Welcome Beings of All Sorts

Welcome beings of all sorts! Somehow, you have found this blog. :D I congratulate you on that whether it was through success or failure! My name is Madeleine Schmuch aka MadDog and I am an amateur cosplayer. I will also be your guide here. This blog came to be because I needed to organize my cosplays and constantly work on them so that I would finish them. I thought that if I had a commitment to post I would work more often and would not forget important things. This blog started off as being called "MadDog's Sewing" but has since then turned into a guide to cosplay and has taken on the new name "MadDog's Wicked Guide to Wicked Cosplay." That being said, I'm terrible with names. This blog should really be called "MadDog's Tips That She's Found to be Useful and is now Sharing on a Blog in Hopes That They Might Help Somebody Else in Their Efforts to Cosplay." That name fits this blog much better however, it was a little bit too long. Moving on, I've added new sections to make this blog more informative but they are almost all ongoing sections. (If you need information on certain things now, please shoot me an email. Email: wickedcosplay@yahoo.com) Whether you just want to follow my projects or learn how to start cosplaying, I'm hoping that this blog will be a help. MadDog out! :)

Thursday, May 30, 2013

"Where do I Even Start?!"

I here this phrase all the time. (Like, all. The freaking. Time.) And really the answer is, you just have to jump in. You can watch a PowerPoint on how to swim but you are never going to learn unless jump into the water. End of story. However, these are a few things I do to help get me started on each project.

1) Pick an event.
If I have a timeline, or even just a deadline, I can always work better and more efficiently because I'll know when things need to be done by. Also, if I preregister for a convention, like I usually do, there is no going back.
2) Pick a character.
Just do it. Don't "think about it" for two months--just decide. Also, If this is you first cosplay, I highly recommend picking a character with a simple design/outfit/etc. (To learn about altering everyday clothing for cosplay, Please Click Here.) Take it or leave it but if you take it, you will be thanking me later.
3) Reference pictures.
Reference pictures, reference pictures, reference pictures! I don't know how many times I can say it. (Probably a lot more. XD) The last thing that you want to be saying is something along the lines of "How is this supposed to look from the back?" when you are already done making whatever it is that you are talking about. So Google some pictures. (It really isn't that hard in the great scheme of things.)
4) Make a visual checklist.
Draw/print a picture of your character and label all of the parts you need to make/buy/acquire/etc. I even have a board filled with info that I need on upcoming characters I'm going to cosplay as.
5) Get started and have fun!
I know your probably looking at this like, "Really?" but you don't want to fall victim to procrastination. Don't be that person who makes their outfit a week before the con! (Unless you and your friends are all doing it as some sort of challenge or whatever; then it's okay, I guess.) And remember to always make sure you are having fun. If you are stressing out big time, just remember that we are all a bunch of geeks just being extra geek-y when we are at a con. This is no need for stress. Have some fun, darn it! :)

My cosplay board (or rather, four boards...) and a typical visual checklist:

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