Cosplay ideas: How do you get them?

[Riitah~]

I'm struggling to decide what cosplays I want to do. Specifically, what ones I want to do for con.
I have ideas of some cosplay I want to do, but I'm not sure if I want to do them for con. Some I'm not even sure if I want to do them at all. I don't know!

I'd like to read stories about how you got ideas for cosplay you wanted to do, times you struggled deciding on cosplay and how everything worked out(or didn't) in the end~
And if you have any advice that would be great too :3

[Sailor-Jeimi]

For me (and I'm sure others are this way too), I watch a few anime, or play a few games that I just randomly find, and if I like a character, and think I can do it, I do it..There are those few that I liked prior to getting into cosplay, like Dragonball, Sailormoon, and so on that were out when I was a kid and had no idea what cosplay was..As a kid, a big thing to do is always "what's your favorite character" (I mean that happens to adults too, but kids play around that way more) and I had some already that were favorites, and those ones are ones I want to cosplay now.

[Z_Skie]

For me I also look for my favorite characters like Sailor-Jeimi but I narrow my choices in multiple ways using these questions:

• Which characters are most like me personality wise?(even though cosplay is usually being someone else but since I'm a beginner it makes it easier for me)
• which outfit I think I would like to wear/make?
• (I go and take it to a personal level)Which characters can I most relate to by: what their back story is, what I would like to have happened to me, or even who I feel I am on the inside
• [/size]Do I like the show or anime?

[/size]Those are 4 questions I ask myself and I feel like I look too deep into my cosplay but I have always liked doing things like acting and such, I'm not good at it but yeah like I said I just look a little bit too deep into my cosplay, I think I do at least.

[zenneth]

 cosplay urges play a factor here.  in the end,  it's a matter of  how badly do you wanna cosplay a certain character?

[TalaRedWolf33]

For me, I choose my character based on if I can relate to the character, if the outfit is something I can alter to work with my body type, and if I have an actual connection with the character from the first time i see them.

For example, with my recent Pinkie Pie cosplay. I found a design that I could use with my body type (cuz I'm a plus size cosplayer), and then watched My Little Pony constantly all the time, to find my character and how she acted on a daily basis.
The reason i chose Pinkie though, was because she was fun! She made me smile and I wanted to take that and give that to other people.

[Valkyrie542]

My answer is pretty much the same as everyone else's; if I really appreciate a character enough that I get the sudden urge to cosplay as them, I'll mull over it for awhile before working on it. So, if you can try to make a list of, maybe, the top three or five characters you would like to cosplay for next year - you can slowly narrow your choices down.
 
I don't really choose a cosplay based on how the character looks or if their personality matches my own; I kind of just fall for them.
 
I also agree with Tala; I do play video games or watch movies to get a feel for my character's personality and facial expressions for when I get ready to get my pictures taken (that's the only time I'm ever in character). It also helps inspire me to work harder and faster on them.
When I was working on my Lara Croft cosplay this year, I played a lot of the classic TR games to get in the spirit of things.
 
But, above all else, it's important to remember that if there is something that you weren't able to cosplay one year - there's always next year!
What's important is to just enjoy making and wearing the costume and showing your love and appreciation for the character.

[baka-imouto]

Normally I'll look at a combination of factors including character personality, their outfit design, time of the year I'm planning the cosplay for, and if I want to do any competing with the outfit.
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Right now I've got a goal of making over 15 different outfits for one character, so all that's left for me to decide at this point is which outfits I'll do and when to make them.
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Other things to consider: are you planning a group cosplay, do you want to enter any fan-based panels, how many times are you going to wear it, what's your budget, etc..