Cosplay then vs now

[Anonymous No.10540362]

Feel like cosplay was just a lot more fun and soulful when it was just fans of something wearing hastily made costumes just because.Now its all about accuracy and sex appeal and people trying to make it into a career borderlining on softcore porn.

[Anonymous No.10540371]

Gimme that modern shit

[Anonymous No.10540388]

>>10540362
Man, there's something really endearing about looking at old cosplay pics.
Personally I think the rise of social media twisted the cosplay community a lot from "just have fun with friends and like minded people" to "wear the most accurate outfit and have the most gorgeous shootings". It feels a little like it became more of a show-off contest than celebrating fandoms. Everyone is more concerned about making a name for themself. Gotta keep that follower count high after all!
Which is why so many jump on the OF bandwagon and shit
I'm probably just a bitter oldfag

[Anonymous No.10540671]

>>10540362
I've thought about it before, and I'll still maintain that the ease of access to mass manufactured costumes killed a lot of the creativity of cosplay. Now, literally everyone can get a half assed unironed cosplay from Aliexpress for 30 bux. I think people making cosplays are good though (but that might be become I make my own stuff and am unreasonably proud of it); it takes a lot of effort and attention to detail to make something look good, which I appreciate as a cosplayer. Then, you get people that call themselves a cosplayer, but buy every FOTM character cosplay they want, take pics and upload to a cosplay insta, etc. Kind of passionless.

Also, cosplay photography is a meme and a half. I respect the grind of the photogs and they do some great work, but I feel that the better the photogs, the more questionable the actual cosplay's quality. As in, Photoshop, angle/lighting work, all help crutch up a mediocre cosplay really hard. Like all those photoshop vs. IRL pics that show that anyone with a shitty cosplay, shitty wig, etc can be shooped to look fantastic. But, IRL, they will look terrible on the con floor. Seen some people IRL and compared them to their insta and it's an INSANE difference.

[Anonymous No.10541740]

>>10540671
I can understand then, though. Why spend time making a half assed costume when you can buy one for cheaper, without spending any time and that will look better?

That divides the cosplay community into two:
People who just wanna cosplay and buy everything and people who enjoy crafting and make their own.

However, me being from the second group, I feel like since the inclusion of bought cosplay you either have to craft something better than that or you are wasting your time and money. I know of some people that didn't get into crafting exactly because of that.

[Anonymous No.10541869]

I don’t get it. Okay so cons look like the strip club on Halloween, how does that stop you from doing your thing? Unless Yaya Han is standing in front of the AA stopping me from going in, or Jessica Nigri took my pass and shoved it down her top, no one is stopping me from have fun at a con.

I go to shoots, sit in at panels, I drink at room parties and dance at the rave. Last I saw we can still do all that.

[Anonymous No.10541921]

>>10540362
>now it's all about accuracy

Lol no

[Anonymous No.10541929]

>>10540671
How do you feel about if someone buys a well made costume from someone else, out of curiosity?

Personally, my skill level is still developing and in the meantime I'd rather support an artist to create something than try myself at a task I know I would crash and burn at

[Anonymous No.10542022]

i feel a little at an impasse because on one hand I can't deny god fucking bless the way we can access resources for cosplay nowadays (better and wider range of fabrics, materials, guides, etc at much better prices)

I'm a perfectionist and even back in the day I loved customizing my stuff down to the last dot, nowadays it's much more doable.

that being said I do wish places sold more DIY cosplay patterns, kits, bases, and 3D forms than the cosplays themselves.

>>10541869
>unless Yaya Han is standing in front of the AA stopping me from going in
>Last we saw we can still do all that
define "we", because the problem that many complain about is exactly that

The amount of "strip club goers" making a fuss being obnoxious in crowds getting in everyone's way and forgetting they're still in civilization just skyrocketed exponentially

Not saying they didn't exist back then, if anything on some aspects it's better now
but at least on my experience on many levels it's simply unbearable anymore.

