#cosplay tips

The Eyliden one I used*:

-breaks down into three pieces and the head is detachable

-lightweight

-reaches to about lower-rib level [for me at least] and I just hot glued a bunch of cardboard and made my prop for my Ekko cosplay a few months back :]

-Was also using it as a cane half the time so it holds up well from a pressure standpoint

As far as my experience goes, this is a list of things you need to care about if you’re going to ANY fair and planning on wearing your costume for 8+ hours and still enjoy the event:

RULE 1: MAKE IT SEASON APPROPRIATE

I mean, this is basic survival instinct: no summer costumes in winter and vice versa, no winter costumes in summer.

Appendix: If the con area is a covered space (inside a venue) consider that the amount of people there means it will be HOT and crowded: no costumes with HUGE props, and no long trails and long tails.

If the con is in summer but your costume is long sleeved, consider using light fabrics like linen and cotton instead of fake leather and velvet.

If you think you will be hot in your costume get a mini fan or a fan you can hide on yourself.

RULE 2: TRY ON YOUR COSTUME AT HOME FIRST

As soon as you finish it, try it on at home and try walking and going up and down the stairs and sitting. Try the wig on.

Every movement will be an example of what you will need to do at the con. If you can’t sit, adjust so you can do it (you can’t walk 8+ hours, you will need to consider EATING and going to the toilet comfortably in this costume).

Check the shoes: if they are slightly uncomfortable for the 10 minutes you’re wearing them, imagine after 6 hours. Get a gel inner sole or some patches in advance.

Check the wig: if it is not stable there are some special wig caps and wig laces that help stabilize it. Please consider this: after the first 4 hours even the most comfortable wig will try to eat your skull with excruciating pain. You are not running a marathon, you CAN and MUST take it off.

You can always put it back on for photos later :)

RULE 3: CELLPHONE AND POWER BANK

You will be with friends, or you will be alone, you might also have a cos-caddy who has all your stuff and helps with pictures, I DONT CARE. Add a hidden pouch to bring your phone and charger with you at all times. If you get lost or have an emergency you will need it and cannot depend on strangers for help.

If it happens: ask another cosplayer for help.

RULE 4: DRINK WATER. STAY IN THE SHADE

Have a bottle ready, check when you enter the place where you can buy water, check if it’s possible to enter with your own bottle and refill it.

There are some pills with magnesium and potassium you can have with water: vitamin and mineral drinks are good if you’re sweating a lot.

If you want to drink alcohol and it’s summer, no problem. Alternate a beer to a glass of water, mead and a glass of water, wine and a glass of water etc you got it.

It is not fun vomiting on your new Viking costume, Valhalla is not for the people dying of embarrassment.

Also take time to stay in the shade and put sunscreen BEFORE makeup. Trust me, you don’t want the line of the wig to be tattooed on your face in red :)

RULE 4: PROPS and TRAILS

Even if you are careful, other people will not be careful, and they will step on your trail. If you want a trail nonetheless because your costume must have one, consider a way of picking it up and walk that is comfortable for you.

There are online tutorials on how to install rings that help pick the trail up and are hidden during photos

Big props are a hassle in the middle of crowds, and must be carried by hand aaaaall day. Unless… you find a way to bring them with you without keeping them in your hand. You need a free hand for the drink and another for the food :) you can hook them to a belt or something.

Ok, I think I’m done for now… this list obviously works for Ren faire, conventions, LARP days etc etc any place you want to wear a costume and actually ENJOY the event.

If you want to participate in the cosplay competition, you can disregard this guide. In competition you can get dressed right before and take the costume off right after…

(Context, she's in her active form, she's 170 cm, so like a solid... 9 cm taller than me, but i'm short as shit - for the americans Lovely is 5'7, i'm like... 5'3?)

I don't wanna accidentally hurt someone while i'm looking at merch and stuff, do i have to go with a handler if i wanna go shopping?

