No matter your level of experience. No matter the characters that you choose. Every cosplayer will respond with the phrase when you ask them what cosplay is like: cosplay is hard. Not much of a gleaming review, I know. But the arduous process is always worth the couple months of blood, sweat, and tears.
These instructions are here to help anyone through that process. I will work from the design to the finish product. I want to remind everyone that this is a general overview. These instructions aren't the be all end all. Every cosplayer has a different system that they go through when they create and present a cosplay. However, these instructions are -- in my opinion -- a good place to start.
• Step #1: Pick a Character
Many newcomers will think this is the easiest step. And depending on the character and costume that you pick, they're right. Yet, a majority of the time they will come to find that this is one of the hardest steps in the procedure. When you are picking a character to cosplay, you want to make sure that you have three basic things in mind: Skill Level, Coverage, and Comfort.
Skill Level is imperative to your character choice because you don't want to pick a character whose costume is out of your experience level.
If you aren't sure if the character is at your skill level, ask yourself this: do you have to learn or re-learn three or more things? If it's yes, then it's too complicated. It could mean the difference between a good cosplay and a great cosplay.
Coverage is an aspect on its own, but it also works in conjunction with the third item on this list. Coverage is a general term that has to do with how much of your body the costume covers. There are some characters that are well known that have skimpy outfits. While there are some costumes that cover quite a bit.
Coverage and your comfort with wearing the costume are ideals that go hand in hand. However, it's not just your comfort that coverage applies to. Major convention companies such as Wizard World and PAX have cosplaying rules about how revealing your cosplay can be. In fact, PAX has initiated a "'Booth Babes' Policy" that applies to cosplayers as well as convention booth workers. In the end, as long as you aren't breaking any rules, coverage all depends on how comfortable you are with the cosplay.
The final detail is Comfort. Conventions are multi-day events with a lot of walking around involved. And you may think that you can last a day in high heels and a full skirt, but you could also be completely wrong. Picking a character that you know you will be comfortable walking around the convention floor in all day is an imperative detail to picking your cosplay. If you know you can take a chance walking around in two inch heels all day, do it! But, if you wince at the thought, perhaps a character with flats is better?
In the end the decision is yours to make. It's not going to be anyone else in that cosplay but you. So, the final choice is yours and yours alone. And whomever you choose, be sure it's a character that you can abide by the first rule of cosplay in: have fun!
• Step #2: Draw Up Your Design
The next step is to draw -- or collage, or sketch -- up your design. Doing this will help you visualize your cosplay better in your mind. It will also allow you to take notes on the cosplay on particular parts such as what fabrics you might need or what patterns you might use.
Whatever medium you choose to use all depends on you. I usually digitally sketch out my designs on my computer and print them out. It allows me to insert pictures of the character or pictures of items of clothing that would work best for the outfit. The choice is yours. I know people who use paper dolls to design their cosplays whose outfits come out looking professional.
No matter how you design, having a physical visualization of your cosplay will help you when you are getting and putting everything together.
• Step #3: Get Your Supplies
As my cosplay mom once told me: cosplays don't just fall out of the sky. And whether it's a simple t-shirt or a full ball gown with a light up bow and arrow, you're going to need a few things to have your character come to life.
Once you have your design drafted and noted, you should have a clear idea of how much of what type of materials you'll need. You'll then need to locate the places that sell the materials you need. Now, most cosplayers will say they live in their local craft and fabric shops. Those are great places for cosplayers of any level, but they aren't the only places in the world that you can go to get cosplaying supplies.
Home improvement stores such as Home Depot and Lowe's carry high quality products for making accessories, props, and weapons. Superstores such as Target, Walmart, and Kmart are good if you need to duck in for a last minute pair of tights or cheap Nerf gun for a prop. And any retail stores hold items that can easily be modified into the perfect part of your cosplay.
When looking for locations, it's also important that the store you're going to has the right amount of the material you're asking for. It allows you more time to work on your project by saving you some time running around to different stores looking for three of the exact same styrofoam balls you were looking for.
So, you've done your shopping and you've gotten your (small mountain) of supplies. What's next?
• Step #4: Work on the Cosplay
Here comes the hard part: making the cosplay. This step is the longest of the process. And depending on the cosplay you've chosen, "long" could be an understatement.
