The Cure for Cosplay Comparisonitis

Comparisonitis Only Gets In The Way Of Your Own Cosplay Fun

If your inspiration for being a cosplayer was seeing some of the truly awe-inspiring costumes people have made, you’ve probably worried how you’d ever manage the same. Comparisonitis might’ve claimed you, as it does many types of artists.  

It’s a natural reaction, especially when the first few tries don’t come out right. They don’t match the vision in your head or the vision on the screen.

However, there are two things you need to understand about creating anything, cosplay included. 

The first is that you see your work differently. You may think you can be unbiased—you can’t.

Someone else who views what you’ve made may not ever see the “glaring” error. They don’t know the color you could’ve used. More often than not, they see the whole, not the weeks or months of construction. The gulf between the layman and the practitioner is much wider than your nerves tell you. 

The second is that massive amounts of practice and previous failures are behind that stunning cosplay. Very few are good at something on their first pass, and those relying on innate talent often lack the persistence needed for when it invariably gets tough or frustrating. A creator needs to accidentally rip something a few times, miss-cut a piece, or glue something at the wrong angle to develop the eye and the muscle memory to do something correctly.

Making your cosplay, wearing it, looking in the mirror, and seeing where it could hang better, where something could be better affixed, is not a cause for disappointment: you’ve just leveled up. Most people interested in something don’t even get that golden opportunity. Half of learning a craft is understanding how it can be done wrong. 

And, you know what else matters? That you had fun. Cosplaying is a creative act born of passion. Comparisonitis has no place in it. It’s only a contest if you want to enter one. You can make something that brings you joy or confidence, and that’s better than good enough. That’s the point of cosplay.   

So, don’t despair, don’t compare, and don’t give up because you’re not yet there. You’ll get there if that’s what you want. And, if you’re in it for the fun alone, then more power to you. Have a blast!