/cgl/ - Cosplay & EGL

>Parents let me convert shed into full-blown cosplay workshop
>Everything from a sewing machine to table saw
>Spend 3-4 hours every weekday working on costume & props, 8-9 hours on weekend days.
>Spend two weeks just sanding props for this amount of time.
>All in all took 5 months total to make.
>Debut at convention.
>Someone cosplaying the same character.
>Cosplay is 5x better quality, they're asked for pictures 10x more than me.
>Ask them what their construction methods were.
>"Haha, to tell you the truth I got like ninety percent of this on etsy and ebay"

I could have spent that time getting another job instead of working, bought everything, and had an even better costume. And yet some stubborn part of me still insists on hand-making everything.