Process for Making a Cosplay

What exactly is the process of creating a costume? What about the process of actually getting ready to wear that costume out in public and doing what people call "cosplay"? Well, every cosplayer has a different way of starting and completing a cosplay. But here, we will be talking about my (DarthNancy) process for planning, beginning, and finishing a cosplay!

Step 1: Choosing a Character to Cosplay

There are many ways to get inspired on what character to cosplay. Sometimes you want to cosplay your favorite character from a series, and sometimes you get persuaded to cosplay a character for a cosplay group. The reason for choosing a character to cosplay really differs from person to person and from cosplay to cosplay. Most of the cosplays I have made are because I really like the character. For example, Hinata is my favorite female character from Naruto and thus I chose to cosplay her. But on the other hand, Miss Fortune is not really my favorite League of Legends champion, but I choose to cosplay her to be part of a cosplay group (the Christmas inspired skins). The same goes for my Poison Ivy cosplay; I really like her but I mostly cosplayed her to be part of the Gotham Girls cosplay group. In the end, the reason for cosplaying a character does not really matter. You just need some inspiration to get you to start and complete the cosplay! Cosplay who you want, regardless if you do not look like the character.If you want to cosplay the character, just go for it! 

Cosplays I want to do in the near future!

Step 2: Gathering Reference Images

After you have decided what character to cosplay, you will have to find as many reference images as you can. Having many different images of the character from different angles will help you when choosing materials for your cosplay. Try to find full-body and close up images of the character. I also suggest keeping a folder just for the reference images of that particular character. This will help you organize and keep everything in one place for later. 

Reference Images on Cosplanner

Step 3: Making a List

Now that you have your images ready, it is time to make a list of all the things you will need to make/acquire. I suggest making the most organized list you can as this will keep you extremely organized throughout the whole process. I personally use the Cosplanner app to make list of what I need to make and what I need to buy. I really like this app because it keeps track of how long you work on your cosplay and how much money you spend on it. If you are going to be working on a cosplay I highly suggest you download this free app and keep your to-do list on there. I use this for all my current cosplay projects and for any future ones I have planned. 

The Cosplay Elements (what I need to buy and work on) on Cosplanner

When you make your list, try to be as detailed as you can. Include even the smallest details. For example, for most of my cosplays I need not only to buy a wig, but I also to cut and style it. Make sure on things you need to buy to include "Wig", and also in the to-do list to add "Cut wig"/"Style wig". This might seem mundane, but trust me it will ensure that you do not miss any small details. 

Step 4: Buying Materials

Since you now have a detailed and organized list of what you need to buy and what you need to work on, it is finally time to gather some materials. I suggest to give yourself quite a bit of time to gather materials, especially if you want to make this cosplay as inexpensive as possible. Remember that ordering wigs/costumes online can take up to 1 month to arrive to you, so don't start a cosplay with only 2 weeks before a convention (unless you already have most of the materials). And when you go to buy any materials, ALWAYS bring your reference images and list with you, and make sure to double check your list and images before making a purchase. 

Give yourself time to browse thrift stores, craft stores, and other stores for possible cosplay materials. I found the pants and jacket for my Mercenry Katarina at a thrift store (which in the end cost me less than $5 for both!), and the pants for my Hinata cosplay at Walmart! Of course, I still had to alter those items a bit, but they were all great finds!

The jacket for my Katarina cosplay that I found at a thrift store

If you are buying fabric/thread, make sure to hit up discount fabric stores before you go to more expensive stores. You might just find the perfect fabric for a cheaper price. If you have the time, browse your options from store to store. Sometimes we think that a fabric is perfect and buy it, but later we find an even more perfect option at a different store. If anything, make sure to keep all your receipts and ask about return policies in case you find something better later on.

If you are purchasing/commissioning a costume/wig/accesory online, try to find as many images of the product as you can and make sure you read reviews (if they are available). I have bought many wigs online and a few costumes, and let me tell you that quality is always an issus; it is hard to know what will be good quality and what will not. I have ordered both awesome and terrible wigs/costumes online. Check any cosplay forums to see if other cosplayers have had good experiences with websites/people that sell cosplay items. 

Step 5: Get to Work! And Get it Done!

Now that you have purchased materials for your cosplay, it is finally time to get to work! This is by far the most difficult process of cosplaying for me personally. I always love the initial stages of making a costume, but working on and finishing a cosplay is always really difficult. It is difficult to find time to work on a cosplay when I work all week or when I have other commitments. 

