Building a Cosplay: Thinking it out

Example Reference: Kirito SAO

Recently a family acquaintance asked for my help with how to create a couple of cosplays, from a few different amines, for an upcoming convention. For this I ended up writing them a long email especially breaking down my thought process on how I would go about making one of my cosplays. The following is the main section of the email I sent. It is a good way to see on a basic level how I pull a cosplay together.

I am most familiar with Sword Art Online (one of the amines they were cosplaying from) and will use Kirito’s main black outfit from the SAO game as my primary example, however the concept of what to do apply to any outfit. I made the suggestions very generalized because I was also unaware of who was cosplaying as what. The assumption I used for this is your crafting and sewing skills are around the level of my own. Therefore these suggestions are based around being able to use a straight stich on a sewing machine or with a thread and needle and using basic craft store supplies.

If your skills are better with sewing a patterns but not quite good enough to make such complex clothing styles without patterns; I suggest getting patterns similar to the clothing items and make slightly altered versions of those. But, if you are like me and sewing patterns confuse you, the idea it to modify clothing that has already been made. For this start at thrift stores (I like Savers best and for fancier type cloths Twice-as-Nice or perhaps even Ross type places). It is really helpful to have a picture or two of the costume with you when you are looking for things. Look for pieces of clothing similar to the costume, you can always add things like trim, buttons, patterns, and for some even change the color. For example, if you find a white version of the shirt you need you can get dye and change the color.

Break the costume down into pieces and start with the simplest things. For Kirito, you would begin by needing black pants, boots, tee-shirt, gloves, and belt of roughly the same shade. The gloves can be cut by you. For Kirito, the jacket would be the hardest thing to find, but not impossible. Although this may be one that would need to be dyed (brown jackets are most common).

Next would be the details. This is where the costume can go two different ways with cartoons; are you trying to make a real version of it or make it a 3D cartoon. This would come into play for things like Kirito’s shoes, do you want then to have real buckles or those overly large straps? If it is the realistic approach you are going for just keep that in mind when looking for things. If it is cartoon you are looking for, those straps can easily be made out of craft foam that can be, glued, safety pinned, Velcroed, or elasticated onto/around the boots. The metal plating on his jacket can also be made with craft foam or cardboard then spray painted silver. And the trim or design work can be done with fabric paint. Special belts and simple weapon holsters can be made with ribbon or special fabric trims (there is also thick knit belt material). I would make them around myself in costume using safety pins then sew the pieces together with belt attachment.

Larger adornments and weapons are a bit more difficult. Larger décor, for example Kirito’s belt buckle, can be added on top of an actual belt buckle or seam line. It would be too detailed to be crafted from foam and glue, so I would likely try molding it. If I had the skill and access I would probably try casting from silicon or something similar for durability, however I would likely shape it from model magic (a light air drying clay) and then spray paint it. The caution here is that these type pieces are more fragile. As for the sword, that is harder, not only because of the detail but because I don’t have much experience in weapons. My Father is helping me with an axe at the moment and that was crafted from insulation foam and is to be painted with a plastic based paint. The sheath can be fashioned from cardboard and tape and painted.

               The final details are hair and make-up. Hair can be natural or a wig. If it is natural, lots of gel and hairspray work best for an animated look. If it is a wig, then you could permanently style it with glue or get one pre styled the way you would like it. You can also go more natural or theatrical. Anime often has very natural make up unless you want to try and make your eyes look bigger with a bit of shadow and liner.

Making Connections

Hello fellow nerds and geeks! So I just wanted to put a quick blurb here about making connections. You know how everyone is always telling you that it’s not your skills, it’s your connections? Well I hate to let my mom say “I told you so”, but she is right. A big thing about getting places is connections; I hadn’t really learned that until now.

Recently I attended a local mini-con, Comix It Up at Maker House, and it was the first place I was able to talk shop with other people. They were doing their 4^th monthly mini-con and there was supposed to be a cosplay competition; however I was the only cosplayer to arrive in costume so the contest was void. However I did get the chance to meet Daniel Sennett, the official photographer for the night, who is also the official photographer for Tucson Comic Con. Not only is he a great photographer for Cosplayers, but he also builds costumes!

