An extremely useful list of Canadian and American cons and whether they are still running, postponed or cancelled.

legend of zelda (mostly twilight princess and botw)

any midlink (midna/link) content

animal crossing

sonic (my faves are blaze, rouge, and sonic)

bayonetta

anything to do with princess peach, daisy, or rosalina

art tips/references 

cosplay tips/resources 

Ready to get dyeing?  Using a polyester dye is a great way to permanently color any synthetic wig.  IDye Poly and Rit’s new line of synthetic dye called Dyemore are two great options for wig-coloring - click below the cut for a more in-depth Dyemore review, as well as instructions to jump start your journey into wig dyeing.

For folks who want a physical, true-color version of this chart, you can find it in Cosplay Culture Magazine’s August-September issue!

Hi! I’m Emmy and I’m a cosplayer! Welcome to the blog!

I started this blog because I want to make it easier and less painful for cosplayers, especially new cosplayers, to find resources to improve their cosplays. I’ll be posting wig suggestions, tutorials (wigs, makeup, etc), as well as links to countless other resources! I’ll also be reblogging cosplayers content.

This blog isn’t limited to any one fandom, so if you’re looking for something let me know and I’ll help you out as best I can!

Please reblog this so I can get the word out a lil quicker and let people know I exist!!

Okay, so I’ve been doin this nonsense for about 8 years now and here are my 10 biggest tips for anyone else doing this sadistic hobby (This is a bit geared towards people who make costumes just FYI. I will post another more geared for beginners or those who buy later)

1) Remember Why You Do This.

Maybe you showed up to con and were 1 of 74 Jinx’s. Or maybe your costume wasn’t as accurate as someone else’s. Or maybe it feels like everyone else made theirs and you bought yours. So what? Did you have fun? Did you meet friends, and/or bond with the people you came with? Unless you’re in the contests, remember that it ISN’T a contest. And even the contests are meant to be fun. Alternatively, don’t let any elitist fans ruin your fun.

2) Don’t Take Yourself So Seriously.

Remember that being a cosplayer doesn’t make you ‘more’ of a fan than someone who doesn’t. Remember that you do this for your own enjoyment and that is all that matters. Spend as long or as little as you want on a costume, end a con with 20 silly selfies and some new friends, compliment that other cosplayer in the same outfit because you clearly both have something in common, don’t think of them as competition.

3) Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help.

Parents, siblings, teachers, friends, neighbors, craft store employees, theater teachers, art teachers, people online. There are tons of people who could offer help with even little things like what glue to use on foam that needs heatshaping(non-flammable x-treme elmers glue is nice) , what paint to use on leggings (apparently fabric paint stretches with it just fine), ask your grandma what stitch is best for rounded edges on cotton (idk), ask a JoAnn’s associate what thread to use. In my experience store associates are extremely helpful, even with things like a second opinion on matching colors.

4) Use Coupons.

Seriously. If you can, set up an email just for coupons. Going to Michaels for a 2 dollar little thing of paint? Use that coupon they emailed you and now it’s 75 cents and you have more money for other things like fancy fabric or idk food. Check if any stores have student or teacher or senior discounts if that’s applicable, then you’ll have a discount even without coupons. Especially good for big purchases. If you’re buying everything at once there is almost definitely some sort of 5 off of 30 type of coupon out there. If you are able, this is a good way to set up a savings for con or your next costume maybe, just look at the receipt, see how much you saved and set that much (or a part) aside for food/hotel/gas/merch.

5) Look at your Source.

No matter how well you know your character or your design do not go very long without looking at the source. Working on a wig? Have a picture in front of you the whole time. Maybe sketch out the different angles beforehand. Going fabric shopping? Stare at the original. If you print out a reference pic know that it may be slightly off. If you’re doing a costume where the color seems different in every shot (like Rey from Star Wars) then pick the one you like. If you can, consider coloring or painting a swatch of the color on an index card and bringing it with you to compare. Seriously. Keep checking the source when working. It’s equivalent to “measure twice cut once”.

6) Measure Twice Cut Once.

Even in crunch. I know, it’s stressful and scary and frustrating but you know what is more frustrating and scary and stressful? It being 8pm the night before the con and you just cut that last bit of fabric too small. Or your wig too short. Seriously. Just double check yourself.

7) Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself.

Outdated meme but useful tip. If you’re getting anxious to a difficult level, or exhausted physically or mentally  address it. Take a break. Take a nap. Eat a meal. Go for a walk. Watch an episode of that show you’re trying to cosplay. Play that game. Watch cosplay videos if you’re scared of losing motivation. Just don’t push yourself too hard or you risk messing up parts of your costume and more importantly, you risk hurting yourself. Don’t work until you accidentally stab yourself with a hot iron and have a panic attack. Would you rather spend 15 minutes playing with your cat or crying and bandaging yourself?

