I have slacked horribly on this blog. I missed 2...maybe 3 weeks and for that I apologize. I recently started selling things on my Etsy store which took a lot out of my spare time. Combined with cosplay, wedding planning, and my regular job, I have been RUN OFF MY FEET. I may have had a few beakdowns,
/end rant
Today I am going to discuss Creation Vs. Commission in the Cosplay community. It is a touchy subject for many and I certainly have an opinion about it (I have a lot of opinions about a lot of things, hahaha!)
I am going to start this off on a positive note and state that I LOVE ALL COSPLAYERS! I love people who make Cosplay, people who wear Cosplay, people who Photograph Cosplay, people who think about maybe Cosplaying, anything. I think it is awesome. For someone to have the balls to put on an outrageous costume and own it like nobody's business, I just can't respect Cosplayers enough. It is fantastic.
Having said that....
I can't shake this pet peeve I have for Cosplayers who commission 90-100% of the costumes they wear, and then pass themselves off as "professionals". They build themselves fan pages, sell prints, and a lot of the time have a very elitest attitude.
THIS BOTHERS ME.
If you want to cosplay, but lack the skills to make your own stuff, that's fine. Power to you for still having the guts to wear a Cosplay. But mis-leading people, creating the facade of skill you don't have to your fan base, and even worse, excluding/shunning others who you don't feel will "further you" in some way, that is not cool. It feels like fraud. There have been quite a few occassions where I have been a fan of cosplayers and loved their work. After a period of time, I learn one way or another that they barely make anything of their own and I have actually felt betrayed by the revelation. I liked them, I respected their skills and I looked to them as role models. I strived to have their "skills" one day and the knowledge that they just pay someone else to make everything for them really bothers me. It bothers me for the commissioner who is getting limited (or zero) credit, it bothers me for the fans that are fooled into believing the cosplayer is a skilled crafter or sewer, etc., and it bothers me for the Cosplayers that have AMAZING SKILLS but get overlooked or underappreciated for what they can do.
It particularily bothers me when I see that these same people are invited to be guest judges are various conventions or Cosplay events. Why? If they can't make anything for themselves, how are they even remotely qualified to judge people who DO make things for themselves? It is like a slap in the face being judged by someone who knows less about crafting than yourself.
I know a lot of you will disagree with me, and I will probably get some hefty hate from people who commission parts of costumes (or full costumes). If you are reading this and are upset by my words, remember that I have no problem with the idea of having costumes commissioned. If you choose to pay for commisions, it doesn't matter to me and I think you're amazing and love that you Cosplay. We all need help sometimes, it's what makes up learn and improve our own skills. I only have a problem with people who pass themselves off as professionals when they know little to nothing about creating something for themselves.