When working on a cosplay, be sure that you spread your work time out evenly. If you rush to get it done early, you run the risk of it being stained or pets or little siblings getting into it (your dog will eat your cosplay if it's mad enough). If you lay it off and rush to get it done a week before the convention, then you'll most likely end up hunched in front of your sewing machine at five in the morning wondering what it would be like to be human again.
Spreading your time out evenly will allow for you to plan around any mishaps that might happen and fix any slight -- or major -- complications that might arise. Plus, it allows you to take a break every so often to focus on other things in your life such as school or family and friends. Cosplay may seem as though it's the center of the world when you're knee deep in your final bustle, but in the end it's all about fun. And there is nothing fun about sticking yourself with a needle at three in the morning because you're rushing to get your costume done in time.
• Step #5: Travel
Your costume is all finished and stitched together. Your hems are tight, your props are glued in their appropriate places, and your wig and make up are ready and styled. Now comes, possibly, the most nerve wracking part: traveling to the convention.
You may think that I'm over-exaggerating. But there is nothing calming about waiting for the cardboard box filled with the prop you painstakingly worked on for a month slide down and out at baggage claim after a long plane ride. And if you think waiting for a prop is bad, thinking about what travel did to that wig of yours is going to give you a bushel of gray hairs.
Whether you're going to a convention an hour away or are flying to another state to attend, traveling with your cosplay is a torturous dance of "what if." My best advice is to pack and plan with common sense. If you're going to be in body paint and are carpooling to the event, be sure that you bathed yourself in setting powder or spray. If you have to check a box with your luggage, be sure that you have packed everything safely and securely. All it takes is one moment of "eh" that could mean the difference between a disaster and a happy convention experience.
• Step #6: Getting Ready
Everything is safe and in good condition. You got up early to the sickening smell of hot plastic as your friend styles her wig. You duck into the hotel's buffet breakfast to grab some bacon, only to get weird looks as you look like a troll with your face half painted and your wig cap secure. That's right, it's time to get into your cosplay.
It may seem strange to have a step solely for putting on the costume. But, trust me, it helps to have it.
When getting into your cosplay, be sure that you save yourself enough time before the convention or whenever you want to go to the convention to get ready. That involves getting a good night's rest before. It's the Christmas Day Principle - as much as you're excited to get down there, the day comes faster the sooner you fall asleep. Once you wake up well rested (or dead tired because your anxiety kept you up), now begins the race.
It doesn't matter if you're getting ready by yourself in your room or are sharing a room with your friends, there is an overwhelming sense of rush that comes over you. You race to quickly shower and dry your hair. You sprint from one end of your room to another in order to get every piece on as quickly as you can. Wigs are flying back and forth. People are crowding around the mirror to get a better look for their make up or contacts.
This is the time where you need to take a moment and just breathe. Let the world stand still for a moment and re-ground yourself. Trust me, your make up will look much better when your hands aren't shaking.
If you have decided to opt into sharing a hotel room with other cosplayers, be sure to set out a system for getting ready the night before. If everyone needs to shower in the morning, then make a list of who gets the shower first. Make sure that everyone has their own station for certain parts of the process such as make-up, costume, wig, etc. And be sure to touch base with each other during the process to make sure that there isn't going to be a ten car pile up at the mirror at the final moment.
Whatever your situation, be sure to keep your cool. Stressing will only take more fun out of the experience. Plus, no one wants to be the grouch who hogs the bathroom for an hour when two other people need to get in.
• Step #7: Present Final Cosplay
This step is pretty self-explanatory. Once you're all ready and you've done your twelfth once over to make sure that everything is where it should be, it's time to shine.
When walking down to a convention, be sure that you have everything that you need and you are able to get back to your room. If you are driving and parking at a garage, make sure you save yourself ample room just in case you need to throw on one last piece of your cosplay in the garage. Be sure to be aware of your surroundings as you walk to the con. It's easy to get sidetracked with everything before you realized you've trounced on someone's train.
When out on the convention floor, smile and have fun! This is the moment that you've been waiting for, so have a little bit of fun with it. Be kind and courteous to people if they ask you to pose for a photograph. And be wary of where you stand, just in case there is an impromptu photo session in the middle of an alleyway. If someone is acting in a way that's making you uncomfortable, don't hesitant to tell them to go away. If the actions persist, be sure to locate your nearest convention staff member and tell them the situation. They are there to make sure everyone is having a great time. And harassment isn't fun to anyone.
