Heroes of Cosplay Sanctuary

Has ChatGPT taken over for Cosplay? It can certainly be helpful. It can do a lot of the thinking for you.  Many say it is dangerous and progressing at a pace we can't comprehend.  AI is here to stay, Cosplay. This week we're exploring the benefits of using AI as a cosplayer and what you may still want to avoid or think about in the future as tools like ChatGPT begin to take over many of...

We are back in this episode with Anthony Cosjitsu covering many of our favorite things.  Today's focus is on how to balance your group photoshoot. There's A LOT that goes into bringing together a group of Cosplayers to focus on a major shoot and many aspects that you might not have through about. Arranging a shoot for you or for a team-up can be easy and fun - most Cosplayers and photogr...

To new ideas – it’s ok to have them – the older kids don’t have to relate to what's coming out.  Remember when your parents didn't want anything to do with the new "whatever it is" that was playing in a commercial during your favorite cartoon?   Being relatable, authentic, and true to yourself - it's what there is inside of Cosplay.  Pick what resonates with you, not what...

Remember when – all the things you grew up with...they’re still selling it to you.  You're still buying all the things that you enjoyed as a child.  Still.  You can get something that plays Atari games.  You can buy models and replicas of your favorite cartoons from your earliest days.  You can feel all the feels and connection and buy everything all over again - cosplays included. They are p...

Sometimes the main characters aren’t the Cosplayable ones – it’s those with impact – visually, in the story – this is storytelling.  This is the industry using different ways to market to you something that you can find obscure in the fandom and embrace it.   Often the Cosplayable characters in a movie or fandom aren't those the fandom is known for - and we gravitate towards them.  Let's...

How do I validate my being in the Cosplay space, and do I? External validation will drive you crazy.  Trying to manifest what you want will drive you crazy, because at it's core, it's a form or external validation - you're looking for an outside source and you're trying to will it into existence. Instead, work on what you want to because it gives you a sense of completion or pr...

Costume designers aren't movie directors.  They're not writers.  They aren't movie stars.  Why would you spend thousands or more on production here or anywhere else with no return on what you do?  Just a few views? Where's the actual income and are you checking into that if that's what you really want. Find the Sanctuary on Social: With Co-Host @astravoidcosplay Join Her T...

Marketing ourselves is insane in terms of Cosplay or anything else . Losing control, going off the rails, stress over nothing - anxiety over views and metrics for what we put online with no budget, no production team, and no real understanding of media or production. Find the Sanctuary on Social: With Co-Host @astravoidcosplay Join Her Twitch Community ! Follow Her On Instagram Subscribe to her Yo...

To Judgement and never applying it in any Cosplay context whatsoever. We do actually judge cosplayers.  Not in a sense that they're not allowed to cosplay, but in the sense that we compare ourselves to others, that we want more for ourselves than we do others, and that we feel like we're not enough because of all the models and actors in the space online that are leapfrogging all of our...

We're talking about gatekeepers and keymasters in Cosplay in this episode. There's a lot of it - A LOT.  It can keep you down if you let it. With the Ghostbusters theme this week, is Cosplay really just mass hysteria? All the hype and pushing so hard to stay relevant online - all the constant content and contact with everyone online - liking and commenting and scrolling and for...what ex...

We're talking about the greatest movie about entrepreneurship ever made in 1984's Ghostbusters. In today's episode - Do you need anyone else? Is it easier in a team?  You can be the 'beautiful, best, and the only' but know that it's ok to ask for help. This whole season will end with a special tribute to the Ghostbuster franchise with the 40th Anniversary of the origi...

Stop following rules that don’t exist, like how many followers you need, how to get them, and why you have to fall in line with posts.  Why did you decide that this was the only way for this to go? What unwritten rules are you following and why are you following them.  Does anyone enforce the rules or is it really a free for all? Can we control the outcome and why do we get mad at a computer algor...

It’s just customer service you don’t get paid for. Why are we online to justify and argue? Opinion as fact. What kind of followers are you looking for and what’s the end goal? Popularity, money – know what you’re doing and why and then think about all the work you’re creating for yourself. There's a better way to create.  There's more meaning than chasing social platform metrics. Find th...

