Finding meaning in the quiet months between conventions.

cosplay between conventions

Hello, friends. Spring is here, and if you're like most of us in the cosplay world, you're in that peculiar season where the convention calendar feels sparse. The big winter and early-spring shows are behind you, summer is still a few months away, and there's this gentle pause where the energy shifts. It's easy to feel a little lost during these in-between times, but I've come to believe that cosplay between conventions is where the real magic happens. It's where we breathe, plan, repair, dream, and sometimes discover what we actually want to make next.

This week, I want to talk about that space, and the people who thrive in it.

A few weeks ago, I heard from a maker named Jordan who spent the months after their first major convention in a state of quiet reflection. They'd finished their debut costume just in time for a regional show in February, and it was exhilarating and terrifying all at once. They walked the convention floor, met other cosplayers, felt the energy of a crowd who appreciated their work. Then it ended, and they went home with a closet full of armor pieces and a head full of questions.

"I didn't know what to do with myself," Jordan told me. "Everyone online talks about the next con, the next build, the next photoshoot. But I just wanted to sit with what I'd made for a while."

So that's what they did. For three weeks, they didn't add anything to their to-do list. They looked at photos from the convention. They fixed a seam that had been bothering them. They watched other cosplayers' build videos and took notes, not because they had to, but because they wanted to understand the craft better. They talked to a photographer friend about what angles made them feel confident. They started a small notebook where they sketched ideas, nothing finished, just possibilities.

By mid-March, something shifted. Jordan wasn't frantically chasing the next event. Instead, they'd identified a character they genuinely loved, one they'd been thinking about for years. The build felt less like a deadline and more like an invitation. They started gathering materials slowly, thoughtfully. They joined an online community of makers working on the same character, and found themselves offering advice to someone newer to cosplay than they were. Teaching, it turned out, helped them understand their own process better.

"The convention was amazing," Jordan reflected. "But this part, between conventions, is where I'm actually becoming a cosplayer instead of just someone who made a costume."

That distinction matters. The convention is the celebration, the peak, the moment everything comes together. But the months in between are where you decide who you want to be in this community, what you want to learn, who you want to make things alongside. It's where you recover, where you set your own pace, where you can say no to the pressure and yes to what actually excites you.

The in-between season isn't empty time. It's the foundation. And I'm curious about how you spend yours.

What does your cosplay life look like right now, in these quieter months? Are you working on something, or are you in a rest phase? Have you ever had a moment like Jordan's, where stepping back from the convention rush helped you figure out what you actually wanted to make or do next? What's one thing you've learned or practiced between conventions that actually changed how you approach cosplay?

Spring and early summer are filling up with smaller regional shows, workshops, and community meetups. Here are some events worth marking on your calendar:

• Riverside Comic Expo, May 2026, Riverside, California. Regional convention with active cosplay community and photoshoot areas.
• Pacific Northwest Cosplay Summit, June 2026, Portland, Oregon. Workshop-focused event for makers and photographers.
• Midwest Maker Meetup, June 2026, Chicago, Illinois. Casual outdoor gathering for cosplayers and crafters.
• Summer Comic Con Circuit, July 2026, Multiple cities across the Northeast. Series of smaller conventions and fan festivals.
• Costume Designers Showcase, August 2026, Los Angeles, California. Juried competition and networking event for experienced makers.

If you know someone in your cosplay circle who's in the thick of an in-between season, or someone who's just finished their first convention and isn't sure what comes next, please forward this to them. This newsletter is for all of us, whether you're three weeks out from a show or three months away.

And I'd love to hear from you. Hit reply and tell me where you are right now. Are you building something? Are you resting? Are you helping someone else with their project? Are you thinking about what comes next? This is a conversation, not a broadcast. Your experience matters, and so does your story.

The in-between is where we all live most of the time. Let's talk about it.

Reply with your stories, photos, and questions for a future issue.