And that's it! Pretty easy, huh? Well, the fun is worth the stress in the end. If you have any questions or concerns, don't be shy to post a comment on this post.
• Step #1: Pick a Character
Many newcomers will think this is the easiest step. And depending on the character and costume that you pick, they're right. Yet, a majority of the time they will come to find that this is one of the hardest steps in the procedure. When you are picking a character to cosplay, you want to make sure that you have three basic things in mind: Skill Level, Coverage, and Comfort.
Skill Level is imperative to your character choice because you don't want to pick a character whose costume is out of your experience level.
 |
| Banshee Queen Enira from Lineage 2 |
 |
| Fionna from Adventure Time with Fionna and Cake |
If you aren't sure if the character is at your skill level, ask yourself this: do you have to learn or re-learn three or more things? If it's yes, then it's too complicated. It could mean the difference between a good cosplay and a great cosplay.
Coverage is an aspect on its own, but it also works in conjunction with the third item on this list. Coverage is a general term that has to do with how much of your body the costume covers. There are some characters that are well known that have skimpy outfits. While there are some costumes that cover quite a bit.
 |
| Juliet Starling from Lollipop Chainsaw |
 |
| Genderbent Dean Winchester from Supernatural |
Coverage and your comfort with wearing the costume are ideals that go hand in hand. However, it's not just your comfort that coverage applies to. Major convention companies such as Wizard World and PAX have cosplaying rules about how revealing your cosplay can be. In fact, PAX has initiated a "'Booth Babes' Policy" that applies to cosplayers as well as convention booth workers. In the end, as long as you aren't breaking any rules, coverage all depends on how comfortable you are with the cosplay.
The final detail is Comfort. Conventions are multi-day events with a lot of walking around involved. And you may think that you can last a day in high heels and a full skirt, but you could also be completely wrong. Picking a character that you know you will be comfortable walking around the convention floor in all day is an imperative detail to picking your cosplay. If you know you can take a chance walking around in two inch heels all day, do it! But, if you wince at the thought, perhaps a character with flats is better?
In the end the decision is yours to make. It's not going to be anyone else in that cosplay but you. So, the final choice is yours and yours alone. And whomever you choose, be sure it's a character that you can abide by the first rule of cosplay in: have fun!
• Step #2: Draw Up Your Design
The next step is to draw -- or collage, or sketch -- up your design. Doing this will help you visualize your cosplay better in your mind. It will also allow you to take notes on the cosplay on particular parts such as what fabrics you might need or what patterns you might use.
Whatever medium you choose to use all depends on you. I usually digitally sketch out my designs on my computer and print them out. It allows me to insert pictures of the character or pictures of items of clothing that would work best for the outfit. The choice is yours. I know people who use paper dolls to design their cosplays whose outfits come out looking professional.
No matter how you design, having a physical visualization of your cosplay will help you when you are getting and putting everything together.
• Step #3: Get Your Supplies
As my cosplay mom once told me: cosplays don't just fall out of the sky. And whether it's a simple t-shirt or a full ball gown with a light up bow and arrow, you're going to need a few things to have your character come to life.
Once you have your design drafted and noted, you should have a clear idea of how much of what type of materials you'll need. You'll then need to locate the places that sell the materials you need. Now, most cosplayers will say they live in their local craft and fabric shops. Those are great places for cosplayers of any level, but they aren't the only places in the world that you can go to get cosplaying supplies.
Home improvement stores such as Home Depot and Lowe's carry high quality products for making accessories, props, and weapons. Superstores such as Target, Walmart, and Kmart are good if you need to duck in for a last minute pair of tights or cheap Nerf gun for a prop. And any retail stores hold items that can easily be modified into the perfect part of your cosplay.
When looking for locations, it's also important that the store you're going to has the right amount of the material you're asking for. It allows you more time to work on your project by saving you some time running around to different stores looking for three of the exact same styrofoam balls you were looking for.
So, you've done your shopping and you've gotten your (small mountain) of supplies. What's next?
• Step #4: Work on the Cosplay
Here comes the hard part: making the cosplay. This step is the longest of the process. And depending on the cosplay you've chosen, "long" could be an understatement.
When working on a cosplay, be sure that you spread your work time out evenly. If you rush to get it done early, you run the risk of it being stained or pets or little siblings getting into it (your dog will eat your cosplay if it's mad enough). If you lay it off and rush to get it done a week before the convention, then you'll most likely end up hunched in front of your sewing machine at five in the morning wondering what it would be like to be human again.
