HOW DOES COSPLAY MAKE YOU FEEL

[DooFeRthePanda]

i'm doing a psycology project on cosplay and i need feedback. how does cosplaying make you feel...as in competitious, happy, energetic, why do you do it. how much you spend. how did you get into it, whats it like for you, anything.

[iluvshijimi]

Cosplaying makes me feel... GREAT! I love cosplaying because I feel happy at my appearance if I did a character justice, I feel accepted when I go to cosplay events and meet other people, I'm also surprised depending on how the overall cosplay turned out~

That's not to say I don't experience negative emotions when I cosplay. I also experience fear, usually if I have to go out in costume by myself while traveling to an event or something. Sadness, disgust and anger pop up when I have to deal with people who think cosplay is weird.

I cosplay mainly because it's fun. I'm trying to make it my biggest hobby right now and dedicate a lot of time to it~ Because of that, I spend a couple hundred dollars a month on it.

[DooFeRthePanda]

omg thanx for the feed back this helps sooo much....and if anybody else posts, do you mind sending in some pics of your guys best cosplays i can put into my project if you dont mind? thanx sooo much.

[nikkiolie]

Ok I am a psych major so I may end up going into a bit of detail and getting to the true root of things XD.

But when I first went to a con I cosplayed because I felt left out. Everyone around me was in a costume and I wanted to have as much fun as they were. So I put together a makeshift Ristuka costume from Loveless. I was one of those people that I would complain about now in the peeve section. The costume was not thought out and very poor design, mainly because I put it together the first night.

During kumoricon 07 (the first con I went to) I didn't think I would go to any others but I ended up going to Sakuracon. For that con I made a Youji costume from Loveless as well. That costume was a lot better than my first and I really enjoyed being part of everything. But that wasn't what I enjoyed the most. The few people that recognized me and asked for my picture really made my day. So for my next con I decided to make a costume that was a little more popular.

At Kumoricon 08 I was Temari with a Gaara and Kankuro. I had a blast. I LOVED the attention I got when I did that costume. I loved being stopped every few feet for a picture, and most of all I loved that everyone looked up to me and a few people even said they were intimidated by me.

I have never really been good at many things I do. I have played soccer since I was 5 but I was never the best on my.....ok I was the best once but that was because I was a Junior in high school playing with freshmen (I was pushed down because the coaches didn't know my true ability and I wasn't good enough, I'll get into another time), but other than that one time I have never really been good at anything. Cosplaying was something people thought I was good at. I was intimidated by the really good cosplayers so if people were intimidated by me I figured they thought I was really good.

Aside from showing me something I was good at and showing that people looked up to me it also helped me be more outgoing. I am a pretty shy person, or I was at least. I would only really come out of my shell when I was with people that I knew. So going to cons and cosplaying has helped be become more friendly. Like my first con I was too shy to ask for pictures of anyone, even at Sakuracon I didn't get too many. Now I know that a cosplayer getting their picture taken is a huge compliment and I try to get as many as possible. Also, I was able to stand in front of a crowd and be part of the chess game, something I could have never done three years ago.

Because of those reasons I try to do everything I can to be a great cosplayer. I have been spending A LOT on costumes lately. My Cloud costume is about $400 total, Larxene about $250, and now Kuja will be close to $400 as well.

One last thing, I used to LARP when I was younger and I liked that it was an escape from all the troubles of the real world, cosplaying has done the same thing for me now.

So to sum up I cosplay because it makes me feel accepted, wanted, loved, appreciated, good and is an escape from the real world.

And are you enjoying your psych class?

[DooFeRthePanda]

 yes i do enjoy psych class its funn... hmm i cant wait to present this on monday cuz i got feed back and this is going to be soooo fun!!!!!! thank you soo much its gonnabe a badass cosplay project.

[shanime_panda]

Cosplay makes me feel accomplished, I think a lot of cosplayers [not all] really strive to be one of those memorable, epic, cosplays. It does make me feel a bit competitive at times, but I was already like that. Sometimes I get a bit cocnerned when someone else does the same cosplay as me. I start comparing myself to them, "I think I did this better than them, this person has a better wig than me, I think I pull it off better, this person didn't do that part of the dress right..." I don't really do it for any other cosplays, only the one's that I'm planning on doing, or have done.

I've spent around 100$ on wigs, and over 15 for one of my costumes, and materials for other costumes. I've also spent 35$ for the badge, and the hotel room cost around 420, but me and my friend are splitting that, so it's more like 200. Then of course, there's 50 dollars from each of us for gas.

I got into it from, well, you! And also watching Cosplay Skits on Youtube from different conventions =]

[shanime_panda]

oh, and I have a ton of epic cosplay pictures that I could send you =]

[Man of the Public]

To keep it short and sweet:

FEELS GOOD MAN.

[Cassiopeia]

Cosplaying makes me feel awesome.   I know it's lame in the eyes of the general public, or they at least think it's weird, but I love dressing up. And it's fun to act as the different characters that I cosplay as.

[SageBell]

I like it when i have a well know less cosplayed character then i'm appriciated and haev less competition ^_^
I am cheap with my money but you can be cheap and still look awsome!!!
I love the hugs and and fan-dom

[Mei Long]

When in cosplay, at conventions, I feel insanely happy, practically hyper (which I rarely am) because I know I am in a safe place where I can openly express myself and be around people who understand me.

However, this is always accompanied with gut-twisting nervousness. I'm not the most photogenic so letting other people take my picture, while I enjoy it for the most part (who doesn't love a little attention and praise?) makes me worry that an unattractive photo will end up online.

Hope this helps - good luck and props to ya for choosing an awesome topic like cosplay!!!!

[veraca]

Honestly, I see it as pure fun and a good hobby (defined by an action or event you do that consumes money & time). Like all hobbies, I probably spend more on it than I should, but it pays off in the end.

I can hang out with friends or go to conventions, and not feel like the odd one not in costume.
Even if I don't wear the costume to a convention or something, I can take pictures of it at home. I like emotive photography, and dressing up like this is fun.

It has it's own stress-makers- like living too far from friends you meet, or money issues or skill issues. But really, it has more rewards. Styling wigs is similar to hair cutting, making clothes is geometery more or less, and you have to learn to be in crowds in a crazy costume and not be too camera shy- or get over it. I'm more or less camera shy, but once I'm in a costume, I'm not nearly as shy.

Psychology-wise, it could be answered that it's because I'm not showing my true self or the mask (we) wear. In my case, I disagree. It doesn't give you another veil to hide under; it gives you a sense of courage to be there with strangers and have pictures taken. In a way, it is like acting, but I don't know... It's rewarding to the cosplayer- not because you don't have to be yourself, but because no one expects you to be either way. You can act crazy like you never do usually, or be yourself or act like your character- and people wouldn't know or tell the difference.

[DooFeRthePanda]

lol this is amazing....no one is my class is doing a project like this and i'm soo excited i present monday. if i can i'll try recording it! i'm going  to post it then and i'll mention some of you guys cuz i have to make it short so sorry if i leave some of you out T___T so as i concluded reading all your responses, cosplaying gives off a general highness of being purely happy, hyper, feeling loved, accomplished, it makes you feel special, competitive, and all in general "it feels good man". it also shows a sense of skill that people thought they ddint have.