Cosplay: What is It and How to Make a Costume?

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Cosplay is a special kind of art that requires lots of creativity and time. It is especially popular in Asia, where there are lots of famous cosplayers to be found. However, cosplaying is popular in the United States and Europe as well.

In order to participate in cosplay, a costume is needed. Cosplayers often make their own costume, but it takes lots of effort and time. It’s possible to hire someone for this service, but it’s much more fun to try to do it yourself. If you would like to learn more about cosplay and how to make a cosplay costume, read this article.

What is cosplay?

Cosplay is a term that you often hear when talking about comics and television. The word itself is a portmanteau of the words costume and play. With millions of participants all over the world, cosplay is a popular form of performance art. For this art form, people usually dress up to look like a character from a comic, computer game, TV series, or movie. This is often a character from a Japanese anime and therefore cosplay is most famous in Japan. However, there are millions of cosplay fans in the United States as well who do not restrict themselves to only Japanese characters. Cosplay can also be anything from a nurse to a maid, or school girl or boy.

Cosplay can be an erotic thing as well. Many boys or girls would like to spend a night with their favorite character, even if that character is a cartoon. Cosplay makes this possible. By dressing up as their partners’ favorite character or as a sexy nurse or teacher, the time they spend in the bedroom can be more exciting and costumes can be alternated every time. For examples of how cosplay costumes in the bedroom can look like, read more here.

Famous cosplayers

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There are many cosplayers who are famous for their crafting skills and their impressive talent for making cosplay costumes. For example, American cosplayer Yaya Han is a social media famous cosplayer who is famous for making elaborate costumes. Actrice Alodia Gosiengfiao is a famous cosplayer in the Philippines. She doesn’t usually make her own costumes, but since she is a celebrity, her cosplay unites celebrities and cosplay fans.

The Philippines houses more than one cosplaying star, as famous cosplayer Myrtle Sarrosa is also from this archipelago. She started doing cosplay when she was 14 and has won several cosplaying competitions since. She is now a judge for iCosplay: a Filipino national cosplay competition. D Piddy is another internet famous cosplayer. His real identity is unknown, but he has broken the internet countless times with his creations of the Joker and Deadpool, among others.

How to make a cosplay costume?

Cosplay costumes can be found in any specialized store, but real fans often make their own. The crafting of a costume is an important part of cosplay, as costumes can be completely customized and tailored to the right sizes this way. Many cosplayers take great pride in the costumes they make. It’s also possible to hire someone to make a costume for you, but you might need to go to Japan for this service. However, making your own is the most fun as you’ll have something to be proud of. It can also be the first step to a greater career in making cosplay costumes.

Be patient and start simple

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Do keep in mind that you need lots of material and a good sewing machine, and that it will take some time and money to make a costume. It’ll also take some creativity and sewing skills to craft your costume. Don’t be disappointed when a costume doesn’t look like what you want it to look like. It will take lots of practice before you will be able to make an elaborate and flawless cosplay costume. So be patient. Also, start simple and choose a simple character or come up with your own cosplay idea, before moving on to the more difficult characters.

It all starts with a wig

The wig is probably the most important part of a cosplay costume. Making a wig is very difficult, so buying one on the internet instead is recommended. Human hair wigs are the best for purchasing, since they can be washed, styled, and dyed like real hair can, and they are usually easier to handle and heat resistant. With a real human hair wig, you can create a wig of your liking that fits with your cosplay costume.

Pick your favorite character

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It’s important to start simple. DC and Marvel characters often can be recreated easily, as lots of parts of the costume can be simply ordered online. Think about which character you could easily make a costume for and which one you would like to embody. Once you have picked your character, pick your favorite versions of it. Characters often have multiple versions, with different costumes, so you’ll need to decide which one to create. If you want to be original, you can try to mix up several characters, such as Captain Potter (a mix of Captain America and Harry Potter). The possibilities are endless.

Inventorize the materials you need and start creating

Study the character well and list each part of the character that you need to create. Does the character have any physical features, such as tattoos or scars, and does it have any weapon or tools? Perhaps your favorite character has a specific armor or its skin has a special color, such as the Hulk or Gamora. Write down everything you need to make and find the appropriate materials. Once you have everything you need, it’s time to start crafting.