Spreading your time out evenly will allow for you to plan around any mishaps that might happen and fix any slight -- or major -- complications that might arise. Plus, it allows you to take a break every so often to focus on other things in your life such as school or family and friends. Cosplay may seem as though it's the center of the world when you're knee deep in your final bustle, but in the end it's all about fun. And there is nothing fun about sticking yourself with a needle at three in the morning because you're rushing to get your costume done in time.
• Step #5: Travel
Your costume is all finished and stitched together. Your hems are tight, your props are glued in their appropriate places, and your wig and make up are ready and styled. Now comes, possibly, the most nerve wracking part: traveling to the convention.
You may think that I'm over-exaggerating. But there is nothing calming about waiting for the cardboard box filled with the prop you painstakingly worked on for a month slide down and out at baggage claim after a long plane ride. And if you think waiting for a prop is bad, thinking about what travel did to that wig of yours is going to give you a bushel of gray hairs.
Whether you're going to a convention an hour away or are flying to another state to attend, traveling with your cosplay is a torturous dance of "what if." My best advice is to pack and plan with common sense. If you're going to be in body paint and are carpooling to the event, be sure that you bathed yourself in setting powder or spray. If you have to check a box with your luggage, be sure that you have packed everything safely and securely. All it takes is one moment of "eh" that could mean the difference between a disaster and a happy convention experience.
• Step #6: Getting Ready
Everything is safe and in good condition. You got up early to the sickening smell of hot plastic as your friend styles her wig. You duck into the hotel's buffet breakfast to grab some bacon, only to get weird looks as you look like a troll with your face half painted and your wig cap secure. That's right, it's time to get into your cosplay.
It may seem strange to have a step solely for putting on the costume. But, trust me, it helps to have it.
When getting into your cosplay, be sure that you save yourself enough time before the convention or whenever you want to go to the convention to get ready. That involves getting a good night's rest before. It's the Christmas Day Principle - as much as you're excited to get down there, the day comes faster the sooner you fall asleep. Once you wake up well rested (or dead tired because your anxiety kept you up), now begins the race.
It doesn't matter if you're getting ready by yourself in your room or are sharing a room with your friends, there is an overwhelming sense of rush that comes over you. You race to quickly shower and dry your hair. You sprint from one end of your room to another in order to get every piece on as quickly as you can. Wigs are flying back and forth. People are crowding around the mirror to get a better look for their make up or contacts.
This is the time where you need to take a moment and just breathe. Let the world stand still for a moment and re-ground yourself. Trust me, your make up will look much better when your hands aren't shaking.
If you have decided to opt into sharing a hotel room with other cosplayers, be sure to set out a system for getting ready the night before. If everyone needs to shower in the morning, then make a list of who gets the shower first. Make sure that everyone has their own station for certain parts of the process such as make-up, costume, wig, etc. And be sure to touch base with each other during the process to make sure that there isn't going to be a ten car pile up at the mirror at the final moment.
Whatever your situation, be sure to keep your cool. Stressing will only take more fun out of the experience. Plus, no one wants to be the grouch who hogs the bathroom for an hour when two other people need to get in.
• Step #7: Present Final Cosplay
This step is pretty self-explanatory. Once you're all ready and you've done your twelfth once over to make sure that everything is where it should be, it's time to shine.
When walking down to a convention, be sure that you have everything that you need and you are able to get back to your room. If you are driving and parking at a garage, make sure you save yourself ample room just in case you need to throw on one last piece of your cosplay in the garage. Be sure to be aware of your surroundings as you walk to the con. It's easy to get sidetracked with everything before you realized you've trounced on someone's train.
When out on the convention floor, smile and have fun! This is the moment that you've been waiting for, so have a little bit of fun with it. Be kind and courteous to people if they ask you to pose for a photograph. And be wary of where you stand, just in case there is an impromptu photo session in the middle of an alleyway. If someone is acting in a way that's making you uncomfortable, don't hesitant to tell them to go away. If the actions persist, be sure to locate your nearest convention staff member and tell them the situation. They are there to make sure everyone is having a great time. And harassment isn't fun to anyone.
And that's it! Pretty easy, huh? Well, the fun is worth the stress in the end. If you have any questions or concerns, don't be shy to post a comment on this post.
