Cosplay and Cost: COVID19's Debuff to Cosplayers

[Seeka 12,372]

https://io9.gizmodo.com/cosplay-is-a-business-and-it-is-suffering-1843283615

"The business of bringing characters to life is suffering and there seems to be no end in sight. It’s a lot to deal with in such a short amount of time.

For millions of fans, cosplay is an opportunity to dress up as your favorite character and share your fandom with others. But for some, it is a full-time job—or, at the very least, a side hustle. Cosplayers can spend 100 hours or more creating specialty costumes that cost upwards of $1,000 for the materials alone (not including the cost of labor, which could easily triple the price). In exchange, some cosplayers who appear at events will negotiate appearance fees—which vary from a couple hundred to several thousand dollars—as well as flights, accommodations, and per diems.

 

One of the numerous comic conventions that have been canceled or postponed is also, unsurprisingly, the biggest in the U.S.—San Diego Comic-Con—which usually sees over 130,000 attendees. Others scheduled for the remainder of 2020, like Star Wars Celebration and New York Comic Con, are up in the air.

For professional cosplayers—some of whom make a living or at least a supportive second income from cosplay—this also means losing appearance fees, sponsorship deals, and the opportunity to sell merchandise to fans.

The whole situation has left a lot of cosplayers in a bind. Since many of them count as independent contractors, that means they don’t qualify for state unemployment benefits. The CARES Act, which provides federal benefits for people whose jobs have been impacted by covid-19, has been extended to freelancers, but reports have shown it’s hard to access those benefits because the system isn’t designed for the gig economy.

The effects on cosplay as a hobby and industry itself isn’t the only way the novel coronavirus has impacted their lives. Some have lost their day jobs—like New York-based cosplayer Jay Justice, who works as an independent writing consultant and editor. She told me contracts have dried up in recent weeks and it’s unclear when they’ll bounce back. Others, like French teacher and cosplayer Elise Fourmy, or “Manju Elise,” have found themselves on the front lines. She explained that in France, teachers like herself have been helping supervise the children of healthcare workers. In addition, schools have already been told to start reopening, and teaching unions have accused President Emmanuel Macron of putting them and the kids at risk.

There are some unexpected impacts, too. Nashville-based nonprofit Cosplay Collective is a group of volunteers who dress up to visit people in hospitals, like children with terminal diseases. Considering just how many people are stuck in hospitals right now—as well as the front line staffers working overtime to keep them safe—it feels like the group’s work is more important than ever.

Yaya Han first started making masks so she could donate them to hospitals and has released a tutorial on YouTube, but she ended up getting a lot of requests from fans, so she started selling masks on her website. She personally makes the ones that are sold online (with the help of her fiancé), while her staffers prep the shipments and, in their spare time, make additional masks to donate to hospitals. Right now, Han said she’s producing about 100 a week, in spite of her carpal tunnel, and it’s helping keep her business afloat. She has three employees and is trying her best to keep them on the payroll.

The unique challenge with cosplayers is that they make a living by being seen. It’s one thing to glance at an image of a costume online. It’s another to see it in person or get a close-up look at the craftsmanship and detail that went into making that fictional character come to life. Every cosplayer I talked to said they were hopeful that conventions and cosplay can survive this ordeal, though none of them knew how or how long it would take. To be fair, most officials don’t either. But many of them seem willing to wait because it’s what they love."

I know this isn't big news but still. Also some of the things also made me cry. 

[Adakam 2]

Wow, didnt know cosplay was an industry of its own where people could make a living out of. 

[Maria Brink 1,685]

40 minutes ago, Seeka said:

"The business of bringing characters to life is suffering and there seems to be no end in sight. It’s a lot to deal with in such a short amount of time."

good riddance, I'm sorry this is happening though!

[Seeka 12,372]

30 minutes ago, gagasrat said:

good riddance, I'm sorry this is happening though!

I'm sorry, what do you mean by good riddance?

31 minutes ago, Adakam said:

Wow, didnt know cosplay was an industry of its own where people could make a living out of. 

Yuppers. Though if you're choosing cosplay for money, that's a career, not a job. You can't be mediocre at cosplay and expect to make money. 

However, like most things where you need to be self-sufficient, you're putting in a sh!tton of money hoping to at least break even, and even more effort. 

I think most cosplayers try to use cosplay to hopefully lead to other doors. Because sometimes aging and time are mean. And also, fate. Like there will be other circumstances unrelated to Coronavirus that could prevent a cosplayer from working.