You're not free if you spend every waking moment trying to stay relevant online. You're not free if the income you generate with countless arguments with trolls, countless hours creating, being visible at Cons, setting up shoot after shoot after shoot, doesn't amount to anything more than paying for the next Cosplay. Break free.  Avoid the traps.  Stop making money the hard way. Fin...

Don’t label your anxiety – give it space. Focus on what you can control, not what you can’t – nice thing about Cosplay – you control it Let's end the week with some conclusions into the subjects of productivity and anxious energy. Inside and outside of cosplay, do what truly makes you happy – look inside for this, not outside.  Don’t look for what makes you money or gets you followers or brin...

Destroy external validation – it’s fiction. That's it.  That's the message for today's episode. Find the Sanctuary on Social: With Co-Host @astravoidcosplay Join Her Twitch Community ! Follow Her On Instagram Subscribe to her YouTube Channel Like, Comment, and SUBSCRIBE to the YouTube Channel! YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZst ...... Of course you can share the video an...

There’s a strong message to be “productive” all the time. Anxious energy versus relaxed energy Is Cosplay productive and does it have to be? How do you eliminate the anxiety of getting to your Cosplay and remove the productivity trap? Find the Sanctuary on Social: With Co-Host @astravoidcosplay Join Her Twitch Community ! Follow Her On Instagram Subscribe to her YouTube Channel Like, Comment, and...

This is the kick off episode with my special guest Anthony Cosjitsu!  We're trying out a different format and mix this Season as we get into Season 5 : Something Strange This mix and long form will be here on Fridays in the future - look for those with me and Anthony as we talk all things Cosplay, and everything surrounding it.  We catch up, discuss and go deep on many topics surrounding the...

The end of Season Four!  The fire for the Inferno season has raged on long enough.  We’ve covered a lot of ground and worked on a very special project which will launch before the next season of content begins.  I do want to talk about new formats and changes and what to expect for season five : Something Strange.  Many updates, changes, and improvements to come for next season! Find the Sanctuary...

Do you feel like you’ve failed?  Not enough engagement on posts.  Not enough new followers. Cosplay didn’t work out quite the way you wanted.  You weren’t noticed as much as you wanted to be at a Con. Collabs are being cancelled. Endorsements are passing you up.  Lots of things can go wrong with Cosplay, but a lot can go right.  When I look at what I’ve done in terms of Cosplay, I do often feel as...

It’s much easier to create content on your own.  So where do collaborations sit with you on your platform?  Is it worth the effort and are the way to make collabs easier for Cosplay?  Creating and circulating your own cosplays is hard.  And what about overshadowing?  Can you only collaborate with people who have the same ambitions in follower count?  Does this limit you and how many other things m...

Interested in how I keep things going and have created 4 seasons of content in what amounts to my free time? I can’t say it’s been the same the whole time, there’s been an evolution in how I create, my time spend on the channel, building on other projects in the background, and I have gotten a little faster as time has gone on.  I’ll share with you my methods currently for how I create HoCS. Find...

Have we burned ourselves out of Social Media? Is organic a thing of the past? As we struggle to keep up with all the changes to each of the platforms that we feel obligated to continually share content on, has it become too much to really bother?  Today, I want to talk about just where I feel social is going for cosplayers and how you can work on adapting to the attention game that is always playi...

Cosplay budgeting isn’t easy.  And what do you include? Is it just the cosplay or is it…everything else? Budgets can be small or large, but with any hobby, you want to prevent a few things from happening.  You don’t want it to take over and you don’t want it to get out of control. From my own experience, the worst thing to do is NOT budget in some way for you Cosplay. Find the Sanctuary on Social:...

Hello.  I’m ScottyB and I’m a con addict.  At least, that’s what we’re talking about today. We just talked about attending too many shows in a year, or where that line is, so we’re here to now get into what Con Addiction really means. This isn’t a mental thing more than a concept – it’s what it looks like, not a disorder.  I can’t diagnose things, but seek professional assistance on the topic of a...