Written by Emily Joice of Cosplay Advice, this tutorial teaches you several methods to create templates for cosplay props. You can check it out here!
The CovidSafeCosplay blog and its admin are unaffiliated with the tutorial author or Cosplay Advice, and are simply sharing the resource. Blog admin has not personally tested each method. Please thoroughly read the tutorial for full instructions.
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Conventions are the biggest part of the cosplay community, without conventions, there would be no cosplaying to begin with, if this is your first time going to a convention this all might seem overwhelming, but dont fret my friend because I'm going to tell you how to survive your first convention and hopefully you'll have a good con experience.
Drink a lot of water and eat food
Sometimes we get so caught up in the fun environment we're in that we forget to drink water or eat, but you have to listen to me when I say DRINK WATER AND EAT, overheating and dehydration are so common in the scene, and veteran cosplayers and con-goers will tell you the same thing when you're in an inclosed area with hundreds or maybe thousands of people in a hotel lobby or a panel and you've been walking all day your body will lose a lot of energy and in some worst case scenarios something like heatstrokes can happen, to stop this from occurring you should listen to your body and drink water or eat something.
2. Listen to your body
With crowded spaces, walking everywhere, so many things happening at once, etc, you can become overwhelmed, I've been going to cons since I was 10 and I still get overwhelmed at 20, the best way to enjoy the con is to listen to your body when it's becoming overwhelmed, whether that be anxiousness, tiredness, or even as simple as your feet hurting a little bit, you should listen to your body when it's telling you to rest up or to eat or drink if you don't you won't be able to enjoy the con without feeling tired or anxious, with most conventions there will be rest stations or just a quiet hallway for you to recuperate yourself.
3. Dont be too trusting
Conventions are a great way to make new friends, however some people have ill intentions and you need to be careful, usually my advice is to stay in the convention area, hang out with people around your age range, and if they ask you to go to their hotel room please dont go unless your fully sure their trustworthy and even then I wouldn't go, another thing is to go to cons with someone you trust so your not completely alone or at the very least tell someone where you're going just in case.
4. Have basic hygiene
Now in the con scene, it's a little-known thing that some people don't have good hygiene and kinda stink up the place, now sometimes it can be medical conditions or something else. Still, mostly it's just people who don't know basic hygiene or don't care if you don't want to be this person, you need basic hygiene, for example, deodorant and showering after the day is great along with brushing your teeth, you don't need to be too fancy, as long as you don't smell your good.
5. Be courteous
With a big or small scene, you should be courteous, respect the venue, respect the people who work there, and respect other con-goers, you should also respect the people with vendors in the vendor hall and artist alley like putting products back, read the little notes that say not to touch, and not be dramatic about the prices, a small act of kindness goes a long way, so please be kind to everyone at the convention.
6. Always plan everything
Now this is me throwing in my two cents from experience, but I believe you should plan everything, or at least some things, planning on what panels to go to and planning on where and when to eat out is a good idea if you don't want to scramble during the last second, usually conventions have a little pamphlet or guide online of all the panels and events happening during the weekend so you can plan the day or weekend.
And with that, you have a small guide to surviving your first convention, now sometimes things can be unexpected and can dampen or ruin your con experience, sadly I don't have advice on unexpected outcomes but the best way to deal with it is to keep your head high and focus on the good if you can.
I hope this has been helpful, if you have any questions don't be afraid and ask me, my ask box is always open
I'd like to make a Mrs. Lovett cosplay based on the outfit Helena Bonham Carter wore in the Sweeney Todd movie. The outfit has...a lot going on, to say the least. I'm used to making costumes for characters whose costumes aren't as complex- how do you think I should go about this?
Hello there!
Thankfully, Sweeny Todd is a popular enough film that people have compiled large galleries of reference images and written up information about the costumes. This seems like a good resource.
What I would recommend is breaking down the costume into more manageable, individual parts. Don’t get lost in all the details, and instead look at what the basic garments are, and then figure out the detailing from there. The shapes themselves are relatively simple for this kind of costuming; it’s the patterns and trims that make it look complex. For this basic breakdown, I’m going to work off of the posted reference, but you may see more details come forth in the gallery I linked.
Start with what undergarments are needed, and work your way out from there. I’m seeing a skirt with a bustle and a self ruffle at the bottom, a bodice (can be constructed as a dress or as a separate shirt) with a square neckline that isn’t fully buttoned so it becomes a V shape and some kind of pleated or ruched sleeves, and an exterior corset. In terms of detailing, you will want to look at what trims and fabric patterns are used – I’m seeing an orange or red tulle underneath the bodice neckline, some kind of distressed and possibly foiled or sequined lace. The exterior corset has some sort of lace trimming as well. The ruffle on the skirt is trimmed in some type or orange or red trim at the bottom. Based on the way the skirt falls, it is likely a quarter circle skirt.
After you get all the trimmings and such figured out, I would recommend looking at the other detailing and accessories. Gloves, shoes, jewelry, etc. Also look at the fabrics used, now that you have all the parts figured out – the dress material is patterned, and clearly distressed and aged, so you will likely need to experiment a bit on your own with dye to get that effect.
The most important thing to do is to have detailed knowledge of what you are making, and breaking down all the parts will get you there. From there, I would recommend making a list of what is needed and/or labeling a photo so you can be sure you don’t miss or forget anything. A complex costume is much more manageable once you know what you need to do to get it all done!
As always, here are some resources on where to start when you don’t know where to start: 1 2
First of all, THANK YOU so much for caring and liking my work!! It means A LOT o me ♥
Since I’ve received lot of questions about my Julian Devorak wig, gonna try to give you all the information I have.
First wig:
It was a wig from a manga store I have on my city (Madrid, Spain). Copper red, short, I wanted to use it for Meryl (Metal Gear Solid). I used soft foam curlers and a hair dryer for my first costest of Julian.
The result:
You can achieve a similar result with a ebay wig in copper red, curlers and hairdrier/hairspray.
Second wig:
I purchased a wig from the seller Miss-Wen on ebay. Color ‘bug’, medium-short, wavy. It was HELLA LONG when it arrived to my hands.
I cuted it, layered and trim it pretty hard (I use this scissors), foam curlers again, iron curler too, lots of hairspray and hairdryer.
The result:
I can’t provide you the link cause this store I dont know what problem have but dissapear frequently :’( If you search for ‘miss wen ebay’ on Google you could check if the store is available and if you can purchase from it.
Third wig:
The second wig didn’t fitted me as I wanted. Too red for me :( So I decided to reuse another wig I had in my home to make another try for the perfect Julian hair (Miss-Wen again, honey color i think?)
The same, trimmed, layered, cutted until I got the shape I wanted.
I also dyed this one to get a color more accurate and darker. I wanted to have a pooffy result and still I need to curly a little.
The result:
My recommendation: get a pair of trimming scissors, good hairspray, a decent hairdryer and soft foam curlers. Choose a wig, with a color you like, copper red or dark orange would be nice!, long enough to feel comfy wearing it (you can always cut it if it’s too long, but its hard to make it longer if its too short).
All the wigs I used for my Julian cosplay have been styled and modified until they looked fine to me. None of them came in the mail styled and ready to wear for Julian Devorak. So, you have to work on your wig for getting the result you want! :33
