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Many people and some cosplay newbies mistake wealth, fame and glory
as the point of cosplaying.
They see certain cosplayers who often win contests as the ideals of
wealth fame and glory in cosplaying and assume
that the cosplayer is a "professional" because these winning cosplayers
act out their characters convincingly and wear costumes that are very well-made
and are awarded large sums of cash and material prizes for their efforts.
but this is a potentially disastrous assumption to make
in the enjoyment of a hobby such as cosplay.
Cosplaying, as ive mentioned in many previous enties, is paying tribute to your
favorite character/design concept/idea by dressing up and acting out this character
as accurately as possible.
some cosplayers are quite devoted to this idea that they take great lengths to
produce the best cosplay of their chosen character.
They may employ their own knowledge or hire professionals
to help them make their cosplay come true.
these fan-made efforts are sometimes so well-done that the untrained eye
may mistake this effort as something done on the professional level
akin to hollywood or theatrical levels in dressing and acting.
but in the case of cosplayers, this really isnt the point,
because they were just doing their best to give tribute to their favorite character.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Parents often ask kids who want to cosplay:
aren you just wasting you money by cosplaying?
(nagtatapon ka lang ba ng pera sa pagko-cosplay?)
and
will you earn any money by cosplaying?
(may pera ka bang mapapala sa pagko cosplay mo?)
The answer is YES
but the it takes a huge effort to make any financial returns specially in cosplay.
There is money to gain in cosplay, but none by being just a cosplayer
(May pera sa cosplay, pero walang pera sa pagiging cosplayer lang.)
if you want to be involved in cosplaying "professionally"
you should become more than just a cosplayer who cosplays.
because there are no professional cosplayers
only professionals who are involved in cosplaying.
---------------------------------------------------------------
if you want to earn while doing something cosplay related there are ways:
You can be a professional costume maker -
aside from clients who are cosplayers
there are commercial production groups who are in need
of clothes and costumes for their actors and models
for theater, TV commercials, TV shows and etc.
(real world example: "The Anime Seamstress" from the early years of decade 2000,
Mang Poli, Cargin's Dancewear,
and your local tailor who is skilled enough to make fantastical cosplay clothes)
You can be a professional props maker -
for exactly the same clients as above
(real world example: Guy Singson of pagawanaman.multiply.com,
Lyron of burikiboy.multiply.com )
You may also become a professional wig/hair and make-up artist -
there are many characters who require extensive facial or prosthetic make-up
and the make-up skills you honed in cosplay
are going to be really useful in related occupations
You can also transition from cosplayer into model -
but mostly if you're physically attractive and appropriate enough for the particular role.
(real world example: Alodia Gosiengfiao of blackmage9.deviantart.com,
Shoko "shotocan" Nakagawa)
You may also transition from cosplayer to mascot -
there are many companies who need people who can
wear full-body costumes while being able to dance and/or act
and not every standard actor can accomplish such a feat
(real world examples: various cosplayers who are hired by companies for
Halloween, XMas and other seasonal commercial events)
You can also be a professional photographer / videographer
-if you began as a hobbyist you may expand your skills
in photography by taking shots of cosplayers!
take it a step further by practicing portraiture, fashion and event photography,
videography or even journalism.
(real world examples: Erving of huzafan.deviantart.com/)
you may also organize cosplay-related events -
if you have a background in public relations, marketing and other related roles
and if you have enough manpower and resources to assemble a quality event
which people (cosplayers, enthusiasts, and the curious) will annually attend
(real world example: Cosplay Mania by www.cosplay.ph)
---------------------------------------------------------------
there are many talents and skills involved to make a successful cosplay.
some of the basics are honed through practice, some are learned in school
or in apprenticeships and higher education.
if one were so inclined,
and when you've learned and experienced enough
to be confident in your skills
you may be able pursue a career which is related to cosplaying
but remember there is no single educational course to take for it
and it isnt necessary that one stop being a cosplayer
when one takes up a professional career.
but there is just no such thing as a Professional Cosplayer.
as the point of cosplaying.
