How have you changed as a cosplayer

[SilverStarboy]

For those of us who have been cosplaying for years, how would you say you are a different cosplayer now than when you first started. As for me, I would say my accuracy to the character is a lot better. One trap Im not falling into anymore is that whole "I dont look like the character so I cant do it" anymore.

[PurpleDuckie]

I'm much more accurate, my costumes are better quality, and I'm not cheating anymore (ex. skipping lining and such) lol

[SoundShinobiYuki]

I've obviously goten better at making cosplays.... and yeah, I'm now less hung up on having to have a resemblance to the character already before cosplaying them. It's still desirable, but not the deciding factor on if I do it or not. I can't really think of anything else at the moment...except that now I also love big/epic props. But space and travel constraints kind of restrict that one.

[Dragon]

I've gotten way better at practically everything. Experience and practise definitly help a lot.
Nowadays I do stroll away from 'simple' costumes, because I know I can do better and I just love a challenge and pretty patterns.

Seeing how my own works turn out, I've also got the confidcene to actually show other cosplayers how to make props or how to sew something. I've been holding a mini-workshop twice now and the results were pretty nice.

I'm also convinced now that I do not need to have the considered best/most expensive material (wonderflex), but there are way cheaper options that can make the same result. They usually are a bit more time consuming, but I'll rather use up some more time than spending money that I could use otherwise.

I've also reached the point where I'm not buying everything I see/like at cons anymore. Especially when there is a costume and wig booth I've gotten very critical and got a way better estimated on what prices are okay and always question myself "Do I really NEED that?" before actually buying.
Usually the costumes remain on the rack and wigs on the wig heads.

The only 'negative' thing I've noticed is that in the back of my mind I'm always looking at things and wondering how I could use them for cosplay or if they could be useful for a cosplay that I'm making at the moment XD

I've gotten stricter with myself thought and developed a detail-fetish when it comes to my costumes. I'll always aim to be as accurate as possible.
Yet, make it as easy as possible at the same time ;P

[moogles1989]

um ive only been at it since 2007 but since then i must say that i went from crappy, not very wel constructed and unfinished hems, to being so anal retentive that all my hems are finished and sometimes done by hand so that it doesnt show through to the otherside, i do full lineing, i am a huge fan of hong kong semas or french seems when the pinking shears fail to keep the fabric from raveling or full lineing is too expensive or will give unneccessary bulk. um i moved on from easy and over done cosplays to building huge things that i never would have thought i could do. and now the deciding factor is based about 80% on degree of difficulty and if it will challenge me and 20% if i can make the cosplay work for my body type and/or if i can alter the cut to be more flattering....
but mostly i pick things based on the degree of difficulty

hmmmm i have picked up corsetry and millinery skills, as well as sewing skills, i do always prefer to use my own hair but if the costume requires a wig i buy quality wigs and have a proffesional style it aka the wig and hair lady (donna) from where i work (the western stage),

i do no longer think to myself that i cant cosplay a certain character because my skin tone is darker or cus im not as thin.

a bad thing is that i have become hyper critical of myself and when i shop one of the deciding factors is either can i use it for a costume or can i use it for work.......sometimes its both.....like a really nicer purple velveteen jacket with ruffles on the hems i bought.....one of the factors was a) can i dye it another color and b) can i use it for something.....in this case it was can i use it for steam punk?

[RaDragon76]

I've been cosplaying since 2005 and there are loads of things that have changed for me.

1. My sewing skills have improved greatly over the time I've been making costumes and I've stopped taking shortcuts with my costumes such as skipping out on the lining when it should be there or not bothering to do fittings before getting to work on things like trim.

2. I've gotten better at making appropriate fabric choices for characters and at deciding what a suitable replacement fabric is in the event that my first choice is too expensive for my budget. I sometimes take months to make a final decision about what particular fabric I'm going to use. I've also stopped taking the first fabric that I see that "might" work out for something because invaribly something better comes along.