Insert that picture of the mountain of normies in underwear at Colossalcon I can't find here

[Anonymous No.10542162]

>>10541929
I think it's fine, it only irks me when you have career cosplayers (ie. they regularly go to cons and cosplay, have an insta, etc) buy all their stuff. I think making cosplays is a very big part of cosplay itself, and there's a distinction between someone wanting to just naruto run around in an naruto cosplay for a weekend or two and someone who brands themselves a cosplayer and thinks they're hardcore. I know of quite a lot of people that do a dozen or so "cosplays" a year if not more, all of them bought (with the same crappy shiny material). I find it a bit flippant in some ways; like instead of honing several cosplays to be fantastic, they just buy a bunch of sets of whoever at a whim. It feels like it's a totally different take on cosplay.

Also, sewing is hard! I'm basically self taught and it was a pain in the dick to start out with, so don't be afraid to make mistakes. I think the artist sees way more blemishes than a casual observer, which is why you might be beating yourself up over it.

[Anonymous No.10542163]

>>10540362
You can still just do this. Most people still just do this. Take off the nostalgiafag goggles.

[Anonymous No.10542194]

>>10540362
i feel like people being able to easily take pictures and track people down kind of killed it a bit. there's more at stake these days if you look like a moron at a con which might drive off some of the more normies.

[Anonymous No.10542585]

>>10542194
This.
Ban cameras from everywhere but designated photoshoot locations and this all goes back to how it was before.

Cons have way too much social media coverage for my taste. Not a fan of the idea of every goofy antic that takes place getting blasted out.

[Anonymous No.10543274]

>>10541869
you have parties and raves?
shit, we barely have fucking panels anymore

[Anonymous No.10546841]

>>10540388
No, you're right. You can't separate how cosplay developed from how the internet developed. Those early days of cosplay only happened bc of the forums era of the internet. That era of the internet was mostly about making connections with unknown people. It's where niche hobbies like cosplay got started. Forums was just about showing your passion, and with cosplay being 100% diy back then just showing your passion was enough. I mean look at baby Yaya. This was top skill back in the day.

This took a hard turn when the social media age happened bc now you weren't one name among many on forum, now you had a your own personal account. A place to cultivate your image and sell yourself as a brand. This caused the corresponding shift in cosplay that you mentioned. Now it's not just about showing your passion as a fan, now you have to look good. You have to sell yourself as a brand. Nobody had "cosplay names" in the early days bc no one was trying to build their brand. Nobody was calling themselves "cowbutt crunchies" or "Crabcat industries" or whatever. So no you're 100% on the money.

[Anonymous No.10546849]

>>10546841
>Nobody had "cosplay names" in the early days
Pretty sure most cosplayers went by a psuedonym - Yaya was AngelicStar for example
Nowadays people just use their real names

[Anonymous No.10546853]

>>10546841
Um, everyone had “cosplay” names, it was your handle on coscom or similar websites. It wasn’t about creating a brand.

[Anonymous No.10546859]

>>10546849
>>10546853
Alright fair, but like you said they were more psuedonym's back then. That said there was a shift to branding around the time social media became the dominant form. Do you not remember the turn when people suddenly had business cards?

[Anonymous No.10546882]

>>10546859
business cards are also a weeb thing because they're used in japan for contact info

[Anonymous No.10547151]

>>10546859
What are you even trying to say here? It's clear you weren't in the community back in the old days or you wouldn't have insisted that every single person on the internet didn't go by a weird username, including for cosplay. We all had stranger danger grilled into our heads so we used pseudonym and most of the older cosplayers still do. The cosplayers and thots trying to create a celebrity brand now always use their real names because the brand is about them and not what they make.

[Anonymous No.10547160]

>>10546841
Been doing this since early 00s whatever your usual screenname or username on whatever forums became most people cosplay/con nicknames.Some cosplayers themselves as their screenname, something people still do. Not everyone is trying to build a brand.