One of the most-asked questions in the cosplay world is, the dreaded, "Who should I cosplay?"
I've seen threads dedicated to this topic and even whole subforums. I've been asked on a telephone call, in person, and on Facebook. I've even asked this myself, usually not in that way though. Mine is usually a, "Who should I cosplay first?" type of deal. But... I'm guilty of it too.
Anyway, I can understand completely why people want other people's opinions on who they should cosplay. You want to get attention in your cosplay, right? (Oh look, a whole 'nother can of worms for me to play with later.) You want to look good, right? You want someone to say to you, "You are the best Yuna I've ever seen! You look just like her!" So, the smartest thing to do is find out other people's opinions before you even put down the 2 dollars to buy that aqua colored spool of thread, right?
No, not so much. Really, asking for other people's opinions on something you will spend hours of your time on and, chances are, over 100 dollars to make is kinda not worth it. I know I don't have a lot of money to throw around and most of my friends are the same way. Do you want to spend your limited supply of money that way? Do you really want to go with some stranger's opinion and make this costume?
Say, someone on a forum tells you that you'll make the best Orihime. You already have the long red hair, right? Eh, well... you really don't even like Bleach or, you are more of a Yuroichi fan than an Orihime fan. But, because some random nobody on the internet tells you that you will make a good Orihime, you decide to do it. You go out and spend all that money on the white fabric to make her outfit from the Hueco Mundo arc. You buy black and bias tape. You plan to make boot covers. You even go buy an authentic pair of her barrettes. Now, you spend the next few weeks, on and off, working on this costume. First, you find yourself excited, imagining what it will be like at the con. Then, you start to work on it... You have homework or work taking up a good chunk of time. You spend a long day at work and you come home, look at your pile of fabric. It's hard to get yourself motivated for something you don't really love, isn't it? You find yourself half working on it and being tired. You put it off until the last few days of the con and you quickly put it the rest of the way together. You go to the con and wear it. Of course you feel all shiny and happy about wearing something you made yourself... but are you ready to geek out with the other Bleach fans over your Orihime costume when you aren't sure this is the one that you should have made?
Whenever anyone approaches me about what costume they should make, I ask them a few questions.
What series/games do you like?
Why would you cosplay something you don't like? I know a lot of people do it. They do it because of a group or because the character has a cool design. Why would you cosplay from something you haven't seen either? I know it's kind of awkward when someone comes up to you and gushes about how you are their favorite character and you can't be all, "SQUEE!" back at them because you know nothing about the character. Pick something you like. And then ask yourself the next question...
What character do you like from that series?
Sure, you might look more like Sakura, but you like Cammy a whole hell of a lot better. Be Cammy. What can it hurt? Seriously, if you love a character, you will want to work on the costume more. You'll love it a whole lot better. My favorite costume to date is my Cammy because I LOVE her. She is one of my favorite all time characters. I spent many, many long hours rolling around to the con that year working my ass off to make it look good. It did. I loved it. Other people loved it and I had a blast geeking with them about it. You also have to think about some other things too...
Is it too complicated for your skill level at this point?
No matter how much you love your character, you can make yourself bawl if it's too hard to do right then. I would LOVE to make Ivy, she's one of my favorite characters, but I know that I am not skilled enough to make something that gravity defying. Cosplay is fun. Don't frustrate the hell out of yourself by picking something that is way above your skill level. Pick someone else that is closer to your skill level to start out with and make that other character your skill level goal. You'll be less stressed and it will be more fun for you. Anticipation makes it better too, right? Wait a few months, practice on what you are working on now, and then approach that big costume.
I've found these questions are the best way to start. They are simple and pretty straight forward. There are things out on the internet that allow you to click a few checkboxes, pick some stuff from drop down menus, and then it pops up with some random character that fits those criteria. I tried one of them once and I found a bunch of cool designs. I wrote down what they were from and still haven't been assed to play or watch them. >_< Eh, I'll get to it. One of them has been delayed and pushed back for a states side release. (I read Chinese, not Japanese... :P)
But, if you want to go this way and have other people tell you what to cosplay, then do it. It doesn't work for everyone. I know it doesn't work for me, but it does for some of my friends. Their friends start a group and they just take their character and go. I once talked a friend into cosplaying M. Bison to go along with my Cammy. He did it. We had fun. He had fun. (I think is was the cape. :P)
So, while you want to cosplay something you like, sometimes you do have fun when you take those suggestions. Think about it though. Will you have fun? Is there a remote possibility that you'll get angry and just pissed about the whole thing? It's not fun if you do that. Frustration is really a part of cosplay. (I don't know how mad I was at the vinyl that I was using when I made I-no's dress the first time...)
Remember, if you want to take someone else's advice, then go ahead. I'm much happier when I love (or even like) the character I'm cosplaying. Maybe you will be too.
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