Cosplay Cards

Last week, I came away from what is arguably one of the biggest events for cosplay in the country. Thus, it also becomes a venue and occasion where cosplayers from various places can interact with one another. Knowing this was so, I had to take advantage of this to interact with as many cosplayers as possible. One of the ways I do this is with the help of a "cosplay card", which is essentially a name card used by cosplayers to identify themselves. In the case of my cosplay, I can make it relevant with a Pokémon theme as well.

My personal history with this goes back to when I was frequently in contact with a certain group of cosplayers. One of them mentioned the use of these cards when interacting with other cosplayers, and how this helps in that regard: all the connections that were made were assisted with the information on the cards, whether given to or received from others. It was this that got me inspired to make one of my own to assist in my cosplay efforts, especially my Pokémon ones.

My card has gone through a few versions. The first one I made featured photos of the only two costumes I had and a fair bit of the contact info that I had, in a monotone design. The second version had even more photos of my costumes and a more refined design. By the time it came to make a third version, I knew that with all the Pokémon costumes I have, I ought to make a Pokémon-oriented one, and the result is the one as seen here. The intent was to have this slightly resemble the Mystery Gift screen of the main series games, though I have to say it turned out a little darker than I thought. I intend to revise this slightly in the next one and add the SM version of Ash as well, the only one I did not have at the time I made this one.

For these cards to really work, I need to have my most-frequently used contact methods so that others can contact me through various channels. As for the usage itself, I find that these cards are best reserved for other cosplayers as the primary targets of the cards, photographers or other people connected to various media, or any other people that I may want or need to get in touch with. People other than them tend to not make use of the cards, which in a way is quite a shame and counter-intuitive to their function. The fact remains that I have to be quite selective of the people I give these cards to.

On the whole, these cards are still useful for myself as a cosplayer in that they help to establish contact wherever I go with my cosplay and to whoever I choose to relate. I find that all the things I was told about these cards are true, after having created and distributed them. It's also just another thing through which I can express my appreciation for Pokémon, which for me is a good thing indeed. I do and will continue to support the use of these cards in all my cosplay efforts, in particular when they involve Pokémon.

One year ago: Ghosty and Me