How to take a level in wigworking: six starting tips
Wigworking is weird! It’s intimidating to a lot of people, and one of the last skills that some cosplayers learn, even after tough things like patterning and armormaking. I have friends who will turn away from cosplays because the wig looks too challenging, or they have no clue how to tackle it. It’s really interesting thing to see now that I’ve been tapped as the new “wig person” in our cosplay group, which happened after coming in second place in Iron Wig 2015:
Here’s a secret though: a year ago I was really not that great with wigs.
The truth is, learning how to work with wigs is really no different than learning how to work with fabric or props or armor. It’s intimidating at first but something everyone can learn if you’re willing to put in the time and make a few mistakes! Here are six of my suggestions for where to start:
1) Do your research. In my opinion this is FAR AND AWAY the most important step in any attempt to improve your cosplay. And no, doing your research does not mean asking a friend how they made something before calling it a day. Read a tutorial! Watch a video! Read multiple tutorials because lots of folks have different ideas for how to make the same thing, and one may just click better with you. For instance, there are lots of ways to cover foam with hair. You should consider the pros/cons of each method, and then make your own game plan. If plan A doesn’t work for you, try plan B.
In 2014 I had no idea how to splice a wig, ventilate, make spikes, make a glued hairline, use foam cleanly, or dye with anything other than a sharpie. I did all of this stuff in Iron Wig, but only because I watched a ludicrous amount of tutorials beforehand to learn how. There are tutorials out there for just about everything, so don’t be afraid to look for them! Here’s a few big lists that I’ve come across:
Arda-wigs.com’s huge list of tutorials
Cosplaytutorial.com’s compilation
2) Take the time to experiment. You’ve watched your tutorials and are feeling pretty confident - but before you chop up your perfect character wig, make sure you test your theory out on a scrap wig if possible, especially if you are cutting or using glue. Nothing is more frustrating than realizing that you miscalculated and have fudged your wig, so try to keep old damaged wigs around for occasions like this.
3) Go slow. This is absurdly important and something I have a hard time with. If you are using foam or gluing, you really need to take your time, especially if you are learning. Gluing and laying fiber is unforgiving unless you are working exclusively with got2b or hairspray - once that hair is glued down it is stuck forever. It might take you three hours to glue hair over that one strip of foam, but it will look beautiful in the end. Save the breakneck speed for after you have the technique down.
4) Make sure you have enough hair. This is something I did not realize at first, and I am very careful about it now. An easy to make your work cleaner and cut down on flyaways is to make sure that ALL of your fiber reaches to the end of your spike or structure. Imagine that you are laying a spike over a cone of foam. Now imagine that most of the hair reaches to the cone tip, but some of that hair is layered and not quite long enough - some of the fiber only reaches 3/4th of the way up the cone . Because you can’t secure that shorter hair to the cone tip, it could pop loose as flyaways. It’s possible to glue every flyaway down, but this becomes harder the more complicated your shape is. Similarly, if are spending a lot of time trying to conserve hair because you may not have enough, your project is going to be tougher and potentially messier than it needs to be. Always make sure you are buying a long enough wig, or that your wefting fiber’s shortest layer is long enough for your project.
5) Invest in supplies. You need a blowdryer! You need little scissors! You need a wighead! Go get them! Just like you wouldn’t try to sew without straightpins, you shouldn’t expect to have a great time making a wig without the proper tools. Technically I’m sure you could manage, but a lot of this guide is about making your life easy so that you finish up with a good product that didn’t make you want to pull your real hair out. I would recommend purchasing all of the above, plus got2b, tacky glue, a hot glue gun, clips (duckbills are awesome), and a straight iron if you can manage it.
6) Don’t be afraid to try new projects! I really think that hesitation is what stops a lot of cosplayers from advancing their wig skills. Wigs aren’t cheap - a $40 mistake is an awful lot to stomach. Plus, with so many pre-made styles now, most characters aren’t going to require a really over the top wig so there’s not a ton of opportunities to go big and flex your wigmaking muscles. But if that character with the huge hair does pique your interest, don’t be afraid to take it on. If you give yourself enough time and do your research, you may surprise yourself with just what you can learn to make. Remember, your skills won’t advance until you’re willing to actually try to make something!
vaporwave
germansingergirl
annaxmalina
areudirty
