The first picture was taken a year ago. That was my first ever cosplay. The heart and mask were made of construction paper, the wig was a cheap wig that wasn’t styled, and the shirt and skirt were bought at a store. The red splatters on my hands were attempts to make myself look “bloody”.
I did not know how to sew. I didn’t know what a hem was.Â
Flash forward to a few days ago…
I made an entire dress. I made a corset. I made all the patterns and constructed everything from scratch. I made sure that each detail was accounted for and managed to bring a complex cosplay to life in less than a month.Â
I made something that I didn’t think I could a year ago.Â
And if someone like me…who knew nothing about sewing could…then I know that every single one of you has the potential to do the same.
When I’m figuring out a cosplay I’m usually sitting there literally measuring a picture on my computer screen and measuring myself and doing all the math. NO MORE!!!
This website let’s you upload a reference picture, set up a baseline (with something like your height) and then you just draw lines on the image and it’ll do the math proportionately so you know what measurements you need for your costume! There are instructions on how to use the site if you scroll down to the bottom of the page.
Super helpful! Cosplayers, bookmark this website for future use!
So I suck. I neglected to give any update on how the Damian boots turned out- which is the only reason why I think anyone follows me lmao, so ill cover that first
Leaving early in the morning, it was raining. The rain itself didn't affect the boot- which is a pretty good thing. Unfortunately, the toe cap lining did crack as the day went on. From all the walking and stumbling I did around, the material bent and the creased part of the boot cracked. Wasn't that big of a deal, since they still looked nice when you didn't stare at them looking for flaws.
I’m not quite sure where the fault is for them cracking, whether the boot should have been broken in more or the spray paint itself- but something to keep in mind. It’s easily fixable with another coat of spray paint.Â
Now for the con experience itself!
Since I had promised pictures of my robin costume, these are the very LQ ones I’m able to provide :”( my cousin had forgot to bring her hella nice camera. Yes my tunic wasn't fully zipped all the way down in both photos let me cry.
I was only able to go a day, but it was nice! Not nearly as fun as Houston’s comic palooza, but it was still exciting. IT WAS ON HALLOWEEN. HOW RAD IS THAT? We had gotten there around 10ish, and left at 3:30ish. Austin TX comic con was smaller then last year, so there wasn't a lot of things to keep you entertained after you looked through the artist alley- which was 25% non con themed company advertisements and scams to “sign up and win a cruise” which was disappointing.
We went to a true blood panel, and got to take professional pictures with Kristin and Rutina from true blood! I don't watch the show, but my cousin had paid for the pictures and dragged me to their panel.Â
I myself paid $40 for a selfie with Lucas Till WHO WAS SO NICE, nobody was in his line though :”( but it gave me extra talking time with him, besides the fact you only get the opportunity to talk with him if you paid for an autograph.Â
I only spent a total of $75 there, $40 was for Lucas Till selfie, $20 was for the 4 prints I got from Musetap . I had bought 4 amazing prints from them earlier this year at Comic Palooza, and when I saw them again- I had to steal 4 more amazing prints for an amazing price.
They were the only ones out of the entire con who had young avenger merchandise :”) I bought one young avenger print, one batman and robin, one baymax- just because it was the only big hero 6, and an arrow poster not pictured for my friend Tay.
The other $15 just went to over priced greasy af pizza and Dr.Pepper. Over all, I was really pleased with this con trip :D
These are great for when you are going to places like Disney or Universal, when you want to wear a costume but don’t want to make it or just feel like dressing up as your favourite character on a day to day basis. Most of these only give the feeling of the character and are not exact. You don’t need to get those exact items (mostly because I didn’t check prices) but you can gain ideas from others interpretations.Â
Really good accessible cosplayers
Cancerously Cosplay
Chinasour
Courtoon
Cupcake Cosplay
Firewolf826
Johnny & Junkers
KanraCakes
Kitsurie
Kimba Sprite Cosplay
Lawliet Cos
Mango Sirene!
Mohringan Cosplay
Mostflogged
Nicole Cosplay
NightSRok
Rynn Cosplay
Solo Grayson
Vicious Cosplay
Ysa Marie ArtsÂ
Want to be on this list, message me and I’ll check it out. Want to see a tutorial about something that’s not here let me know. If you want to submit a tutorial just message me. Moral of the story is message me. I’mlonely friendly.
Follow me here or on Facebook for more small tutorials. Contact me to request a tutorial.