3. The costumes that I make now are more complex then they were when I started and most of them are or have been for a masquerade stage rather than the hall. I still love simple costumes for the halls but even those "simple" costumes are not really so simple anymore.

4. I participate in masquerades pretty regularly now, which is not something I saw myself doing when I first started cosplaying.

5. I've started, in the last couple of years, to explore other media sources and genres as a source for my costumes instead of just anime because I'm finding that more interesting to me now. I've pretty much quit anime cosplay because of all the drama involved. I'm getting to old of all the high-schoolish shenanigans that go on nowadays. I've also pretty much stopped attending anime cons in favor of Sci/Fi and Multi-Genre cons.

6. I stopped being so hung up on accuracy and now prefer to see costumes where the costumer has taken a chance with a different color scheme or something else that makes the costume unique and stand out from the others. I don't see anything wrong with someone wanting do so now.

[hugginsseller]

I would say my prop making skills have gotten better. Use to be crappy xD

[Aduial]

I've been cosplaying since 2003. I've gotten a lot better at picking the right fabrics. My seams are cleaner, especially now that I have a serger and two machines to switch between. My sewing skills have vastly improved to the point that I am doing minor alterations to my mother's clothes and making handbags and such.

I am a lot faster at sewing. Or I should say I am more efficient. A pair of pants - zipper, buttons, lining, and all - used to take me a week or more. Now it takes me 3-4 hours to complete.

My prop making skills still suck...except in making Vocaloid Magnet headphones. Those I can make somewhat decently.

[DS454]

what everyone else said and the fear of taking pictures, i was always shy, but give me my cosplay and wham! i am a picture whore!

[moogles1989]

yes fear of taking pictures!!!! i used to be terrified of the camera, but now im a camera whore......to bad i never track down who took a picture....

[squ33k t0y]

My quality has gotten better, just by learning from my mistakes. I've also starting to line costumes, making them to last. And I've learned what fabric works and what doesn't. (I thank this to working at a fabric store for over a year).

Also, having money and being able to drive myself helps a lot as well. Because I can spend that little extra money on nicer fabric (with coupons/sales of course xD), I can buy correct wigs, and I can go out whenever I want and get things when I'm missing them, or need something. For years while cosplaying, I had to rely on my parents for money and transportation. So I had to stick with what I was given.

Also I've changed on who I cosplay as well. I went through I trend of schoolgirls when I first started out. Just because that's what I liked and what I could make. However I've moved on to slightly more complex cosplays, (and not necessarily girls, either xD).

[DemonLordEtna]

My sewing has gotten way better and I strive for better accuracy. I also have calmed down a lot, for some reason so many cosplayrs are so hyper when the first enter the hobby, now I'm really shy and quiet.

[Braithcakes]

I've noticed that...not only as a cosplayer, but as a costume designer, my depth into functionality and into the way things fit aesthetically together has increased SO much.

like....I notice such tiny details now and put them into my sketches and LOVE it. comissioners really like me when I ask them to help me make something if I lack the skill, because my sketches are getting so detailed that I'm starting to put the texture in along with all of the colors.

._. so I guess....my perception of detail and fashion :3

[dagmarus]

Accuracy and detail are king now. Before I was okay with a reasonable substitute, but as I've come along, I wanted my costumes to look like they came right off the screen.

[Dany]

Hmmm..lemme think:

-I do drafts, sometimes a lot of them. My first one or two things were not drafted, and they have their quirks as a result. Now, nearly everything gets one run.

-I am faster now. Things that used to take me several times are not taking as much as when I started, and I have a clearer mind what materials will work for things. I waste less on mistakes as well. Not that I don't -make- them, but they are usually recoverable.

-I am also slower now. I know this sounds odd, but I need to start things sooner because I don't always have the ability to work seven days a week on something. As a result, if I say something will take me three months, it means that it's probably about two months with a spare month's worth of time of non-work "padding".

-I don't work alone. Hubby costumes as well, so we work together. I didn't have any form of partner in crime my first couple of years.

-I am no longer intimidated by historical costumes XD