How to get started making cosplays is one of the most common questions crafting cosplayers are asked. Often it’s followed by a “I’m not artistic, I could never do that”.
So let’s first of all address the myth that you have to be artistic to make your cosplay – you really don’t need to be. It helps, but I often find myself arguing that cosplay is actually more of an endeavour in engineering and problem solving than in art – you’re figuring out how to get certain effects, which materials are best, how to bend them to your will and vision.
That’s not artistic in of itself, it’s problem solving. So if you don’t think you’re artistic enough, pick something small to start and give crafting a try – you might surprise yourself!
Now that’s out of the way then, how do you start to make your first cosplay? My answer is usually to find something to cosplay that you can modify existing clothing etc for first. Pick one or two things to learn to make from scratch and slowly build up your skillset from there.
It’s less overwhelming than making everything from scratch from the start, making it easier for you to stick with it. Plus it allows you to make more cosplays in the time it would take you to make one from scratch while you still build up confidence and most importantly a solid foundation of skills upon which you can keep expanding, one cosplay at a time.
Guild Tip: Modified cosplays can reach the % made threshold of certain competitions, including the MegaCon Live Masquerades that the Guild runs. Our Adventurer class requires a cosplay is 50% made to enter. If almost everything you present has been modified, it counts as roughly 50% made.
Keep in mind that for the Adventurer class, entrants are able to enter with 50% or more made, so you will likely be competing against others who have made everything from scratch. While you may not place, entering competitions is about more than winning, and you can still gain a lot of valuable experiences by entering in a craftsmanship class, including judges feedback which is the best way to grow your skills. Learn more about how to calculate how much of your cosplay is made here!
1. Choosing your cosplay
Having a dream cosplay that’s super complicated is a great goal, but for your first cosplay crafting adventure you aren’t looking for something intensely complicated with moving wings and LEDs and multiple pieces requiring loads of techniques.
I think the most important thing to do when picking your first cosplay is instead to choose a character or costume that you love enough to spend hours focussed on, but is also something that feels achievable to you. Look for something that you can find and adapt clothing for, and if you want to grow your skillset make it something that has one or two things you can learn to do.
This sets you an achievable first cosplay that won’t be a project lasting months on end and demanding a large amount of money to make, meaning you won’t find it as overwhelming and discouraging to make when you run into issues (and I say when not if, because running into and solving issues is very common!).
For me, my first cosplays in 2017 were Ciri (Witcher 3) and Yang Xiao Long (RWBY vol. 1). Since I had a lot of help with Ciri, let’s use Yang as our example.
Guild Tip: If you’re entering a Masquerade, think about your performance as soon as you can. Think about how you want to be able to move in it, how much range of motion you’ll need and how your cosplay choice may limit your performance options. Even if you’re not competing, it’s a good idea to think about the logistics of how you’re going to wear it on the con-floor, where you’re going to keep your belongings (can you sneak a pocket in or modify a garment that already has pockets?) how your going to get in and out of it, and what you might want to change for your individual needs or comfort. At competitions, modifications for comfort and your own needs isn’t something you’ll be penalized for. Learn more about brainstorming a cosplay performance here.
2. Finding References
It’s really important before you do anything else to find multiple references of your chosen cosplay. Reference images are a key step, and it’s important to not only find as high quality references as you can, but also to get a few crucial angles. I like to find a front view, a back view and a side view as a minimum, but the more images you have and the more detail you can get in them, the better your copy of the source material will be. Be sure to also find at least one reference for any props you’ll need. For Yang, these were my reference images;
Guild Tip: Making a build or progress book for a competition? Make sure the first image the judges see is a full body reference shot of the character you’re cosplaying. Making it the front page of your build book is an excellent way to accomplish this, as it helps judges see exactly what you’re trying to recreate. Make sure you include all your key references on their own page after the first main image.
