alternatively titled “how taking a year to finish a video game finally gave me peace of mind about all of my unfinished projects & cosplans and that it's OK to take your time building cosplays” lol ... thank you guys as always for your support, things have been rough but you guys are just amazing and so inspiring :)
I think we are the same person. All of this is so true and very well said. I have lots of guilt when I don't finish something, so that guilt pushes me negatively. I'm trying to understand that more.
I think we've all been pushed to our breaking points with the last two years too, because now I have people commenting and saying "well you had two years to get a costume done" and it's like ... oh no, that's not how any of this works lol.
as a fellow adhd cosplayer I feel this to my core. as I struggle with completing projects I remind myself that as long as I am not letting down people in my life with completing a project and i am getting enjoyment out of the act of creation then I am doing ok. and i am getting a ton of enjoyment out of making things and your videos so keep em coming vault.
this is exactly how I'm trying to look at things right now! it's so tough though, especially with social media (and me personally having this channel) that I know sometimes I'll make a video on a project and it may just ... end there. That might be the last video, and it crushes me cause it feels like a failure. But I know deep down it's not and comments like this remind me it's OK! thank you again :)
I have suspected for years that I have ADHD. But so far I have no diagnosis. But I can relate to what you're saying very well. Start something new? Piece of cake. To end something? Almost impossible. For hobbies like cosplay, that's not a problem for me. At work.... Another topic 😅
If it makes you feel better, I've been thinking I had ADHD for ... omg the past two/three years especially. It took a lot for me to seek help for it, but a lot of the stuff I found online of strategies for dealing with things like executive dysfunction and other stuff really did help. I was essentially treating my life and myself as if I was already diagnosed, and if the tips and such helped them all the better. and MY GOD, stopping things??? YES. Impossible, I am like a freight train. I think it's why I like cosplay so much too because ... costumes are technically never finished.
I started buying parts from The Custom Saber Shop in ‘18. Just little by little. Last Christmas my wife gave me a gift card for the site and told me to go nuts purchasing what I lacked and finally put a bow on the whole affair. In February my area was hit with a series of snow/ice storms and I took one afternoon and planned the entire build. That night, in costume, I laid out all the parts as Corran Horn did in I, Jedi. My wife photographed the whole evening. In a couple of hours I got to finish a project I had been purchasing for across 4 years, and dreaming for for easily 20. The first time I hit the ignition and a silver blade sprang to life I almost cried. I have built a over dozen costumes in my life but that was a Holy Grail for me. Couldn’t have done it without all her support.
I can't even begin to imagine how AMAZING that felt to put together! I love that your wife also photographed the whole process of making it too, that is such an amazing moment and memory!
Don't so hard on yourself on working hard. Because I've been working on my armor and ideas for over 2 years and I am still fixing, making mistakes and fighting with my only 3d printer is a struggle but it is always good to take a step back and wind down and recharge your batterys till you are ready to work on your projects.
Thanks, I am DEF a lot harder on myself that I need to be but it's just something I have to work through. Gotta remember that like you said, things just take time and always looking to social media as a bar to meet isn't the best way
Totally agree. Everyone has those projects just sitting around they haven't gotten back to. I have several unfinished costumes sitting in my office in various states of completion. Magneto - First Class end scene (helmet complete, need to sew shirt and cape), Rocketeer (need to figure out harness for jetpack), Witch King of Angmar (helmet, sword, & mace all printed), Mando helmet (I have a cast and just want that for display), '66 Riddler (waiting on green suit from China), Sabine Wren (helmet printed, other part models sourced), and several others that are just props that I'm not sure were ever going to be full costumes. Burn out is real and it's why I switch projects frequently to keep from losing interest. Hell, with all of this on the workbench (metaphorically) I just started printing a giant crow skull mask to do a Khonshu costume. Oh, I've been working on that Rocketeer costume for something like 10 years now.