Or just a simple explanation to basics of spray painting boots
MATERIALS NEEDED
Pair of boots. (The ones I bought can be found here, I got them on clearance- but this is limited to kid sizes. I have a very small foot for a teenager) Similar Faux Leather would work best
Green Spraypaint. (I purchased Krylon short cuts from Hobby Lobby, but you can find them at any local craft store or here)
Masking tape
Red Laces (You can find these for dirt cheap at any shoe store)
Black permanent marker
This is a very simple quick tutorial on how to make your own Robin boots, SINCE FINDING ANYTHING SIMILAR AND CHEAP IS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE. The overall cost depends on how much your boots cost- which you shouldn't spend too much on! I got mine for $20 at Shoe Carnival. Dont worry so much about how it looks at first, but rather the design and how it compares to Damian’s boots. We’re going to completely transform the boots anyways. My total cost for this was under $30, including the shoe cost :)
This is how the boots looked before I Robinfied them. As you can tell, the first impression appeal of the boots shouldn't matter. Just focus on buying boots with a similar look to Damian, black preferably.Â
The first step is to discard the original laces. Do whatever you want with them, you’re already going to replace them with red laces later on. They arent needed.
Alright the easy part is over (just kidding, it’s all pretty easy) the next step is to tape off the bottom part of the boots. This protects the black from getting spray paint all over them. If you’re going with a design that has the boots completely green, this obviously wont be needed. Ripping off small pieces of tape at a time works best, tucking it completely over the bottom parts of the boots.
Covering the very bottom of the sure isn't necessary, just get the sides covered off. Once you tape off the shoe- GREAT! The most time consuming part is over. Now the fun part- spray painting.
It should go without saying, but spray painting is pretty messy. Do it outside. Be sure if there’s a breeze, to spray paint towards the flow of the breeze- so it wont blow back on you or blow away from the boot. If your concerned about the paint cracking, be sure to stuff the inside of the boot full. This will protect the inside of it, and be sure to completely fill out any potential folds the empty boot can have.
From then, simply follow the instructions! Dont directly hover over the boots, or spray paint in one place. This can create a pile of paint running down the boot, and make it look very messy. Stay a few inches back and constantly keep moving the spray can to evenly coat.
Might need another coat <:)
There we go! Spray painting one coat shouldn't take too long, but don't worry about waiting to cover up some spots you missed. Take the time to fully cover all the exposed blackness of the boot. Even if the color is to your liking, wait at least 30 minutes to an hour before giving it a final coat. EVEN IF YOU THINK THE BOOT LOOKS FINE, give it a final coat. If your boots have zippers, but sure to have them zipped all the way up while you paint. (They’ll be fine, this is to just evenly cover the zippers).
Wait about a day before you move on to cleaning up the paint and laces.Â
Peel off the tape after the full day wait. If you find there’s some spots you couldn't fully cover from the paint, particularly around the edges- you can go over it with your permanent marker to fix it up :DÂ
Ohhh that HQ Samsung Galaxy S4 photos man. Final step is putting on the red shoe laces. Lace them however you would like- but for those who need a visual guide for how to basic lace. *start from the bottom*
A helpful tip is to try on your shoes after you’ve laced them up. Tug out the laces from the bottom all the way up to the top, pulling up the extra laces to the loose shoe strings- giving you extra lace to use when tying your show.
And there you have it! I hope this in depth written tutorial could help you out :) I learned best by watching some YouTube videos, so be sure to watch a few of those before you attempt spray painting. Good luck, and FEEL FREE TO TAG OR SUBMIT TO ME YOUR OWN DIY DAMIAN WAYNE BOOTS THAT THIS TUTORIAL HELPED YOU MAKE <3
HEY ABOUT THE PERFECT BOOTS. I already thought about spray painting mine but idek someone said it would come off easily, you know? I see their point. Unless you found a special spray paint for leather and stuff... Or some special coating? Idk I recently found paint specifically for leather and I might try them soon. Sorry for intruding D: your boots like puuurrrrfect <3
I heard about that too while I was doing research for spray painting, but being the rebel child I am- I went ahead and tried it out for myself anyways >:D
I actually didn’t use any special spray paint, I found the first green spray paint I could find at Hobby Lobby. As you can see, it actually turned out great! The spray paint I used was actually intended for wood and other material, and ill have to include the specific spray paint I bought in the tutorial ill scrap together tomorrow. It coated it great, and dried great.
