Cosplay for beginners

In 2024 I was asked to host a panel about cosplay for beginners. As per usual, I wrote down my own notes. I went to the internet, to see if I had forgotten anything. I read through multiple different articles. All covered more or less the same points. While reading them, more and more often I kept thinking “yes, but that depends”. So, this article here might be a little different from what you might expect.

Why do you want to cosplay?

Many cosplay for beginners articles tell you to look for a character that you love and start from there. However, I think there are a ton of motivations one could have to start cosplaying. Let’s take a look at some of them.

I want to start with a sort of disclaimer:

There isn’t one way to cosplay. Everyone has their own motivations. Fun is different for everyone. Do not let people dictate what is fun for you.

You love the character

Especially in the start of cosplay, this was probably the most mainstream reason to start cosplay. It is still one of the main reasons why people cosplay. Love for a character is good because you have a certain dedication and will most likely not grow tired of it easily. You will want to keep going to display your passion for your character.

Loving the character can have downsides though. It can mean that you have very high expectations in this costume. That your perfectionism leaves you frustrated with every detail that is wrong. That you never end your costume because you’re afraid to mess it up. When you’ve finished your costume, you might not get the recognition you want, which sours the love for the character. Or your cosplay is really good, but it draws attention to people who are toxic and ask, “why do you like this character, they suck”. For me it’s often easier to cosplay something that isn’t close to my heart. Otherwise, my perfectionism goes through the roof, and I’m never satisfied with anything.

You love an outfit

This is a motivation that is often frowned upon. The “real fans” don’t want people to cosplay from their fandom if they’re not big fans. I personally think it’s fine to cosplay something just because you like how it looks. It’s a tribute to the character designer after all! It means they did a great job and the design appeals to you. It might also have techniques that you simply want to try out, if you’re more of the crafty side.

I would personally recommend reading a bit about the character and see if you still want to cosplay them. They might not be a character that you like or can stand behind. And who knows? Maybe you start watching the show/playing the game/reading the book and love it! Boom, you’re a part of the fandom.

I saw cosplayers and somehow that seems cool

This was actually my first motivation to cosplay! I’ve always liked to dress up in costumes. I played theatre and musical when I was a teenager and made costumes for that. Today that would count as cosplay too – because we’re now less strict with the definition of cosplay being rooted in Japanese media. When I went to my first convention, I saw cosplayers and thought “I don’t have to learn text to dress up and get occasions to do so outside of carnival!” (In Germany you wear costumes for carnival in February, similar do costuming at Halloween)

So, this might be thing as well – maybe your friends cosplay, or you’re just in general attracted to trying it out. This is also a valid reason to start cosplaying.

It makes you money

This is very controversial and probably worth an article of its own. But yes – it can be a motivation that cosplaying makes you more money, which often happens in a context of influencers, streaming, lewd modelling. A lot of people don’t like this motivation or approach because to outsiders, cosplay often looks like a weird fetish. They don’t want to be put into one pot with sexual content, because they spent years to educate people that what they’re doing is not sexual.

However, if you are working in certain fields, and cosplay can help stabilize your income, it’s a valid reason to do so (in my opinion). I’m personally doing art, and if someone wants me to draw a lewd picture of their character and throw money at me, I’m going to do so. As long as it’s nothing that goes against my ethics. I’m not interested in it for my own sake, but most of us won’t say no to some additional money.

Again, it’s a controversial topic and maybe something to think about. Build your own opinion on it!

Maybe there are more motivations that you can find! That’s great. We are all different humans.

What do you want from cosplay?

No matter your initial motivation to start cosplay, you will have to ask yourself, what you want from cosplay. Because this will influence how you go about making/getting a costume.

I want to take pretty pictures of my costume!

Cosplay is a very visual hobby. Pretty pictures are always a plus! Some cosplayers find their joy mostly in working with photographers and posing. They like the process of dressing up and putting on beautiful make-up. There is a whole sub-community who mostly cares for this aspect of cosplay. They don’t feel the need to make a costume. Wearing it is what they care most about.

Buying a cosplay

Nowadays it’s easy to buy costumes. Not only mainstream costumes that are a current hype. You can even buy a lot of more niche costumes. They are also often pretty affordable. Even more, if you buy second hand (which I would highly encourage). It is also the easiest entrance to cosplay, because the time and frustration investments are low.