They see certain cosplayers who often win contests as the ideals of
wealth fame and glory in cosplaying and assume
that the cosplayer is a "professional" because these winning cosplayers
act out their characters convincingly and wear costumes that are very well-made
and are awarded large sums of cash and material prizes for their efforts.
but this is a potentially disastrous assumption to make
in the enjoyment of a hobby such as cosplay.
Cosplaying, as ive mentioned in many previous enties, is paying tribute to your
favorite character/design concept/idea by dressing up and acting out this character
as accurately as possible.
some cosplayers are quite devoted to this idea that they take great lengths to
produce the best cosplay of their chosen character.
They may employ their own knowledge or hire professionals
to help them make their cosplay come true.
these fan-made efforts are sometimes so well-done that the untrained eye
may mistake this effort as something done on the professional level
akin to hollywood or theatrical levels in dressing and acting.
but in the case of cosplayers, this really isnt the point,
because they were just doing their best to give tribute to their favorite character.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Parents often ask kids who want to cosplay:
aren you just wasting you money by cosplaying?
(nagtatapon ka lang ba ng pera sa pagko-cosplay?)
and
will you earn any money by cosplaying?
(may pera ka bang mapapala sa pagko cosplay mo?)
The answer is YES
but the it takes a huge effort to make any financial returns specially in cosplay.
There is money to gain in cosplay, but none by being just a cosplayer
(May pera sa cosplay, pero walang pera sa pagiging cosplayer lang.)
if you want to be involved in cosplaying "professionally"
you should become more than just a cosplayer who cosplays.
because there are no professional cosplayers
only professionals who are involved in cosplaying.
---------------------------------------------------------------
if you want to earn while doing something cosplay related there are ways:
You can be a professional costume maker -
aside from clients who are cosplayers
there are commercial production groups who are in need
of clothes and costumes for their actors and models
for theater, TV commercials, TV shows and etc.
(real world example: "The Anime Seamstress" from the early years of decade 2000,
Mang Poli, Cargin's Dancewear,
and your local tailor who is skilled enough to make fantastical cosplay clothes)
You can be a professional props maker -
for exactly the same clients as above
(real world example: Guy Singson of pagawanaman.multiply.com,
Lyron of burikiboy.multiply.com )
You may also become a professional wig/hair and make-up artist -
there are many characters who require extensive facial or prosthetic make-up
and the make-up skills you honed in cosplay
are going to be really useful in related occupations
You can also transition from cosplayer into model -
but mostly if you're physically attractive and appropriate enough for the particular role.
(real world example: Alodia Gosiengfiao of blackmage9.deviantart.com,
Shoko "shotocan" Nakagawa)
You may also transition from cosplayer to mascot -
there are many companies who need people who can
wear full-body costumes while being able to dance and/or act
and not every standard actor can accomplish such a feat
(real world examples: various cosplayers who are hired by companies for
Halloween, XMas and other seasonal commercial events)
You can also be a professional photographer / videographer
-if you began as a hobbyist you may expand your skills
in photography by taking shots of cosplayers!
take it a step further by practicing portraiture, fashion and event photography,
videography or even journalism.
(real world examples: Erving of huzafan.deviantart.com/)
you may also organize cosplay-related events -
if you have a background in public relations, marketing and other related roles
and if you have enough manpower and resources to assemble a quality event
which people (cosplayers, enthusiasts, and the curious) will annually attend
(real world example: Cosplay Mania by www.cosplay.ph)
---------------------------------------------------------------
there are many talents and skills involved to make a successful cosplay.
some of the basics are honed through practice, some are learned in school
or in apprenticeships and higher education.
if one were so inclined,
and when you've learned and experienced enough
to be confident in your skills
you may be able pursue a career which is related to cosplaying
but remember there is no single educational course to take for it
and it isnt necessary that one stop being a cosplayer
when one takes up a professional career.
but there is just no such thing as a Professional Cosplayer.
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The King of Failures
1 min read
i watched the King of Fighters liveaction movie and boy was i fricking disappointed.
the characterizations, costumes, and concepts were way off.
i kept on pressing the fast forward buton on my DVD controller!
the characterizations, costumes, and concepts were way off.
i kept on pressing the fast forward buton on my DVD controller!
