(Draft. I'll need to rewrite this page. Or better yet any volunteers who wants to help with this post and get full credit)
When you cosplay, you try to look like the character that you are trying to portray. You can’t just cosplay randomly; there are things you have to consider when you cosplay.
1.) When you cosplay, you have to think of which character you want to cosplay, like cosplaying Misa from Death Note.
a. How similar you and the character look.
This means you try to complete the character’s clothing, the character’s hairstyle and colour. The clothing needs to look at least similar to the original clothing.
b. If you think that you can actually act or pose like him/her.
You need to study the character in different angles with the same pose. You simply imitate the character; it’s good to have a mirror in front of you and video reference nearby.
c. If you think you can imagine yourself in the clothes of the character and if you think you can make that look your look.
This means if you think you can be natural with the outfit of the character. This is important because, when you cosplay, you simply cant cosplay the character who’s very liberated, while you are the simple and modest type of character.
d. You should have knowledge about that character.
You can’t cosplay Misaki Ayusawa from Maid-sama if you don't know much about her. This is important because, while cosplaying, people will ask you questions about the character. You need to be ready to answer their questions.
You don't have to take too long to prepare for the cosplay, but its best if you don't do a cosplay at the last moment, you’ll regret it. Cramming is bad, especially if you need to pull it off in 1 night. So you should try to prepare earlier, think things through, do not rush. Finding a costume takes a long time, you can’t do it overnight.
2.) Next you have to think of the amount of money you can spend to cosplay. You have to think thriftily, don't spend for unnecessary things.
a. You shouldn’t spend for a wig when your hair is already the same length and colour of the character you will portray.
b. If you are not willing, or if you are afraid to wear contact lens, then you should not spend for contacts. There are characters that you can cosplay wherein you don't need to wear contact lens.
c. If you can find some clothes around your house which you can use for the cosplay, then you can use them.
d. If the costume is over your budget, then don't spend too much for that, you can have quality costume sown for a cheap amount, you should try to stick to the budget. Avoid borrowing money from other people.
Cosplaying Step-by-step
Cosplaying is step by step, but the processes are different for every person, but here are the general step by step cosplays:
Portray Me!!!
The natural first step is to think about the character you will portray, when you cosplay, its best to choose the much simpler characters and not the complex characters. By complex characters I mean cosplaying the character with very extreme costume, or very unique and weird costumes that look super natural, or characters which seem revealing or not so modest. Like gundam characters, they are hard to cosplay.
Tip: when you cosplay, it’s easier to cosplay characters that are not from the genre fantasy of sci-fi because their costumes are usually harder to get and is hard to portray. Getting the flame power of Rin from Ao no exorcist is quite hard in real life.
Factors in choosing a character to cosplay:
a.) Height:
You can’t cosplay a tall basketball player like Sakuragi if you’re 4ft. Tall, it’s better to just go and cosplay characters that fit your height group.
b.) Weight:
It’s good to want to cosplay a certain character who fits your body mass. People would like to see their favourite character with their normal body mass. If your weight is higher or lower than your normal, then there are probably some characters that are just like that, so you can still cosplay as that character.
c.) Personality:
If you think you can portray the character’s personality then that’s good. But if you can’t, try looking for other characters that fits your personality. If you’re a modest and shy person, then try cosplaying Mio, but if you’re an outgoing type then you should cosplay Harihi Suzumiya.
d.) Comfort:
If you are not comfortable with cosplaying a certain character, because he or she is too liberated, or the costume is too itchy and uncomfortable, then try a different character. It doesn’t hurt to cosplay liberated characters, but you need to be sure that you can be comfortable with people’s opinions about your look.
Dress Me!!
Now we should think about getting the costume, budget, time and comfort are things you should consider, how we get our costume is also very important.
Where to get the costumes:
a) The internet:
There are people who sell the costumes online, the quality is not questionable but the price is too high. And oftentimes, you will need to have PayPal to use the internet to buy online. Buying online usually has this shipping time, and cost. Usually your requested costume will arrive 2 weeks after you ordered, so it’s best to order early to avoid wasting time. You should also be prepared for the best and worst when buying online, there are many scammers online who will laugh at you when you buy your costume, make sure you’re ordering from a trusted source of clothing or prop.
b) Cosplay and Otaku shops:
These shops offer costumes and anime stuff. You’ll probably find a variety of cosplay props and materials here; they tend to sell them at average-high price depending on the anime you will portray. But here, they have limited choices, and they usually sell the common character that people want to cosplay, like Naruto or Sasuke, or Luffy or Ichigo. Sometimes you can request for special orders, but that’s a rare case, so you still have to go with other ways which aren’t hassles.
c) Looking though shops and window shopping:
Well, here you simply go around the town or mall looking for things for the character you will portray, for example, you will walk around SM Cebu looking through the shops and then trying to find stuff that will match with the character that you will portray. This method is usually hard and uses a lot of energy, so it’s best if you have friends with you to keep yourself amused. This can also be called the mix and match technique.
d) Hiring somebody to make it for you (commissions):
There are places which offer service to sew the costume of your choice, this is what most cosplayers do, but sometimes, the quality can be quite questionable. So it’s best if you know somebody who is good at that.