Be aware that bought costumes are the same as any type of clothing. If you have trouble finding clothes for big breasts, if you are very tall or very short, you will run into the same problems here. The costumes also do not necessarily come with all details or armour parts.

Something to think about:

I would also like to talk about a different downside of bought clothing. This is something that especially younger people don’t think about (that’s ok. We didn’t either back then): Bought costumes are never sustainable. I’ve looked up a very detailed Genshin Impact costume while researching, that I could buy for 141 USD. Including Shoes. There were 3D Printed parts, and a ton of details on that costume. Neither the material can be of good quality here, nor can the seamstress earn a decent amount of money on this. This would be a costume that would easily take a normal person 90+ hours to make, and materials for a good 400 Euros minimum. Obviously margins and currency are different in certain parts of the world, but still, this costume is not sustainable. Maybe think about this before buying lots of costumes.

Commissioning a cosplay

There are people who take cosplay commissions. Those will make the cosplay according to your wishes and your measurements. They should fit better and be of much higher quality than a default bought costume. However, they are, obviously, more expensive. A commissioner will often be situated in a western country, and as such must take much more money to survive.

You can often also just commission certain parts, for example just a wig, just armour parts etc.

Buy second hand

If you want to start cosplaying and buy a costume for this, you can always try to buy second hand! Most countries have platforms and apps for second hand shopping. There are also groups in Facebook that specialize in selling used fandom Items including cosplays. Keep an eye open on social media if someone sells a costume.

I just wanna hang out with my friends at a con!

If you want to just chill with your friends and have a picknick at a con, an easy way to get into cosplay is the good old “closet” cosplay. This is a costume that already have in your closet, but maybe you don’t know it yet! It’s very common for fandoms like for example My Little Pony. People fetch some clothes that fit their character, they put on a wig and off they go!

You could also thrift clothes and alter them. Closet cosplays can be very comfy and easy to wear. And sometimes you just want something easy to wear. It’s perfect for testing out if you feel strange with a wig and dressed up, without investing tons of money.

I’m a crafter, I want to build things!

While back then, when the dinosaurs still lived, we had to build our costumes ourselves – nowadays it’s a choice to do so. A lot of people, including me, find most joy in the process of building, and then wearing something that they made.

Do you already have helpful skills?

If you want to craft your own cosplay, you most likely have an affinity for crafting of some kind already. If you want an easy way to get into cosplay making, choose a cosplay that suits your skills. For example, I did sew a lot when I was a teenager. When I started cosplaying at conventions, I was halfway through a tailoring apprenticeship. Of course, for me, a costume that was sewn for the most part was the easiest way to go. However, you might have more skill in crafting, maybe you’re a 3D-modeller, or you already dipped your toes into make-up and prosthetics. The easiest way for you to go is choosing the respective craft that you already have skills in. This will create the least frustration along the way.

In case you don’t have any skills from another hobby and you’re a crafting virgin, don’t fret. There are factors to look out for to determine which costume suits you best.

First is always which costume appeals most to you. If you have your eyes on that armour, it’s time to grab the foam and learn how to deal with it! If you really want to be the princess with the ball gown, organize a sewing machine, because you’re gonna learn how to sew.
Secondly you can choose something that is most accessible to you. If you don’t have a sewing machine, and you don’t know anyone who has one, sewing is going to be a big hassle. Sewing by hand is an option but takes a lot of practice to be precise and durable. Similarly, if you want many details of your costume 3D-printed, and you neither have a printer nor know how to make a model, this is posing a problem. You must gauge if you’re ok with sculpting with clay or if there are other options (commissioning, for example).
Thirdly, you can look out for what courses are available in your local community college or otherwise. You will find a ton of sewing courses without any problems, but for example courses on gravity defying wig styling are usually not a thing.

Do you want to use those skills, or do you want to learn something new?

As I wrote earlier, I already had good sewing skills when I started my way in the cosplay community. Cosplay for me is always something to challenge myself if I want to, by learning new things. There are so many interesting crafts, and cosplay will gift you many opportunities to try out something new! It’s also a perfect hobby for people who are bored easily by one craft. You are in your embroidery hyperfocus? No problem, there are many costumes with embroidered details. You really want to learn how to sculpt? There’s always something with intricate sculpted details around. Cosplay is a perfect crafting playground.

