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[kiratsukai]

Originally Posted by meteorie

Wow. I can't believe someone has a premade costume for something I have NEVER seen anyone cosplaying. Lol.
Thanks so much, you are all really helpful!

Cosplay is big business in Asia. Chances are, if anyone's ever thought of doing it ~ someone's made a premade costume to try and get some money out of them :3

Check out Trymax ~ It's the epitomy of quanitity over quality :P

http://www.trymax1.com/

Not a single costume on the site is accurate or passionately-made... but they're very nearly all there... with 15-20 added every week.

COS-MORE actually does very good work and manages to make some pretty crap fabrics look like a gazillion bucks more times than not :3 (Also out of China).

Japanese-made costs more and takes longer to surface... but there's still quite a lot in the way of selection compared to the West.

VOCALOID is currently the #1 most-cosplayed series in Japan. So it's pretty easy to find a wide selection of costume variations Especially for Miku. There will be more Snow Mikus along shortly :3

[jianna]

Oh man, Trymax has some of the scariest mannequins I've ever seen: http://www.trymax1.com/zoom/11958

I find the difference between the Japanese cosplay scene and the American cosplay scene a little jarring. In Japan, it seems to be mostly about how you wear your costume, whereas the American scene cares more about how you made your costume. It makes me realize how deeply invested I am in the DIY aspect of cosplay. That's why I got into it in the first place, and I feel like wearing it is more exciting when it's the final result of my own time and effort, y'know?

Anyway, I may be rambling off topic now...

[kiratsukai]

Originally Posted by jianna

I find the difference between the Japanese cosplay scene and the American cosplay scene a little jarring. In Japan, it seems to be mostly about how you wear your costume, whereas the American scene cares more about how you made your costume. It makes me realize how deeply invested I am in the DIY aspect of cosplay. That's why I got into it in the first place, and I feel like wearing it is more exciting when it's the final result of my own time and effort, y'know?

You'd be surprised. Just over half of all Japanese cosplayers make their own costumes. More remake and alter costumes. Nearly 100% cut and style their own wigs, do their own makeup, and take pains to bind, pad and adjust their height.

Just because there's a larger support base for the cosplay community doesn't mean more people are buying costumes than making them: it just means Chinese manufacturers are creating costumes cheaply to capitalize on the Korean, Chinese, SEA, and Japanese markets simultaneously (since the countries are relatively close and have relatively large-scale cosplay scenes). A lot of these same costume shops also operate on a smaller scale in the West through ebay.

The biggest difference in cosplay is the frequency that most people do it. Nearly half of all cosplayers participate in an event every other weekend... usually with a new costume for each. That's big business for cosplay-related businesses and a lot more experience for those cosplayers in posing, photography, makeup, etc. than most of their Western counterparts. Cosplay also has a more mainstream "porny" aspect in Japan... and a lot of costumers can do a good business selling maid costumes and schoolgirl uniforms for couples to enjoy at home together ^^

Cosplay in China and Korea is developing along the same lines... though the quality of available premade costumes seems to skew a lot lower for now. Perhaps because the average Chinese/Korean consumer is willing to spend less money for a costume than the average Japanese consumer.

As for not understanding that difference or the tendency to look down on Japanese cosplayers (and other international cosplayers) as "models and not creators":

I think it's incredibly difficult for some Westerners to understand that many asian singles live in spaces far too small to fit a sewing machine, much less a dressform and a workspace. The average Japanese work day is 7am-7pm. 3 hours of that are unpaid overtime. Students have mandatory 2-3 club meetings every day, including Saturday and more homework than you've probably ever seen before. They're expected to spend 3-5 hours studying every day on their own time to get into high school... and then even more to get into university. Most of the sewing going down in Japan is by university students or housewives with a lot of time on their hands. Students have no choice but to sew when they can ~ putting together rare costumes piecemeal and treasuring the results: no matter how haphazard. But working singles often have no practical recourse but to buy costumes... making them often isn't possible. Most people still make an effort to handsew what they can, when they can and pick up some basic construction/alteration skills in the process.

Does any less less time or effort necessarily go into making the money to buy a dress than sitting down to make it? Even a purchased costume that you then hand-tailor to fit, make shoes for, practice poses for, learn makeup for, make accessories for, and cut and style your own wig for still very much feels like it's become ~your costume~ in the end. It's still something you can take pride in and enjoy.

Sorry for the OT tangent ^^; Just kind of need to defend my adopted-community from the misperception that they only wear costumes. They don't. The Japanese cosplay community has developed to support the Japanese lifestyle... just like the American one has to support the American lifestyle. Yes, it's different. But don't knock it till you've tried it. It's a fabulous community and home to a good lot of obscenely talented people who bust their butts to look as good as they do (and quite a lot of wide-eyed kids who spend their allowance on cotton twill and sew in secrecy until they come up with something that looks ridiculous but has more love in it than you'd ever guess).

If you're curious about what cosplay in Japan is actually like ~ the surveys here are a better way of letting the community speak for itself than having me blather on any longer.

[meteorie]

Originally Posted by kiratsukai

VOCALOID is currently the #1 most-cosplayed series in Japan. So it's pretty easy to find a wide selection of costume variations Especially for Miku. There will be more Snow Mikus along shortly :3

Ooh, I didn't know that. I'm not surprised, though! The costumes are really eye catching and fun.

That's interesting how often people cosplay in Japan. I both wish we did that more here, and am glad we don't. The DIY aspect is really important to me too. Before I started cosplaying, I thought about buying costumes, but now the thought barely crosses my mind.