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This Journal Entry Reeks of Elitism
6 min read
Remember the time when you were hunting for VHS copies of anime in various odd places
for your "anime addiction"? yeah?
remember how much money you spent just to do so?
it took an anime fan quite the dedication to keep doing it.
because anime isnt readily available,
you absolutely relished whatever small find you can get
and actually paid attention to what you were a fan of.
Most probably youve became a fan only of particular titles/authors/series
because being a fan of "everything anime!" is a very expensive and prohibitive hobby to maintain.
for example you liked Neon Genesis Evangelion, but only owned 3 or 4 episodes in VHS at a time,
vou'd most probably watch these 4 episodes over and over
until you find your next episode.
so if while waiting for your next Evangelion episode
you stumble upon a series like Tenchi Muyo
it's hilarious and entertaining but you may have found the harem humour and light science fiction
not too appealing after being exposed to Evangelion.
so it's very easy to drop and stop paying attention to Tenchi Muyo
coz it was gonna be too expensive to collect with Evangelion at the same time...
this made you a stronger fan of Evangelion
and it made you a fan with particular tastes in designs, stories, and quality.
Remember making sketches of your favorite characters?
Anime artbooks and Newtype magazines were some of the most coveted merchandise any fan could possess at the time. These were very expensive as well!
and to ease the frustrations of not being able to afford these you'd make drawings for yourself.
Maybe you always wanted to have a memento of your favorite characters even after watching an episode of their anime? Maybe you'd even draw yourself having an adventure with Eugene/Yusuke?
You'd be exchanging these drawings with classmates over recess
and you'd all laugh over how inaccurately you've drawn them.
This fixation with perfecting the look of your favorite character
began the spark of the fan artists in some of us.
Yes, fan artists making fan fiction was never an abhorrent thing
specially when one took special attention to keep the characterizations accurate.
A fan artist takes some inspiration from the original artist
and harnesses his own creativity to take part in the anime characters' stories
and create some adventures for himself as well.
But that was years ago, when an anime invasion was just
a fancy idea you giggled over with your friends,
that was the time when the height of technology was VHS and Laser Discs and not everyone owned a PC.
Technology has since made explosive progress
and made the sharing of information convenient for most of us.
Video editing software has become much more accessible thus VHS and LDs gave way to VCDs and DVDs...
By extrapolation, anime today is now easily accessible through torrent downloads,
and in essence anime has become a free item for those who choose these methods.
Anime now enjoys more fans who may not actually be able to afford it under normal circumstances!
Enjoying anime under normal circumstances mean you'd be buying original copies
- when the hell was the last time anybody you know actually did such a thing, eh?
being a fan of anime and i mean ANY anime -high quality or otherwise-
is comparatively easy and cheap these days.
because like it or not anime is now mainstream.
one gets anime videos, accessories and merchandise very cheaply
coz there are pirated items everywhere
- unlike back in the good ole days when even pirating a VHS copy of anime was
and still is an elaborate process...
Who cares if it isnt original, as long as you have it and can blatantly flaunt it ?
Remember being dressed up as a ghost for Halloween or as a reindeer for a Christmas party?
Nice. But do you remember the first time you saw people on the internet dressed up as anime characters? What an exciting idea!
You never knew people can dress up as anime characters too -
Im sure in your juvenile brain you're already yelling: Id love to do that, too !
A fan becomes a cosplayer because he has transcended a certain point in his fandom - his enthusiasm for a certain series or character has made him decide to express his fandom via Cosplaying.
The fans who eventually cosplayed knew what they were getting into because they paid real good attention to their fandom - the concept of cosplaying as the characters is something they really, really know because they have imbibed the heroics, quirks, theatrics and personalities of their favorites and are now going to take it to a new creative height.
Cosplaying.
Cosplaying isn't just dressing up and being photographed in the conventions, right?
No, never. It's more than just these superficial things. Because a fan knew the very minute details of his favorite character, making a slapdash lousy interpretation of this character for cosplay is never going to be enough.
