Okay probably a sore topic,

Recently i found out people are happy to cosplay, when their costumes are finished but the cosplayer is hardly happy with the end result on how they look. I was looking into it and some cosplayers get unhappy/depressed when making items of costumes and it doesn't go to plan or something just isn't working mainly money issues and getting a job can get you down as well as how they look.

Well to me cosplay makes me happy, it's something i enjoy and i always look forward to it, yer i worry sometimes i don't look right, i'm doing pyramid head i don't have his build but i'll still do it. I may get upset or stressed if my sewing fails or something does go wrong but then again i am happy to get back in there and sort it out. Cosplaying makes me happy in the fact of the result you can get from just a bunch of fabric and some props. It's always nice to feel like you made that much of an effort that people recognise you for it. I generally don't mind whats going on as long as i am having fun doing it like it's supposed to be fun.

I don't really know what to say if it does get you unhappy not that much of a speaker of words. Just wondering
Does it make you happy? Or can it drive you to unhappiness at points? and why?

You don't have to answer this, was merely on my mind. Probably not in my own right to ask. Was just reading something that made me ask.

Regards
Matt

Making my cosplays CAN be enjoyable, when it all goes to plan! But it makes me very stressed out. I have to help my other half with his which stresses me out too because i have enough to do of my own! haha.


But once its all finished and im in it, and it suits me im extremely happy ^_____^
I love making things it soothes my mind, i wouldnt have it any other way.

I think it's like any hobby that requires you to put a lot into it really - it has its ups and downs.

I love cosplaying in general. I love planning how to construct a costume, I love putting everything together and watching it all take shape, I love wearing my costumes at cons and making new friends through cosplay (and lord knows I've made some awesome new friends this year like this). But I'm not going to pretend there aren't bits of it that I hate. It's an expensive and time-consuming hobby. Things can and do go wrong with construction. I hate cutting out pattern pieces and pinning tissue paper to fabric, it's the most boring part of the construction process for me. And if I don't get a project finished in time for an event I do feel sad, because it means I have to miss out on the fun. But the stuff that makes me happy greatly outweighs the stuff that makes me sad/depressed/annoyed, otherwise I would have given it up a long time ago.

Cosplay, more often than not, ends up driving me close to insanity.

Many times I've asked myself why I do it, and a while ago I took a break from it just to get my head screwed on the right way.

But while my sewing machine was gathering dust, my finegrs kept itching. I wanted to make something! And every time I watched a show or movie or played a game I thought "I want to look like them!"

I enjoy wearing cosplay, especially when it's recognized. What gets me down is when after months of hard work my costume seems to go by unnoticed. Maybe it's vane to want people to stop and look at my costume, or to tell me they like it...just to give some acknowledgement of "oh, you're dressed as such-a-body". It probably is. And I guess it's my own fault for choosing such obscure characters sometimes! But often I think it's because I'm not good enough...not pretty enough, can't sew well enough etc. And then I spiral into depression...
But most of the time it's not the cosplay that makes me depressed, more everything else in my life getting on top of me. I think, more likely than not, I think it's okay to cry over a torn costume or a badly sewn seam than over friends or problems with family memebers being sick...i get depressed about cosplay sometimes just to channel my frustration into something! Something that won't effect everyone else.


Yet somehow I find that every time something goes wrong it makes me all the more determined to get the next costume right...it hasn't happened yet...I think my costumes are probably getting worse! But I'm learning to channel my frustration into something constructive.

Does cosplay make me sad? yes, sometimes.
Does cosplay make me happy? yes, oh my yes it does.

(erm, wow, that was a rant ^^; )

I can't really say much except agree with what people have said here - it's been a pretty much equal balance of happy and unhappy. Costumes that are 100% complete make me very happy, costumes that are rushed the night before a con and look crappy, or don't get finished or used, make me pretty fed up thinking about the money that's been spent on it, and the time I've wasted.

I agree with everyone else that whether cosplay makes me happy or unhappy is actually a bit of both. I love thinking about how to construct each costume before buying materials. Wearing cosplays at events is always the best part!

What stresses me are the construction process and choosing materials as I know that materials can usually make or make a costume.

It kinds of upsets me not being recognised from being an obscure character but dispite that it can sometimes lead to perhaps one of the greatest feelings a cosplayer can have for me-making a few congoers really really happy because they have saw a cosplayer from an oldschool favourite, for example. Making people happy in general for cosplay is totally one of the most rewarding parts of cosplay in my opinion.

In the end, it gives me 100% happiness. Along the way, I do experience cosplay stress. I often end up arguing with my mom because we both have different ideas of how we want to do stuff; some stuff maybe a little too... in-accurate for me. But in the end, when I finally put it on and go around in it, I am more than happy.

When people simply say a small but good comment on my costumes, it makes the whole thing more than worth it. One of the best comments I ever reecieved was "I haven't the foggiest who you're meant to be, but you look FANTASTIC!" (I was cosplaying a relatively unknown character btw).

So in all... yes, it can make me unhappy... but when I finally wear it and take photos of it and hear people's thoughts, it all becomes more than worthwhile ^///^

I have always enjoyed cosplay. I love taking on a character, dressing up and having fun. Now that I have started making my own costumes though I love cosplay even more. Sure costume construction can be difficult and frustrating but wearing something you created is just an amazing feeling. You get a sense of pride and accomplishment knowing that you made what you are wearing. Especially if someone compliments you on it.

Cosplay has only made me unhappy if costumes are being sewed last minute taking away from a convention. Also if friends are doing a group and you are begged to do a costume you don't like it wouldn't be any fun. That hasn't happened to me but if you don't like the character you're making/wearing, why bother?

Its nice to hear people feelings on the issue.

It seems most rests in the balance of both unhappy and happy. As i stated i'm happy with finished works but if it doesn't get finished i get that feeling of failure but i always try to make it even if i missed it's deadline.

Most seem to relay that it's the construction that gets you down? As i know this is a hard part for some and all in some stages. I must admit i do plan about 2 months ahead for costumes or a month learnt that from uni to plan ahead. But i still don't always finish them or start. I get stressed when i get really into it and i can't find the one thing i need and it has to be the perfect item or it's no good.

Keep it coming and thank you to those that replied.

Ooer. I am making my first cosplay and I'm not stressed yet. A lot of it is bargain hunting ;P But soon I'll have to make a huge fluffy arm and I dread it. Cosplay is fun when you're there with other cosplayers, but it can be agitating when it doesn't go to plan or if you spend a lot of money just to use it for one night. XD