The Cosplay Thread - support, advice, and showing off!

[WyndonCalling]

Over the years, conventions and cosplay have become more and more popular and accessible to a wider audience, with the latter having become outright professionalised in some instances. However, for those who have never adopted cosplay it can be a daunting experience, not only with regards to the one-the-day experience (which naturally often leads to being the centre of someone's attention), but also in the construction of a costume and the risks of self-comparison with those who have more time and money to spare than most of us ever could.

This thread is an opportunity for seasoned cosplayers to show off their costumes, share their best experiences, and provide their most useful advice. For those wondering about how to get involved in the first instance, it's a place to ask questions, no matter how ridiculous they may seem. There's no restrictions on franchise here; of course we'd love to see your Pokémon get-ups, but all others are extremely welcome!

Wyndon's cosplay

Off the top of my head I've adopted perhaps six or seven quite low-budget costumes, including Kisame from Naruto, Father Anderson from Hellsing, Giovanni, Guzma and Galarian Weezing. My photos are all over the place, so I've only pics from the last two to hand, both at London MCM Comic Con:

(I'm the budget one on the right lol)

Wyndon's best experiences

Despite what you might think would be fears of being upstaged, two of my most memorable experiences came from instances of meeting someone with the exact same idea as me. As you can see above, I met an excellent Galarian Weezing who stole the show with an actual smoke machine built into his hat, but of course, the nature of Weezing's dual biology made for a great photo opportunity.

The second memory is from my outing as Epic Sax Guy. I'd barely memorised a few tunes (including the iconic loop), but bumped into a doppelganger who was a skilled busker. We played a duet together for a small crowd, and it was awesome.

Oh, and every. Single. Time. Someone asks: "Hey, you're X character! Could I get a photo?" It's an addictive high.

Wyndon's advice

Anyone who had the same idea as you will be thrilled to meet you; you're clearly people of similar tastes, so don't be afraid to politely and respectfully say hi!

3-D printing can be a godsend if it's accessible to you - Guzma's glasses and medallion above (the wrong angle, but I can assure you it's detailed and coloured) are both from files I found easily online. I'm very, very fortunate to have a family member who has free use of such a printer, but I understand that printing services are fairly commonplace.

 

[ToxicWhiskers]

Wow Wyndon, those look really good! I really like your Guzma.

I've been wanting to get back into cosplaying for ages and had plans to do so before the pandemic hit. I prefer going as male characters and the first one I did was Solid Snake from Metal Gear (definitely not one for beginners, by the end of the day, it had fallen apart and I hadn't used the right materials), followed by the comic version of Thor during the year the first Avengers film came out. I stopped for a few years due to financial and anxiety issues, plus just being too busy with college and university.

But now I've got two new outfits in the works; Trevor Belmont from Castlevania and Jotaro Kujo from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure (Part 3 outfit). I'm planning to do Professor Sycamore in the future, along with an Ace Attorney cosplay (either Miles Edgeworth or Simon Blackquill). I've also been using some of my time in lockdown to teach myself new sewing, prop-making and makeup techniques.

If I could offer advice to anyone, I would say don't be afraid to reuse bits, especially if you're on a budget. Charity shops/thrift shops are also your friend. Plus Ebay.

 

[WyndonCalling]

Charity shops/thrift shops are also your friend.

This.

 

[Maxxx17]

Since I do not have a lot of money straight hard cosplay can not do. But something trivial seems to work. I'm still doing the bare minimum. I recently bought gold eye contacts for a cool effect and a wig. I make my own clothes. It's not too bad. I can show you pictures of my results if you are interested. But I am a little shy. Because this is my first experience and I don't want it to look terrible.

 

[WyndonCalling]

Practicing some new tie knots for... no reason at all.

 

[WyndonCalling]

So yeah, London Comic Con was pretty cool.

I also left a bunch of photos on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/Bulbagarden/status/1451872390342926340

 

[Torchic W. Pip]

I sort of cosplay, but it's less of a recreation and more like Disneybounding, where the outfits are inspired by Pokémon/Pokémon characters. I got boots and a beret for my "Pokébounding", and they're pretty cool!

 

[ToxicWhiskers]

So here's some stuff I've been working on for my Jotaro Kujo cosplay. Most of it is cheap (as in not very expensive or on sale) clothes I've bought and modified, but I'm currently making his coat from scratch, even though I'm not the best sewer.

