Cosplay Political Spectrum

>>9355753
Center-bottom. People should cosplay for fun and look good while doing so. Don't really care if they make or buy the costume, though I do respect self-made costumes more.

>>9355753
Don't know where to place myself. I believe people should have fun and it doesn't matter where they get their costume (as long as they don't lie about it), but at the same time I strive for solid construction and extreme accuracy in my OWN costumes and I'd never live it down myself if I had to buy a costume.

>>9355762
I'm the same.
If we're going for people who AREN'T me, bottom middle.
But for myself, top middle-of-blue because I enjoy making shit look good.

>>9355762
I'm similar to you. I'd place myself somewhere in the lower left quadrant, but I personally prefer to make my own, good-looking costume.

Pretty much the center. I definitely understand buying for things like sports uniforms, but I dislike cosplayers that don't make any elements of their costumes or don't regularly craft their costumes. Essentially, not all costumes should be bought but one or two is fine. I also think modifying bought costumes is pretty much essential to get a good looking cosplay. I have bought one or two myself for flavor of the month series I don't want to put as much time into but I heavily adjusted them.

>>9355753
Absolutely don't care as long as they don't try to pass off bought as made and they have fun.
I do not like people to be judgmental about someone else's cosplays.

File: 90064.png (177KB, 711x618px) Image search: [Google]

177KB, 711x618px

>>9355753
just don't pass them off as your own and we good

Center bottom but only if they look good.
Do what makes you look good.

Now break it down into 17 subgroups.

>>9355753
most of the board is going to be center-bottom. concrit: you did not think this through well enough to represent a broad spectrum of the types of people who actively post here. it might be different if you specified what the cosplay is for (for example, for cosplay competitions) or if you focus not on what people "should" do but on how the respondant judges others. when a lot of us nitpick or mock poor quality cosplays it is mostly not a value judgement of the cosplayer themselves.

how does whomst expect me to craft a yuri tracksuit?

I'm clearly a staunch anarcho-communist then, who gives a shit?

>>9355983
Ever want to fly in a helicopter, friend?

>>9355753
I'm pure "I don't care". Most of the time, bought costumes look better, and it doesn't matter wtf your costume looks like if you're fat

>>9355753
Bottom and right are kind of contradictory.

File: 20170214_175735.jpg (336KB, 1420x1234px) Image search: [Google]

336KB, 1420x1234px

Mid top right.
I'm an elitist fuck.
Mostly stems from the fact I am a fashion and costume designer by occupation, and I have a personal drive for prefection.

>>9356043
yeah, like i said upthread, this wasn't well-planned.

File: Capture3.png (11KB, 495x371px) Image search: [Google]

11KB, 495x371px

I think i broke it

Towards the bottom right? I don't care if people make or buy their costume but I still believe that people should try and develop some skills and care about what they look like. That stems from me treating cosplay like an art and wanting to constantly improve. It bothers me when people never get better yet they still act like their cosplays are on par with people that have actually put in some work

I started out bottom left. It was all about fun. But then after seeing some really shitty cosplays and even my own cosplay friends straight up buying Halloween costumes and trying to pass it off as cosplay, it jaded me into upper right

File: 20170214_143547.jpg (336KB, 1420x1234px) Image search: [Google]

336KB, 1420x1234px

I'm super salty about the large rise in bought cosplays over handmade.
Especially those who then spam themselves everywhere and are popular because they spam & just buy every flavor of the month cosplay off of taobao. Yet those who put a lot of effort into their cosplays to make them perfect. Rarely get noticed and the proper attention they deserve.
The odd bought cosplay here or there isn't bad, as I understand the convenience of them. I'm just tired of seeing nothing BUT them in certain fandoms.

Although people should cosplay for fun, that doesn't meant they shouldn't try their best efforts to make a cosplay to the best of their ability. No matter how good or bad they are, as long as they try their absolute best.
I'd much rather see a poorly selfmade cosplay where you can see how hard the person tried, over a bought cosplay where no effort was made at all.

Imo, cosplay is about showing your love for a character, and buying cosplay cheapens that, as no passion has gone into it.

It kinda varies for me, I used to buy, now i make my own i do enjoy the ones i've made more then the ones i've bought, I think its totally fine to make or buy but don't brag and act like hot shit if you bought it and don't lie about buying it. if you made it don't act like you're better for having done such.

File: 148703826873511111.jpg (624KB, 1421x1235px) Image search: [Google]

624KB, 1421x1235px

I hope I did it right

This "issue" boils down to does the effort justify the results? Yes we nitpick but there's plenty of things posted here that are just bad. Since we don't know these people personally, usually, it's kinda hard to take all the effort, budgeting, techniques, etc into account. Instead we observe what did and didn't work visually and use that to improve our own skills. And even if we did find out a costume took 100 hours to hand sew, if it doesn't look good then should we still praise it blindly?

As for bought costumes it's not that straight forward. I don't care about bought costumes but it does piss me off when people clearly just wore everything straight out of the box with unstyled wigs, floppy tophats that need some cardboard and skirts and capes with wrinkles

File: iguess.png (495KB, 1421x1235px) Image search: [Google]

495KB, 1421x1235px

I highly respect those that make their own costumes and that do cosplay in order to improve their skills, but ultimately cosplay is all about enjoying it. I think it should all boil down to having fun and showing your love for something.

