how are you doing your cosplay? tips, questions and general discussion

[kai-chan]

Hey everyone i was wondering how you were going to do your cosplay.

please inlcude...

your character and anime
what your are making
what are you buying
what are you modifying
recommended places to go for cosplay stuffs
any questions or tips for people
any problems

[kai-chan]

I am cosplaying as belldandy  off of Ah! My Goddess and I am making everything. I have all of my materials but I still need to form the dress. I made her jewelery out of FIMO and painted them gold with sparkles. ( the gold paint was dull). I suggest to people if they are modifying their cosplay from already made cloths to go to good will to get cloths its cheap and there are lots to look threw. I am not making the earrings or even buying them because my hair will cover my ears anyways. Also I will have hair extenctions. so I guess i did buy stuff already made for my cosplay. dang..

[MiriaRose]

I'm paying people to make my cosplay, as well as buying stuff on my own. -glares at broken sewing machine-

[The_Geek]

I'm re-using my Daisya one from las year and making Sister Finland's from scratch.

[tas110]

one tip i would say is join a forum that is specific to your cosplay like I joined keeptothecode.com for pirates of the Caribbean and i have learned a lot about how to make better wigs and patterns on things like shirts and coats if you join one it will save your life with cosplays

[Kurohime]

I recommend the Goodwill Outlet Stores.  It's a slight step up from dumpster diving, but you can find fabrics and shoes to modify for the most reasonable prices.  I just can't justify paying $8 for good shoes I'll be cutting the tops off of as soon as I get home- somebody else could be wearing them.  And I'll only be wearing them for a day or so even after they're finished. 

I also recommend JoAnn's.  That only makes sense tho, right? 

[~boogiepop~]

If anyone needs help finding tutorials and the such, I happened upon this lovely site that links to a TON of good tutorials and instructions.
http://www.darkelements.ca/Tutorials/list.htm#wigs


enjoy~

[Corrugated-Cosplayer]

This year I am doing Mazinkaiser. It will require cardboard, spray-paint, tape, and perhaps glue because I am a cheap bastard and I don't have the money to use something better.  Plus I don't really care about it lasting all that long if I am only putting $30 into it.  I might try to add some special effects by adding in a micro-controller to computerized some of the parts. lately I have been messing around with programming them and have found that they are dirt cheep and powerful enough to augment my cosplay by giving it programmable lighting and if I were extremely ambitious I could add various sensors or motor control. 
So far the MC will be used to make Mazinkaizers Breast Fire! and eye lazer attack

[HamstaPowah]

So I'm completely lost on this, I really wanna cosplay and have people who can so...but I can't, and I have people with materials...but I don't, and I have people with skill in cosplay...but I don't XD

So here we go :3

Hickory Nutchel from the HamstaPowah web comic (shameless plug plug)

He's an anthropomorphic squirrel and I basically need to make everything

From bottom up, I need to make his feet, which I'm thinking of taking large boots, adding gray fur to them once they are shaped like squirrel feet ( kinda like Bugs bunny actually)

Wearing a large (to my knees) custom built red plaid shirt, which means I just need some sort of fur pants

The shirt buttons at the sleeves so I need to make grey hands, which is mostly tight fingerless gloves and body paint

His heads easy enough he wears a large hat which I can attach ears to, and with some face paint and hair dye I can do that relatively easily

The biggest issues I have are one, am I doing any of this right? Is there an easier way?
Two, He needs a tail, being a squirrel it needs to be rather large in comparison, he's kinda dirty so need to be clean or nothing bushy works, but it's needs to match the rest of the fur I will wear, as well as making sure the tail is strong enough to last me wearing it, I’d prefer it to stand alone and need some support attached to my back, dragging it might work, but I’m not sure it wouldn’t get stepped on if I did that…

Anyone have anything? I'm rather desperate, I have an idea of what to do, and most isn't hard...but fur that looks like...’fur’ and not felt, and a tail that won’t die, are just above me...

Please and thank you for any assistance as I'm starting from scratch on every front and could use some guidance if not step by step instructions on how to not mess up XD

~Lardman

[snafu]

This year I'm working on (or attempting to) Hinagiku from Hayate the Combat Butler, and the process is kind of a mix of methods.  For the blouse, or whatever you want to call it, of her uniform, it's just a matter of slightly modifying a top from a retired cosplay; recycling, I guess?  The dress for the uniform I'm planning to sew myself after a trip to Jo-Ann's or possibly Goodwill for the fabric.  I'll also be making a new scarf for the uniform along with the cloth holder (for lack of a better term) that keeps it together in front.  Again, sewing after acquiring the fabric/trim.

There's a few components that, lacking the skill to manufacture myself, I plan to just buy.  This includes the wig (as I do not naturally have long pink hair), socks, the shorts she apparently wears under the dress, and shoes.  It's the shoes that might be a pain in the butt to find something at least reasonably good for the outfit, I think.  Everything else?  Shouldn't be too hard.  Curse you, shoes!

As a tip, though, I would also recommend Goodwill or other second hand stores for supplementing fabric needs.  An old piece of clothing or a sheet might provide what you need at a fraction of the price of fabric from a place like Jo-Ann's.  This can be more true of an Outlet store, of course, and you're limited more on fabric selection, but it can still be a nice, cheaper option.

[Gryffinclaw Princess]

I am currently working on Sango from Inuyasha and I'm making the armor and her weapon. I already have a unitard from a few years ago and I need to purchase fabric, foam. and wire. I will be using the wire to form her boomerang and then cover it in fabric.

I recommend Ross for cheap clothing to alter. I got a dress from there for $20 that I am using as my formal attire for a pageant and the director was amazed at the price because of the appearance of the dress. It's all cheap and most of it looks good. ^^

For making things like hats or props, chicken wire is amazing. Then cover it in duct tape and hot glue fabric to it or even sew a cover and just slip it on over it.

[LtCommanderRichie]

I'm making Vaclav Havel's artbook outfit from scratch. Why must I be crazy? Trinity Blood how I love you so. This project includes making vestments and cassock from scratch, hundred of grommets, probably about a hundred feet of bias tape that I have to make myself and a handmade scarf, as well as at least a dozen handmade crosses of various sizes and designs.

A good pointer for bias tape? Don't just slap it on and topstitch it down, it looks kinda tacky. First sew it down inside out, so that you can fold it over the edge and not have any stitches showing. Then carefully stitch down the back with a thread color that's the same as the main garment so that there aren't any stitches on the bias tape itself.

[Vysh]

I'll be cosplaying Reita and Blood Dupre
I buy clothes from thrift stores and modify and make from scratch.
For Blood's staff and gun I will be making it out of wire, paper macheing it and then renforcing the paper with sealer.
I usually buy my clothes at Thrift Stores downtown, the one with the more costume clothes. Like Village Merchant and ReRun, plus they sell boot there very cheap. I got Demonia Platform boots for twenty Dollars and they are hardly used. I will also be heading over to a store called Scraps where i hear they sell everything for really cheap. Really cheap. I need belt buckles so I'm hoping I'll walk out of that store with a bucket full of belt buckles.

[Felix]

Scrap is really cheap. (you'll expect to spend a lot more than you will - when they ring me up I'm always shocked how low the total is.) I love that store, but it's all reused stuff so there's no guarantee you'll find what you're looking for. I've never seen belt buckles there, but that doesn't mean they don't have them.