I'm a tad disappointed as I was hoping to get it done in time for Halloween, but my currently busy work schedule has stopped me from doing that. Still, there's always next May's MCM London Comic Con if that goes ahead, plus July's Hyper Japan Festival.

Spoiler: Jotaro's hat and wig

This is a cheap baker boy hat I got for £5 and I've been cutting some tears into the back. The gold bits are black Fimo that I've painted and varnished. The wig still needs some work.

Spoiler: Jotaro's belts

Trying to find some plain red belts hasn't been easy, but I found these on Etsy that I've painted triangles on then sealed with varnish to keep them waterproof. They also came buckle-less so I could add my own buckles, also bought from Etsy.

 

[ToxicWhiskers]

Okay, sorry for bumping an old thread, but I finally got my Jotaro cosplay finished and I wanted to share it with you guys. I apologize for the terrible lighting, the sun had gone in when I took these.

Spoiler: Me doing Jotaro's iconic pointing pose

Spoiler: Arms folded

Spoiler: I need a smoke...

That's not a real cigarette by the way, it's a fake one I kept from my Snake cosplay. I would never smoke in real life.

I did have my doubts on whether I'd pull this off, as Jotaro is a big, muscly dude. Three things which I am not, but I'm happy with how it's come out, even though I forgot to give myself sideburns while doing my makeup and the belts need to be shorter.

Here's another nugget of cosplay wisdom: if you're planning to cosplay as a character of the opposite gender and really want to look the part, I would recommend looking into makeup contouring techniques to make your face look more masculine/feminine. I looked at a few used by the drag king community for mine, combined with comic-effect detailing methods used by other Jojo cosplayers.

Probably going to do Professor Sycamore next and I'm now tempted to do a Sneasler suit. I've also added Agent Chieftain from Elite Beat Agents and Kai Doumeki from Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! to my list.

 

[WyndonCalling]

So, London Comic Con is on Saturday:

 

[ToxicWhiskers]

So, it's fair to say Comic Con was a blast. I didn't quite get to do as much as I wanted, as I was queuing up to meet the Trash Taste guys (CDawgVA, Joey the Anime Man and Gigguk). But it was worth it, since CDawgVA is a huge Jojo fan, and all three of them loved my costume and I even got a handshake from Gigguk himself! Next time, I'm doing the whole weekend and staying in a hotel, as I'll be able to do so much more and throw in some shopping.

As for the costume itself, it's a keeper, and I'll definitely be wearing it again. There weren't as many other Jojo cosplayers as I thought there'd be, but I met a few and had plenty of people compliment my outfit and makeup and ask for my picture, which I must say is a massive confidence boost. Bring on the next con!

Wyndon, I'm sorry we didn't get to meet. I did look for you, but got sidetracked.

Spoiler: Right before leaving home

Spoiler: Me with a fellow Jojo cosplayer (I had a couple of others, but they didn't come out as well as this one)

Spoiler: Meeting CDawgVA

 

[WyndonCalling]

Wyndon, I'm sorry we didn't get to meet. I did look for you, but got sidetracked.

No worries, perhaps next time!

My own plan came together rather well:

https://twitter.com/Bulbagarden/status/1530492552339722242

 

[ToxicWhiskers]

So I wore Jotaro again at Hyper Japan.

Spoiler: Me as Jotaro next to a Hyper Japan sign

Spoiler: Me with Hello Kitty

Spoiler: Two Jotaros

I met this guy after seeing him on stage for the Cosplay Parade. I was going to enter myself, but couldn't make the registration as I was caught up tasting some sake.

Like Wyndon said, having people get excited about the character you're dressed as and asking for your photo is a real high.

Anyway, I've now begun working on my Agent Chieftain cosplay and I've also found a spiky black wig from an abandoned project to use for a possible Dick Gumshoe cosplay.

Spoiler: Agent Chieftain's ID Badge WIP

Another one I'm now keen on doing is Professor Willow, which looks like a challenge.

 

[WyndonCalling]

So I wore Jotaro again at Hyper Japan.

We really need to stop doing this.

Spoiler

Spoiler: Post-sake

 

[ToxicWhiskers]

Alright, forgive me for bumping this thread again. But with London MCM Comic Con once again around the corner, I thought I'd share my two newest cosplays with you all, Agent Chieftain and Detective Gumshoe.

Spoiler: Me as Agent Chieftain

Spoiler: Me as Detective Gumshoe