Heroes of Cosplay Sanctuary

This week's guest was so much fun to talk to and I found out that we're both fans of someone who has been a major help to YouTubers in every industry.  Finding a fellow #Boss in Cosplay is awesome, and you can tell that she's all in on her YouTube Channel #YT4Bosses An amazing YouTuber, and Cosplayer, super smart and talented, we discuss many topics related to her Channel and her jo...

There's no big reveal here. I'm talking about what's most important about Cosplay, and really anything you do.  You need to be happy with the things you do - hobbies, job, people you're with, relationships, family, routines - happiness. It's hard to find.  We spend too much time not enjoying what we do, but working really hard to either do what we don't want to or wha...

Thinking about becoming a full-time cosplayer?  In this episode we dive into a financial perspective of when it may be the best time to jump in to becoming a full-time creator. It's not easy to make the leap from hobbyist to business owner.  There's a lot to unpack, and we get into some of the details of what you may want to think about before quitting your stable job and starting down t...

We love Cosplay, but we hate Cosplay. It’s a mess.  There are many barriers to entry.  Expensive.  Hard to keep up. Involves a lot of camera work, editing, and constant upkeep. It gets political. There are clicks. Alliances are formed and dissolved. It’s very competitive. And there's always some drama... But, we still want to keep doing it. Keep fandoms alive and express our creativity throug...

Is it shameless to create content and work to have others pay attention to it? Today's episode uncovers the thought process to producing content at scale as a Cosplayer and the 'so what?' of putting so much effort into what we create online and the work that goes into creating an Influencer platform using Cosplay as the medium. Find us online: https://www.heroesofcosplaysanctuary .....

We talk about taking breaks, not going crazy constantly with Cosplay, though it is obsessive and can be an unhealthy escape if it is allows to be so – just like almost anything else. But, it’s not the only thing, and it doesn’t have to be. What are we talking about and is it talking in circles? We’ve talked about going all in on Cosplay or focusing on the “one thing”, which if it’s Cosplay, you’ll...

In this episode, we're talking about the future of the show.  I bring this up every so often, usually once a season in order to provide you with a roadmap of where we've been, and how we're steering the ship right now. We have come a long way, and we've got a long way to go.  The Podcast has been out for just over 2 years at this point, and has done ok overall. We're looki...

This one doesn't really have a large trend going for it.  I'm taking the term from Ghostbusters - the Keymaster finds the Gatekeeper in the movie and they come together to bring forth the end of the world - which they do.  There's a lot going on. A 'Keymaster' is someone that holds the key.  They have the information, and they are the masters of that information. That&apos...

This has come up on my show before, we have a couple of episodes that mention gatekeeping in the Cosplay community. So what is Gatekeeping, and why is it important to work to both understanding and avoiding in Cosplay? Let's discuss the gatekeep issue in Cosplay and then tie it to one of my favorite themes - Ghostbusters.  The Gatekeeper and the Keymaster (which we'll get into the in the...

I thought I would take today to talk more about the cancel culture inside of Cosplay.  We rage, we have our issues, and we get involved with accounts online and with people that we do not know too well in an unfortunately negative way.  It's fairly toxic.  We're not just raising awareness, but also encouraging people in Cosplay to avoid being a part of cancel culture. In the long-run, if...

We’re on time out today. And that’s ok. For everything you do in Cosplay, and all the stuff that’s constantly going on, sometimes you just really need to take a break. I see that one thing Cosplayers really think they need to do is stay in the space they’re in – they have to post a lot – they have to create a lot of content – especially on Instagram and they have to grow every day. Part of this is...

Are you sharing too much with your audience? Sure, we like to see what’s going on with your Cosplays – the work in progress, the Con-going, the photoshoots, but do we want to know about your relationships, the battles you’re getting into online, the controversy, and some of the other grit that people share with their communities in the name of attention? I do not. What you choose to share is your...

Set an example in the community.  Be that person that isn’t causing trouble – going behind people’s backs, or discouraging someone from doing something that they want to.  Being a beacon in a community is not easy.  In fact, it can be an uphill battle. Building a presence in Cosplay – in a positive way – takes a lot of resources, energy, and is a long journey. Many Cosplayers I talk to have been a...

