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Cosplay New Zealand :: Cosplay :: General Cosplay Discussion

Convention Tips

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Convention Tips
Post By Aurellion. 09/11/08, 02:27 pm
Thought we needed a sticky with basic tips for surviving ‘geddon. :3 If anyone has anything else to add, please post~ whee

Compiled from threads on Coscom & external cosplayers sites, as well as a few bits of personal experience. 8D;

At the convention~
    Like a Star @ heaven Remember to eat, sleep and drink. I cannot stress this enough. Yes, you’ve got all these events you want to go to, and you’re in the moment & it’s high energy.. but believe me, foregoing food and sleep will make your experience a lot, lot worse. Since you can eat outside the con, food can be as cheap or expensive as you want. Bringing small snacks with you is also a good idea, all the walking and posing won't only dehydrate you but make you hungry as well. To prevent exhaustion, plan out your time so you’re not staying up til 4AM finishing costumes for yourself or others.
    Like a Star @ heaven Don’t have all your money on you at one time! Take only what you want to spend each day, because that helps you not blow all your money at once. Bring with you only as much money as you're willing to spend each day. The best day to buy is always the last, when stall holders have to leave and they liquidate their items, dropping the prices, sometimes even to half.
    Like a Star @ heaven Don’t ninja photograph other cosplayers too much.
    Like a Star @ heaven Make sure to bring any medication & products you may need.
    Like a Star @ heaven Wear make-up for each cosplay: you don’t have to be caked, just balance out your skin tone for photographs. Powder is great to dispel shiny con faces as well. :3
    Like a Star @ heaven Always try and travel around with a friend – you’ll probably have a better time, and it’s safer to travel in groups.
    Like a Star @ heaven Check your phone frequently and make sure it’s on full battery.
    Like a Star @ heaven Don't be camera-shy. Practice posing at home in the mirror so you don't have any stray bad shots. People will take pictures, sometimes even without asking you. Get over it: pose and enjoy the attention!
    Like a Star @ heaven If it helps, make a timetable of the events you want to see before the day, then you can plan out when you can hang out, get autographs and such. :)
    Like a Star @ heaven Remember to shower daily. 8D; I’m sorry, but it had to be said. sweatdrop


Preparing for the convention~
    Like a Star @ heaven Give yourself plenty of time to design, make/order, and finalize your costume, down to the accessories and gadgets. If ordering items, give plenty of time for shipping, which can take up to 2 weeks.
    Like a Star @ heaven Hair is always a hot topic in cosplay. If you're tipsy (even the slightest bit) about dying or cutting your hair, don't. Wigs can be your best friend. If you're a frequent cosplayer, dying your hair should be the last resort. Dying, straightening, and chemical altering of hair can damage it beyond what the eye sees and will need time to recover.
    Like a Star @ heaven Make sure you can move around as much as possible while wearing your costume. Wave your arms, turn your head sideways, look down, sit, and walk. If something needs to be adjusted, don't wait until the last day.
    Like a Star @ heaven Pack your bag at least a day before leaving home. The moment you're leaving, double check your bag for the vitals.
    Like a Star @ heaven Bring normal clothes with you as well as your costume. It can get annoying being in an uncomfortable/revealing outfit, and you don’t want to miss any out-of-convention activities like arcading because you just wanna get into your comfy track pants, do you?
    Like a Star @ heaven Iron all of your costumes! It makes them look so much better.
    Like a Star @ heaven Do pre-book your tickets, unless you like staying in line for an hour. (Okay, some cons may not have lines at certain times, but why risk it?)
    Like a Star @ heaven Bring a little sewing kit thingy (pins, hotglue gun, whatever). It always comes in handy for someone.


Costume issues~
    Like a Star @ heaven Try and make a character appropriate bag, or sew a hidden pocket into your costume. It’s pretty much unavoidable to carry around a bag at a convention, and it can get annoying setting it down for photos as you don’t want it in the shot: for example, what if you were a Trinity Blood cosplayer carrying around a pink sparkly bag? It’d look a little odd. XD If your bag looks like something your character would carry, you don't have to worry about setting it down for photos and possibly getting it stolen. For example, if you’re an Ouran cosplayer, bring a briefcase. If you’re a school girl, have a school bag. Plushies work great, too: if there’s a mascot you can make & cut open to store stuff in, then go do that. Jess made a poison cake out of felt, and it worked great as a prop AND storage device. :3
    Like a Star @ heaven To keep your costumes neat after each night, place the clothing items in a hanger. If the costume is wrinkled, put the hanger in the bathroom while you take a hot shower. The steam will stress the fabric and cool it down in such a way that it will be seemingly wrinkle-free. Keep your accessories and props organized on a table or a floor corner, just as long as you know where it is. At the end of the night, to ensure nothing will stain/wrinkle your costume, simply get a large garbage bag, make a hole in the top, and stick the hook of the hanger through it. Hang it somewhere safe. Even better: have a clear garment bag and hanger for each costume, with a notecard on the front of each bag with a list of all pieces so you don’t forget anything.

_________________
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Last edited by Aurellion on 19/01/09, 10:20 am; edited 2 times in total

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Re: Convention Tips
Post By Rikki-Leigh. 09/11/08, 03:50 pm
Quote:
Remember to eat, sleep and drink. I cannot stress this enough.


Seriously, guys.
Go to talk to Angie (Aura) about what happened on Saturday at Auckgeddon if you wanna know a reason why you should eat.