 I haven’t done too much walking in them, but I did test out walking in them just to get a feel of how they looked. My Grandma actually man handled the boots herself, and the paint has yet to come off or even crack. I man handled the boots earlier while I was putting on the laces, which you can tell by the photos, didn’t harm it in the slightest.Â
Even when the leather folded over when I was test walking them, the paint didn’t crack or fade. It might be the pleather material? But so far, the boots have stayed in shape wonderfully. I’ll be sure to give an update on how they hold up after the full con day on Saturday.Â
AND THANK YOU SO MUCH PAL <3 I APPRECIATE ALL THE LOVE
Damian Wayne Cosplay boots finally finished! Later on tonight if I have time, I’ll write out the tutorial on how to achieve your perfect Robin Boots for this bat brat.
Damian Wayne Cosplay boots finally finished! Later on tonight if I have time, I'll write out the tutorial on how to achieve your perfect Robin Boots for this bat brat.
HERE IT IS. THE ONE ELABORATE IN DEPTH REVIEW FOR COSPLAY HOUSE. ALL THE HORROR AND MYTHS ABOUT THEM WILL BE ANSWERED BELOW. Tumblr and Cosplay threads in general have not been very kind to Cosplay House, but never really gave any specific information on why it was so terrible. This is something I would have really appreciated reading prior, so for any hopeful Cosplay House buyers- this is for you :)
This review will cover the Damian Wayne Costume, Customer Service, processing. and just what to expect when receiving your costume!
This is the first cosplay purchase I have made ever. Getting into cosplaying recently- I wanted to start off with buying a quality costume, rather then diving into the unknown depths of costume making. $150 Damian Wayne costume seemed like a steal! Especially compared to other costumes I had looked at, scaling up into over $300. If you’re a teenager like me, that budget ranged from what her low paying summer job paid- Cosplay House was a no brainer.
However with all the added taxes and shipping prices, my costume purchase actually went over to $210. I was thrown completely off guard, and was a little upset at how much more I had spent then I intended. Just keep in mind- taxes and shipping will add a good $40-$80 depending on the price of your costume. Mine was one of the cheaper ones of the site, so more expensive costumes will definitely have a slap to the face taxing and shipping costs. Always be sure you have more money then the cost of the costume to spend.
Customer Service was amazing. When ordering- they’ll ask you what date you’ll need the costume by. Since I had become paranoid by all the comments of Cosplay House delivering late- I had made my priority date a week before the Con itself. They had kept me updated on the process, and even sent me a cute email saying “Your costume is still in development of being made! And expected to arrive on time!”. Its not much but it really gave me peace of mind that they hadn't somehow forgot about me or my costume, and let me know they were working on it.
I am a very paranoid person, so I messaged them about 2 or 3 times asking if the shipment was supposed to arrive on schedule. They were very patient with me, and always answered within an hour or so. Zero complaints on the Service. Perhaps it was all the whining I was doing, but they priority shipped my costume out as soon as it was done. My costume arrived a week earlier then I had originally asked :)
NOW ONTO THE COSTUME ITSELF.Â
This is how the package looks :)
All of the pieces of your costume will come folded, and packaged. If you have smaller pieces or accessories to your costume, they will most likely get stuffed in between the pieces. DONT FREAK OUT IF YOU CANT FIND YOUR BELT WHEN UNPACKING. My belt fell out of the pants when trying them on.
Now before I move on to review my personal choices about the costume itself, ill review the costume without any of my thoughts on it.
Everything that is shown in the picture, I did get. Everything was very nicely made, great quality fabric, and over all comfortable to wear. The tunic came a much brighter red then the one shown in the picture- but that was already explained in the notice before you order.
8. Designs and colors in costumes may slightly vary, since these costumes are all hand made.
They did not explain that the belt was velcro- so I believe most of the belts in any other costume from the site is made similar. The velcro belt does not came with the utility pockets put on, so you’ll have to slide them on yourself. The pockets come out very very flat, so if you wanted to them to look like they were full with something- you’ll have to stuff and expand them yourself. The velcro is only attached to a certain area of the belt, not allowing me to tighten my waist. When I tried the costume on, the velcro belt kept slipping down to below my stomach. However this may be because I had lost weight after I had ordered the costume. It would be a lot more handy to have the velcro expand further, giving the option to tighten if needed.Â
My pants were a little loose, but again- that could just be because I had lost weight. Its important to remember they give you 2 inches of playroom, so if you want more or less- be sure to let them know in the customer note section.
But overall, they deliver what they said they would. Quality costume with everything pictured. Now the rest will be my personal take on the costume itself, what I really like and what I really didn't like too much.