[jianna]

Thanks for the information, kiratsukai! I didn't mean to disparage Japanese cosplayers, I've just always heard more about it as a model-y sort of thing, rather than a crafty thing, but that could be due to a lack of communcation and reporting between the two. Sort of makes me wonder what preconceptions Japanese cosplayers have about American ones.

It does make sense that the communities would skew the way they do. I was completely unable to sew for myself for several years in college due to small quarters, or I'd be stuck sewing with the machine on the floor, working the pedal with my knee, so I do have sympathy for that. My workspace is still just a teeny corner of my teeny (by US standards) apartment, so I know what it's like to be limited in scale.

I've definitely seen the ebay cosplay market showing itself at conventions (what few I've been to) and Vocaloid is clearly one of the biggest fandoms buying them. And frankly, there are some cool innovations in it, like the sound-reactive sleeve panels, which I would love to dissect to see how it works. Based on what you say, the US community could learn alot from the Japanese, about tailoring, wig care and styling, and make-up, the last two being things I'm just barely learning.

It's a shame we don't see more casual pictures of Japanese cosplays on English sites, mostly just the really polished photoshoot pictures. I think you can learn alot more about the community through those.

[AirVee]

I noticed that with Vocaloid too. Maybe it's just the Tri State Area (NY,NJ and CT) But The Vocaloid cosplays kinda went BAM! and now almost all of my IRL friends who cosplay have at least one on their list.

It's 2nd most cosplayed to Hetalia (which I got bored of when the cosplayers turned it into a cult or sorts, which really wasn't fun). 3rd seems to be Kuroshitsuji.

In all it's popularity there aren't a lot of Vocaloid collectibles available.

All in all, I find it to be equal effort between making or buying cosplays. Personally, I feel a piece of me is in each one I sew... but I wouldn't trust my sewing either XD

[Shuuhei Hisagi]

@jianna the sound reactive sleeves are actually really fun to work with. one of the things i decided to do, since im kinda a rave mikuo vocaloid, is in my headphones that i made i put a sound reactive circuit in it so that all the LEDs pulse to the ambient sound around me. im always being asked how i did it and where i got the idea. the way the sleeves work is its all controlled in the battery pack, theres different sections on the panels and each one is wired to come on at different sound levels.

[ladyxzeus]

Oh wow, this thread is suddenly about economy! xD

On any case, I have a question... I am scheduling my photoshoot for Meiko and while I have things planned I want to be sure it works. Could you guys tell me if it's ok or if I should add/take something?
1. Place will be a club. A very dark club, with black floor, records on the ceiling and walls painted with some of our favourite stars - like Kiss and Kurt.
2. I drew some of the pictures that I want to come across "like that" to help the photographer. I want my Meiko to come out less sweetie as the other vocaloids but more crazy and drunk (after all, Sake is hers!)
3. My Meiko is probably going to smoke, I think it matches her even though there is not much art of it.
4. For make up this time I will invest some time and money, but I still don't want to be that "milky white" everyone is. Because I want to be a bit truer to the person that is inside the character and she just does not seem to have the personality that puts fake lashes and has more than the basic. Could someone redirect me to where I can learn a perfect make up that still looks basic? I don't wear make up in daily life, so it's a challenge for me.
5. Thinking of getting a real mic. Good idea or should I remake my fake mic?

Thanks for looking at this and for your opinions!

[Sapharia]

hey everyone! Debuted my magnet Rin this past weekend.
http://www.cosplay.com/photo/2519842/

there's more here: http://www.cosplay.com/costume/296396/

I have white magnet rin done too and that'll be worn to AZ next month. I just love the black and white magnet versions that I had to make them both. ^^

[Akiraxshiki]

Hi everyone!

I've done Len a few times but still don't have any of his outfits.
But I'm going to cosplay Kaito now, do you guys know his: Type H outfit?

Do you guys have any tips to make that one? O..o
The pants are easy.. but the rest..?
I can't put up a commision yet, so trying it out myself first. xD

[Rexluna]

Alright, I think I've officially decided to do Eager Love Revenge Miku for Fanime instead of the normal version...xD

[Wildshadow]

okay then, y'all set me off trying to make an origional design. Heh, I'm probably too lazy to make it anyways. But still, I'm going to try doing Rin Kagamine. I have three songs in mind, Stray Girl in Her Lenses(or glasses or whatever it is). I've found some of the glasses for order online, and I'm pretty sure I can get the bikini and shorts many places, now that it's swimsuit time. Do you think I should make or find a fake gun thing like she's carrying in the vid?

Another is Fear Garden, which again, I can find some stuff online(like I said, I'm lazy) but does anyone know where I can find a manequin arm? I think that'd be pretty cool.

Finally is The End of Solitude. I'm not sure if anyone's made any costumes for that, and the video doesn't really show all of her costume at once. Any suggestions for that?

[kuroikouma]

Hmm... upon stumbling upon the PV Fleeting Moon Flower, my Kaito and I really wanna cosplay Len's and Kaito's versions. However... we can't quite figure out what's going on with Len's dress o.o Does anyone know if there were any references or illustrations posted somewhere by the PV maker?

[Mithrenniel]

Anime Detour is on friday this week and I am pysched! I can't wait and yet I don't feel prepared in the least! Wish me luck?

[Ama Uzume]

Glad to see other Vocaloid fans! I'm kinda stuck with something. I love Meiko, but let's face it, she's not the most popular Vocaloid. And to add to it, my skin isn't exactly the same color (i'm black). Do you guys have any suggestions how to make any of the Meiko costumes more recognizable?

Please and thank you!