Yeah, sometimes I just gotta remind myself and others that this is totally normal to have a bunch of things we want to make, and we're just not going to get to them all
I too have been struggling with my adhd and making/ finishing cosplays or feeling that my work is up to my standards its incredibly frustrating. I'm really glad you talked about it and you found some inner peace. it definitely made me feel a little better! I'm looking forward to more of your cosplays/cosplans!
I'm sorry to hear you're struggling too but at least you know you're not alone! It is such a tough thing to break out of and I don't think I'll ever fully *not* feel guilty about all the stuff I haven't finished, but I'm trying to be OK with it ... just takes baby steps and a LOT of time that I'm impatient just thinking about haha
A lot of the pressure coming from social media is exactly what you are talking about. I feel the same way when I am not able to even turn anything out in teh last few months
YEAH it is def tough, I see people putting out new stuff constantly (especially on tiktok) which wears me down, but I have to remember that it's not TRULY like that and the vast majority of people take a lot of time to do things as well
If you make one thing a year and make it as entertaining and informative as you do we will all still keep coming back! Personally I go full tilt in the beginning and tend to lose interest , (so I feel you on the unfinished things). That is close enough for now I'll go back to it, (Or so I used to tell myself). Over the last year for me to keep the creative juices and focus going I start 2 or 3 projects at once to bounce around between.
Awwww thank you so much, that's a great way of looking at it too! And I'm right there with ya with multiple projects goin at once ... it's nice to bounce between things and different materials to keep things fresh
Stardust, You are amazing! So inspiring. Im 50 now working on my first ever cosplay and only just received my diagnosis for ASD, Dyslexia and PTSD from childhood abuse. That have led to me suffering from a personality disorder. I mourn so much over the things I feel Ive lost for not knowing just what was wrong with me and thinking I was just crazy for biggest part of my life. Cosplay for me is my way to focus on something healthy although not always in a healthy way. Getting out of the house and mixing with people despite my anxiety and depression is something I hope and feel will help me become someone else, someone heroic someone who isnt me so I can face the outside world. You are the one person who inspired me to get into cosplay and your videos have helped so much. And Im sure Im not alone in saying you have helped changed my life and the lives of many more people than you realise! My ambition would be to meet you at a expo or something one day. Although sadly In in UK. Not the US. But hopefully one day I pray the fates although it to happen. Thank you so much, for all youve done and will do for myself x
thank you so much :)) I am so sorry to hear about what you had to go through and thank you for sharing, I know that wasn't an easy thing to do! I'm glad my videos can give you a bright spot and have inspired you to try cosplay!! It's done so much for me mentally and I hope it's been doing the same for you
Thank you for bringing up this topic. I know was working on several projects when my mom died almost 2 years ago and have not been able to work on them since, started working on a few of them recently. I was upgrading my 3d printer at the time, and never could bring myself to work on it again. I went and bought a new printer and trying to get back into it. I know videos like that are probably the hardest, but they are most appreciated.
I'm so sorry for your loss. It can be tough to start up projects that are connected to moments like that, it can bring us back to just a really crappy place and mindset. I'm glad this video helped in some small way though, you're right that these videos end up being the toughest to make but they really are my favorites and I think the most important ones.
Thank you so much for sharing! I’ve felt like this for past 2+ years. I have so many unfinished cosplays. Some of them unearthed some insecurities that I am overcoming. I agree that it is rewarding to come back to them even it’s for a small amount of time. I can’t wait to revisit them with a new perspective. Again, thank you for sharing your experience.
Awwww I'm glad you enjoyed! These are my favorite subjects to talk about tbh ... and yeah, I remember at the height of everything people were saying "well, you have the time to get into that new hobby!' and it's like ... we actually don't. That mental strain is there and we are all really in survival mode at this point. Don't even get me started on people saying "you had two years to finish it" cause OOF I could make an entire video about how wrong that is!!