I prefer handmade costumes but don't care if you buy them as long as you don't lie about it.

>>9356333
>I'd rather see a bad handmade cosplay than a store bought one
So people can then make fun of them in the bad cosplay thread? Pshh

>>9356333
L I T E R A L L Y H I T L E R

File: 12.png (495KB, 1421x1235px) Image search: [Google]

495KB, 1421x1235px

Cosplay is an expensive hobby and if you're wasting money on things that don't look nice because it's "fun" you're foolish. I especially stand by this because a lot of the worse cosplayers I see are also people who claim to be poor, and as someone who grew up not being able to afford food or heat, the fact someone would spend what money they do have on something so bad screams irresponsible to me.

I don't see any point in wanting to look bad to begin with. I can understand why beginners or younger people's costumes may not be good, but 1. if it's really, REALLY bad, you should just trash it and try again, and 2. if you're unable to do it, just commission it. For people who are trying to make their own costumes, my biggest pet peeve is people who will do the same things over and over again and never try to improve. The point of making them yourself should be so that you can learn to make good work/something to be proud of, so why not improve? This especially goes for people who enter contests with the same poor quality costumes year after year. If you're not aiming to win, what are you doing? Just stay on the con floor and have fun there. People don't go to see cosplays that are falling apart on stage.

I've outright trashed several cosplays and started over from the beginning after spending a good chunk of money/time on things in the past. It's not that hard, and it's not worth the embarrassment of stepping outside in something that looks like garbage.

That being said most of it seems to come down to people just not caring and trying to rush. I see people with terrible foam works simply because they couldn't be bothered to hold a ruler up to their piece/use a sharp blade. All these simple solutions yet half these people won't use them for some reason. It's no different than people who overheat their worbla because they want to get the stuff stuck together quickly, when all that does is cause it to warp & bubble.

File: spectrum.png (490KB, 1421x1235px) Image search: [Google]

490KB, 1421x1235px

Cosplay is about emulating the character visually as best you can and being accurate while still having it be flattering. It doesn't matter how great your crafting skills are; do you think those characters made their outfits? People who shit on cute cosplayers because "they bought their outfit!!" just seem like their searching for a reason to dislike more attractive people's cosplay, since they'll never look as good, no matter how nice their construction is. Results are what matter, and if someone looks more like the character in a bought outfit than you do in the same outfit that you slaved over for 100 hours, they're a better cosplayer. You're a better costumer, sure, but there's a reason why it's called cosplaying and not costuming.

>>9356912
this

File: 1487038268735.jpg (196KB, 1421x1235px) Image search: [Google]

196KB, 1421x1235px

Eh, I don't care if people cosplay for fun or for a more serious matter, just don't be a general bitch, don't claim that you did the dress while it's bought and it's fine and I don't really care how people do their costumes as long they don't bitch about it being super perfect while it's clearly wrong.
Is literally dressing up as cartoons

>>9355753
Uh right in the center I guess?

>>9356912
Holy shit you're right

>>9356912
Agree 100%

>>9356825
How do you feel about someone who buys a Halloween costume and tries to pass it off as cosplay?

>>9356964
it depends. some halloween costumes are well made (a lot of ss harley ones were) and really accurate to the character. in general i would say halloween costumes are a no-no (halloween is when you should be dressing up just for 'fun', not cosplay), but if the costume is of cosplay quality and they're wearing a proper wig then it's fine. But if you're just buying a $40 cinderella halloween costume and trying to say it's a cosplay you're delusional.

File: 1487038268735.jpg (371KB, 1421x1235px) Image search: [Google]

371KB, 1421x1235px

come to me

>>9356277
I like this post. It shows how personal experience changed an opinion into the complete opposite. I don't think a lot of people are currently on the same point of the spectrum as where they were when they first started cosplaying.

>>9356333
>poor self-made cosplay
Ah yes, like most of the ones in the bad cosplay threads here

>>9357008
I'm in the same spot, anon. Cosplay is for fun.

>>9357008
The best answer.
Have fun with it

I dont really mind if people buy their costumes, but I dont see the fun in it. Most of the fun for me is challenging myself and making something I can wear all myself.

I also really pride accuracy over everything. The best parts are the little details that some people like to glaze over.

File: me dot jpeg.png (495KB, 1421x1235px) Image search: [Google]

495KB, 1421x1235px

>>9357883
fucking hell, forgot image

>>9355753
well, I say I am in the middle, but I think, it should be for fun, and not for testing skills, and good selfmade customs are always great, and even if you buy it, just don't claim it selfmade

I am to the left and slight upper middle. I would prefer if people made their own cosplay, because to me, that is really the spirit of cosplaying. However the fun of cosplay is also wearing the costume, so if someone doesn't find sewing to be their thing or whatever, then I'm fine with store bought (just don't say you made it because that is a dick move).