I never really had gigantic props before, the biggest i had was Marshall's bass that i made, but there is a difference, Assistaff has a plastic handle and the head is made of wood and 3D printed parts, while i made Marshall's bass from cardboard boxes and EVA foam, so much lighter in weight, and not spiky big difference, Lovely has spikes and "antlers" while the bass is smooth and i did bump testing and it didn't hurt since it's dull.

Also just context, the con is mainly outside, only the artist alley and the dealers hall are inside buildings, so for the majority of the time it won't be an issue, just inside, but they are always really crowded, as in, so crowded my friends will absolutely lose my short ass, unless we form a friend train.

Can anyone who's been going to cons with giant props give me some tips please?

Update HERE ARE MY PROPS! ---> YIPPEE!

Ps: I am going with my friends, but they are all gonna be in cosplay, and i feel kinda mean just leaving my prop with em while i go shopping. One of my friends also wants to cosplay Enjin, so they will have Umbreaker probably as well ... (only 1 of my friends actually watch Gachiakuta X'D)

My universe cosplay had lights in the cape and staff. I loved going around in the dark posing with people (cca 2019)

I made the whole cosplay in about three weeks, with most of it done in the last week because I didnt have materials because of no money and was going around asking people for scraps of paint and fabric. I remember getting help with the sewing of the skirt because I didnt have a clue how to make it fit.

The blouse was too small for me and I couldnt put my arms higher than as you can see on the pictures xD

All fabrics were painted with acrylic paint so they were very stiff and ended up falling apart and I had to throw out the cosplay later because of the paint chipping off.

The little planets hanging off the skirt were mini polystyrene balls coated in glue and paper, painted over with acrylics and hung on fishing wire, hot glued to the skirt.

The staff was made with a huge polystyrene ball that I hollowed out more, absolutely covored that shit in Duvilax and did paper mache to make it firm. made two holes in the ball, one for the stick, which was actually a plastic broom covored in one layer of paper mache so that acryl would stick to it. The other hole was for access to a switch to turn on and off the lights to the staff. the lights were cheap fairy lights (this type)

Its hard to see because the video is so ass, but what I basically did was glue the plastic case with the batteries to the polystyrene ball, lined up with a hole so from the outside I could flick the switch and turn it on and off. Through the hole was also the string of lights, which is bendable, which I glued around the ball.

This is how I was carrying the staff and "wings" with me. Because I had to little time and so little knowledge and materials in making props, the only material I had to make the "wings" with was a yoga mat. I couldnt figure out how to make them thin and light enough to not weight the costume down, but also stiff enough to hold shape and stay in the air. I also did a cardboard version, but that broke in half under its own weight while trying to stay in the air. I dont know even today how Id make them, probably with wire and paper mache the wires and make a wire construction under the shirt to hold the weight and also use some fishing wire on the sides of the "wings" and attach those to my shoulders for extra support. But that might also not work so who knows.

This is what it was supposed to look like:

The balls on the cape , even when using polystyrene, kept weighting the cape and it kept falling off of my shoulders or to one side. I didnt have a hood because I didnt have enough material for it. The Large things at the top of the socks kept making them fall off (at the time I had no idea that using pantyhose to secure your thigh highs was a thing).

I also didnt make them into thigh highs, because I couldnt find any thigh highs big enough for me to actually wear as thigh highs. What Im wearing in the cosplay are marketed as thigh highs, but because my legs are so big, I could only get them up to that height. Because of that I didnt do the golden side swirl pattern on them because of shortage of space. I was wearing boots (the only black shoes I owned at the time) and they went up to 1/3 of the socks.

The capes middle piece was actually glued to the cape, because I and another person helping me, we couldnt figure out how to attack hooks to it without them buckling under the weight and damaging the material of the cape. So to get the cape off, I had to take off the head piece and wig and slide the cape off above my head whole.

The skirt was so heavy from the fabric that was soaked in layers of acrylic paint that I had to wear three petticoats to make it somewhat puffy. It was so heavy and big that I think I only went to the toilet once in the 14+ hours I was getting ready and in cosplay TT