The biggest complaint from me was the black suit meant to be underneath the tunic. I probably should have expected the pants to be baggy from the photo- but they were super big on me and just super baggy. Not that big of a deal, since I had planned on wearing some black skinny pants anyways- but to pay that much for something I wont even use is a little disappointing. The shirt actually fit pretty well, but zipping the collar all the way up was very uncomfortable. This was easily avoided though, I could just fold down the collars- and it still looked great. This is just from my personal preference, but the top combined with the tunic makes yourself look very bigger then you actually are. The shirt and tunic are both thick, so its something to expect when you order- but it just made me very put off from wearing it. I wont be wearing the top shirt either, finding a thin long sleeved shirt that looked just as great.
Again, very disappointing to pay so much money for a costume- only not to wear half of it. But that’s just from my personal view from it, and my own preference on how I wanted myself to look. The tunic itself makes you look large, but I would have not wanted to walk around all day burning up with all the thick material- and just looking unflattering in general. The belt in the picture seemed to solve the issue, cinching it at the waist. But the playroom + the weight loss made the belt very big on me, and there isn't enough velcro to be able to adjust and tighten to my waist. I'm not quite sure yet if I will be wearing the belt, or I’ll go out and buy a much nicer adjustable one. Sucks to spend a lot more money on something I hoped to provide everything- but if you’re picky like me, SACRIFICES.
Besides that, I was very pleased with the tunic- and will hopefully be able to use it for a future Stephanie Brown costume. The gloves....look how they look in the picture. They don't look too more appealing in person- but its what I expected, and I will be flaunting them. THE CAPE IS SO PRETTY. It comes prefolded like it is in the picture, and it just looks so nice and pretty hanging. Only issue is that you will have to pin it to your shirt yourself. I’m not quite sure what I was expecting, but I didn't realize I would have to attach the cape myself. Maybe it was inexperience on my part, but looking closer at the preview picture provided- they had pinned the cape to the shirt as well.Â
I will be saving pictures of the actual costume to upload after the day of the con- but the pictures they provided are pretty much the same as what I got. No crazy outrageous trash they dared to call a costume.
Overall, my experience was very nice for my first time purchasing. I’m not sure if it would be cheaper to make the costume, but me being on a time crunch with a budget and no sewing experience, *yet* this was the best alternative I could find.
I’m not sure if I would order from them again, just because spending over $200 for a costume is a huge turn off for me. I know its a lot cheaper then majority of quality costume makers out there, but I just don't have a steady enough teenage income to throw money around for costumes I might not even use fully. Some of their work doesn't look too nice in the picture- and that puts me off from ordering anything commission. Its hard to screw up a body suit, like Billy Kaplan’s newest Wiccan Costume, or 80s Superboy Costume- but its a risk im not quite sure im ready to take.
None the less, I didn't have a cosplay costume before- and now Cosplay House provided me with a nicely priced cosplay to use in upcoming cons. I hope this review answered any concerns you might have had- and feel free to ask any more questions you had! I’ll do my best to share the experience more in depth on any topic you might need to know.
I found the perfect boots for Damian Wayne's Robin costume, and for a bargain :D These will be the boots I use for the upcoming Damian Wayne boots tutorial ~
A little cosplay tip!
When making “leather” pieces for costumes, do any of you ever use pleather for both sides of the piece? For things like belts, I often used to sew two pleather pieces together, turn it inside out, and then topstitch it flat. Doing it this way made for a really bulky piece that was difficult to pass through the sewing machine for topstitching, even with the aid of tissue paper underneath. Same goes for any pleather pieces that I thought I could get away with just hemming the edges of a single layer. Pleather is sticky, and it made for some nasty stitch work! There are tricks out there to help pass the fabric under the needle more smoothly, but one thing I started doing instead is that I started treating the underside like lining, and started using cheap fabrics in matching colors instead.
For version 2.0 of my Zidane vest’s leather harness, I decided to “cheat” and use broadcloth in a matching color for the side that will not be seen (the harness will be permanently attached to my vest, so only the outer layer will be visible). Doing this not only cuts down on fabric bulk, but with the broadcloth being the side that’s down, it makes topstitching significantly easier (and cleaner!). Yeah, you can technically see a little of the broadcloth when you look at the piece straight on from the side, but so long as the color matches the pleather, you can get away with it. ;)
This might not work for everything, but it’s an option for things that people will only ever see one side of. I’ve done this with anything I can get away with. I even did this with the gun holster on my Yukio Okumura costume.
Many of you probably already do things like this, and I’m sure there are many more (and probably better) options out there, but this has worked well for me, so I thought I would throw it out there for other people to consider if they’ve never thought of doing it this way before. :)Â
-Pluto Knights