I would have made myself more to the right because of what I just said that making your cosplay is part of the spirit of cosplay, but I find that these days more than ever people are missing the point the other way. Every time I see "professional cosplayer" or people cosplaying shit they don't know or series that the trailers just came out for fame, I roll my eyes.You are suppose to be dressing as your favourite characters to express your love with other nerds, not to be a business or make costumes about something you just heard about five minutes beforehand and barely know the character's name. People that do either of these are to me, completely missing the point, and the fact that the con scene are feeding into these mindsets by catering to them (aka actually advertising and bringing in these so called professionals) makes me ever so salty. If this was in the environment of the mid-2000's but with the access to information and materials of today, I would have been more center in that regard as well.

File: Untitled.png (567KB, 1421x1235px) Image search: [Google]

567KB, 1421x1235px

I don't consider anyone who buys costumes to be a cosplayer. A big part of cosplay is the crafting aspect, and if you buy it then really you're just dressing up. These days, I can't help but associate bought cosplays with the twitch/instagram whores that buy them to sell prints of for ez $$

>>9358427
I agree.
I don't want my hobby to be associated with "lol, herp derp, Halloween all year round"

I feel that this kind of puts all cosplayers in a box when there are nuanced differences. Hall cosplayers are pretty much anything goes. Entering contests should focus more on construction and accuracy to the source material. SCA garb should be more concerned about being period than looking good. As we all know, becoming cosfamous on the internet has less to do with great costumes and more being passably pretty and showing off your boobs.

>>9358427
I wouldn't call people buying cosplays a "cosplayer" but more of a "model" really.

Although I have some respect for the people who don't have the skill, but really want to cosplay, and pay $$$ to commission professionally done costume. That feels a lot more dedicated than someone buying from ebay.

>>9358427
I think "bought" can be such a broad category that I can't say it's not cosplaying. The 'made' vs. 'bought' debate has never made much sense to me because of it.

Commissioning someone is still buying a cosplay but you're paying for quality, probably just as much money as if you made it yourself. There's also those that may not be great at sewing but they can style wigs or make props, etc. Are they less of a cosplayer for not making the entire cosplay? Is an accurate bought cosplay worse than a shitty made one?

To me, there are just levels. If you're buying some cheap mess from ebay that you throw on straight from the bag with no alterations, that's the low end. Same goes for someone that hot glues a costume together.

File: Screenshot_2016-12-13-06-52-52.png (204KB, 1080x1920px) Image search: [Google]

204KB, 1080x1920px

Same as my actual political alignment.

I really respect people who make their own costumes and have amazing sewing/crafting skills, but I don't care if someone just wants to have fun at a con and buys their cosplay.

And I don't expect everyone to be a jack of all trades and make 100% of their costume. I love making armor/props and styling wigs, but I fucking hate sewing, so I commission things I need sewn. Just don't credit for what you didn't make and have fun.

>>9358427
Agree

>>9358651
> Are they less of a cosplayer for not making the entire cosplay?

Yes, next question.

>>9356043
Eh, its a makeup/in character test, so the 4 corners are bottom right, ELITIST IN CHARACTER 3D VERSION OF X at any cost, top right is Blood, Sweat, Tears and look great, top left is "Have fun, fuck tabo, and do it for you, and bottom left is "fun things are fun no matter how you do it"

>>9362967
I honestly think most of you are just bitter that someone can get more attention than you/look better than you despite you making an entire costume yourself.

>>9363176
Gotta agree.

>>9363176
If someone looks good while wearing clothes or "armor" that they didn't make, that doesn't make them a cosplayers, it makes them models. If that were the case, then a mannequin is an awesome cosplayers. They have six packs, fit bodies, good astetics.. or if it is supposed to mimic a female, skinny wastes and huge tits.

The cosplay community, however, is nice enough to allow these types into the community. Though it does get annoying when a model starts claiming to be just as good (or better) at a hobby that is about creating costumes as everyone else in the community.

>>9363858
Person dressed as character = cosplayer. That's it. It literally does not matter unless they're entering a competition.

>>9363858
Having the right body, good makeup, and suitable expressions for the character makes a big difference too. A cosplayer with good construction but lacking in one of those areas will not get as much attention.

>>9356046
i like you

>>9363871
Please don't take the name of cosplay (costume play) literally. No. On Halloween, the world isn't flooded by cosplayers. It is flooded by normies with shit costumes.

>>9364112
>what is reading comprehension
I already said that people throwing on cheap costumes straight out of a bag are bad. But really how is it bothering you any? If you look good and know your cosplay is great, you shouldn't care about people that buy cosplays.

>>9364010
Exactly this.

>>9363858
>a hobby that is about creating costumes
It's not. It's about wearing them.

>>9364133
You need that reading comprehension. You said that throwing on some Halloween costume is the "low end of cosplay". I said that isn't cosplay at all.

I don't care how much you try to justify it, there is no way everyone is cosplaying on Halloween.

>>9364139
Depends whether they're dressed as a specific character or are just wearing a general costume.

>>9363858
>creating costumes
dont get too full of yourself, this shit started in japan where almost everyone buys their costumes from stores.