Each year, more than 130,000 people attend San Diego Comic-Con – the original Comic Con where the phenomenon began. And with many more Comic-Cons around the country, chances are good that there will be one near you this year.
So would you like to join the masses and experience Comic-Con for yourself? These unique events bring together everything you love about comics as well as many other elements of pop culture. At a Comic Con, you’ll find great merchandise, new artists, comics of all kinds, and much more.
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For many people, the elaborate cosplay costumes are one of the best aspects of Comic-Con. Some newbies may decide to just stroll around Comic Con as observers in regular clothes for now, but the more daring may want to try their luck with cosplay and stroll around the convention as one of their favorite heroes.
If you’re one of the latter, this ultimate cosplay guide is a valuable one!
Cosplay is definitely a great way to enjoy the full comic book experience.
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What does cosplay stand for?
Although most have heard the word cosplay, yet many do not really know the origin and meaning of the word. Cosplay is made up of the two English words costume and play and thus means something like “costume play”.
The difference to traditional dressing up, such as at carnival and Halloween, is that you don’t just dress up, you also act out the character in terms of personality, character traits, behavior, movements, abilities, etc. as closely as possible.
The near-professional costumes of the most famous cosplayers and real cosplay fans often run into the hundreds, if not sometimes the thousands, especially if you count the time spent working. Because real cosplayers make their own costumes, or alter and personalize high-quality purchased costumes with lots of loving details, accessories and stage-ready makeup. As a rule, this has nothing to do with an off-the-peg Halloween costume at a ridiculous price.
However, it is possible to cut a good figure as a beginner with a decent costume, a good wig and some great props – so don’t worry!
Cosplay ideas for beginners
Once you’ve decided to cosplay and attend a Comic-Con, you’re faced with what may at first seem like a difficult question: what or who should you dress up as?
So let’s best just take a look at different genres and options:
- Superhero and Indie Comic Costumes
Comics provide the most obvious fodder for cosplay ideas. After all, you’re going to a comic con.
But even within the genre of comics, there are many different costume options. If you love superheroes, you can choose from countless characters between the Marvel and DC worlds. You can also draw inspiration from the corresponding comic films.
If superheroes aren’t your style, you can get inspiration from independent comic book publishers. Image Comics and other indie comic sources feature many cool, popular characters that deviate from superhero norms. - Sci-Fi Costumes
Science fiction plays a role in many comics and today also plays an important role in comic-cons.
Your favorite science fiction movies, books, or shows are all great ideas for cosplay. You can choose a recognizable classic like a Star Wars character, or go for a lesser-known niche. Chances are good that someone there will recognize your character anyway! - Fantasy costumes
Comic cons today are about everything nerdy, not just comics. This means that fantasy characters also work perfectly for cosplay. Plus, it’s the perfect excuse to wear all those wings, horns or hooves you’ve always secretly wanted to wear - Video Game Costumes
Do you love video games? I’m sure many gamers will be at Comic Con. So why not make your favorite video game characters a part of your costume?
From classics like Zelda to newer and lesser-known games, video game costumes can be easy and fun to put together for a Comic-Con. - Anime costumes
While anime has its own conventions, of course, many anime lovers also flock to comic cons. If you choose an anime-inspired costume, you certainly won’t be alone. - Gender swap
Finally, swapping the gender is a great way to make any costume for cosplay even more fun.
Are you a woman who would like to cosplay as a Joker? Or a man who feels inspired to dress up as Princess Leia? Don’t hesitate, because pretty much anything goes when it comes to cosplay, and it’s definitely a new trend.
The cosplay materials you need
After you have chosen your costume, the hard part begins: turning the vision into reality.
Be sure to set a budget, because a costume can be found in any price range and all together – that is, costume, wig, weapons, jewelry, accessories, makeup – this can quickly become expensive. It is also important to consider the time frame, because if you want to sew and make the costume yourself, you will have to plan quite a bit of time for it, depending on the level of difficulty. In general, the smaller the budget and the shorter the time frame, the more creative you need to be.
Speaking of budget – if you’re going to Comic Con, there’s an entrance fee, often a fare, and possibly even lodging and accommodations. Plus, as a fan, you can spend lots of money at Comic Con on great fan merchandise, comics and such. So better be a little more economical with the costume – especially in the beginning!
It’s best to start with a rough outline of the items you’ll need for the costume. Especially important are the elements that make the character recognizable. This may include clothes, wigs, makeup and other elements.
In addition to buying a brand new costume from an online store and the accessories that go with it, you can often buy used items cheaply on the Internet.
If you have cosplay friends, you can often borrow something from them. Because the cosplay community is helpful – especially towards beginners.
Ready to use this cosplay guide?
With this ultimate cosplay guide in hand, you can start planning for your first Comic Con and a successful cosplay costume.
The most important thing is that you have fun. Not everything has to be perfect all the time. Our main advice to newcomers is that the costume should be chosen simple, with time you can increase the level of difficulty. But especially in the beginning, where everything is incredibly exciting anyway, you should not burden yourself with too much pressure to perform as far as the cosplay outfit is concerned.
From experience one becomes wise also with the Cosplay! In any case, we wish you a lot of success and especially a lot of fun with your first cosplay appearance!