So you've been enjoying cosplaying and now what? What should you do next? If you enjoy volunteering and being involved in the community you probably have been looking at your local cosplay groups and thinking about joining. So, is joining a cosplay group right for you? How do you even choose a group to join?
Sure, joining a group and having more opportunities to dress up between Comic Cons looks fun but, one of the first things to consider when deciding to join a volunteer cosplay group is, do you like kids? How do you do around children who have developmental disabilities? If you enjoy being around your friend's kids, or a niece or nephew, then chances are you will enjoy being in a cosplay group that goes to children's events. If being around kids and having to be nice to them sounds overwhelming, or you think you lack the patience especially needed for children (or even adults) with special needs, then chances are it's not a good fit for you.
If you have determined that a community focused group is not right for you, don't abandon the idea of joining a group. There are groups out there that are more for enthusiasts and do not do very many community events. These group usually have very loose standards for joining. They can be helpful in creating genre specific costumes and they like to focus more on the fandom they represent. They will often meet together to build props or "talk shop" and can be just as much fun as a community focused group. This blog however, focuses primarily on community focused groups.
You also need to consider what characters you are most interested in cosplaying. The best characters to cosplay with volunteer groups are ones that kids know and love, which means ones that are current in the media. Cosplaying a character that children are not familiar with can make doing events a lot less fun. Kids know who Spiderman is, but they have probably never heard of Dick Tracy, and I can personally attest to the fact that they don't know who Rogue from X-Men is.
Another thing to ask yourself is: how open to critiques of your costume are you? Most members of volunteer groups pride themselves in making their own costumes and putting a lot of time and effort and money into having them as accurate as possible. Store bought costumes are sometimes ok as the quality of Halloween costumes has improved greatly in the last few years. But most groups will prefer that your ensemble to look as much like the real deal as possible and not like something anyone can pick up at Party City. Even custom made items that have won awards might not be screen accurate. Think about it like how the Santa Claus that is actually an older man with a real beard is going to be the most believable to children. Even if you purchase your costume it might be necessary to make alterations to it. That being said, you will likely get asked to submit photos of it for approval upon applying. There will be judges reviewing your photos and they will likely ask you to change one or two things. If that is something that might rub you the wrong way or hurt your feelings, or you are a person inclined to argue with the judges, a costume group might not be a good fit. Remember, your attitude towards the judges and the group in this situation gives the group members and leaders an idea of what your personal character is like and how well you will fit into the group.
Being asked to make alterations is not a "no you cant join us," its simply asking you to work a little harder and your costume making will always improve if you are open to meeting the group's standards. Don't panic! You are likely to find support from members in making changes and they will send you pictures and links of what they expect and even places to purchase supplies. While it can be frustrating to be asked to alter a costume when you've worked hard making it (and maybe spent lots of money doing it), the judges are usually very experienced costume makers who only want to help you improve as a cosplayer and look your best. (I have seen a member of a Star Wars group make 9 different version of the same garment
until they were approved! And with zero complaints about it. That is someone who cares.) You are representing the group as a member and the judges have more experience both representing the group and interacting with the public (especially children), and want you to succeed at events with the rest of the group. They also want your costume look as carefully crafted as the rest of the group, which can always be a challenge for a newcomer. You are also going to be more open to public scrutiny of how nice you look when your photos end up all over social media and possibly even the public news, these groups do not want any members be spoken ill of in these public forums.
If you are open to making improvements to your costumes and want to always improve as a cosplayer, then a cosplay group is a great fit. Getting honest feedback about what works, what doesn't work, and what could be better will only help give you a standard to work towards and enable you to get better as a cosplayer. Costume groups need and want members who take pride in their costumes and are always wanting to improve them because it helps the group to overall have an impeccable appearance. Groups who are known for their high standards get invited to some of the best events in the area you live in.
You will find that the level of costume quality varies from group to group. Groups with lower standards can be a good place to start for a newer cosplayer. But if you plan to improve and get better and better with each costume you make, you will find that these groups will not challenge your skills. They will always approve a costume regardless of quality and you will never get feedback about where you could improve it. If you are a more sensitive person in regards to constructive criticism, that type of group would be the right fit.
Lastly, do you want to join a group because you want to be able to bring
joy to people at community events and dress up between Conventions, or
because the group gets free passes to the local Con? Sadly there are
more people joining groups and only volunteering to help out at large
Comic Con type events and get that free pass, but they don't sign up to
represent the group at smaller events in between those Conventions. The
smaller events is what the group is really about and wanting to attend
those should be at the top of your list. Personally, growing up as a
kid, my family couldn't afford to go to Disneyland. I didn't get to go
and meet any characters until I was 12 and it was less magical then if I
had been 6 or 7. Knowing that I can bring that experience to kids in
my area who might be in a similar situation makes me really happy. And
if those kids can't afford Disneyland, chances are their family might
not be able to take them to a Comic Convention either. That is another
reason the small local events and hospital visits are so important.
So you enjoy being around children, you are open to making changes to your costumes to improve them, and you love the idea of going to small charitable events. But there are so many groups out there to choose from. How do you pick? I personally have been in five different groups (and have left two). If you are new to your local cosplay community it can be overwhelming to find a place you can fit into.
If you are apprehensive and want the
opportunity to get a feel for the local community in general it's always
a good idea to join a cosplay community page on Facebook. I am in like
six or seven of these groups myself and started out interacting on community pages before I ever joined any groups. You will likely encounter members
of local groups in these forums and get a feel for what the members are
like. You can also get feedback about your costumes and get crafting
tips before ever submitting them to group judges. Or if you have
submitted a costume and were asked to change something you can also get
tips for making the changes. I have found these groups to be invaluable
to me as I have worked on several of my costumes.
