overused, people with higher skill sets making props/costumes of higher attention to detail will refrain from calling their craft as such even if they are technically still hand made.
 
I think the negative connotation (if any) to using "DIY" would be from the sheer volume that it's being used (and abused) to describe something crafted by hand or in a garage. It's passe like "life hacks" and most things described as such in tutorials are mostly half-assed since they're geared towards something quick and dirty which requires as little skill as possible. You want as many people to benefit from your ideas and upping the difficulty a notch can alienate large groups of people. There's nothing at all wrong with it, but due to the term being overused, people with higher skill sets making props/costumes of higher attention to detail will refrain from calling their craft as such even if they are technically still hand made.

This is an excellent point. So many people want the best costume for as cheap as possible, but really, such a notion is rarely works. If you want it easy, then buy it. But not really cost effective, and price greatly affects product quality.

If you want the best, it's going to cost the most, either to buy the best or make the best yourself, then you must buy materials, put in however many man hours, etc.

Same as everything in life, the best things in it require a lot of effort. There is no magic button to pick to get the best for no effort.

The only slight offset I can think of depends on the worker's skills. Like the link I posted of that excellent cardboard Star Lord helmet. His materials were very cheap, but it still took him a lot of effort, and it didn't hurt that he is extremely skilled when it comes to fabrication.
So it is possible to craft something great out of cheap materials, but you need the time and skill to back it up.
 
I don't think 'cheap materials' should be a 'problem'.It's all about the fun of the creative process and ultimately achieving your goal of completion/assembly.How 'perfect' it looks is most likely subject to interpretation and therefore irrelevant.
 
I'm seeing a lot of negative attitudes toward 3D printing which makes me sad. There's this perception that it's somehow cheating or not the same as "DIY". While, yes, you may get some people downloading models and printing them off, it's not the printer that's the issue there - the printer is merely a tool, the same way a saw or a hot glue gun are. I, too, dislike when people "cheat" and download files instead of making it themselves, but there are also a lot of people who use 3D printing to make things from scratch just like people do with foam. It takes just as much creativity and skill to spend weeks designing and making a 3D model, figuring out how to print it properly, and spending countless hours finishing the print, as it does to plan patterns for foam crafting, and finishing and painting it. Just because the work is done digitally does not make the work any less "real" than traditional methods.

3D printing can do amazing things for our hobby and it does not push more traditional methods into obsolescence. Each has its uses. Don't look down on 3D printers; look down on the bad users.
 
As long as they 'ask' politely and show gratitude,rather than 'demand'.'Please' and 'thank you' are in order,and no,these files are not easily made.Can't hurt to let them know
 
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