A costume is just a pile of fancy clothing without the wearer's proper portrayal,
and play acting as a character falls short of one's satisfaction without the proper costume!
This is what cosplay should be. This is what being a fanatic actually entails.
A fitting tribute to your favorite character !
Anything less will always make one feel personally unfulfilled.
This journal entry reeks of elitism because this is exactly what it is.
Being an anime fan AND a cosplayer entails a concept of dedication, effort and budget
in maintaining the fandom, and in effect a certain "protectiveness" of their fandom.
Some fans these days find the concept of "elaborate effort in maintaining a fandom" very alien.
Because they have it oh so very easy.
for your "anime addiction"? yeah?
remember how much money you spent just to do so?
it took an anime fan quite the dedication to keep doing it.
because anime isnt readily available,
you absolutely relished whatever small find you can get
and actually paid attention to what you were a fan of.
Most probably youve became a fan only of particular titles/authors/series
because being a fan of "everything anime!" is a very expensive and prohibitive hobby to maintain.
for example you liked Neon Genesis Evangelion, but only owned 3 or 4 episodes in VHS at a time,
vou'd most probably watch these 4 episodes over and over
until you find your next episode.
so if while waiting for your next Evangelion episode
you stumble upon a series like Tenchi Muyo
it's hilarious and entertaining but you may have found the harem humour and light science fiction
not too appealing after being exposed to Evangelion.
so it's very easy to drop and stop paying attention to Tenchi Muyo
coz it was gonna be too expensive to collect with Evangelion at the same time...
this made you a stronger fan of Evangelion
and it made you a fan with particular tastes in designs, stories, and quality.
Remember making sketches of your favorite characters?
Anime artbooks and Newtype magazines were some of the most coveted merchandise any fan could possess at the time. These were very expensive as well!
and to ease the frustrations of not being able to afford these you'd make drawings for yourself.
Maybe you always wanted to have a memento of your favorite characters even after watching an episode of their anime? Maybe you'd even draw yourself having an adventure with Eugene/Yusuke?
You'd be exchanging these drawings with classmates over recess
and you'd all laugh over how inaccurately you've drawn them.
This fixation with perfecting the look of your favorite character
began the spark of the fan artists in some of us.
Yes, fan artists making fan fiction was never an abhorrent thing
specially when one took special attention to keep the characterizations accurate.
A fan artist takes some inspiration from the original artist
and harnesses his own creativity to take part in the anime characters' stories
and create some adventures for himself as well.
But that was years ago, when an anime invasion was just
a fancy idea you giggled over with your friends,
that was the time when the height of technology was VHS and Laser Discs and not everyone owned a PC.
Technology has since made explosive progress
and made the sharing of information convenient for most of us.
Video editing software has become much more accessible thus VHS and LDs gave way to VCDs and DVDs...
By extrapolation, anime today is now easily accessible through torrent downloads,
and in essence anime has become a free item for those who choose these methods.
Anime now enjoys more fans who may not actually be able to afford it under normal circumstances!
Enjoying anime under normal circumstances mean you'd be buying original copies
- when the hell was the last time anybody you know actually did such a thing, eh?
being a fan of anime and i mean ANY anime -high quality or otherwise-
is comparatively easy and cheap these days.
because like it or not anime is now mainstream.
one gets anime videos, accessories and merchandise very cheaply
coz there are pirated items everywhere
- unlike back in the good ole days when even pirating a VHS copy of anime was
and still is an elaborate process...
Who cares if it isnt original, as long as you have it and can blatantly flaunt it ?
Remember being dressed up as a ghost for Halloween or as a reindeer for a Christmas party?
Nice. But do you remember the first time you saw people on the internet dressed up as anime characters? What an exciting idea!
You never knew people can dress up as anime characters too -
Im sure in your juvenile brain you're already yelling: Id love to do that, too !
A fan becomes a cosplayer because he has transcended a certain point in his fandom - his enthusiasm for a certain series or character has made him decide to express his fandom via Cosplaying.
The fans who eventually cosplayed knew what they were getting into because they paid real good attention to their fandom - the concept of cosplaying as the characters is something they really, really know because they have imbibed the heroics, quirks, theatrics and personalities of their favorites and are now going to take it to a new creative height.
