Hi all!
This is just to let you all know that the blog will be on a 2 week hiatus for the holidays! I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year! See you in January!
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Life gets out of hand sometimes. Everyday we fill every moment with work, chores, social activities, hobbies and we don't leave much time for ourselves. But what does it really mean to take time for yourself? Aren't doing your hobbies, or watching tv, or spending time with friends and family taking down time?
Taking time for yourself means relaxing, listening to your body, and taking time to do nothing. Put the phone down, stop the movies and video games, put your book down, plant yourself in a comfy seat and just enjoy the fresh air, appreciate the silence. Give your body time to reset itself. Look after yourself physically. Make time to get out and exercise, even it's for 10 minutes a day. It doesn't need to be anything vigorous, even just a nice walk outside. It gives you a chance to clear your head, breathe fresh air, get your blood flowing and reset your body. This is also the best way to get all those positive chemicals moving in your brain! Next time you go out for a walk, observe how much better you feel after doing it. Your mental health is just as important as your physical health. Without a strong, healthy, balanced mind it is really hard to complete even the simplest of tasks. Be mindful of your surroundings and your actions. Observe the world around you. Take time for yourself to stretch, do some yoga. Meditate. All of these things will give your mind a chance to reset. Breathing exercises can be your best friend when you are stressed and overwhelmed. Be aware of what stresses you out and what your symptoms are. Stress affects everyone differently but is equally as dangerous to each of us. Take time to step away from the stressors. Put your phone away, turn off the TV, take some deep breaths, go for a walk and give yourself time to heal. How does cosplay affect my health? While cosplay is a hobby and can feel relaxing to sit down and work on that costume, it can also be extremely stressful trying to get something done on a deadline, or to a certain degree of perfection. The more intricate, the more complicated it is the more work there is to be done which can feel like a vicious never ending circle. And the closer you get to that convention you want to wear your costume to, the more you feel the pressure to be getting things completed. You may also have too many costumes planned. This can be just as stressful as trying to get one costume done on a deadline. You're not sure what you want to start, what you need to pick up. It can just be a bit too overwhelming. Don't ever let your projects get in the way of your own well being. No costume or convention is ever worth you stressing out over and causing your self mental or physical distress. It's important to be in a positive headspace when working on things, to get you excited about your costume, to feel good about what you are doing and why you are doing it. If you find that life is taking you in a negative direction, it's ok to put things away for a while and take a break. Re-group, find yourself again. There is only ever one you, and you deserve the best. I personally feel like this is where I have the most fun with cosplay. Working together with friends to get stuff done on your cosplays! You learn so much from each other, and help each other reach your end goal!
There are a few ways you can do collaborations. You can invite friends over to help you with the bigger more complicated pieces, or to help out with the nitty gritty details, but you can also out source work on your cosplay. Pieces that you may not be able to complete on your own because you don't have the skill yet. Another great way to collaborate is doing a group cosplay! Each of you picks a character from the same show/game/comic book and you work together to get your costume done! I have seen where one person will design a bunch of character outfits, and each member of the group will select one to create. Or in other cases each member will make specific pieces of a costume for the other members. There are so many ways you can collaborate on your projects! So get out there and have some fun! Cosplay commissions can be a great way to have fun and make some money on the side, but you have to have the right head space to do it.
Making a costume for someone else is always a challenge, as you'll need to set up fittings, take their measurements and make everything not only to the concept art or character they want, but also to their specific taste. It can be really fun working with a client to make a costume for them, and you'll learn a lot from the experience in customer service, sewing and fabricating skills and social skills. My personal experience having done a single commission for a friend taught me that I never wanted to do a commission again. While it was lots of fun planning and working with my friend to make the best costume possible for her, it was a lot of work, time consuming and I spent a whole year working on the commission and getting nothing done on my own costume. Even though I was happy how the costume turned out, my friend was thrilled, I found I was exhausted and frustrated at how long it took, and how little time I had to work on my own costume as well. Commissions are just not my jam. I have been approached by many people who want to "hire" me to make them a costume or sew something for them, and the answer is always a hard NO. Commissions as I said are a lot of work, so you need to be ready to dedicate all your time and effort to making that costume and making your client happy. If you aren't into making costumes for other people, but rather would like to find someone to make a costume for you, there are lots of cosplay commission sites online! You can find shops through Etsy and Facebook that make commissions, as well as stand alone websites. Just google "Cosplay Commissions" and you're set! If you've never made a commission for someone and want to try it out, I say go for it! It's always good to try things and see if they are the right fit for you! And you may find that you absolutely love it! Good luck! |
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