Adventuretimefantic's longer updates

10 years of cosplay!?!?

So... while I was organising this years cosplay for the annual com in our city it dawned on me.

WE'VE BEEN COSPLAYING FOR 10 YEARS!?!? HOLY SHIT???? So this is my 10 year cosplay retrospective I guess. A month before the next con too lol.

I started going to cons in 2015, the first and second ones I didn't cosplay, I was still getting into it. There used to be 3 a year in our city. But one just,,, vanished. So it's 2 now. But there's only 1 I go to every year because it's by far the best. And if I have extra money or there's something in particular I want to see at the other one, I'll go. Unsurprisingly at all, my first cosplay was L. The pictures are long gone, it was SO bad I had no idea what I was doing. And I was like 14 so-
But we still have his costume to this day, and it's been updated over the years.

There's two costume based things I've been doing for over a decade now, cosplay and mermaiding. Mermaiding is a whole other post though, I have a whole autistic childhood backstory in regards to mermaiding.

LIST OF EVERY CHARACTER I'VE COSPLAYED:
-Death Note
L
Misa
Light
Near
Mello
Matt
(Somewhat) Rem
Naomi
-Black Butler
Sebastian
Grell
Ciel
Ciel again but the ballgown
Mey Rin
Alois
-Other Animes
Yurio (YOI)
Nagisa (Free!)
Haru (Free!)
Rize (Tokyo Ghoul)
Nico Yazawa (Love Live)
Nico again but the cyber dress
Ruby Kurosawa (Love Live)
Yuno Gasai (Mirai Nikki)
Sailor Venus (sailor moon)
Tamaki Amajiki (BNHA)
Yashiro Nene (TBHK)
Mizuno Yuu (Sanrio boys)
Chii (Chobits)
Nagato Yuki (TMOHS)
-Cartoons
Fiona (Adventure Time)
Adrien Agreste (Miraculous)
Misery (Ruby Gloom)
-Games
Erik (Seduce Me)
Zagreus (Hades)
Link Gerudo ver (Zelda BOTW)
Mr Crawling (homicipher) (currently a wip)
-other
Hooni (suicide boy)
Kagamine Rin meltdown ver (vocaloid)
Oliver (vocaloid)

That's 38 fucking cosplays holy shit. And a bunch I've had to retire because they don't fit me anymore rip. I have to decide what to do with them, some I'm keeping for sentimental reasons. Some I think I'll have to sell or something.

My comprehensive list of cosplay tips!

-RE USE ITEMS. This saves so much money omg. Use the same wig for different characters, the same blouse or pants as a base for different characters etc.
-thrift stuff like plain base clothes, sheets for fabric, jewellery to rip apart for chains and beads etc. so much cheaper than buying new.
-cheap makeup. Most cosplays require more pigmented cartoonish makeup anyway, so the over pigmented cheap stuff will work fine. And those big multi colour pallets are great for having a supply of every colour you'll ever need.
-if you need a wig to be in a fluffy style, hang it upside down and gave it a light spray with got 2 B glued spray. It'll add volume.
-braid long wigs for storage otherwise they'll tangle in the bag and it's a massive pain to de tangle.
-learn eyeliner. Eyeliner genuinely changes so much about your face and depending in the shape you draw on can really make the character feel more like themselves.
-for masc characters, contour the jawline, cheekbones, brow bone and temples. For fem do the nose, cheeks in a rounder shape and a softer jawline.
-learn to "do up" a costume. You can buy a cheap base costume and make it so much better by adding details and adjusting the seams to fit you better. Add trim, rhinestones, ribbons, patterns, beads whatever is needed to make it look more detailed and personalised.
-PVC pipe is a prop makers best friend. It's light and sturdy. Great for staffs, sword handles, batons etc. and can be made into bent shapes with angled connectors.

My fav places to buy cosplay stuff!

-Lemail wigs / wig supplier. Literally every wig you can think of at a decent price. Any length, colour, with pigtail clips, ombré, split dye literally anything. Arrives pretty quickly too with low shipping fees.
-Arda wigs. More expensive but VERY good quality and has extra wefts you can buy too. As well as lace front options.
-no joke, EBay. EBay is great for mid quality, decently priced cosplays that you can do up. Add to them and bring the seams in to fit you better and it looks like a whole new costume. Do not underestimate the power of doing up a mid quality cosplay.
-thrift stores. Amazing for cheap base items you can adjust into a costume and use as the base for cosplays. If you need something like a plain blouse or pain pants as a base, check a thrift first. Also their bedding section is great for plain sheets and blankets you can use for fabric.