The best advice I can offer is to work one step at a time. Don't bite off more than you can chew. By this I mean to look at your list and start working on one item. When I started working on my Candy Cane Miss Fortune cosplay, the very first thing I started to work on was the Candy Cane guns. I thought, "okay, let me work on this first and see how it turns out". Instead of trying to do everything at once, I started by gathering materials for the guns and started the process. I could have easily finished the guns in a few days before I even started on the rest of my costume. Once I finished the guns, I could move onto another aspect of the cosplay (the dress, the boots, the belt, etc). If you are new to cosplay or have trouble focusing on too many tasks at once, I suggest only working on one thing at once. Obviously, we don't always have the luxury to do this (especially when we are rushing to finish a cosplay a few days before the con), but if you do have time try doing that.

Working on the Candy Cane Guns~

Actually finishing a cosplay is one of the hardest things for many cosplayers. I find that I have more motivation to finish if a con is coming up or if I work on a cosplay with a friend. Discordia and I did this right before Anime Expo. We stayed up all night before AX 2015 to finish the Slay Belle Katarina and Candy Cane Miss Fortune cosplays. It was frustrating to have so much to do in so little time, but we had a lot of fun working on it together!

Working on my Candy Cane Miss Fortune cosplay right before the con

Another great method of working on cosplay is to either listen to music or to binge watch a show at the same time. When I work on my cosplay alone, I like to watch stuff on Netflix or listen to my iTunes playlists. This will make the process a little more entertaining and not as painful, haha!

Watching anime while working on cosplay!

Step 6: Double Check Your List!

So you just finished the last bit of your costume, huh? Phew! Finally! You are tired and ready to be done. But, wait...you feel like you are missing something. Maybe it's just you. Let's double check our list and our reference images just to make sure. Oh? What's that? You totally missed that one tiny, minuscule detail of the costume?! It is totally okay not to have your costume not be 100% accurate, but it is better to consciously decide to leave something out rather than have missed it by accident. To make sure you got everything you need, make sure you always double check your list. But also double check your reference images to make sure you didn't also leave something out on the to-do list. 

Step 7: Test it Out!

Okay, now you have everything you need. You probably already tried on parts of your costume while you were working on them. But now you have everything finished. You have your costume, your wig, your lenses, and your props ready to go. Always, and I mean ALWAYS, test out your costume. Trust me on this. I speak from personal experience. In fact, let's take a little trip down memory lane to SacAnime Summer 2013 when I wore my Mercenary Katarina cosplay for the first time. That cosplay has a bunch of props, the most annoying of them being the spiked arm and leg bracers. Well, being the smart person I am, I did not try on the full costume before wearing it to the con. When I arrived at SacAnime, literally withing 5 minutes, my costume started falling apart! The spikes on my bracers kept knocking into things and they kept breaking. It was a disaster! This could easily happen to you if you do not test out your costume! I learned my lesson and always test out my costume before any con.

The broken bracer on the left and the fixed bracer on the right.

So what exactly does "testing" a costume mean? Well, you should wear all the parts of your cosplay to make sure they fit well and that it won't fall off or fall apart. Make sure your wig is styled correctly and that your lenses won't hurt your eyes if you wear them for a long time. Make sure accessories won't break or fall off when you walk around. Try wearing the costume at home for a long while. Walk around your home, sit down, and just chill out to see how it will feel to wear the entire costume for more than a few minutes. 

Testing my Katarina cosplay before Fanime 2015

If you are going to be wearing makeup, try out the makeup you want to wear and take a picture of it so you are 100% sure that you got that down. Because, trust me, there is nothing more frustrating than being unsure about how to do your makeup for that cosplay the morning before a con. Makeup makes a huge different in how your costume looks, and the right makeup can really make a huge difference between a good cosplay and a terrific one. Not that you need to wear makeup, but if you can go the extra mile, it will make a huge difference!

Testing out makeup for Candy Cane Miss Fortune

Step 8: Packed and Ready to Rock that Con~

Okay, so now you have your costume finished and you have already tested it out. What I do at this point is to either store or pack all the things I need for that cosplay in one area. If you are travelling to go to a con (and staying at a hotel), pack everything in the suitcase/bag you will be taking with you. If you are getting ready at home, make sure all your cosplay stuff is somewhere where it will not get lost. That way, on the day of the con, you can easily get ready with no fuss. You can then get ready for the con and rock your awesome cosplay!

Step 9: Store it For Later...

Conventions are so fun, but they are exhausting! The first thing you will want to do is to strip yourself out of that costume, wig, and makeup. But before your throw everything on the floor and pass out on your bed, you should take the moment to properly put everything away. This will ensure that you don't lose or damage any parts of your cosplay. If you store everything properly, it will be all ready for the next convention you attend! 

That pretty much wraps ups the process that I go through when I work on a cosplay. Of course, it is not as neat as this and sometimes working on a cosplay can take me months! But it is a great place to start if you have no idea how to start working on a cosplay. I suggest you use some of these steps and find the process that works best for you :)

Thank you for reading!~ Until next time!