Joanro

Earlier this year, I had a cosplay costume commissioned from a cosplay forum. The person I commissioned to make the costume had experience making costumes, but didn't have any feedback on the forum. Although, she missed the deadline to finish the costume, everything turned out okay in the end. Well...for the most part.

The point of this post is to give a little bit advice about commissioning a cosplay costume. Most of which is common sense, but I figure I'd put it in anyway.

1. First, always make sure the person has positive feedback on the website. Again, common sense, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

2. If you are going to commission someone to do a cosplay costume for you, don't necessarily go with whomever offers to make it for you at the cheapest price. They are only offering you an estimate, so it could be more or it could be less. It's better to spend more money on someone who is going to do a good job than someone you are not so sure about.

3. Make sure you give the person creating your costume plenty of time to work on it, so they're not rushing to meet your deadline. At least 3-4 months before the con if not more.

4. Try not to bother the person too much. Some commissioners will message you and tell you how your costume is progressing. Others might not tell you. In which case, try not to bother them too much. In other words, don't send them a message every two or three days asking about your costume.

5. Never pay the entire cost of the costume up front. They have no idea how much it will cost to make the costume, they should only ask for the cost of the materials.

Well, I guess that pretty much sums up my post. Just be careful with whom you work with and everything should turn out fine.