Hi : ) My name's Gabby and I've been doing cosplay off and on for about 6 years now. I don't do it professionally, but I'd definitely like to get more serious about it. My favorite aspect of cosplay is being able to take something that was previously only animated or drawn, and bring out an interpretation of it into the real world. I think it's really exciting. It's also fun to be able to step into the persona of character you admire for the day. Cosplay can be so many different things - beautiful, silly, sexy, serious, dark, light and bouncy - but its almost always a lot of fun. I definitely want to continue doing it and continue to improve my cosplays and meet new people who are into it.
I really just want to work on doing new costumes, playing with new materials, meeting more people who are into this, getting advice, continuing to learn how to make new things, learning how to sew a bit more. : )
Rakka from Haibane Renmei Psyduck from Pokemon San from Princess Mononoke Red XIII from Final Fantasy VII Fiona from Adventure Time (in progress)
Again, I have a lot of fun with the aspect of "being" whatever character you're portraying as you're portraying them. It's a lot of fun!
DO IT. Find a character you like, and just start making stuff. Post on forums, find friends who are willing to dress up with you, pose for pictures if you're comfortable - just get out there and have fun.
I haven't had that many negative experiences, although it does kind of seem (so far) like women in cosplay are DEFINITELY paid more positive attention if they have nice bodies and do "sexy" cosplays. That's to be expected, but it can equate to women, maybe, sometimes having hard work on a still-quality costume go unacknowledged because it doesn't show a lot of cleavage.