Hello people of Steemit, and welcome to my beginners guide to Cosplay, learning alongside me as I delve into this hobby of substantial note.
Many of you might not know what cosplay is, or how to start building and creating costumes for yourself, and I was in the same boat, atleast for the latter part of that statement, but doing my research, I have begun to understand the material requirements for this newfound hobby of mine.
What is Cosplay?
Well, Cosplay is an activity in which participants (Cosplayers) wear costumes and varios fashion accessories to depict and portray a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture and the term cosplay represents more, ie: role-playing in venues apart from a stage, it is not unusual to see gender switched characters in the cosplay scene; Such as the male version of a fan favourite Harley Quinn being gender-bent into Harvey Quinn.
( Harvey Quinn)
(Harley Quinn)
Tools required for crafting your cosplay (Not Needed but they make things easier)
1.Glue gun
2.Heat gun
3.Box cutter
4.Respirator
The materials needed to Cosplay:
While there are many ways to create a cosplay, depending on the character you are attempting to portray, you might need little more than some clothes, material, some makeup and the like; However, I have a list of materials with some pros and cons that can be used for a more intricate cosplay design, armor for example.
Craft Foam
*It comes By The sheet, by the pack of sheets, & in rolls
*It can easily be found in almost any craft store
*It can be formed into basic shapes using heat, but it doesn’t do well with spherical shapes
*It is smooth on both sides but it is porous, So it must me sealed with plastidip, resin or even wood filler for large gaps and gashes before painting.
*It is very cheap
*It is flimsy but it can be strengthened with resin or a glue and fabric combo.
*It is much lighter in weight than other options
Some Examples of craft foam cosplay:
**2. Eva Foam/Floormat Foam**
*It can be sanded but it is messy to do it, plus, you need a respirator if you are sanding this.
*Inexpensive
*It can be somewhat shaped with heat, but far less so than the thermoplastics
*Just like the craft foam, It is smooth but porous, so use the same technique here.
*This material tends to leave a lot of scraps/ waste
*This requires a retractable/box cutter knife and a bit of skill when cutting angles
*Must continually resharpen blades
*EVA Foam requires glue for connecting pieces, like rubber cement
*EVA Foam can be bulky due to its thickness
Some Examples of EVA Foam cosplay
3. Sintra (PVC Foam sheet/ PVC Foam board)
*PVC foam needs to be heated in order to work with it
*It retains its shape immediately after heating, even if it is still warm
*PVC foam can be sanded with no need of a respirator
*Sintra has a smooth surface that usually doesnt require any prep before painting
*Use PVC glue to connect the pieces
*Sintra comes in various thicknesses
*Sintra tends to be strong enough on its own and doesnt need to be layered
*You however do need a respirator when heating Sintra
*You can create shaped curves with enough patience and care, but hard edges, lines and polygons are recomended for newcomers to the hobby (Me)
*Lightweight
*Requires a box cutter or a scroll saw to be cut
Some Examples of Sintra Cosplay
I hope you found this insightful and interesting, I am going to begin crafting my cosplay in the near future and I will post my updates on that soon along with more tips and tricks as I learn them, I am really looking forward to delving into this and figuring out new styles and techniques that work with me. But for now, Here is some more cosplay that I found.
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(All pictures were sourced from various people on pintrest)