I feel all of this with my hobbies. Aside from ADD (which I also have), I don’t think you can underestimate the power of anxiety brought on by the last couple of years or so.
the anxiety is SO REAL. I remember in the beginning of 2020 everyone was saying "well, that thing you've always wanted to do? now you have the time!" and that is just fundamentally not true. We were in a LOCKDOWN, not a "oh, I guess I'll master a new hobby-down" ... lol. There is so much pressure for us to use our time wisely that we often forget to slow down
A very on time post. My Book of Boba Fett armor stalled about a month ago. My printers collected dust and my filament started breaking, the workbench is cluttered, etc... I can fully relate to almost everything you mention. Last night I printed something small just because. Thank you!
My printers have been off for a month SOLID and I have never felt such peace lol., so I totally feel ya on that. Glad the video resonated cause I have not seen many people talking about this stuff.
@@vaultfox Totally agree. I was printing stuff for months solid and as you said in your video regarding the Fennec helmet is that you did have something tangible. And I know I do have tangible prints (esp. Holiday decorations including gift boxes that the recipients were like "You printed this! So cool.") and a lot of mistakes . But I've learned from those mistakes and I know that is part of this hobby.
Im reworking my Dabi cosplay, from BHNA. Ive done pieces and parts over the past three? years. Im constantly moving to try and make more, and make better. Im currently handmaking a yarn wig. Ive never been able to finish one before. Ive started four before this one.
I have a black panther suit and a punisher war machine suit that I am close to finishing. I keep hitting road blocks that I feel like they are mountains. I keep having to remember that one step at a time and I will get to where I want to be. It’s great to see that I am not the only one that has felt that getting something done shouldn’t be the pay off. I should be enjoying the making process as well. Thanks for the video and the share.
Oof, the roadblocks that feel like mountains hit me HARD. Sometimes we get to a point with a project and something as simple as attaching velcro feels like an undertaking so I 100% get you. Hopefully you can find some momentum in the future, but don't force it if it's just not there!
@@vaultfox The things I have gotten hung up on are not even “blocks” it’s just my over hyped brain wanting the answer now. My dopamine addicted brain does not like the planning portion of this hobby!
i found myself screaming "YES" at a lot of these points in the video. I tend to hyperfixate on things months at a time and it slowly fizzles out where I'm not interested or something else peaks my interest. I started a mando cosplay march 2021 but slowly fizzled out even after i made most of the pieces. it was probably all the googling and inferiority/comparing myself to other builds and just lack of interest. But after I lost my job this year i decided to turn the parts into a book of boba fett cosplay. It took me about 2 months because i didn't have any where to be and i spent all day doing it and going to sleep and then waking up and doing it again. I got super depressed and started to hate it. but i did eventually finish it but i didn't get the satisfaction i wanted. i did get a super cool photoshoot though so that's a plus. but another good thing that came out of it was the restarting of my side cosplay account on instagram. I used to have a cosplay channel (this one) but stopped posting because of the same reasons you mentioned in your video. But I had all this content and no one to tell so i leaned toward my instagram account to document me making it! and since then I post stories of me making things because I love to look back on stuff i do. that boba fett costume reunited my love for cosplay and making things and now my goal for 2023 is to cosplay more and go to conventions and make friends who like the things i like and just be more social! I loved the video and related a lot to it and just want to say thank you for making this kind of content. it's nice to be able to relate to content :)
thank you so much for sharing your story!! to be honest these are the things I'm most interested in cosplay-wise, I wanna hear the stuff people go through making these costumes and even why they might fizzle out/stop working on them. I have 100% been there with costumes/projects that I finish and it's almost like ... relief? there wasn't any satisfaction other than just finally being rid of the project from my to-do list
I understand you, I have 8 unfinished projects, usually all the projects I finish took max on month to complete, if it takes longer than that to complete, I move on to another project
I definitely feel this, the longer a project goes on for me the more and more guilty I feel about it or can feel myself losing steam. That's why I think I have so many unfinished projects or just have a lot of them going on at once, because I like bouncing between them to keep things fresh
I think I've mentioned before, let's see.... I've got resin prop garage kits in my workshop that are old enough to drink. Some of those cost over $100 each, which to a high school student in the 90s was not inexpensive. I've got Star Trek: Enterprise jumpsuit patterns, fabric, and patches that have been folded up in a closet since around 2014. I've got a Vault 101 Jumpsuit from the Bethesda Store that I planned on taking in a bit, making it look a little less off-the-rack, and adding the bits and bobs to. That's been in a box, with the bits and bobs, and extra material, and everything to just DO IT, since 2016. Meanwhile, I'm spending money on Ghostbusters and Shoretrooper parts, building a Bo-Katan armor set, and looking at other, newer, unfinished prop and model kits. Yeah, I know what you're talking about. *LOL*
I can so relate!! Thank you for sharing your story, thus spreading hope!! I will definitely be writing down my reasons for stopping on a project (which I am beating myself up about the most)! 👏
YEAHHHHH it's rough out there! I def get bogged down by social media and seeing others put out new costumes as quick as they do, I just gotta remind myself that social media is a highlight reel and we're all not that fast!
