Bandit's Cosplay Guide - Tips, Discussion + More!

[bandit;]

Before we get started, a little message to the mods. I placed this topic in this (Games/Movies/Books/TV Shows) forum because cosplay is costumes based off of fandoms within games, movies, books and television shows, including original costumes based on fandom styles, like steampunk as an example. c: If you would like to move this topic into the appropriate forums, please do so. *Since I have left this message for the mods to handle, please don't come and spam the topic telling me that this is the incorrect forum to put this topic. That is for the mods to decide, thank you!*

If you would like me to touch upon any specific topic (ex. binding for cosplay, modeling, sewing a costume) then please PM me! Thanks!

Ok, since I've got that out of the way, hello! I'm Bandit, and I mainly do cosplay. This thread is a resource guide and chat for cosplayers and people interested in cosplay. I'm here for any questions, and there are members that are also quite skilled in thier cosplay!

So, what is cosplay, and what's the big craze with it? Cosplay is basically a fancy word for costuming. Many people craft thier cosplay based on characters from television shows, comic books, movies, video games, etc. Sometimes people create thier own costumes, with an original idea, or do a twist on costumes of well known, and lesser known characters. The big deal with cosplay is it is very expressive, and you get to display your talents, build self-confidence, and meet friends with common interests. People can make money from cosplay, from modeling jobs to making costumes for other people. It is a creative, fun, and expressive hobby, or even profession. A lot of people enjoy wearing cosplay to conventions, where they can get the most out of wearing thier cosplay by engaging in photo shoots, panels and fashion shows. Not only can you wear the character, you can be the character. A lot of people like to roleplay as the characters in cosplay, which is super duper fun!

We know what cosplay is! That's already step one and done. The next step is to know if you can cosplay. Well, this is a trick question. Anyone can cosplay, no matter your weight, height, gender, age, anything! YOU CAN COSPLAY! If you want to be Princess Peach but you are of the male gender, who cares!? You rock that freakin' Princess Peach costume like a boss!
Let me just get this clear, you can cosplay, whoever and however and whenever and whatever! Don't be ashamed! There is one letdown to cosplay, however, and that is that cosplay, to beginners, is a hobby. If you can't afford basic needs, such as paying rent and buying food, then you should hold off cosplay until you can comfortably set aside at least $200.
Yay! Second step completed. Third step is to see how we are going to cosplay. It can be really stressful to put it all together, so you need to do it in steps.
There are many elements to cosplay. I've listed all the ones I can think of below, and then went into further detail, but if you have any more ideas for the main elements of cosplay, please tell me and I'll add it!

First and foremost, choosing your cosplay and budgeting. You need to plan and think out your cosplay for it to be neat and for it to look nice. This is how I do it. I list my fandoms, and then I list the characters that I like, know and can play well, with a costume that I think I can do. Don't be afraid to challenge yourself but keep in mind your limits. One limit is definitely a budget. You need to know your budget before you go into this, because cosplay is expensive, and it will be hard not to splurge. You must choose a budget and stick with it. My budget is almost always $70-90, but sometimes I go maybe ten dollars over my limit. Even though my cosplay can cost less than $100, not every single cosplay is like that. Some cosplay projects require a lengthy budget. If you can't comfortably afford that, then you should maybe try a cosplay that is less money.

Now that you know your budget and cosplay, you can start to figure out all of the items you need for the cosplay. I always start by listing all the items in the costume. There are basic cosplay items you will need.

You will always need a wig. Even if your hair is similar to the character's hair, it will still look messy if you try to style it perfectly and neatly. Wigs are a must-have. There are a lot of places to get wigs, but for the love of god, do not get your wigs at a thrift store! That is straight up nasty! There are plenty of places to get wigs, and your best shot is going to be online. Most five dollar wigs at costume stores are horrible. The fibers will melt if you attempt to style it, it looks messy, stores messy, and is simply just not quality wigs. Even places like eBay, or Amazon (which is where I get my wigs) is a better shot. Stores especailly for wigs, such as Arda Wigs, are a great place to go for tutorials, and high quality cosplay wigs. Most wigs will be $35 and more! This is not expensive for a good-quality wig.

Now, you will need the actual costume. There are a lot of costume websites that sell quality costumes, but you have to be really careful when doing so. I usually put together my own cosplay costumes, like using those faded jeans at the back of my closet that look similar to Party Poison's motor baby jeans. Thrift stores are your best friends when it comes to cosplay. You can almost always find what you are looking for, at a decent price. I found a pair of leather boots for twelve dollars at a Goodwill for my cosplay. You never know what you can find. Tips for thrift shopping is to find what looks similar, or you will pass up a great deal to turn something into a perfect jacket or dress, or whatever. In this case, you need to become and clothes hoarder. Oh, those shoes that your mom was going to throw out? Keep them. Those pants that got a bleach stain on them? Keep them! You never know when you may need something for cosplay. If you are going to go down that route of buying a costume, keep in mind that they will never be less then $60 unless they are on sale, or really crappy cosplay. You need to read through customer reveiws before you decide to buy something. Just because something looks good in a picture, doesn't mean it will actually be good quality. This is why I never buy from cosplay stores online. If you have your heart set on it, though, try a store like Milanoo. Even a good price and promised web site won't nessecarilly be good quality, however! You need to be careful, because this can be super tricky!

