Cosplay tips

Hello and thank you for reading this!!

Okay Let's start!

1) I've met alot of people, and I would ask hey do you cosplay? And some awsner: No because I am to fat...

Okay NOBODY is to fat to cosplay okay? Everybody is beautifull in his or her own way okay? I know anime-chara's can me intemedating sometimes.. but they are drawn! People make them as beautifull as they but more importantly the audiance want! It's like that in every anime! Girls are most of the time showed as gentle, soft skin and big eyed people. Men are drawn more stronger, speak more and their eyes aren't so big (unless you happen to watch a shojo or yaoi) Villans are most of the time strongly build men or really bitchy women (most of the time they have large breast too) So you will never be as perfect as an Anime chara. You will never be! Nobody will ever be!
Also alot of people who say: I'm to fat to cosplay. Never been to a con before, let me promise you this: NOBODY will get laughted at at a con. Because people who are into Anime/Mange are different kind of people who walk down your street. Most and with most I mean almost all, are sweet and take you for your heart not for your body!

2) Pick a chara you like and know!

It's important that you know you're person! If you are cosplaying a hyper person and you are all gloomy all day people won't buy it! You need to be in character for a good cosplay, and if your favourite chara isn't somebody you can easily copy then pick another or train on it!

3) Study! Study! Study!

Watch every episode their in, read every manga chapter of the series, listen to his or her image song etc. Make sure you are in chara!!

4) Crossplay tip: Breast hidin'

This is how I do it:
Get out a bikini top, not a bathing suit! You can do a bathing suit if you are 100 % sure you don't need to use the bathroom the whole day XD
Do not take one who look like a bra, take a sports one! You know those ones who are weared by pro's. Then buy a roll of sports tape (NEVER use duck tape or tape that isn't made for on your body, if you remove the ducktape it will most of the time remove some of your skin too and it hurts! Don't do that!) and ask a strong person you know (like a friend or father or uncle, I would advise a man to do it since they are stronger than most women) to wrap your breast in tape

5) When it hurts! Go to the changin' room and remove the hurting part

Cosplay is and stays a hobby, when for example the above starts hurting, remove it! It can end up with brushes and you don't want that. You are not going to hurt yourself during cospay!

6) Not getting hugged doesn't mean your cosplay isn't good!

I got hugged in my Kyouya cosplay but alot of girls who added me on MSN after my cosplay said: You looked to cool to be hugged... so I didn't ask you
So it can mean you are so great in character. For example a Lucy (Elfen Lied) Will not be hugged as much as a Hani-senpai (Ouran Koukou Host Bu)

7) Make sure you have your props right!

If a character always has a item with him or her, I would advise you also take this with you on the day of the con. And don't give me I couldn't find it.. because almost everything is findable!

8) Crossplay tip:

Work on your hips! A girl will wiggle her hips more when she walks! And that is not our fault ladies! It's because somebody once decided that girls should let babies trough that hole down there () and men don't so our hips are bigger, you can work on wakling right, but when it doesn't disappear don't mind! You will stay a girl even if you are in crossplay XD

9) Make up

I would advise make-up to everbody, When you are doing a skit, It really shows your face more so I would advise it. Also your face won't look as shiney when you're picture is taken.

10) Skits

If you are doing a skit. Make sure you do it with a group of friends! It's because friends won't let you down as fast as people you hardly know (I once did a skit, and I had a whole cast together, but alot of people left without telling me and I ended up writing a new one, 5 days before the con!!)

10.1) Make your skit light

And I don't mean with lamps You want your people to understand what you mean. What you don't want is your audiance go home thinking what the hell was that about and they will keep on thinking and thinking untill they find out. That's why the gerne comedy is most used, because you can make jokes easily and you can end it fast!

10.2) Never Ever end your skit in 5 secondes

Work on your ending! I've seen some people having a great skit but they screwed up by putting their ending in 10 seconds time. So make a good ending!! They people have the feeling: Okay that's done! Nothing was left to be said.

10.3) Be original!

This can either be with series or sort of acts! Things that aren't really original anymore (before people rant I am saying Original not bad!) The Hare Hare Yukai Dance, it's done so many times. What you can do! Is putting a bit of the dance in a skit for a chara who is most of the time really serious (like Kyouya from Ouran Koukou Host Bu or Lucy from Elfen Lied) You can do this by letting them play truth or dare or something then it's funny and original. You can also do it with Motteke! Sailor Fuku or CaramellDansen.  
Naruto & Bleach, for the most people starters, they see Naruto or Bleach by accident (since is so darn populair) they watch and they start likin' Anime. Nothing is wrong with a Naruto and Bleach cosplay. All that I am saying is.. It's an overkill.. If somebody can prove to me that he or she has been to a con (A real con with dealers and compo's and such) and there hasn't been ANY Naruto or Bleach cosplayers. I will promise you now: I am going to make a AMV or what ever you want for you!  I would silenty try to find out which people are doing a skit and what the anime is they are using.. when There ar more than 5 skits of the same show it gets annoying, believe me!