Outrage culture. We get upset about a lot of things that do not directly affect us.  In fact, we might get more upset about something happening on Twitter related to a Fandom than we do about anything that happens directly to us. There are too many people online trying to build a fan base or gain attention by pointing out all of the wrongness in things that do not affect them in any way. Yes, spel...

This week let’s talk about something that plagues the community in the two-facing that exists online and inside of the Cosplay community. Something to watch out for – as there are too many examples of Cosplayers going after other cosplayers, talking behind their backs, starting rumors, and spamming allegations. In a sense, backstabbing. What do we do about this behavior? Unfortunately, adults lear...

Today, join me and my co-host Astravoid Cosplay as we talk through some of what we've found to be best practices in Cosplay Collaboration. Collaboration is just that – mutual agreement to work on a common project – might be big, might be small.  Astra and I collaborate on this show. The Rules we know about.   Pick someone about your same size (following wise) Don’t get pushy Establish a relat...

Are Cosplayers Models? Sure – Cosplayers can be models and vice versa – but what kind of a model is a Cosplayer and is it really what Cosplay is all about? We take a lot of photos and share them.  We share the cosplay, the work around the cosplay and much of that is photography and in some cases – digital art. So, it requires some work with the camera and there’s photographer involved. Modeling is...

Journalism – why talk about it? If you have a show, as I do – you want more than just opinion to drive your content. Sure, there’s some opinion, but it’s also storytelling.  Journalists do a lot of work behind the scenes – they write, they orchestrate, practice their presentations. Journalism is very helpful in terms of presenting yourself – you learn on and off camera skills, how to speak, how to...

Do I want to be an actor – no, not really.  There’s a lot of rejection and politics.  Do I want to create films, art, drama, and see where Cosplayers can fit into that mix – I sure do. But for fun and as part of a body of work that builds other skills. Where do Cosplayers fit when it comes to acting.  Some Cosplayers are actors. Costume design and playing a part go hand-in-hand. Cosplay is charact...

People will approach you when you have a following.  It does happen.  I approach people to be on my show, to collaborate on larger projects, and really just to talk to them because it is supposed to be Social media after all. So – what do you do? We’ve talked about some of this on the show before – vet vet vet your Sponsors If you’re not used to making deals – and most of us are not it pays off to...

Rounding out this week, my guest is a considerate cosplayer who brings positivity to the community and creates a lot of buzz around those fandoms she supports :) We go deep on fandoms, many of her builds, and talk about what brought her into and keeps her in Cosplay.  Such a fun episode, and so much to discuss with @CarrinaBee!  Follow her on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/carrinabee/ You ca...

It seems, as we’ve been talking about Twitch this week, that it’s all about how much time you put into being on your channel.  There are minimums, but there’s no batching content on Twitch – you show up and spend the time with your audience.  No uploading and batching content has to be done in no less than 7 instances in a month in order to stay monetized as an affiliate. This is a lot of work. Ca...

Today in part three of Twitch and Cosplayers, we're talking about the differences between YouTube and Twitch and why Twitch may be the better platform for the Cosplay community. It depends on your audience, and many other factors, but I wanted to spend this episode getting into pros and cons for each. YouTube doesn’t require you to be there when your video uploads, but it does have a streamin...

With Cons non-existent for almost all of 2020 and part of 2021 – Cosplayers found that circulating on social media alone was very difficult. Many of us started live streaming, going to virtual events, and building channels around Fandom.  Much like Heroes did, the online content accelerated as Cosplayers looked for new ways to reach their audience and connect with their fandoms. Many chose Twitch,...

This week, I'm talking about Twitch.  If you're new to Twitch, it's a streaming platform that has seen a lot of growth since Covid, especially in the gamer segment of the Cosplay community. This week we're talking about all things Twitch and comparing it to my choice to continue with content on YouTube instead of Twitch.  Will HoCS end up on Twitch? Possibly in the future, I&ap...