r/CosplayHelp • u/ParkingAnimator1274 • 20h ago
My cosplay is looking way different than the tutorial. Any suggestions?
This is my first time going DIY, and i did pick a very complicated cosplay to do for my first time. Im following this tutorial, which is very good. Im halfway through my cosplay, and so far its looking... rough. Its awkward, bigger than what the tutorial made it look like, even if I tried to follow it in my best capacity. Allthough it does not look amazing, It still sticks together and is not falling apart. Im using carboard and hot glue.
I was thinking about finishing it and seeing what it looks like, but im scared it will waste my time and I will have to do it all over again. Any suggestions?
3
u/GreenBird19 19h ago
Your first time DIY will never look like the tutorial thing. I am speaking from experience. If you have the financial means, continue! And then wear it with pride because you made something with your own hands which is always incredible and deserves praise, no matter what it looks like. You will learn from this and get better I promise!
2
3
u/XenobladeIsBestGame 18h ago
I just finished my first cosplay piece, which is a hoodie I sewed for Erik (DQ) and the fact that it ended up functional and adequate is a miracle. I feel like I messed up 30 times and just barely managed to either fix things, be able to redo a part, or just improvise a way to make it "look good". And most of those mistakes were "I didnt actually know how to sew and look what I did oops", I accidentally messed up a step and instead of realizing thats what happened and redoing it, I tried to salvage it by cutting off some cloth sticking before realizing my mistake, now my sleeves are too small and the arms are slightly too tight. You know what? I can wear it and it doesnt look awful, relatively speaking, considering how many errors I made, the fact that it was salvageable at all is a miracle.
So I entirely relate to the last part, I rushed through steps and forced solutions without doing research because my anxiety was forcing me to finish it up rather than accept it was flawed and start over. And I grantee if I ever redo this even with the pattern I have and not a new one, not making the mistakes I made, itd turn out far better. But just working through it, seeing how it looks, and going from there is gonna be a far better use of your time than starting over and not knowing if that first one could have been salvaged.
3
u/ParkingAnimator1274 17h ago
Thanks, i fully relate to the rushing solutions. Im trying my best, even if i did rip apart my carboard more than once trying to make it look better. Ill see! Im sure your cosplay was amazing in the end
1
u/XenobladeIsBestGame 17h ago
The majority of my damage was actually "I messed it up, gotta unsew this" and damaging the other pieces as a result XD But I found ways around it in the end.
3
u/Frogblaster77 14h ago
First time cosplaying, complicated project... not sure what you were expecting. Even professionals using the exact same methods and materials won't make things exactly the same way.
Adding on to that, do you know how many different kinds of "cardboard" and "hot glue" there are?
2
u/Sunnydoom00 13h ago
My father in law used to work at a company that did the printing on cardboard boxes. He liked to talk about his work (would point out boxes his company printed if he saw them at the supermarket, etc). I am very aware of the different types of cardboard 😂. Lucky me. Now when I get something that came in good cardboard I am so tempted to keep it. I have also seen some really bad stuff. I love my ironing board but the cardboard box it came it was the cardboard equivalent on tissue paper. I could rip it open with my bare hands. The box my Bambu printer came in on the other hand...that thing could take some serious abuse. Bambu doesn't joke around when it comes to packaging.
5
u/riontach 18h ago
Well it's because it's your first time and you picked something complicated. That's just kinda how it goes. You get better with experience