Last week, I posted a blog post about how I organized my cosplans. I had a request to have a template of the spreadsheet I use uploaded so others could use it. Below you'll find a downloadable file so you alter what parts are useful to you. Today's post will discuss the other tabs in the sheet that weren't covered earlier. If you happened to miss that post, you can find it here. ![]()
![]() References This page is pretty basic. Sometimes I find tutorials that will help me with a future project that I don't want to lose. I'll write down what the tutorial is for and write a link. I personally don't include pictures in here since I find it easier to organize reference photos in folders on my computer (perhaps a future post if peeps are interested?). I'll group my tutorials together by cosplay since I *try* to finish one cosplay at a time. ![]() Shoot Ideas Sometimes I come up with great locations for shoots, and I'm so forgetful that I need to write them down. I'll write down the character's name and location that I want to shoot at. If I have a certain photographer in mind, or I have discussed the shoot with someone, I'll put down their name too, since I am super forgetful, but I don't want to burn bridges with my photographers. Once I actually have a shoot booked, I'll put it on the table on the right so I know not to double book a shoot and to keep my days straight. I only write the character name in the table since I can easily find the rest of the information in the columns to the left of the table. It might make it easier on yourself if you organize the left side by alphabetical order for the characters. ![]() Con List I use the con list section to organize the conventions I'm going to. I will put an "X" in the booked column when I officially buy my ticket. Sometimes I forget if I have a ticket (especially with events being canceled), so this helps me make sure that I actually buy the ticket. Tickets are cheaper the earlier you buy them, so I try to buy them a year in advance if I can. If you can't buy them right away, that's okay. Just avoid buying them at the con if you can. You'll save a lot of money. I also like to keep track of other con information such as dates, hotel price, and the con website. To make it easier for me to navigate, I try to organize the cons by the date they happen so I can make sure that I am booking hotels and buying tickets in the order that they happen. I like to include badge and hotel costs so I can figure out a budget. If you plan on going to out of state cons, I would also include a column for travel. Lastly, the website is good to have so you can access information about policies and other important information. ![]() Line Up The last tab is my line up tab. I like to plan my cosplays in advance so I can figure out what I need to work on to avoid con crunch. This also helps me figure out what groups I am in and what days we are doing them. Every two columns is a new year. Sometimes I plan things a year in advance, so I like to make sure I can organize multiple years at a time. In the left column of each year I write the day or event (rave, contest, etc.) for the con. In the right column, I make sure to write the con name (in order that they happen) and then the costumes that I plan on wearing. I hope this helps keep you organized next con season! Did you make any adjustments or add any new tabs? Let me know in the comments below!
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I've been binge watching so much during this Stay at Home Order, which has added on to my ever-growing problem: my cosplan list. There are so many characters and fan art that I want to cosplay, that I was having trouble for awhile trying to keep track of everything I wanted to do. I keep my cosplans in many places, but the most organized one is my excel spread sheet. There's a lot of pages in my cosplay doc, so today I'm only going to share those about keeping cosplays organized. ![]() The first page I break down my cosplays in to interest levels. I ask myself how much I want to cosplay each character and place them accordingly. These are always moving around for me, but I want to keep track of what matters most to me in the moment so I can work on those first. It has also helped me narrow down characters because if they stay on the low end too long, I tend to lose interest and delete them. Next to my priority chart, I keep track of cosplay I am actively working on. I try to keep this at two, but due to a lack of resources, I've been working on whatever I can make from what I already have. I also include bought cosplays here that haven't arrived so I can track what should be arriving. The bottom table is to keep track of my groups. I haven't updated it in awhile since the pandemic is closing everything down, but I like to keep track of groups and their deadlines so I can make sure to prioritize those by deadlines. ![]() The next page is a timeline page. I haven't updated this since before COAF because I'm trying not to push myself to work on cosplay when I'm feeling uninspired. This really helps during con season to keep me on track and to avoid con crunch! I start by writing out all my upcoming cons (this has been updated...for now) and what I plan on bringing to each. To the right of that, I write out the next three cosplays I have planned and what I still need to do to finish them. I use these to populate the calendar on the left. Usually I make these calendars for a month at a time (this one is different since I was balancing student teaching, grad school, and work). When I do this for each month, I break it down by what I want to do each week. I like to double check that all of my tasks are even divided up by how much time I think they will take so I'm not overloading myself. I try to revisit this at the end of each week and highlight everything I got done in green. At the end of each month I eventuate what I got done and what I need to do next month to keep on track. When it gets closer to con (about two months out), I write everything down on paper too and put it on the cork board over my desk so I can help keep myself on track so I'm not crunching. ![]() I like to keep my thrifted cosplays separate. These are pieces that I think would be fairly easy to find at a thrift store, so I keep my eyes open each time I go. To make these lists, I just look at a reference picture and write down everything I need to complete the look. These are cosplays I don't have a timeline for and I'm willing to wait to find pieces I can alter to make the costume. The last Page I'm going over is my buy online page. As the name implies, it's just a page with links to cosplays I want to buy. Before I put them on the list I look at reviews about the retailer (if I haven't previously bought from them) to make sure that their product is quality. I also check to see if there are any product reviews and pictures from consumers to see how the product actually fits. Once I am confident in the product and company I add the link here so I don't forget about it. As much as I would love to buy everything now, real life has to come first. Was this helpful to you? Would you like to see more of my spreadsheet in future posts? Let me know in the comments!
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Gamora: Get Geekish Blake: Yuki Cat Captures Nui: Ham Sandwich What's this?These post are different cosplay advice topics that I think people would find useful. Categories vary, so they can help beginners as well as veterans. Archives
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