Cosplaying.
Cosplaying isn't just dressing up and being photographed in the conventions, right?
No, never. It's more than just these superficial things. Because a fan knew the very minute details of his favorite character, making a slapdash lousy interpretation of this character for cosplay is never going to be enough.
A costume is just a pile of fancy clothing without the wearer's proper portrayal,
and play acting as a character falls short of one's satisfaction without the proper costume!
This is what cosplay should be. This is what being a fanatic actually entails.
A fitting tribute to your favorite character !
Anything less will always make one feel personally unfulfilled.
This journal entry reeks of elitism because this is exactly what it is.
Being an anime fan AND a cosplayer entails a concept of dedication, effort and budget
in maintaining the fandom, and in effect a certain "protectiveness" of their fandom.
Some fans these days find the concept of "elaborate effort in maintaining a fandom" very alien.
Because they have it oh so very easy.
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Not Fan Art !
1 min read
Hey! Grab your Cosplay Mania 2010 wallpapers here at my gallery!
polidread.deviantart.com/galle…
polidread.deviantart.com/galle…
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Guess what?
2 min read
polidread.multiply.com/photos/…
img.photobucket.com/albums/v14…
i made a new cosplay after the Macross Girls of 2 years ago ?
what a pleasant surprise a bit of planning can do.
coz the house has been trashier after Ondoy im not inclined to make huge robot cosplays,
but the need to cosplay just cant be supressed. question is WHEN?
as one of the Cosplay.ph 's usual competition judges i could not just attend the event
without cosplaying so it's a nice opportunity to churn out at least another cosplay
before the year ends (or even before the mid-year hits!)
*****
Mari my youngest sibling asked if he could join me on Saturday's cosplay event - on Friday evening!
I had a hunch he wanted this but i assumed he had boyscout activities
coz that's his typical Saturday activity anyway.
*****
Im sure he had seen me preparing to cosplay Gendo for the past week
so i decided he could be my Shinji - the hitch is, he doesnt have a white school uniform
coz his school uses a light yellow uniform.
So Saturday morning we made a quick visit to the local market for a white top.
I thought we were going to have a difficult time looking for one coz school's out
and the stores may have hid their uniform stocks away.
Lucky for us i was wrong and we were able to buy one at the first store we asked.
We bought a slightly oversized white uniform top to match Shinji's character design -
I wanted to emphasize his thinness against the white top.
img.photobucket.com/albums/v14…
*****
serendipituous
we've reached an age where i and my brother can cosplay Gendo & Shinji convincingly
img.photobucket.com/albums/v14…
img.photobucket.com/albums/v14…
i made a new cosplay after the Macross Girls of 2 years ago ?
what a pleasant surprise a bit of planning can do.
coz the house has been trashier after Ondoy im not inclined to make huge robot cosplays,
but the need to cosplay just cant be supressed. question is WHEN?
as one of the Cosplay.ph 's usual competition judges i could not just attend the event
without cosplaying so it's a nice opportunity to churn out at least another cosplay
before the year ends (or even before the mid-year hits!)
*****
Mari my youngest sibling asked if he could join me on Saturday's cosplay event - on Friday evening!
I had a hunch he wanted this but i assumed he had boyscout activities
coz that's his typical Saturday activity anyway.
*****
Im sure he had seen me preparing to cosplay Gendo for the past week
so i decided he could be my Shinji - the hitch is, he doesnt have a white school uniform
coz his school uses a light yellow uniform.
So Saturday morning we made a quick visit to the local market for a white top.
I thought we were going to have a difficult time looking for one coz school's out
and the stores may have hid their uniform stocks away.
Lucky for us i was wrong and we were able to buy one at the first store we asked.
We bought a slightly oversized white uniform top to match Shinji's character design -
I wanted to emphasize his thinness against the white top.
img.photobucket.com/albums/v14…
*****
serendipituous
we've reached an age where i and my brother can cosplay Gendo & Shinji convincingly
img.photobucket.com/albums/v14…
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