Crafting is a much broader topic than the rest of the options to get a cosplay, so I’m going to write a separate article about it.

What parts does a cosplay have?

Let us take a brief look at the usual parts a cosplay has. All these parts contribute to a cohesive look of your cosplay.

A cosplay usually consists of:

Wig
Make-Up
Clothing and or Armor
Underwear
Shoes
Props

An important note here is that you don’t need to check them like a list. If there is a part that you don’t like that you feel uncomfortable with, that gives you pain in some sort, feel free to skip it. Or alter it so that it works for you. It’s your costume, and you need to feel good in it.

Wigs

Costumes are usually colourful or don’t look natural. A wig often helps with this look. A wig can also be permanently styled and has (usually) more hair than a human head. This means you can do more elaborate and big hairstyles. If you are cosplaying a character with gravity defying hair, a wig can be manipulated in convenient ways to achieve this look. Wigs can give you a headache after a while, especially if they’re heavy, too small or fixed badly to your head. I recommend reading Kukkii-sans books and blog about wigs about wearing them properly.
Importantly though: if you get a bad headache, take off your wig. Health always comes first. You can try to figure out what the cause of the headache was and see if you can remove it for the next time.

Make-Up

Make-Up helps your facial features to live up to the bright colours or unnatural hair. Additionally, it also helps if you have skin problems or blemishes, to simply give you a more evenly skin tone. Many cosplayers also use fake lashes and contact lenses. They help your eyes being more visible against wig and clothing. Both are things that can hurt, be annoying or not easy to wear, if you aren’t used to them. If you don’t like wearing them, don’t wear them. Always consult an optician before purchasing your first contact lenses (to make sure you can wear them), they will also tell you how to use them. Don’t buy lenses from cheap sellers of which you don’t know the reputation.

Many cosplayers do “Make-Up-Tests” before wearing a costume to see if their make-up fits the wig and the costume. Especially if they use make-up they never used before – to check how it behaves and if your skin works with the make-up.

Clothing and Armor

There are too many traps in clothing and armour to list, and probably, after a long convention day, all kinds of costumes are annoying. Simply because often you’re not used to wearing that type of clothing. Generally, I’d recommend to test-wear your costume, to see if you have difficulty with movement and walking, if something slips if you move, is wide, too small, or otherwise uncomfortable. If you are planning a costume that you can only stand in, be sure to have a convention plan that is standing only and how to survive that day. Check if you are able to go to the bathroom. If you can walk stairs. And yes, I have bad experiences with all of these because I didn’t check 😉

Be sure that you can, in emergencies, get out of your costume quickly. Especially if you are prone to anxiety or panic attacks! Think of how to get out quickly. E.g. if you have a laced-up corset, carry a small pair of scissors to cut the lace loose in an emergency.

Underwear

Underwear sounds somewhat ridiculous, but it’s not. There are many cases where it’s best to fix your cosplay to your underwear, so your boobies don’t suddenly fall out or similar. You might require special underwear or additional parts (like strap lengtheners) when you have e.g. a very deep neckline in the front or back. Some people like to use shapewear because they don’t naturally have a flat belly. Be sure to wear an additional set of panties over your pantyhose, so stalkers don’t stand a chance. Underwear can also help shape certain parts of your body to fit the costume better (e.g. make (bigger) boobies or use a binder to flatten them).

Here again: if you don’t like shapewear, and you find it uncomfortable, don’t wear it. The only thing that is really important, is that your private bits don’t accidentally show, because that is usually against the convention’s rules.

Shoes

You will always hear complaints of cosplayers of how uncomfortable their shoes are. I am, honestly, no different and I have worn ridiculous shoes just to make the costume look like the original. Best case is obviously if you have shoes that are comfortable, that you can walk in easily, and that don’t give you blisters. If you have shoes that are very uncomfortable, try to get used to them in advance. Also, you might simply want to carry a pair of ballerinas or slippers and take off the shoes if you’re not getting pictures taken. Take off any shoes if they hurt too much!