10.4) Be carefull how far you can go!

Lately alot of younger people are starting to watch anime, and their parents allow them to go to cons. You don't want to scare them off with hard Yaoi, Yuri or using strong language. I think Kissing is alright, but do not go any further than that! Because you like going futher doesn't mean the whole audiance does! You don't want to scare them away

10.5) Explain why you're doing something!

If you are putting a male in a dress when he would never do that in the anime explain why you did that! It can be losing a bet or wanting money, but you need to explain it! Otherwise people get the huh?-idea!

10.6) Don't make your cosplay group to big

I would go from 1 (if you are very brave to do it alone) but never more than 10 people (unless you are doing a dance with the whole cast of the anime) but It's hard to give them all text and most of the time there aren't enough mic's to voice everybody! You can always pre-record but you have to know that It CAN go wrong with the system of the Techique group. If that happens and they lose you're voice file, your pretty much screwed so always think What If!

10.7) Study the stage you have,

you can go to the mainstage every time of the day, so when you're act is on 12 o' clock to there as soon as you get to the con to see how far you can walk and you can give and discuss the places where you can stand best (How I do it: Stand infront of the stage from several angles, sit on the chairs in  the front and in the back and let somebody stand infront or the stage (not on it if you don't know it's allowed!!!) and watch how it looks from those places!)

10.8) Don't make a super complicated light show or use super complicated sound effects!

You can't have a rockshow light show.. Just accept that! You can ask if they can dim the light when you get on or off but don't ask: Okay so when he gets on you dim the light and you must add a green filter when he comes up and a red one when she comes up
Don't do that!
The same goes for music. The only music I use in my skits are 15 seconds of the opening or ending, but not more and don't play music while you are talking, it gets unhearble! And don't ask to play different music which every single character and soundeffects are a nogo at all! It gets to hard! And it looks stupid if it doesn't work or it starts to soon or to late. You can do this when you pre-record your skit but remeber the what if..!

10.9) Name your anime in your skit

Some anime are very populair and they have outfits that everybody know! (The Ouran school uniform is one like them so are the Naruto costumes and Ed and Roy from FMA) If you have an anime that is not very populair or you use other outfits (like Ouran, they cosplay in like.. almost every episode!) Name your anime! Or use full names of your chara! It will get easier to understand!

10.10) Don't sing if you can't

Really, leave it for the karaoke! Not bad ment but I don't think it's good for you and your skit if you sing and you have a voice that sounds like 1000 nails scratchin on a schoolboard!

11) Wigs

Wigs don't really have to! You can do your own hair the same style and it won't mind much, if you are going to buy a wig, be sure you're real hair isn't sticking out of it! and check it when you go to the bathroom or if you're going to drink something, go to a mirror and look if it still is good!

11.1) Wig styling

NEVER use products that are made for real hair on wigs! You wig will fall apart and it looks horrible too!
You can buy special combs and shampoo for your wig, but if you keep it clean and use a hair net you won't really need it. If you want to comb the hair you can also use a licecomb (A CLEAN ONE!! And if you aren't sure put it in boiling water and push it under water sometimes)
It works! It does and it's cheaper than a wig comb.
Never brush the base of your wig, only the hair part, you will kill your wig by combing the base!

12) Resource!

If somebody has done the chara before your can ask him or her to make picturers of the outfit and you can use it as an example you can also ask them for tips and alike!

13) If you are doing a chara you don't feel compfy with DON'T DO IT!

Like (let me use this old skool one) Sailor Moon, short skirts! If you don't like that then don't! Even if all your friends are going to be part of the sailor moon cast. If you don't want to wear a mini skirt.. DON'T! You need to feel right on the con

14) Remove body hair..

A cosplay is never bad! It never is!! but you can remove you're body hair when you are wearing a skirt and a sleeveless shirt.. people don't like it when they see all hairy stuff coming from under your arms, it basically that part, hair on your arms you can leave it.. but please remove it under your arms!!!

15) Take your deodorant!

Really! It's not your fault but most of the cosplay costumes are hot! and it doesn't mind if you make it or buy it. Like the Ouran school uniform, a black pants, a blazer, a shirt and a tie! It's hot! But you can take your deodorant and spray every now and then. It's for your own good and for the good of others XD

16) Be carefull not to poke peoples eye out or hit them with stuff.. XD

Like the Kyouya in Drag cosplay I am making. There is a hoop in that and in a dealer room or just on the con grounds you can hit people, be carefull! If you have wings the same, when your outfit as pointy stuff, make a cover of foam to put it on it, YOu can really hurt people bad with cosplay props and you don't want that! or do you...



But the most important thing of all: Have Fun!