8) Use It.

Found some fabric you love for that SnK skirt thing, but it’s infused with glitter?Who cares, use it. Every cosplay you have seen of Red Hood has a lot of leather and cargo pants but you want skinny jeans and suede? Use it. The costume is for you. Make it how you want. To quote the great Hilary Duff “Why Not?” Also, go listen to that song if you need encouragement. 

9) Enjoy The Whole Process.

Maybe it is redundant at this point but seriously. Have fun. Not just at the con, party, photoshoot, meetup etc. Have a wig styling party. You finished that jacket? Nice, wear it out shopping and be proud. Make a playlist for each character you work on or general motivational music. 8-tracks.com is great for this too. Test those seams/that hairgel/ those shoes/ flexibility by putting on your jam and dancing around. Send snapchats to your friends when you test your make up. Skype your aunt to show off that circle skirt. Put your hat on your dog. 

10) Procrastination isn’t Great.

ATTENTION COSPLAYERS:

I would like to make the paint brand “Angelus” known. It is a special paint that is for leather, faux leather, rubber, and similar surfaces.

This is literally the best paint you can buy if you love a pair of shoes, but they aren’t in the right color for your character.

This stuff coats VERY well AND the coats of paint bend with your shoes. This means no cracking!!

In the photos above I took black rain boots and painted them with Angelus Turquoise. As you can see, they don’t look black any more! It’s so good!

I managed to paint two boots with a little one ounce bottle of the paint, and I still have a third of the bottle left over!

The paint dries very fast, so you can put layer on top of layer on top of layer without it streaking.

You can get the paint on Amazon and it comes in every color!

Sound's unnecessary. SO here's a quick video of how I paint weathered metal. This is my powerfist that was painted plain black in acrylic and then got a light brushing of this stuff

It's called Rub'nBuff a wax acrylic that gives a metallic finish to raised areas.

Halloween is coming up and I'm planning on making a black widow costume. I was wondering if anyone whos made a black widow costume could give me some tips. I don't want to buy one of the premade costumes even though it will prolly end up looking better, but part of me feels like I'm just gonna end up wasting money and time and get not much result. I just really need some help knowing where to start so if any one has some tips they'd like to share im all for it.

So in October I'm going to a convention and I want to go as a deer. Like a faun, but then just a deer. You get me?

Now I've been stuck on how to make the hooves. Literally every tutorial I see uses heels and that's a BIG problem, because I have flat feet and I have special soles for that.Those soles don't fit in heels and pumps (and every shoe that isn't deep enough).

Not wearing soles hurt my feet a lot. Even a whole day of walking around with my soles hurt my feet.

Is there any tutorial that doesn't use heels, but sneakers (or other shoes)? Or should I just say fuck it and wear heels for one day? Or should I just wear normal shoes?

Get some wire (chicken wire might work) or cardboard to make the frame around your sneakers (or get some boots) and form the shape of a heeled shoe, but leave the heel solid. Take the cast you made and put it around your sneakers, add some kind of strap to the bottom so your shoes will stay inside. Cover the cast however you'd like, and put tinfoil/any sort of mirror-like material on the heel to give an illusion of no heel.

I’m really tired right now, but I’ve been looking at a bunch of cosplay tutorials and I’ve yet to see anyone mention Aleene’s Fabric Fusion as a sealant/top coat. It’s a glue meant for fabric, but I’ve used it for everything from craft foam to pax paint covered latex horns.

Basically all you have to do is get a paint brush and cover whatever you need to be shiny with a layer (watered down if you don’t want brush strokes) and let it dry for a day or so. BAM! Super shiny but extremely flexible protective coating.

The texture lends to a weird slickness, but it’s super easy to clean dirt off of and so far seems pretty unreactive to anything. I’ve used it on craft foam, acrylic, latex, and plastidip and there’s been no noticable chemical reactions.

I have a lot of FEELINGS about this movie but the one thing that has overridden everything else essentially is the fact that I really, really, REALLY want to cosplay as Mysterio cause that costume kicks ass.

So if anyone could help me/have any tips or anything please help me! I’m an absolute amateur with this, and I’m having a hard time finding full body references of Fishbowl Helmet from the actual movie. Also haven’t found a lot of people who are tackling this yet so yeah.

Remember how I said I was gonna do that YouTube thing over the summer? Yeah. It’s happening!

Since school just started for me (and many of you too), here’s a video where we talk about balancing college and cosplay! How do you pack your cosplay supplies for dorm rooms? What kinds of skills can I learn on campus that will help me be a better crafter? Where can I find out about local cosplay events, or make new friends?