How to pull off original design cosplay?

[emah]

Sorry if this is in the wrong place :S

I have never done an original design cosplay before, and I was wondering how you would go about doing it, and doing it well? I got a book from my library which was a bunch of photographs of "cosplayers" but it was awful! most of them were "original design" (which apparently means wearing a bikini, doc martins and a naruto headband... you see what i mean by awful?) So yes, I'm inspired to do an original design cosplay properly.

What are the Dos and Don't of designing and wearing an original design cosplay?

[ninqualote]

I don't have much experience with making my designs into reality, but I've played around with character designing (for school-project games), and I guess the first thing you have to decide is the type of outfit you would want.

What I mean is, are you looking for some sort of school-outfit? A grad dress? Something in the line of a noble prince? Armor? Lolita?
Then you should probably look for references. From there, you should be able to tell what you like more, and what less, and start designing something to your liking.

[Chergnomebyl]

Hmmm...As far as originality, I believe for myself that you should figure out how to start out first. How it looks, how it's styled, what it's going to be made from. I made my own Original costume by doing so and it seems to me everyone likes it ; P. You just have to plan ahead and think about what you want to make. As far as mine, It was fairly easy considering I didn't have to sew anything ^.^. But if you have a certain character of style you like, go with that and move along.

[Lucifer]

I'm actually attempting several original designs this year (way above my norm). One is a spartan woman (based on the various designs in the film 300), and another is a concept gown based on the TARDIS from Doctor Who.

First thing you'd want to do, is figure out what character you're cosplaying. Is it an entirely original design? Or an original design based on a pre-existing character. Its also best to research the design ideas, experiement with fabrics, and just go from there.

[ItalianPeach]

It all depends on what you want to base it off of. Are you going for a certain theme like Lolita, maybe steampunk, or are you basing it off a character, like an 80's version or a 20's version of say, Poison Ivy from Batman. Before you can decide anything you have to think of a specific style to base it off of.

[Sarcasm-hime]

Original designs are totally fine IMO...as long as they are well-designed and well-executed. I do original designs all the time.

If you're doing a completely original concept there may be some anime masquerades that don't allow you to enter; you may be more welcomed at sci-fi/fantasy conventions.

If you're doing an original take on an existing character, you need to carefully consider how to keep it still related to the character while also being able to exercise your creativity. Do lots of design sketches and evaluate what works best, get second opinions from friends, and be prepared to explain your design choices!

[Kortoso]

As a complete novice to Cosplay (unless you count medieval reenactment):
It's tempting to just find some props and costume bits and say, "how can I justify my character having these?" or invent a character based on what you have available.
Probably a better approach would be to envision what character you want to play, and gather what you need based on that.

Am I too far off the mark?

[emah]

No, you've all been very helpful! I was thinking of cosplaying my D&D character, which would be easy for me, because I already understand her as a character. That's cool, right?
I've started researching various images, thanks a lot everyone! I can't wait to give this a go!