**Commissioners are people who are willing to make your costume at a specific price; you pay this person a certain amount to get a part of your costume done. For example, you will pay a person to make your kimono. That’s already considered a commission.
e) Home-made costume:
You and some of your friends can also try making the costume yourself, but the thing is, if you don't have much experience, then you’ll only be wasting money and time. But if you have some friends with you, then that’s good, you won’t have much problems.
If the costume has weapons and other misc. items you need, ordering online is the simplest way of obtaining them, but the cheapest and fastest way is actually making the weapon yourself, for example, using PVC pipe for the handle of a spear, and using shaped rubber as the design parts of the spear. There are some shops around that will shape and modify rubber into a specific requested shape, and the good thing is they do not charge high.
This is considered fastest, because at times, shipping would cost both time and money, some online shops would mostly ship their products in more or less 3 weeks to 1 month depending on the scenario.
When you cosplay a certain character, you should make sure that the character you will portray can easily be distinguished be the fans, so if the character has a sword with him all the time, like Rin from Ao no Exorcist, then you should too.
i. You can do this by making your costume noticeable, and recognizable by the people. If the character has alternate costumes, it’s good to actually try to use the main costume, even if it means using the costume that was used in the first season of the anime or the first volume of the manga.
ii. If you are cosplaying characters like Erza, and are too shy to show some skin, like showing off cleavage or revealing clothes, you should try using a flesh body suit, one that is similar to your skintone. This could also apply to those clothes that don’t really stick on your body. But try your best to conceal the skin tone suits; it tends to be obvious that you are wearing that because of the texture.
iii. Make sure that you use quality fabrics, but don't use satin or silk, it won’t suit the cosplay unless that is the kind of cloth you are looking for, if so then good. If not then avoid using that kind of cloth. But it’s best if you look at thrift stores or cheap stores where you won’t be challenged to look for the costume.
iv. Make sure you have a reference image with you, so you won’t be coming back and forth to the store. Or you won’t be making mistakes in buying the article of clothing.
Think of Budgets!!
You have to take into consideration the amount of money you will spend, make a budget plan, and make sure you do not spend over the planned amount. If you have laid 5,000 pesos as your budget, then stick to it, it’s best to stay in the economical side, you can use the extra money for other things... like charity. When you go over your said budget, you will most definitely regret it. If your source is your parents, and you go over the budget. Be prepared to receive nags and other forms of punishments. If your parents are like that, beware. If not, then good for you, but that still doesn’t mean you can go over the budget.
Transform my face!!
Once you have the costume, you should practice the makeup and the contact lenses and fixing the hair. Here you practice preparing the appearance, you try to get used to looking this way, and this may not be your normal appearance, so you need to practice getting used to it so you wouldn’t feel awkward when cosplaying.
You should try using different products of makeup; make sure it is compatible with your skin tone or your character. Make sure you don't buy cheap products that will cause skin cancer or any other skin ailments. As much as possible try to look for products which your friends trust, try it on, and if you like it, use it.
Always remember; do not go over the budget. And with the contact lens, do not use cheap products that would hurt or damage your eyes, you should use trusted brands and you should consult a doctor if you have eye problems. The moment your eyes feel irritated because of the contact lens, remove them. It might get you blind. After, go to a doctor to check your eyes, prevention is better than cure. Don't forget to look at the mirror to check if you look right. Don't try to look like a rehab Mulan, it’s best to look natural or at least... natural for you character.
1.) You should have at least 1basic layer of foundation, but sometimes you need something to change your skintone, experiment and test some different shades and types of makeup. But stay on the healthy side of course. Use the brands that you trust.
2.) Try applying blush on, it helps with the appearance of the character who seems easily embarrassed (if that is the character you will portray) or try putting on unique types of makeup.
3.) Once you’re done with the basic parts, you’re ready to add face tattoos or body tattoo if your character has some. If this is a 1 day event then just use some materials that can be erased by the next day, or if it’s a 1 week event, then just use some henna tattoo, but beware, some last for about 2-3 weeks, that depends on the brand.
Show the world!!
When you’re done with those, then you’re ready to go to the cosplay convention, cosplay event or simply cosplay for fun. Just have fun with your character, meet new friends and learn new things about anime or simply just hang out looking like the character of your choice. If you didn’t have fun while cosplaying, then you must have done something wrong. So try your best to have fun. It sounds hard to cosplay, but it’s really fun. You never know, you might even get famous, like Alodia or Ashley Gosiengfiao. So good luck and have fun.
Expect that in cosplay, you will definitely be exhausted. But after the event, you will realize that it was actually very fun to cosplay, that is, if you don't realize that during the event itself. But, at most, be yourself, have fun and good luck.
