Cosplay Positivity

I’m personally a fan of group costumes being as cohesive as possible, so I’d go for the longer blonde wig, but it’s really a personal design decision! Consider how feminine you’re making the costumes and think about how recognizably genderbent it would be with the different hairstyles. (I find that sketching ideas out really helps me make design decisions like this. Sketch both of your costumes together with the different wigs and see which you like better.)

As far as wig shininess, powder the heck out of it! Baby powder is great for dulling a shiny wig. But also, give your wig a gentle comb out and stick some product in it (I love beeswax for smoothing stray hairs) before powdering. Part of the reason lots of wigs look fake is because people don’t do anything to them at all styling wise. Just some basic effort with a wig can go a long way. 

Well the first thing to do is decide what material you want to use and make a supply list. I would go with Worbla or some other thermoplastic (you’ll need quite a bit for Effie). Next make patterns out of paper on a form of yourself so the fit is right. 

For the rest you should be able to follow the usual process of making cosplay armor (sealing, painting, and fitting).

Sorry if this isn’t super helpful but I would need more specific questions to help better.

I’ve never used Scotchgard but after some research I wouldn’t recommend it. It seems to be more for waterproofing and will change the finish of the flannel. 

Just invest in a good stain remover (I personally like Oxiclean laundry stain remover spray) and remember all clothes get dirty eventually

You could do all that but I think it would get heavy. With the right shapes I think you could make it from foam. 

There are fursuiters that make those sort of skulls from sculpting clay and casting it.

 But I found one that carved it from expanding foam on a plastic face mask so that could be another option

I would create an outer form that looks like grenades out of cardboard or thermoplastic but attach it to an inner form that fits snugly on my forearm. Or you could just make the holes at the top and bottom fit your forearm and wrist well, although the art makes the bottom look like it is open. 

((hi there! don’t mind my goofy main blog, I tried to IM you but tumblr wasn’t cooperating. anyway, apologies if I’m doing this wrong! but here’s my dilemma:

I’m going to be making a cosplay of my Queen Sectonia gijinka soon, and for the life of me I just cannot figure out what to do about the giant heart container she’s wearing on her chest. Here’s what she looks like - I’m not actually making this version of her outfit, but it’s a more accurate representation of the jewel in shape and size, so that’s what we should work with: http://electrosa.deviantart.com/art/Moonstruck-Blossom-567828444

do you have any advice? I just can’t think of how to make it without it being either obscenely heavy or just flat-out bad looking! thank you so much for your time!!))

Hmmm, I think that while resin would look cool, you’re right and that kind of approach would be too heavy. You could just shape it out of thermoplastic with a very glossy topcoat, but that still wouldn’t be quite as gem-like. Another option would be to construct it kind of in the style of fake gems, in more of a plastic. It could be hollow plastic, dyed/tinted and with a solid colored flat backing. It’s not a technique I’ve tried before (I’ve done limited work with clear plastics, all PETG, but you can look into acrylic sheets as well), so if that’s the direction you want to go, looking into plastic work might be an answer? It’d definitely be much lighter than a resin cast and could still look more like a gem than a solid piece of plastic or foam would. 

find the right way to actually get started? It seems so much, and at the same time I know it shouldn't be that much work... I realise the problem is mainly in my head, but I have no idea how to move forward right now? Sorry if this isn't anything you can help with, but I'm just... I don't even know... sorry... (2/2)

This is totally a problem not unique to you! Projects, especially large ones or things new to you, can be really intimidating. I find that a thing that helps is to write out all the steps, make a kind of to do list. Like: draft/alter pattern, wash fabric, cut mockup, stitch mockup, alter pattern, cut fabric, etc. Personally, I find that breaking things down into little pieces can help make it more approachable and easier to get started. I also love crossing things off of lists, so it feels like you’re actually getting somewhere with your project. 

Paper will be your best friend. You can draft your own pattern by making several petals taping them together and cutting a circle out the will fit your wait. Like these people did [X,X]

You could take long strips of linen and wrap them around your body while you a shirt and pants and stitch down the ends or you could follow this tutorial but use a shirt and pants pattern instead of one for an arm wrap.

You could make the mask, hand armor, and knifes from craft foam and there are tons of resource on how to do so. Just give a quick google search.

Good luck

For something like Jack you would need a ponytail wig like Arda’s Jasmine or Epic Cosplay’s Phoebe

You could also take any long wig, remove the wefts and sew them in upside down to be able to pull the hair up into a top knot. 

Good luck

If it doesn’t seem very obvious, I’ll often go by the type of garment it is. Is it a ballgown? Consider looking at satin, taffeta, silks, etc. Suit? Wools! Sundress? Cottons and linens. If you’re not sure what type of fabric a certain kind of garment is usually made of, a quick google search can generally solve that!

If it’s more of a non traditional garment (aka lots of weird anime things), think about what you want the weight and drape to be for it to look nice. Do you need a really stiff fabric or do you need something that will drape really pretty? Do you want it to be a little sheer or very thick? Do you want it to have any sheen or be a bit rougher/matte? 

And if you’re getting a bit more advanced and doing dye work, fiber content can become very important, so keep that in mind too if it’s a thing that’s necessary for a costume! 

If you want it to have the stiffness of armor, your mobility will be limited, but you can probably find little tricks to increase your mobility. I would do something like make the sleeves a separate piece and just have them attached to the chest piece with a few strips of elastic (shorter pieces at the top so they don’t fall down but some longer ones at the bottom to act as a sort of underarm gusset). I’d probably have the elastic snap on the inside with giant snaps so that the sleeves would be removable and you could just slip them on after you get the chest piece on and that way you won’t have to try to maneuver your arms through that weird angle. 

My advice would be to pin the hair and hide the pins behind the ears. Just like two bobby pins behind each ear, cross pinned for security, should hold the hair there as long as it’s long enough to actually reach behind the ears. If there are some shorter hairs in front that won’t be held by that, I would combine those pins with a few more bobby pins along the front, not necessarily with the whole pin visible, but sort of slid into the hair so most of the pin us hidden but it’s still holding some of the hair. Combined with hairspray, that should help keep it secure.