Cosplay group help!

[Acheron]

Because I am a foolish fool, I foolishly invited twelve of my fool friends to be in a Phoenix Wright cosplay group with me. Unfortunately I only have the barest cosplay experience myself, and only by myself, never in a group, while the majority of the group are complete cosplay newbies. If I could get some tips on what I should do with running it, what we should do as a group, any other gems of wisdom you could impart, I would be ever so kind.

_{-Shannon, this is Olivia, I, er, forgot the password to my old account, and the retrieval thing isn't working for me... Just so you know there isn't another PW cosplay group}

[Syd-chan]

Hmm......Well, if you have a lot of time to get them 'anime-upped', you could always look for that anime and kill their noob-ness! Also, seeing as you're the 'leader' of a BIG group, try getting someone to help you.....!

[Acheron]

I've got a helper... sort of, but I don't know if she's cosplayed at all. D: We've talked about it, just the two of us, but somehow it blossomed into more...

And to make matters worse, a good amount of the people are completely unfamiliar with the game... I wish it was an anime so I could sit them all down and make them watch!

[~boogiepop~]

Get down and explain to them the characters, maybe get the wikipedia stuff up or a site that has the characters up on it so you can read bios and such. You could all try to make your costumes together as well and talk about the game and stuff when you do it~ Pheonix Wright doesn't have many costumes that are "OMG EVERYTHING FROM SCRATCH" so you might be able to goodwill a lot of the stuff too.

[totemo_oishii]

Actually, I disagree with people being unfamiliar with the game. The Phoenix and Edgeworth pair got a lot of attention last year (along with the other PW cosplayers), I'm sure there will be a lot more this year.

As for costumes, find a lot of reference images. Same with boogiepop, you can try browsing thrift shops. Good luck!

[goatchild]

When I try to convince friends to cosplay with me, I first get them to like the series, then ask if they'd like to have an awesome dress up party as the characters. XD If your friends like the character their cosplaying, they're more likely to enjoy it. Not to say not knowing the game is a bad thing. I cosplay KHII, but I've only played the very first part and have no intention of playing the rest. I don't like the game, just the characters, so I still enjoy cosplaying them. ^^ It's also easier to stay in character if you know the character. XD

Another fun idea is to have group shopping outings and sewing parties so you can all help each other to find materials and make the costumes. The more, the merrier! ^^

Also, plan what it is you all want to do at the con itself. If you get all ready to hang out together but end up breaking apart to go to different things, it can be a little less fun. ^^; But again, it's not bad to split up. You can have just as much fun with a few friends as 100! XD But it's still good to have some idea of what everyone is interested in doing at the con. ^^

Sorry for rambling. Just trying to be helpful. ^^;;

[yukimizu]

My advice for the group is to not be a cosplay navi. If two or more people want to do the same character, let them! If someone wants to do the same character as you, let them!
Being a group isn't always about being from the same series either. Series group cosplays are (supposed to be) fun, so my advice would be is to have a mini party with everyone, and pick out series that everyone likes, or agrees on, and pick out characters. Phoenix Wright is a good series too, and thiftstores will be your salvation if you don't know how to sew(like me...^^;; )..

(I'm going on a posting spree.. I should really stop)