Props

Many characters carry certain props. When making the props, be sure to check the convention rules what is allowed inside and what is not. Also take into account, that you have to transport the prop. Check if your prop fits in your luggage, or if you have to construct it in a way that you can disassemble it for transport. If you don’t make the prop for whatever reason, you might want to think of poses

Cosplay Do’s and Dont’s

Many articles tell you to look for a character that you love and start from there. However, I think there are a ton of motivations one could have to start cosplaying. Let’s take a look at some of them.

The do’s

Honestly most of cosplay is just do. Do what you like. It’s your cosplay. You have to like it. You have to like yourself in it. If someone else doesn’t that’s none of your concern. They don’t have to look at you, they don’t have to follow you on social media, they can simply ignore you. I know it’s not always easy, and people give unsolicited advice. But in the end, you matter.

This means it’s ok to change your costume for comfort, for more bling, for more realism, for more cartoonism, to fit your gender identy and so on. If you plan on participating in a contest, check the rules and what is judged. If you are just cosplaying for fun, change it to your liking if you want.

You can cosplay whatever you want, the opposite gender, animals, vending machines (yes, I’ve seen that).

The don’ts

Now I say, “just do what you want”, but please be considerate. Never insult or harass anyone. Other people have their own reasons for cosplaying the way they do, and again, it’s their cosplay, not yours. Other people might also not have experienced certain things or know about them, which leads us to the next point:

Don’t raceface. Racefacing is a delicate topic, and it means that a white person imitates features of a a different ethnic group, e.g. tanning and colour their skin to match a person of colour, tape their face to look more Asian etc. This is mostly not done of malicious intent, but yet nothing you should do. People of colour have a difficult time, not only in costume. But cosplay is no exception – they get harassed for cosplaying white characters, because most characters are white. If you colour your skin as a white person, you will still stay privileged and white, you wash the paint off and live on. A PoC cannot do that.
However, if someone does it, educate them and don’t harass them. Also, there are people who drastically change their tan going into summer – those people cannot wash their skin white either, even if it is white in winter. The topic is too broad for this article, and I’d recommend reading into it and listen to PoCs experiences! Always have an open ear for minorities and their problems, even if they don’t concern you directly.
I once again recommend Kukkii-sans blog, where she wrote an article about this topic.

Don’t wear forbidden symbols. Coming from Germany, we have a bunch of symbols that are for forbidden, as they’re nazi coded. Not only in these trying times, don’t wear those symbols for cosplay. They’re against the law.

I personally am a big fan of “don’t wear military uniform that is not absolutely different from normal military uniform”. I admit, Umbrella Corp Cosplayers with full masks and toy weapons that look pretty realistic make me feel very uneasy and unsafe – and I’m not the only one. I’m not talking about your common Starfleet Uniform that is vastly different. There is no rule or law against those, but I personally dislike the vibes they give.

In general, look at the conventions house and weapon rules, because you don’t want to get thrown out!

A sidenote about social media

I want to mention social media, because it is a huge, important part for the cosplay community. It helps people to stay in touch and to share their costumes worldwide. It can be a well of inspiration, of community and comfort – but it can also be very toxic.

People on social media will overstep boundaries, they will be insulting and unfriendly. They can harass you in DMs, doxx and stalk you irl. Algorithms want very specific behaviour from you and will ignore you if you don’t do as the platform wishes (this is why all the “let’s fix the algorithm” Posts are BS). Decreasing Numbers can be bad for your self-esteem, especially if you didn’t have much to begin with. Social media is also telling you it’s very easy to become famous and earn your living with cosplay, because it will show you exactly those people. I’m not telling you to do a specific thing with it, you have to find your way with it. Just be aware of the bad sides it has.

Wrapping things up: what to do as cosplay beginner

So, you have your first cosplay, what can you do now?

You can go to conventions, meet and make friends! Nerd out over your fandom with them!
Maybe grab some friends and a camera and do a photoshoot. Or maybe you know a cosplay photographer? Some of them offer Time for pictures or paid slots for photos at cons.
Perfect your crafting skills and maybe enter a competition, if you like being on stage!
There are charity groups for kids, that go into hospitals or similar facilities to help kids.
You can also make cosplay videos!
Discover more and more things through conventions and the community.

Most importantly: Have fun!