3. Making a list…
The next step is just as it says in the heading; get those reference images as big as you can and really look at what you’re trying to make, break it down into parts:
Now you should have a list of the components you need in order to create this cosplay, you can take this list and can have a look at what you have available to you that you can buy, modify and make.
For Yang, I knew I wanted to try a little bit of sewing, so I chose to sew the elements I couldn’t buy ready made; the jacket, skirt and the grey bandana thing on her leg. I also really wanted to have a go at making a simple prop, so I went online and found a tutorial for how to make the Ember Celica prop – luckily for me, it’s a fairly simple prop to make!
Next, see what you can buy and modify – in my case this was the yellow top and the wig (styling counts as modifying!) – before finally looking up what you can buy ready made. For me, this was the boots, socks, gloves and scarf. I already had a belt and pouch available.
At this point, start really zooming in on the detail of each element because your next task is to figure out exactly what you need to do and buy to achieve your goal.
Guild Tip: This is a great time to start working on your build or progress book, either for your own record or if you plan to enter a competition. Working on your progress book alongside your build helps keep it from becoming a big task, plus you can figure out what images you need of the build process along the way. Not all competitions include build books as a judged element. For example at the MegaCon Masquerades the progress book is a required element, but the style and contents aren’t a judged element.
4. …and checking it twice
It’s time to make a shopping list and take stock of what you need to do to modify and make the parts you need to modify and/or make. Remember to include your crafting materials in your shopping list! This is where you really zoom in on the details of each piece of the cosplay. This is what my list looked like:
| Component | Make, Modify or Buy | What to buy | What to learn/research | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hair | Modify | Wig | Learn how to make an ahoge and cut & style a wig | Make an ahoge |
| Style and cut the wig | ||||
| Scarf | Buy | Scarf | n/a | n/a |
| Yellow Top | Modify | Yellow Vest Top | n/a | Make a template for the design on the vest |
| Black Fabric Paint | Paint design onto the vest | |||
| Jacket | Make | Brown Fabric | How to make a sewing pattern | Use existing shirt to make a pattern |
| Darker Brown Fabric | Sew pattern together | |||
| Wide Black Ribbon | Add black cuffs to the arms | |||
| Gold Domed Buttons | Add zip and buttons | |||
| Brown Zip | ||||
| Prop | Make | Card Tube | Research how to make prop | Cut tube to size & paint it |
| Print/draw template of pieces | ||||
| Foam | Cut out foam pieces | |||
| Paint; black, red, yellow | Find materials for the shotgun cartridges and barrels on the prop and add them to the prop | |||
| Paint the prop |
Obviously that wasn’t my full list, but you get the idea! Remember to list the tasks in the order you need to do them too – there’s nothing worse than having to unpick most of a garment because you forgot to do something crucial at the start.
A Tip for Progress and Build Books
I recently started putting a box in the corner of each page of my build book containing a bullet point list of the techniques I used for each piece.
I put it in the same position on every page and I’ve had overwhelmingly positive feedback from judges for this as it gives them a place they can look to really quickly get all the information about what I did – judges don’t have long with your build book so it’s important to get that information across as efficiently as you can!
Here’s a photo of a page of my most recent build book and an earlier one for you to compare. How much easier is it to pick out the important information on the newer one?
5. Get building!
Follow your list carefully, make sure you do things in the right order and do your research – I wound up after one day of using Yang’s gauntlets with cracking paint because I didn’t properly research what paint to use….and then I ruined them by using the right paint but not using a top coat, resulting in them sticking together and tearing apart when I tried to separate them, all because I didn’t do enough research.
I also thoroughly recommend getting some cheap fabric to make a mock-up for your sewing patterns. This helps to make sure the pattern works and fits properly – you don’t want to find out it’s wrong on your expensive fabric!
The best laid plans of mice and men…
It’s also at this stage really important that you give yourself forgiveness and patience. This is your first time making these things. Things will go wrong. It’s a part of cosplay and even world champions have problems while they’re crafting. We all wind up bodging a little corner or two and hoping the judges won’t notice! You will get there in the end and only you will know that one bit isn’t quite how you envisioned.
