So I have a question about cosplay.

[buddee1]

Me and a few friends want to cosplay as the cast of borderlands for the next ACEN convention, but there is a few problems with this. We are all white, tall, non muscular nerds. This may not seem like a problem but we would be portraying a black character, a short character and a very muscular character. So for frequent cosplayers I ask you, Do small things like skin color or hair length change the way you have to build your costume?

 

[Saelune]

I think it depends on how "hardcore" you are. Considering most white people who cosplay are not asian or undiscernable omniwhite, it really doesnt often matter. I think as long as you get the point across, you'll be fine. The black one will be identified by association if anything.

 

[JaceArveduin]

You can go as Singed from League of Legends , though something tells me he has nothing to do with that convention. My advice is just to wing it and see what happens.

 

[khaimera]

As a non cosplay person, I would think that your idea will not work. Maybe you can all just dress up as a gang of Gordon Freemans

 

[emeraldrafael]

it doesnt for me, but I always dress like Minato Arisato, which just involves me dying my hair and trying to get some coloured contacts. or I'll just dress as the presona 4 protagonist, which means i can wear my glasses and just dye my hair white/silver.

What you could do for muscles is invest in those msucle suit things and build a costume around it. You know, like to fat outfits people used to wear before CGI and all.

 

[Ordinaryundone]

There is one advantage to being a white cosplayer. Many anime and video game characters look white, even if they aren't actually Caucasian. To the point that it actually throws me off when I see Asians dressed as the characters.

 

[razelas]

Me and a few friends want to cosplay as the cast of borderlands for the next ACEN convention, but there is a few problems with this. We are all white, tall, non muscular nerds. This may not seem like a problem but we would be portraying a black character, a short character and a very muscular character. So for frequent cosplayers I ask you, Do small things like skin color or hair length change the way you have to build your costume?

If you're not participating in a cosplay contest, then you shouldn't worry. I've seen African-American cosplay Naruto and Kakashi (although they did have wigs), European-Americans cosplay Sora (KH), etc. Hell, my brother has seen boys cosplay girls in Japan. The only things you should worry about is the quality of your costumes and if people will recognize your video game characters at a major anime convention.

 

[Windcaler]

My wife and I cosplay at various anime conventions when we get the chance. Im not sure if its the same thing but things you cant fix such as skin color, body type, and/or gender usually dont matter in those settings. My wife is a very dark african american and she has played just about every character I can think of from Kos-Mos to Rei. Of course the one thing such conventions would expect is that you wear a wig colored to whatever hair color/style the character has

Again Im not sure what is socially acceptable in the setting you intend to go to but I would think it would be the same thing or very similar

 

[Erana]

Race isn't really an issue as long as you are recognizable as your character. With height... Well, if you're going to put a lot of effort into it, make the outfit/props scaled to the character's size. As for the muscles.... It depends on the character's appearance. If you're refering to the Brick, then I'd put a bit of bulk into the vest area and do something to suggest those massive traps, but leave the rest be. What the person dressing as this guy needs to do is work to learn his body language and postures. A bit of bulky swagger can make up for average arms.

 

[Grabbin Keelz]

As long as you have accurately made the ridiculous costumes and weapons, nothing else matters.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Well I wonder if people will really get what you represent those characters aren't all that distinguishable, but I guess it comes down to the costume accuracy.
Maybe one of you could be the girl instead of the brute

 

[Elamdri]

Me and a few friends want to cosplay as the cast of borderlands for the next ACEN convention, but there is a few problems with this. We are all white, tall, non muscular nerds. This may not seem like a problem but we would be portraying a black character, a short character and a very muscular character. So for frequent cosplayers I ask you, Do small things like skin color or hair length change the way you have to build your costume?

Personally, I think if you're going to Cosplay, it's better to Cosplay a character than you could reasonably pull off. That being said, if your heart is set on the Borderlands group, do it.

 

[Bon_Clay]

Ideally you'd want to resemble them as much as possible, as it'd make the end result a lot more accurate. But you can get away with it, people won't call you out on being someone of a different skin colour or height/weight like its breaking some law.

I'd say as long as the costumes are done well and people can tell who you're supposed to be its good enough. The only thing that seems to really get you made fun of is if you're overweight and cosplaying someone who isn't. If you're 300 pounds I'm sorry but you can't be Naruto, stick to Choji.

 

[Chase Yojimbo]

So long as you poor your heart and soul into your costumes, people will respect you for who you are. If they base your character on what you cannot change (rapidly), than they are dicks, meaning they need a beating! BRICK!

 

[Elamdri]

Remember that in Cosplay, most people recognize the clothing not the character. As long as there is good detail in your costume I wouldn't worry.

I think that can depend on the character somewhat. Apart from Mordecai, the Borderlands characters don't have very distinct costumes.

I mean, if you look, Mordecai is pretty easy to instantly recognize since he's got that distinctive cap, but the rest...I mean, Brick is a great example since the character design is built around the size of the character, not the outfit. Lilith and Roland have some distinctive features, but nothing that I think makes them pop from across the room. I mean, really the issue is that they're more or less wearing NORMAL clothing. Vests, Jeans, nothing is particularly outrageous.