Hello,
Cat here.
A brand new year has come, which means…..CONVENTIONS!!! I have seen a lot of new, small confused cosplayers with questions about their first conventions, asking what to expect? How to prepare? Don’t worry about anything because I am here to share with you some of my survival tips I have caught during my cosplay years. Let’s get started
Bring water and snacks
This is a very important one! I know, that I sound like your regular soccer mom (sorry Karen) but stay hydrated! Especially during summer cons. Another small meaningless plus – your skin would look much better!
As for the snacks. It’s always good to have something in hand, either for you or your friends. Food inside convention usually either suck or is more expensive than your whole cosplay. I do not recommend bringing chocolate bars but I DO recommend bringing fruits like apples, it gives you extra energy which always comes handy.
It’s also a very good idea to have snacks in your hotel room. You can never know when you’ll get hungry, and shops tend to close at 20.00.
Bring a friend
It’s always a lot more fun if you can share your convention experience with someone! You can even plan a group or pair cosplay. Being with someone also helps with safety at conventions (especially for girls or cosplayers with revealing cosplays). If you are still a newbie or really young I strongly advise you to bring a parent or older sibling with you, for your own safety.
Plan in advance
I tend to plan our biggest convention a half a year before. Yeh, it sounds a little bit weird, but I like to have things under control.
- Buy your tickets in advance
- Book your hotel room early
- Make a checklist
- Plan carefully your journey
Always state one person who plans the whole thing. Make a group chat or something and settle about your hotels, tickets, and stuff. In our case, I am the one in charge, which means that I choose the hotel (with others approval of course), collect money from them and then pay our travel tickets and other expenses.
Schedule your time
Make a short daily schedule (I inspire myself in bullet journals on Pinterest). Mark every photoshoot you have, every meetup or a panel you really want to see. This helps you get nicely organized and you will have a much better con experience.
Entertainment
Lines for panels tend to be long and boring. Be sure to have a mobile game (Don’t forget to bring a power bank with you!) or Nintendo or something like this.
Cosplay Etiquette 101
Never! touch other people without permission!
Do you want to hug this super kind cosplayer? Or perhaps you want to také a closer look at their really detailed armor. Always ask! Seriously it’s not that hard. Some people may not like hugs (me included) and that’s okay. Maybe some of their cosplay parts are really fragile or expensive. I heard too many horror stories about people who got ruined their work because of rude convention goers.
Seal your bodypaint
This mistake does mostly new and unexperienced cosplayers. Please, please, please do this. You could ruin someone’s costume so easy. Don’t wear body paint/ makeup/ fake blood if you don’t know how to seal it, that’s it I am sorry. What can happen? You can accidentally rub your colorful skin to someone’s expensive hand sewn cosplay and I am telling that you can never get rid of this stain. Never. Please don’t be that kind of person
Roleplay, yes, but not too much
Yeh, of course, it’s good to do roleplay. Don’t go and stab other cosplayers who never met you with your foam sword because it’s your character’s Nemesis. Don’t do overly sexual gestures as Deadpool cosplayer (it could make many people uncomfortable).
Basic hygiene
Please shower every day. Use deodorant. Wash your hands. That’s all I ask. Thank you.
Selfies
Always ask a cosplayer for a picture. They would mostly say yes. They are as excited as you are! But sometimes they are in a rush or maybe they are really tired, so please don’t be a d_ck and don’t be rude if they politely decline.
Please don’t forget to bring:
- Cash
- Food and water (or at least empty water bottle)
- Your phone with a charger or a power bank
- Your schedule
- Basic makeup kit
- Small medical kit – hand sanitizer, disinfection, band-aids, painkillers, eye drops, hand lotion, and a specific medicine if you have some (I have to take my whole diabetic pump kit with me)
- Deodorant
This was it! If you have any questions, don’t be afraid to ask me, I don’t bite (usually). If you have any other tips for surviving in a wild, comment them down below.
Love,
Cat
Glitter Cat 