When'd you start cosplaying? Why?

[u3759]

Tell us more please.

[tofutakeout]

Just a general topic...but I'll take it! =D

I decided I wanted to try it out when I was in 7th grade when I was into Naruto. >_> I wanted to cosplay as the Kyuubi because I thought that'd be bad ass. But that didn't go over so well so then my first cosplay ever was during the end of my 8th grade year when I made my Deedlit costume! Even though it was pretty bad, I still felt quite proud for it being a first for me and the fact I was an old school character.

Best anime ever btw.

The why factor, because it seemed fun? And the fact that I always liked making things. :3

[thesirensings]

When I was nine, I dressed up as Misty from Pokemon for Halloween. ^^

[reppy]

That rules so hard. XD

[oslapedo]

Summer of my freshman year at HS, Kumoricon '08 was the first time I cosplayed. Me and my friends were going to a con so of course we had to dress up!

I'm glad it stuck, I quite enjoy cosplaying ~

[meep]

Started when I was 12 and in that newb phase. Never did Naruto cosplay though wore mew berry to Sakura con 07, my first con :3

[chelseahavoc]

i started cosplaying way back in 07 (officaly i dont count haloween) i saw these realy good rikku cosplayers and went "D:!?!?!? i wanna do that!!!!!"

then a friend of mine told me that suncoast was haveing an "anime day" with cosplaying and trivia and PRIZES... so all three of us went. Chibi-orochimaru was yuna (realy just shorts, boots, and black side skirt, and a black tank top xDDD), sari was roy... i cant even explain by her costume i was so confused xD and i was "female havoc" ....i.e. a white button up shirt, black vest, black pants.... and a candy cigerete xDDDDD

we were the only ones to show up but we had so much fun weve been doing it ever sence. w even started a cosplay club our last year of highschool. sence then weve gotten much better and much more into it. and i've made so many friends because of it. realy its not a hobby any more its a life style <3

[Shadow]

I started cosplaying at Kumoricon '05, which was my first convention. My friend told me about cosplaying and cons beforehand, and I was instantly intrigued. Been doing it ever since. I love it because it gives me a chance to be someone else, and to actually BE the characters I cosplay as. It's amazing! Cosplaying gives me confidence and a thrill that I just can't get by doing anything else. I'll only stop cosplaying when it stops being fun for me.

[~boogiepop~]

I went to a con and I was like "WHOA, MY MIND IS BLOWN! I WANT TO TRY AND BE COOL TOO."

So I tried and I still wasn't cool 3:

[StarryShay]

My first cosplay was when I was thirteen I belive, and it was a TMoHS uniform. xDD
I started cosplaying because Sahara did it, and I thought it was really cool!
I've always loved dressing up as characters, so this was the perfect oppurtunity.
I especially love the people most of them who cosplay.
Everyone most people that cosplay are really welcoming, and kind.
I also love the 'star' aspect to it.
This probably sounds vain, but I love being asked "can I take a picture of you?" or someone saying "I love your cosplay."
I DUNNO, BUT I'M FREAKING IN LOVE WITH COSPLAY.

[Cassiopeia]

I went to a con and I was like "WHOA, MY MIND IS BLOWN! I WANT TO TRY AND BE COOL TOO."

So I tried and I still wasn't cool 3:

This made me lol. But you are!


As for me... Started cosplaying in '07. I went to Kumoricon '06 and saw people in costume, and I was all "WHOAH, FUN." So I wore a costume to my next con, Sakura-Con. And went on from there. I just love dressing up.

[kit2kit]

I started to cosplay Kumoricon 08. 8th grade. I had a couple friends who did.

I started cosplaying because my cousins asked me "If you would cosplay, who would you cosplay as?" and I was like "what is that" (none of us had cosplayed or been to a con.) later, one of them asked me again and I still had no idea and we decided to see if any cons were in our area by using the power of GOOGLE! and we found Kumoricon. and naturally I wanted to cosplay because it sounded like so much fun. I cosplayed as Maka. even though it wasnt very well done (I was 1 of 3 Makas) Many people asked for a picture of me. On the last day I cosplayed as Reisen from Touhou.

and whenever I go to cosplaying events without cosplay I feel a bit left out of the fun. I love Cosplay~<3

[Malaria]

I started cosplaying Kumoricon '07. I did Zexion, part of a larger KH group my friends were doing. I was the only Org, though. orz

I'd been going to Kumoricon for several years before then. I've been every year since it started in 2003 when I was only 11. I'd seen all these people in the crazy costumes and thought it was very cool, but it never quite occurred to me to cosplay until we decided as a group that we would for Kcon 07. Those first couple costumes were excruciatingly bad, but it was great fun, so I kept doing it.