Another thing to add is with your camera, ALWAYS make sure your camera has a working set of batteries as well as at least one spare set BEFORE you leave home.

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Re: Convention Tips
Post By Kitten Slave. 09/11/08, 04:02 pm
lol, remember to shower, I always laugh at that one!
Its like a gamers conference or something whee

Dont ninja? Ok, very guilty here....
Dont have all your money on you at one time... I know. Knowing didnt help.
stare

make sure you dont drop your camera... several times...

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Re: Convention Tips
Post By Pyro. 09/11/08, 05:15 pm
I reiterate: EVERYONE, EAT!

Everyone knows my notoriety for not eating at cons.

It's a bad habit, kids.
Don't get into it like I have.

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Re: Convention Tips
Post By Pura. 09/11/08, 05:27 pm
Aurellion wrote:

Like a Star @ heaven Don’t ninja photograph other cosplayers too much.


Yeah, JP xD.

This thread is a good idea whee

What happened to Aura?

Last year three of my friends and I decided we were hungry, so we went to go get Sushi. The shop was closed, so we went to the Willis food court, it was closed Dx. So in the end we walked to New World Metro and got potato salad xD.
This was while the cosplay judging was on, so no one was around Dx.
Though some people noticed we had been missing for about an hour xDDDD.

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Re: Convention Tips
Post By jpwise. 09/11/08, 07:06 pm
Pura wrote:
Aurellion wrote:

Like a Star @ heaven Don’t ninja photograph other cosplayers too much.


Yeah, JP xD.

This thread is a good idea whee

What happened to Aura?


Heh, yeah, I was gonna say if Kittens guilty, I'm convicted and they threw away the key! sad Oh, well, I generally screen the photos and take out any that aren't suitable anyway. They may be caught out of character in casual poses, but they still look great. :) But yeah, if anyone wants me to ease up on the casual photos just let me know. I'm not exactly known for asking to take photos first. Rolling Eyes

But yeah, what happened to Aura? (being nosy here)

Edit: PS: Good thread.
Edit2: For linguistic value. Words are funny things.

Last edited by jpwise on 09/11/08, 08:05 pm; edited 1 time in total

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Re: Convention Tips
Post By Rikki-Leigh. 09/11/08, 07:10 pm
jpwise wrote:
Pura wrote:
Aurellion wrote:

Like a Star @ heaven Don’t ninja photograph other cosplayers too much.


Yeah, JP xD.

This thread is a good idea whee

What happened to Aura?


Heh, yeah, I was gonna say if Kittens guilty, I'm convicted and they threw away the key! sad Oh, well, I generally screen the photos and take out any inappropriate ones anyway. They may be caught out of character in casual poses, but they still look great. :) But yeah, if anyone wants me to ease up on the casual photos just let me know. I'm not exactly known for asking to take photos first. Rolling Eyes

But yeah, what happened to Aura? (being nosy here)

Edit: PS: Good thread.



...You were there!
YOU HAVE PHOTOS OF IT, JP!

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Re: Convention Tips
Post By Auroa. 09/11/08, 07:11 pm
rofl

Oh, awesome threadie there Jen nodnod
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Re: Convention Tips
Post By jpwise. 09/11/08, 07:16 pm
Rikki-Leigh wrote:

...You were there!
YOU HAVE PHOTOS OF IT, JP!


oooohhhhhhhhhh... That bit! Now I'm with ya. Razz Thought she mighta part fainted somewhere or something instead. With ya now. Razz

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Re: Convention Tips
Post By Suixelo. 17/11/08, 12:49 pm
Guilty about not eating... I forget to eat normally anyway lol. And if you eat, your stomach expaaaaands which is bad for photos XDD
DONT TAKE ADVICE FROM ME EVER. Haha...

Um. I think because we know JP will be ninjaing it's okay... somehow haha. I certainly don't mind it, the more photos the better in my opinion. Although I still have to find the time to go through all the Geddon ones DX

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Re: Convention Tips
Post By jpwise. 17/11/08, 01:01 pm
I'm weird like that. :)

As for the eating, you should eat anyway, even the ladies!, just don't overdo it if you're worried about stomachs expanding. A light snack is usually all you need to keep going and then a decent dinner later on. :)

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Re: Convention Tips
Post By Guest. 17/11/08, 01:14 pm
if you are completely drained resort to caffine and can stave of hunger for an hour or so (NO MORE THAN THAT!) make sure to bring drinks with you cause 8 bucks a drink isnt cool! also if possible have a car near the con that you can deposit the goods and then lock this saves you the trouble of lugging around 3 tons of figures, manga, DVDs, Games, plushies and everything else that the con spits out at you.

try to stay in groups of cosplayers (with atleast 1 cameraman attached to the group) also dont worry too much if people ninja shot you they are generally too shy to come up to someone as confident as you (take it as a compliment)

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Re: Convention Tips
Post By firecat70. 21/11/08, 10:29 pm
Foood =D
We always look at the timetable at the start of the day and find time when we can go into town and get food.
Yay for KFC!

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Re: Convention Tips
Post By Static. 21/11/08, 10:37 pm
Yep, I'm throwin' my full endorsement on the EATDAMMITEAT wagon here. Migraines suck. sad

Oh yeah, and also: cosplaying solo is the pits. The absolute, mother physics pits. Kids who think they're cool abuse you. Seriously, nothing hurts like a ten-year-old yelling at you from across the hall - he is too small to bash.

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Re: Convention Tips
Post By Pura. 21/11/08, 11:56 pm
No he's not. Kick him.

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