Cosplay on a budget. (Handy tips and tricks)

[Animeman73]

Hey there folks Animeman73 here. This is the first time I've ever posted in the cosplay thread. Hopefully the moderators will see this as okay and keep this here. But we're going to talk about cosplaying on a budget. Now everybody here in this thread of the forums loves cosplaying right?

Forum Goers: (At the top of their lungs.) YYYYYYEAAAAAAAAAH!

That's what I thought. Well, as we all know cosplay can really eat away at your budget, especially when you're living on your own and/or are barely making enough to get along. And lets face it we're ALL strapped for cash these days. That's why I decided to create this thread. This is a thread for cosplayers who have handy tricks and tips to make cosplaying a little cheaper but fairly good in quality.
For next year's Kumoricon I've decided that I'm going as Henry Townsend from Silent Hill 4: The Room. This is a very economic cosplay because all I'll require is some simple blue jeans, a light blue button-up shirt, tennis shoes, socks, and a belt. The most expensive thing for this costume will be the wig but that's the ONLY expensive thing about it. (By the way Silent Hill 4 fans does anybody know what Henry Townsend's hair color is. If you could PM me that information I'd appreciate it.) Okay peeps now it's your turn to dish on handy tricks to make cosplay less expensive let's hear em' for the fellow cosplayers out there.

[~boogiepop~]

COSPLAY L AND BE KAWAII YOU DON'T EVEN NEED SHOES

[IcyMelon]

Anyone from Death Note CC:
thats what I did for my 1st cosplay ^^;;;
i was and still am a poor high school student xDD

or if you have some money you could get parts
from like Cosplay.com CC: its cheaper then most places CC:
like from places where they were MADE to sell cosplays.

or you could try to make them CC: I'm gonna try that
for 2010 C:

EDIT;; or characters who go to school and have a school uniform like
Shinji from Evangelion, Tsuna, Yamamoto, Gokudera, etc(hitman reborn)
a character that wears a white shirt and pants as there uniform C:

[nikkiolie]

good will is your best friends

[meep]

hmmmm I go bargian hunting LIKE NONE OTHER... Im still nawt good at finding wigs though they are pretty pricey... I totally hate doing "generic" or "overly popular (insert super omega popular shonen series)" cosplay... I guess one could just do only one or two costumes a year too... OH and sewing it yourself is WAYYYYYY cheaper (at least in my own world XD).
MONEY IS A CHALLENGE AND IS A CHALLENGE U CAN OVER COME.(that is if your smart)

Im makin like 50 bucks per poster job for someone and I do music gigs so I get like 200$ (gawsh) and It doesnt take alot of time. I thought I was gonna be totally broke this year but... Hey what da ya know!

PS just curious does anyone know any good jobs that one can get when there 14 or 15 years old??? (NOT BABYSITTING) I know theres a couple out there...

[superjaz]

cosplay tip for cheap fabric!

yard sales= cheap sheets= cheap fabric, made 4 costumes for less then 5 bucks one year..

[tofutakeout]

MOOCH.

I do it, so can you.

I mooch old clothes and things off friends and family. And then there's one friend that I mooch actual fabric off of because she has loads of it. :3

But yes garage sales and goodwills/any thrift stores are your friend. :3

[Felix]

I work in a costume shop, and at the end of the term they give away free stuff. No guarantee you'll find exactly what you're looking for, but it's still a great opportunity. Secondhand fabric/craft stores are also an excellent place to find really good stuff for cheap, though the selection won't be as good as a mainstream fabric store, and it varies a lot. It's a good first stop.

Mooching is also excellent, as well as sewing whatever you can yourself, and to save money on wigs and contacts, which are probably the most expensive parts of a costume, pick characters you already look somewhat like. Use your real hair if possible.

[majinekochan]

REUSE, and RECYCLE

That's how I do it. Mooching from closets, Goodwill, and using sheets are all good ways.

We all know that Wigs are a major money eater when it comes to cosplay, I tend to try to reuse my wigs, get ones that I can use for multiple characters or choose cosplays based on what wigs I have. (It also saves on packing)

[meep]

I go to Fabric Depot outdoor sales. P:

Ok just because of what happend there today I hate that place with a burning passion. Sure they have a bigger selection BUT OMG THEIR SERVICE MAKES ME OMEGA MAD! (and its more expensive then JoAnns) But I loved their outdoor sale...

[Ticra]

mooch mooch mooch and when all else fails, attack value village to no end. they get new stuff all the time so if you can't find what you need, just come back.
AND with a little creativity, even the cheap crappy stuff can look high class. For example:
http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y162/Kitica/Kumori%20Con%2009%20Saturday/?action=view&current=IMG_1413.jpg
That wig was made out of a couple of three dollar wigs we picked up at a value village halloween sale and some hot glue.
Just gotta think outta the box. 

[nyahaha]

go to any 50% off sales that Value Village might have. And use coupons and stuff at joanns. To get more coupons, sign up for the email AND regular mail ads.

Also, garage sales can be really helpful, so go to them when it's garage sale season.

Saving scraps can help a whole lot too. You never know when you may randomly need a tiny piece of one color that just so ahppened to be on another cosplay.

[Shadow]

Thrift stores, most definitely! =3 Altering clothes you can find there saves a lot of money.

[princessmoon]

Another suggestion I may add is choosing your cosplay to fit your budget. If you want the extravagant costume, you will need to meet the costs required for it. There will always be a con for you, and if you don't get to do that one costume you REALLY wanted, save it for another con when you do have sufficient funds.

[nikkiolie]

Another suggestion I may add is choosing your cosplay to fit your budget. If you want the extravagant costume, you will need to meet the costs required for it. There will always be a con for you, and if you don't get to do that one costume you REALLY wanted, save it for another con when you do have sufficient funds.

YES! THIS! If you want to do a complicated costume please do not half ass it, it will only make you look bad >_> I have been spending a lot of most of my costumes. It can cost a lot of money, especially if you want to do extravagant ones x.x Best thing to do is set a budget and make sure you meet it (mainly don't go over). If you are not sure what it should be ask other people that cosplay. I have a pretty good idea how much something will cost to make. So feel free to ask other cosplayers.

[Felix]

In addition to money, make sure you have enough time for the costume you pick, and don't put everything off until the last minute. It's cheaper to make your own costume than to commission it or buy a premade one, but if you don't have the time it won't turn out well. It's better to have one really great costume than a bunch of half-assed ones. It's also a good idea to start out simple, to give yourself practise and so that if you mess up you haven't lost as much money.

And if you aren't sure about something, like a certain fabric, ask someone about it, because you don't want to buy something and find out it doesn't work. Making your patterns before you buy the fabric is also a good idea. Buying too much will cost you, but you don't want to buy too little. For cosplay, you probably don't need to buy a really expensive fancy fabric. Normal fabrics are usually cheaper and easier to work with, and they often photograph better.

[jaqua]

COSPLAY L AND BE KAWAII YOU DON'T EVEN NEED SHOES

hi ilu