[Felix]

I didn't cosplay to my first con (k-con 08) - I had planned to but it was half-assed and didn't work out. So... last year was my first cosplay, I suppose. (I'd made some costumes before that but I wouldn't consider them to be cosplay.)

As to why... I love making costumes. I'm an artist, and for me a costume is like a piece of art. Cosplay is probably my favourite way of showing that I really love a character or series. I hold very high standards for myself in this... I'd feel ashamed of myself if I wore a half-assed costume.

[Trumby]

I went to a con and I was like "WHOA, MY MIND IS BLOWN! I WANT TO TRY AND BE COOL TOO."

So I tried and I still wasn't cool 3:

I agree. <3


...seriously though, I actually cosplayed at my first con, Kumoricon 2005, as Greed. I learned about the con during the summer of that year, got on the forums and decided I wanted to cosplay. I really don't even remember why I wanted to. Maybe I'd seen pictures from other cons or something and thought it was something I wanted to do.

[ephemera]

Testament was born at Kawaii Kon 2008 after countless Guilty Gear sessions, a couple weeks of fabric shopping and a few days of messing with a sewing machine.  Why? . . . he is/was my main and our body types seem to match close enough, and the costume seemed doable despite a lack of experience.

Moved on to Nnoitra the following year.  Wore the costumes around Sakura-con this year, too, as there hasn't been time to design another one.

[Ticra]

My friends went to a Con when I was in sophmore year of highschool. (so like, what, fifteen?) They came back with all these stories about "con" and how much fun it was and yadda yadda yadda.
I was not an anime person, still not terribly, and probably never will be much (I like a select few animes, but most don't appeal to me) so I shrugged it off. They started making me watch anime to help me understand, which it didn't...(they started me out on Love Hina, which, when you've never seen anime before, and are alone in a dark room after everyone else has fallen asleep, is buku creepy -_- )
But con never the less sounded amazing, especially since I am a webcomic, videogame, RvB, etc etc nerd.
So we went to the local Sakura-con the next year. I ironically got a sewing machine for my birthday and planned cosplays.

I was a little overzealous. Being a theater kid and a  crafty person, I get overambitious with costumes reaaaallly easily and not understanding cosplay, as I had never seen it, I did really amazing halloween costumes. Which make only half-a**ed cosplays. I did a Soot Sprite for Spirited away which nobody understood and ended up looking saggy and weird. Skull Kid from Legend of Zelda, which had an amazing mask...that was too heavy to stay on my face and had to be carried around, and the costume was otherwise crappy and suspiciously racist looking.
The only good cosplay I did was an original character (and ironically the only one I was complimented on several times) that had a straight jacket I made myself and was self locking (a feature some guy wanted to know more about, which made me more than a little suspicious) and a toaster strapped to my back on a cord bandolier. Oddly enough, as crappy as our first costumes were. I really loved it. More than the Anime and the merchendise, which is what some people seem to be only interested it, it was the environment and the costuming that really brings me back to con. I'll probably be finding ways to cosplay even after I'm old and it's creepy.

[ChibiGrace]

My first cosplay was around 3 years ago, when I was 12. So that's what...2007?

I'd been into the anime culture for a while but I was way too embarrassed to every go to con or dress up. I thought that meant I was going to far.
My family has never been very supportive of my likes so I was always afraid of going too far and them thinking I was crazy. (Well, I am crazy, but that's another story. XD) Point is, I didn't want counseling.

But, nevertheless, I kept looking at sceduals for conventions. I kept thinking about what I would do if I went to one.
And then I looked at more and more cosplay pictures. Until, I just got starved for it and made a costume. It then raised my confidence and I went to con. I had fun and I've been doing it since!