Since you have waited to comfortably afford and wait for shipment on cosplay, and you have gotten a wig and costume, you should start looking into details, like makeup, horns and pointy ears, glasses, props and shoes.
A lot of makeup tutorials can be found online. For horns and pointy ears, I highly reccomend Aradani Costumes. They have high-quality elf ears, horns, fangs, costumes, furry ears, and more! They are great service and high-quality, so even though it feels expensive, you are getting what you pay for. A lot of glasses and shoes can be found online, like places such as Amazon. Props esspecailly made for a character are easy to find. Stores like Pleaser USA have quirky and fun shoes that can look perfect for a cosplay. A lot of the time you can find the same product sold on eBay or Amazon for less money, so always check there first.

For cosplay, it is very hard and expensive to get someone to tailor a cosplay for you. You should have basic skills in sewing costumes (like buttonholes, patterns, hems and collars, etc.), makeup (like contouring, concealing eyebrows, etc.), modelling (posing as the character), hairstyling (spikes, cutting accurately and neatly), and make sure that it is fun. c:

Now that you have all of your cosplay complete, you need to get into character. Mannerisms and quotes are good things to practice when you are acting out or roleplaying a character. To do this, watch the character in action. Read the book, watch the anime, and imagine the character as yourself.


This cosplay guide to for your resource! I went over basic and general cosplay guidlines in this post, but this thread is for specific cosplay and props, ect. If you want to cosplay as Ichigo, and didn't get anything out of this general post, that's why this is open to question and discussion. c:

Have fun cosplaying! Chiao!

[~Jaded]

First of all, I love your name. Mcr 5eva.

I'm a cosplayer as well :D
I attend cons from the west coast all the way up to Canada!
I've done many cosplays before and have recently started getting into modeling and acting because of cosplay. My first cosplay that I made myself was a dress inspired by Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge (more specifically Helena :3) Since then, I have made maybe twenty or so costumes for family, friends and myself.
I have a few questions:
1: I have a short wig that I want to add a ponytail to to match Olivia from Fire Emblem's hair. I bought the wig a few months ago from Ardawigs.com and they don't seem to have welfts in the same color. Do you have any recommendations on dye types to use to hand dye the welfts to my color preference?
2. I need a Starfire from Teen Titans wig for Anime Expo on July 3rd. I will be wearing the costume multiple times and doing a shoot in it so I need a wig that is not too shiny but I do not want to spend $70 on it. Where would you recommend buying it from?
3. I am doing an Armin Arlert from Attack on Titan Cosplay and I have no clue how to get the 3dmg to stay around my waist. Any suggestions?

(I am typing this on my phone so adding pictures is difficult, if you'd like specific pictures, I'd be more than happy to add them in)

thank you!

[bandit;]

Hello, Jaded! c:

On your wig question for Olivia, did you get a similar color to Olivia's hair? She has a very dusty, light rose hair color, so it will be quite hard to dye, but you could bleach the hair if it is just darker than her hair color. I'm not exactly sure what you are trying to achieve with the hair dye. >.<
As for Starfire, I went to Amazon and Ebay to find a specific Starfire wig, but one of the choices were way over $70, and the others were child wigs or just not in good condition. I suggest going to Amazon, which is where I buy my wigs, and find a red wig similar to the color you would like. You would have to style the wig, but if you get a wig with bangs, then you would only have to cut the wig to length and style the bangs accordingly. When searching for the wig, I suggest that you use vague keywords, like cosplay wig and long and red. You don't want the search too defined because then you might pass up a wig that could work for what you need it for. Amazon.com has fast shipping and low prices, and the wigs are in fair condition. You just might have to do a bit of searching for it.
I don't watch Attack On Titan, but I am familiar with the gear. Could you describe how you made the gear? It would be easier to understand the problem if you describe the whole thing in detail, from how you made it, to how it fits you, etc.

Thanks. c:

[~Jaded]

Thanks :D
So the wig I have is the correct color (it isn't for sale anymore or else I'd link you to the page :|) but it is not the right style. I need to add a pony tail onto it. I can't find welfts that are the right color so I was planning on dying the welfts myself. I was planning on getting white ones because they will take the rose color the best. The solution I'm going to use is alchohol + dye in a spray bottle and hand spray the welfts. I've been told hair dye doesn't work on wigs so I can't use like manicpanic or special effects or raw or anything.
As for Attack on Titan....

They have these box type things around their waists.
I'm planning on making mine out of cardboard boxes covered in fiber glass resin and spraypainted. So they won't be that light. And the chords that the swords are on is not ideally light either. OH. and the back of the thing has like a little fan which is actually going to spin like a fan so this is going to be pretty heavy and I'm not sure what sort of harness would be best? But yeahhh.

[bandit;]

If the gear is quite heavy, I would suggest getting support to carry it from your arms, back, and waist, like the criss cross leather straps, like a harness, in the pictures. I would use leather as the harness.

That's a good idea for the wig, let me know how it turns out, and ask your other questions. c:

[~Jaded]

Hrrrmmm...Im not so sure leather will hold it :|

[bandit;]

I found a tutorial online, and the people used leather and nylon web with buckles and all that jazz. I would check out the tutorial. c:

[~Jaded]

Thanks :D
That is actually supperrr helpful and omg, those cosplayers are fabulous I sort of just died.

[bandit;]

I'm glad I could help.
Also, oh my gosh, they are. I'm just like yay, I'm good at cosplaying! And then I find them, and I'm just like, oh..

[~Jaded]

I don't even think I'm good at all. I've done one cosplay that I've liked. Ever :|

Do you know any good tumblr cosplay blogs? I made an account a few days ago and I'd like to start putting together a cosplay resource page!