Guild Tip: When making a competition progress or build book, don’t worry about talking about what didn’t work. Focus on what did! The only time to talk about where things went wrong is if you found a creative solution to fix it and want to share what new skills you learned in the process. Judges have very little time to look at progress and build books, so focus on the successes.
If you want to compete in it, be sure to take lots of photos of the crafting process as you go. It’s better to have too many photos than not enough when you create your build book. As a bonus, it’s content people seem to enjoy on social media if you’re someone who shares their cosplay content online. Remember not to point out that little bit that’s not perfect to the judges – it’s their job to find it or not, don’t do their job for them!
Remember when you’re taking photos that you absolutely can and should take photos of your very best seams and hems, not your worst, and that the flaws that are niggling at you likely aren’t noticeable to others; you only notice them because you’ve had them 6 inches under your nose for days, weeks or even months, and in a 2 minute prejudging it’s hard for a judge to spot everything.
The important details to include include in a build book
Make sure you take a photo of an example seam and a hem on a part that is not easily accessible (you can see an example of this on the newer build book above). You don’t need to take photos of you cutting out patterns etc, but DO take a photo of any mockups you make.
As a foam work example for Yang’s prop I would take a photo of cutting out the pieces, sanding the edges, the assembled unpainted prop, and the finished prop, with a final photo of any weathering I’d done.
For her vest top I’d have taken a photo of the top before and after painting, then a photo of weathering had I done any.
Remember to mention if you’ve made your own patterns and/or made any adaptations for your needs – maybe you can’t stand the feel of suede so you used something else, maybe you need to be able to accommodate medical equipment. Did you add some pockets? Maybe you wanted to be as historically accurate as you could so used extant patterns or historical materials! These are all things judges are interested in seeing because it tells us how you thought about the logistics of how you needed the cosplay to function for you.
6. The finishing touches
Take the time now to really look over your cosplay. Check for any loose threads and snip ’em off, look for that bit of foam that managed to avoid the paint and just touch that spot up.
Then to really boost the look and feel of your cosplay, consider weathering it – rub some dirt on it, add a wash of paint to make your prop look a bit grimy, add a bit of battle damage (or disguise a mistake as battle damage!) Make it look worn.
It’s amazing how much you can improve your brand new cosplay by making it look old. Make sure if you’re competing to take detail photos of the cosplay before and after weathering to put in the build book so the judges know you did it too!
Have a look at this comparison between a leather corset I made before and after weathering (taking sandpaper to it and using darker paints and dyes in the seams) to see what a difference it can make;
7. Wear it
You’re finished, put that thing on your body and wear it to each and every con or event your heart desires you wear it at (though maybe hold off on it being your sister’s wedding unless it’s a costume wedding!).
To help it last as long as possible, check the cosplay over after every wear and make any little repairs that need your attention before you next wear it. Remember to comb your wig out and store it properly too so it’s ready for the next occasion.
Just because it’s complete…
…Doesn’t mean you can’t revisit this cosplay at any time. If it’s your favourite cosplay but you start to not want to wear it because it feels amateur to you after you’ve improved your skills, there’s nothing to stop you coming back to it and making or remaking a part you aren’t happy with! I’ve remade parts of my Ciri twice since I first made her in 2017, and I’m planning a third remaking session. Some people only make one cosplay and constantly remake and perfect it. It’s your cosplay, you can do what you like with it!
8. The cycle starts again!
Now you can turn your mind to your next cosplay! I slowly built up my skills over several cosplays and it really wasn’t so long before I was able to make a whole cosplay from scratch, just pay attention to the basics, like learning how to make great seams and edges on foam and how to sew good seams and hems.
Keep challenging yourself by choosing cosplays that allow you to learn one or two new things while you practice what you already know and you’ll be whipping up cosplays from scratch, and eventually entering in the Artificer class in what will feel like no time at all!
