A is for "All Cosplay is Possible" (but it may not be practical)

illoria
Apr 1, 2018
3 min read

Welcome to the first post in the A to Z challenge! I’d love to hear your thoughts on each day’s topic. Comment below so we can continue the discussion! But please keep it civil. ;)

You may be thinking, after reading the title of today’s post, that it’s refutation of the “cosplay is for everyone” mantra which is often loudly repeated. However it’s not. I’m a crafter so today’s post actually relates to crafting instead.

Let’s imagine the typical crafter cosplayer scenario. You are looking around for a project to make or you are watching a show/playing a game and you fall in love. But then reality hits. How are you going to take this design and make it a reality that you can actually wear? Some cosplays are just so big and beautiful and complex that they aren’t the most practical. Very rarely do character designers or artists take into account how said design would be made in the real world. Most of the time the challenge isn’t insurmountable however. But there’s another aspect to a cosplay’s feasibility: the skill level of the cosplayer themselves.

New or beginner cosplayers especially face this obstacle quite frequently. They survey the enormous catalog of possible cosplays and forget one thing in their excitement: All cosplay is possible, but it may not be practical.

What is or is not practical often comes down to the person themselves. What do I mean by that? Well, if the project or cosplay is too far above a person’s current skill level it is impractical. Simple as that. This is where the category of dream cosplays comes in for crafters. I myself have dream cosplays which fall into the impractical category simply due to the fact that they are too advanced for me to attempt yet. The issue is how we deal with impractical projects. Do we give up on our dreams? No! Instead we tackle it like anything else: one step at a time. You can make the impractical practical and achievable by breaking it down and learning the skills in smaller chunks. If you need embroidery skills, find a smaller project and use that to learn what you need. Armor? Same. Wigs? Same. Etc. Practice each skill. Isolate it so it’s the only new skill or method you are utilizing for that project. By doing this, you break it down into smaller, easier to tackle chunks.

If you try to tackle that big dream project right out of the gate, typically one of two things will happen:

1) You will get frustrated and give up. You may trash the cosplay or even give up on crafting cosplays entirely.

2) You will press through and finish but the results will disappoint you and you are never satisfied with how it looks.

It’s a rough road. Some survive it, most give up or beat themselves up about it. For your own sanity, break it up and learn bit by bit. Then you will have the skills and confidence to be able to tackle anything! My personal dream project I’m working towards with this method is Seth from Trinity Blood. The first time I looked at it my socks were blown off due to loving it and being completely overwhelmed. But now? Just recently I went back to take a look at it and it’s actually starting to become feasible. My method is paying off and I think Seth is now ready to go on the “to craft” list! What dream cosplays do you have? How are you preparing to tackle them?