COSPLAY PLANS

Guh. Must... eat... sooooon....

Aara wrote:IT'S A DISEASE. I NEED TO GO TO REHAB.

Oh, yes. Shoppers anonymous.

Back on topic:

One of the cosplayers I watch on dA and YT is a member of FightingDreamersPro, the most popular cosplay group in both Canada and America. Basically the continent. xD
He recently wrote a journal on cosplay groups themselves, and how they work out, advice, etc. I thought it was interesting and very helpful, seeing as we were contemplating making TNC and all~ (for srs, read it~ 8D)

He wrote:

Lately I've gotten dozens of notes and emails asking a deceptively simple question: how to make a successful cosplay group? While I believe there simply is no single right answer, and you would get different answers from all of us from FDP, as well as from members of any other cosplay group. Having said that, this is what I (and I alone, I do not speak for the whole of FDP) would say to someone who is asking me for advice on how to avoid pitfalls of belonging to a Cosplay group.

PUT FRIENDSHIPS FIRST
I think many of the cosplay groups people see on youtube and other social sites have inspired a lot of cosplayers to start a group of their own. It sounds fun and easy on paper, but I get a lot of people telling me that their groups are just not working out.

My first piece of advice about running cosplay groups is always this: your friendships are more important than any cosplay group. Remember, you don't need a group to do group cosplays, you can simply agree with your friends to do cosplays together. If you form a group, always consider each other as a precious friends first, and a cosplay group member as a distant second.


IT'S A LOT OF HARD WORK
Do not expect things to go perfectly. People will get sick, you might have fights and arguments, people might not have time to commit to the group cosplay you agreed to do. Do not allow these things to become issues that hurt your friendships.

Be prepared to work hard. Watching videos of cosplay groups makes it look like it is just having fun at cons, doing skits, and parading cosplay photographs. But every activity you make, even just a simple photoshoot requires effort. Just to do a single photoshoot, all of you have to:


Decide on series/game you want to cosplay
Decide on a cosplay for each member
Gather the material to make the cosplays (fabric, wood for props etc)
Make the cosplays
Select a location for the photoshoot
Decide on a day and time to do the photoshoot
Get your photographer to come
Research poses and group shots
Have a plan B if the weather is bad or someone cannot make it
Have travel plan to the location
Travel to the location
Do the actual photoshoot
Travel back
Edit the photos

See how much is involved even in a simplest little thing you do as a group? So do not expect everything to go smoothly every time.

If you've decided to do something together, plan for all eventualities, and share the information. Agree on times, who does what cosplay, who buys the fabric, who makes props, when you plan to work on things together and so on. Nothing leads into more arguments and hurt feelings than expecting support from your friends and not getting it due to some misunderstanding.

THERE IS NOTHING YOU HAVE TO DO
Do not force anyone to do anything they don't want to do: cosplays, poses, group shots, skits, photos, glomps, or anything else they are not comfortable with. People have different priorities and different things they find difficult to do. Do not push your friends into situations that make them unhappy. Same works in reverse though: with a little effort, you can make your friends happy. I know most of the FDP are not huge Tekken fans like me, but I was very touched that they cosplayed Tekken with me for my b-day meetup.

EVERYONE IN THE GROUP CAN CONTRIBUTE IN DIFFERENT WAYS
Respect what others bring to the group: some of you might be better at sewing, while others could build great props, make-up, or art (great for making those tattoos and markings). Some have talent for photography, while even non-cosplay skills like driving a car can be very useful -our very own AG is a graphic designer amongst many other things, and her skills created our wonderful FDP logo.

IT'S NOT THE ARMY
Do not have leaders. I know some groups are very much ran by one or two people, but I think this always leads into trouble in the long term. I know some people will disagree with this, but in the end, you should be doing this for fun and enjoyment of each other's company, not for military discipline. If anything having a relaxed group that does less things is usually healthier than very active group where the members are stressed and fighting. This also means that if someone wants to leave, wish them the best, let them go, and remain friends with them.

Talk to each other. It is very easy to get upset and offended over trivial things. Most often problems get overblown for nothing, and a simple discussion could have solved the problems in seconds. Being able to say "I'm sorry" and "It's all right." is hard, but a vital skill for running any group.

ALL GOOD THINGS...
Sometimes groups break up for myriad of different reasons. It does not mean that you have failed, or there was anything wrong with your group. Nothing lasts forever, and it is not worth dwelling on it.

FINAL WORDS
If the above sounds discouraging, let me also tell you this: being part of a group is also very rewarding, fun, full of laughter and friendship. Don't be put off by what I said, just remember that you are all individuals and persons before you are cosplayers. Treat each other as such.

Above all, you are not going to make this for living, so you should focus on HAVING FUN!

That's actually pretty good advice.

For Christmas, I'm just going to ask for giftcards so I can buy all the cosplay crap and socks that I want.

That was great advice.

It was... *cries tears of joy*

BTW:
Y'know how we said the original members of TNC were going to be Myobi, Carly, Lena, Bella, my brother and I, and everyone else had to be voted in or voted out?
I want to vote in Alleh! D8

Awwwww. (':

WELL DUR OF COURSE!

I VOTE YUS!

(Maybe we can make her our Death the Kid if Emma doesn't cosplay him!)

YAY! THREE VOTES SO FAR! 8DDDDDDDDDD <333333333333333333333

Out of how many total?

I don't know.. xD
I already know my brother will say "I don't care", and choose not to vote, and Bella will say "Well is she fun/cool?" and when I say yes, she'll vote yes~ XDDDD
I don't know what Myobi will vote.
BUT.
I'mma make this a poll, just to be more formal.

What, like with its own topic?

Yeah - we need a little part of this forum for TNC, because I deleted the actual forum. I didn't think it was necessary when we had this one. It was taking up internet space. XD