[Runa]

I started cosplaying in 1986. 
Of course, they didn't call it "cosplay" back then because anime / Japanese culture was not well-known, but I'm going to count it as such since I was making costumes and wearing them to conventions at that time (they did have some anime available at science fiction conventions at that time. Mostly subtitled VHS tapes that were copies of copies of copies and had horrendous resolution, but people watched them anyway).

[meep]

I started cosplaying in 1986. 
Of course, they didn't call it "cosplay" back then because anime / Japanese culture was not well-known, but I'm going to count it as such since I was making costumes and wearing them to conventions at that time (they did have some anime available at science fiction conventions at that time. Mostly subtitled VHS tapes that were copies of copies of copies and had horrendous resolution, but people watched them anyway).

Actually Cosplay first strated as people in costumes at sci-fi and comic conventions... o3o and your like hard core cosplaying for such a long time :3

[Mr Silmero]

Started cosplaying in 08/09 with Travis Touchdown...let's not talk about that particular costume. And I have continued with 1/2 outfits each year.

Why? Well honestly cons are always fun but lets face it- being in Cosplay adds a little something extra to the fun.

[Corrugated-Cosplayer]

I started two years ago and did so because I joked around with my friend by saying that I should do something completely so ridiculous and obscure that no one would be able to tell what I was but be able to stand out.  This lead to me making MechAlucard based from Hellsing Vol.4 first insert picture in the cover.  I did not have a lot of money or resources to throw around so I made it out of spray-paint, cardboard and duct-tape for around $30.  It turned out fairly decent so I decided to do a Mecha cosplay every year.  Last year I did Eva 01 but that was not too obscure. So this year I am doing Mazinkaiser.  It seems as I go along they get a little better.  This year I am adding a micro-controller to control the lighting on the Mecha.  In later years I want to add more mechanized parts using motors as well as other electronic sensors for input and output.

[soundninja12]

My friend Tara was all:
"Katie! There's this convention that Alec goes to in portland! He says they dress up! WHO SHOULD WE BE?!"
I was like:
"Lol, mew mew, lol"
She ended up being Dante with her twin brother as Vergil.
I was Ichigo Momomiya, or, a mew mew.
Derp >.>

This all went down at kcon '08

[Cyprus]

I got talked into going to Sakura-con 09' by a friend the worked at Best Buy with the Anime Hunters. I had met them before but really had no idea what they did outside of work lol. After going to the con...my G/F & I both were completely blown away. We had always liked anime but all these years we never knew of such an event...needless to say, had insane amounts of fun, met some new friends, & got to visit one of my favorite cities on the planet(Seattle).

After seeing & taking pictures of all the amazing cosplays, we were both like, "we need an awsome costume done by Kumoricon!" We ended up working so much that summer that we never had time to get anything done by then & ended up with no costume at our second con (Kumoricon 09'). Right after that con, I met up with the HDC group in Central Oregon & had started putting together my cosplays.

First, I tried ordering a couple...one turned out ok but the other was awful. Learned my lesson about ordering them after that...I still haven't worn either costume yet. When I decided that I wasn't happy with those, I set out to have a proper cosplay done. Long story & lots of cash/stress later (I am VERY picky about detail & still think that my costume needs insane amounts of work), my Repoman cosplay was complete the night before Sakuracon 10' where I finally cosplayed for the first time ever.

Although I have some future ideas for some other cosplays...I am mainly going to try to improve the one that is already complete before I start anymore. Time is something I rarely have to spare lol.

[Figgles]

My first cosplay as when I was in 8th grade, back in 2005 I believe. I dressed up as Hatori from Fruits Basket for halloween. My friend's said that I pulled off a very good Hatori. Of course, I didn't realize that I had actually cosplayed for about two years. xD I just dressed up for fun. ^^

Here's a picture of it too by the way: http://figgles.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d1wsgfy
And a picture of what Hatori looks like for those who don't know. xD http://images.absoluteanime.com/fruits_basket/hatori.jpg

Looking back at it now, I really wish I put more effort into the hair. xD

[Fachion-pari]

My first cosplay was at Kumoricon '08, I believe? I failed, and decided I have to try this again, and do better!
That was what, two years ago? xD I'm slowly getting better, and my friends and I all continue to cosplay because it's fun, and we can do even more things together than just hang out. (Conventions, woo!) Can't wait to introduce two new cosplays at Kumoricon '10!