So he took a couple pics of me (See them in the Comix It Up Album at https://www.flickr.com/photos/daniel_sennett ) and asked me a few questions about my cosplaying that turned into a half an hour discussions about everything from makeup to armor. Just some of the helpful hi lights of the conversation: Invest in an air brush. Rub and Buff is great for weathering pieces. And blue or pink insulation foam is the best thing to use for the axe that I am working on to add to my Astrid cosplay. I sent him a follow up email saying thanks and to follow up on some things. Now I hope to maintain this new connection because I think it will be very helpful as I grow my cosplay skills.

People always say make good connections. The thing is, they make it sound like you need to go looking for them, and that’s not the case. You happen upon them through a friend of your dad’s that says go check this place out tonight. The key is to not lose the connection once it has been found. It is not about making connections but finding them.

Astrid: How to Trian Your Dragon 2

Who and Why:

For Phoenix Comicon 2014, I picked Astrid from How to Train Your Dragon 2. She is one of my favorite characters from the movies and I was excited to see her again with the second movie being released the weekend after Comicon. I liked that she would be recognized by both kids and adults, but also not be a common costume because the movie was still a week away from being released. I also liked her clothes in the second movie and thought they were simple enough, but could provide some challenge.

What I Did:

I am really proud of how this costume turned out. For reference I primarily used all the movie trailers, the five minute clip, and her official movie poster. Her shirt, underskirt, and vest were bought at a second hand store and then altered. I bought the tights at Target. I bought the wig from eBay and styled it with knots and many small clear elastics to hold everything in place. At a fabric store, I bought brown vinyl for the skirt, brown fake suede for the arm and boot covers, white fur trim for the arms and boots, brown fur for the hood, and brown ribbon for the arm and head bands as well as the wraps for the boots and gloves. I used model magic and paint to craft the bird skulls, spikes, and center ring. The knee pads are made from cardboard and duct tape with ribbon ties. The shoulder bands are made from craft foam, hot glue, plastic gems, and spray paint. I used boots I already owned.

What I learned:

Nothing glues to vinyl. Originally I glued the spikes and skulls directly onto the skirt then painted the glue that showed. But they started coming off because the glue didn’t hold. I tried a number of different glues but eventually settled on super glue. This held firm, but I still made sure to carry the bottle around with me just in case. If I did this again I would like to glue the spikes with hot glue onto wax paper first to get the look I want, then glue those to the skirt.

I would also like to resize my boot covers so they are not as big because they kept falling down when I walked. After seeing the movie I would actually like to redo them to be more accurate. The hood could also use some modification for accuracy now that I have a better reference.

The skirt and vest are actually made of fur in the movie, but I liked the mobility I got from the knitting and the Velcro on the shoulder pads cling best to the knitted vest. Lastly, I used eye and hooks to tie the upper arm bands, but I think Velcro would have been a better choice.

Costume vs. Character vs. Cosplay: What's the Difference?

                The three major dress-up related categories I use are: Cosplay, Costumes and Characters. The line between each category is very blurred and the terms are often used interchangeably. I am likely to use the words, especially costume and cosplay, very interchangeably in blog posts. But to clarify for what type of cloths you will find in each section, the following is the rough definitions of what each term means to me.

                Cosplay: is something worn to a convention or for a competition. Pulling from the original meaning of cosplay, costume and play, I think the defining characteristic of this category is that these outfits are worn with the idea that you are playing the part of that character as well as portraying a specific character. They generally have more detail work and often take longer to make. They are made to be worn for extended amount of time and photographed.

                Costume: is when dressing as a generic or non-specific character. These also include bought costumes, the simple kind you wear for Halloween. This category also includes alternate versions of characters like Steampunk versions of characters or Steampunk itself. Original character costumes would also be here. Many of these, Steampunk especially, are also used for competitions and can be either quick to make or take some time. This is the most encompassing category.

                Character: is more of a themed outfit made to resemble a character. A good example of this is Disney Dapper: dressing as a casual version of a Disney character at Disneyland or Disney World. This is the simplest category I have.