The best way to ultimately pick a group is to ask yourself: what/who do you like to cosplay??? Are you into Marvel or DC? Do you prefer Comics or maybe Disney? Scifi and TV shows? Anime maybe? Or maybe video games are your thing. Chances are there is a group for that. In fact there are even four different official groups just for Star Wars on an International scale. The best way to find these groups is to check them out at a local Comic Con event. Then follow up with a Google or Facebook search.
Alright, you have settled on a local costuming group you feel is right for you, but you are still not sure. Here is a list of questions to ask yourself when you look at a cosplay group you might like to join:
- What is the leadership like? Who are the leaders? How long have they been cosplaying? How many costumes have they made? (Self-made costumes go a long way in speaking to experience vs always buying high end stuff) How long have they been in the group? If the group is several years old, and they have always been the sole leader, that is not always a good sign, especially if the non leadership members constantly change. Just like in a retail setting, constantly getting new "employees" is the sign of a management problem. If leaders never change but the rest of the members do, it might be best to avoid that group. Sure, some members are constant in a group with that type of leadership model, but if those are people who are close socially with the leader then there is a clique within the group. You are joining to have fun, not be in a cult or revisit high school. Just know that newer groups have not had a chance to evolve in this way and you should use your best judgment. Newer groups are still taking shape and figuring out their rules as they encounter new problems.
There are groups that regularly vote in new leaders. Groups that vote this way are usually a safe choice because at least if you object to someone being in a leadership position your voice will be heard if you speak about your concerns. And being that it's all volunteer work and people get busy with jobs and life, it is nice for leaders to step down for a break sometimes. It also helps when the leadership and costuming judges are always comprised of the most experienced members.
-What sort of characters are in the group already and what can you bring to the group? Let's be honest. If you cosplay Wonder Woman and there are 5 active members in the group who also cosplay Wonder Woman, and you have no plans to cosplay any other character in the near future, you're not bringing anything to the group and you may find you won't get to suit up very often.
I was recruited to a group that had like 6 members with Harley Quinn costumes and every Con I went to they were all there in the booth at the same time. I put off joining until saw firsthand that in my particular area none of those members bothered going to smaller community events as that character, which is really only where I wanted to wear my costume. Only then did I feel comfortable joining. It's not a big deal to have multiple characters at big events but at something like "Superhero Night at the Zoo" it can be awkward. Children will be quick to notice multiple characters and quick to pick out differences, they might even decide that you are not the "real" character since they just met the "real" one.
Many groups (or event organizers) will specifically request that there only be one of a certain character at an event. For example, its ok to have a bunch of Stormtroopers but there can be only one Darth Vader. However the busier the group is, if there are multiple events in a day, it can be a good thing to have 5 different Wonder Women if they are all willing and able to go to separate events. Or for especially long events, characters can trade off short shifts; it is hard to wear some costumes for long hours.
-Does the group allow you to join other groups? This (and a few of my other questions) is something you might have to specifically ask a member. But always try to carefully read through a group's rules if they are posted publicly. And don't be afraid to ask the group leaders these questions. If you are discouraged from asking questions like these, that can indicate a poor leadership issue. You may also find that a group says membership to other groups is ok, but when you bring it up group leaders make various comments about those other groups that are negative and discouraging. This indicates that while they have it in the rules as being allowed, the leadership personally feels threatened by members being in multiple groups. Groups with two-faced leaders could become problematic for you later on.
Most groups allow membership to multiple groups. Maybe you like being Batman and Starlord but have to join two separate groups for the opportunity. Most of these groups go to the same events and you will find yourself dividing up your time among them. You should also be realistic about how much time you can commit to a group, especially your weekend and holiday time as that is when most events are. You will often find that when several cosplayers are memebers of multiple groups, those groups have better working relationships with each other and there are no rivalries or animosity between them.
-Does the group place restrictions on how you use your costumes? Earning money in an approved costume for a character appearance is specifically forbidden in the Star Wars groups and this is because the group has licensing permission to portray the characters publicly with the understanding that they don't earn money in their approved costumes. (The loophole being that if you have a duplicate costume that wasn't approved you can do as you please with it). So if some of your plans including working private parties in the costume as a face character and it goes against the groups rules, the group might not be a good fit.
What sort of reputation does the group, and especially its leaders have? This is probably the hardest question to answer. It can be hard to get an accurate answer because if you ask group members they will always feed you positive information and not have anything negative to say. If you ask people who have left the group why they left, you might be concerned that anything negative they say could be an exaggeration based on hurt feelings, but there are also always people who just stop cosplaying and drift away from the scene altogether. Since you will always get biased information, the best thing to do is to ask both active members, and those who have left (if you can find them), what the group and its leaders are like and draw your own conclusions. You might even ask a trusted friend who has been around the local cosplay community longer then you have what they think of the local groups.
Something to watch out for is the possibility of subtle sexism within a group. Look to who runs the groups, and who has run the group in the past, to get an idea. Groups that historically favor men in leadership roles and have few to no women in any Administrative roles (and especially if a group leader gives leadership privileges to whomever they are dating), can all be signs of there being a potential underlying sexist atmosphere. Keeping in mind that some groups, like Princess groups, cannot always
have a balance in this area because those groups specifically attract
female cosplayers. Groups that strive to democratically maintain a balance in this area are to be commended.
I hope this blog provided some helpful insights and given you some things to think about when choosing to join a costuming group. Happy Cosplaying!