@@vaultfox 💯 I started tracking the hours I spend for a costume (also the dates of start and finish) to better understand how long it takes me. I also thought it is “normal” to produce 1 video with a new costume (piece) per week. Since this is my hobby I need to also remind myself to not compare myself with others.
The thing keeping me from getting back to work is because of the falling out I have had with some other people in the TTRPG industry a few years ago, after which they went public with their opinions and tried to have me canceled. It's left me feeling afraid to put stuff out there because there are others in the industry with very loud voices who have tried (and succeeded) at hamstringing my progress. I don't even begrudge those people their success. It's great for them that they've found success in the industry. It just hurts when I know that they sometimes use their platform to talk about why, according to them, nobody should ever work with me, and it makes me not want to even try.
Ouch, that IS rough and I can kind of understand where you're coming from (on a smaller scale) because sometimes, even with a video like this, I feel like what I have to say doesn't matter because it doesn't fit nicely into an algorithm or won't rank in search. what we have to offer is always important but sometimes we get in our own way
@@vaultfox You're absolutely right. The amount of times I've talked myself out of doing something probably outweighs the number of times the words of others who hate me have actually stunted my progress. It just feels like they make the Boulder a little bigger, or the hill a little steeper, you know? Where's Sisyphus when you need him.
Thanks for talking about this. It’s definitely something that feels like a topic that is never mentioned in the cosplay community. My biggest unfinished cosplay is Anna’s coronation dress from the first Frozen. I had just gone to my first “big” convention (GalaxyCon MSP 2019), and I loved it. That con was my first big/real competition, and I loved the entire experience. My goal was to have this dress be a competition piece for the return of GalaxyCon in the fall of 2020. But then the world broke. So even though I was like 75% done with it at that point of the convention cancelling, I just completely lost all motivation to finish. I managed to force myself finish the appliqués on the skirt, as well as pin the hem, but I just can’t bring myself to finish it. What makes it even harder for me is knowing that the bulk of the hard stuff is done! I just have to hem, topstitch, and bone and bind the bodice and it is done. But with that convention no longer coming back to MN, on top of other cosplays I do want to work on, I think it will be a while before I come back to finish it. Makes me sad that I honestly do not want to work on it, but I’m hoping that your delayed gratification thought comes true for me, too.
I don't think we realize just how connected a costume becomes with a specific event or "deadline" sometimes because that's exactly how I felt about not finishing up my Liara for DragonCon last year! I KNEW it was the right move due to the heat and mask-wearing but I still feel like I was just a big fat liar in all of those videos I made back then when I was gearing up for it. I know for me personally, I have a lot of shame about building up SOOOO much hype for a costume build and then just ... falling out of love with it. But it's inevitably going to happen sometime so I think it's just better to talk about it. I'm sure one day the itch will come back to work on your Anna and it'll be a MUCH more enjoyable experience than forcing your way through it when your hearts not in it.
I was building a Nightsister Ventress costume and I made the tunic that ended up being very awkward to wear even though it looked okay. So I started over. I bought the fabric and cut one piece of it and haven't done anything with it since the beginning of the year. I have no idea if/when I'll go back to it
