Since you are on my website, you either know what it is, or are curious about what it is. If you’re in the latter group, this article is for you. <3 I’ll explain the core of cosplay, some variations and some “specialisms”. I’ve been a cosplayer since 2016 and I will use my personal experiences to write this article.
The idea of cosplay
What is the idea of cosplay? It is to dress up as a fictional character. That’s the most bare-bones explaination there is. Why would one do this? I personally started, because I never understood why people would wear sport jerseys with the name of their favourite athlete or a simple band t-shirt. I wanted to go beyond that to show what I like. And dressing up as characters from anime, manga, video games, movies, musicals etc. felt right to me. There are other reasons too: I know of people who wanted to play with gender and see if it felt right to be called different pronouns and see if that was right for them. Sometimes, it was the trans awakening for them and sometimes it was just fun and non-malicious curiosity. Or people who liked Halloween too much.
There’s many reasons why people cosplay and it comes down to self-expression and curiosity.
What are variations of cosplay?
Cosplay is not always a 1-on-1 copy of a character. There are many varations and things to try.
- Gijinka: making a monster (most often) a humanoid design and wear that. Often done with Pokémon characters!
- Genderbending: making a character of a certain gender a different one. For example: Hatsune Miku is a female character, but many have cosplayed her as a man. That concept got the name Hatsune Mikuo.
- Sexy version: making a character wear an outfit that is 18+. This is often what people think of when hearing cosplay, but it is not the main stream of cosplaying. Please do not cosplay sexy versions of characters when underage. You’ll invite people that you don’t want to deal with.
- Chrocheting/paper cosplays: instead of making a cosplay from a variation of materials, some people opt to make their outfits using one material or technique. Sometimes this is done for just the wig.
- Adjusting cosplays for religion: Some cosplayers love a character a lot, but also love their god(s) and find a middle way to show their love for both. Hijabi cosplayers truly deserve a shout out for their creativity and staying close to their own hearts. I have seen them do amazing work and if you want to see how they combine religion and cosplay, please go to Instagram and search for #hijabicosplayer.
This is not a complete list. These are the ones I either encounter the most or have a lot of respect for. Perfect accuracy is not the main goal for most cosplays. That only matters in cosplay competitions and even then you can not win. So with cosplay it is best to focus on what suits your interests/abilities and enjoy that.
Aspects of cosplay
Cosplay is a hundred hobbies in a trenchcoat. So yes, it is packed! For me it means that there’s always something new to try or to work on a different part of a cosplay when I don’t feel like using a technique that day. Cosplay can include:
- Sewing
- Make-up
- Wig styling
- Foam work (cutting, sanding, priming)
- SFX make-up
- LEDs/electronics
- 3D modelling
- Pattern making
- 3D printing
- Painting
If a cosplayer makes their own costumes, they’d be using many of these skills and learn things that might prove helpful in a variety of situations. Even if a cosplayer prefers to buy their outfit, they often adjust it to make it their own. Even if you don’t alter it, you’re a cosplayer. You dressed up as a fictional character and did that with the wish to be a cosplayer? Congrats, you are one. <3
If you ever have any questions regarding cosplay, reach out to me via the links in the Socials menu. <3
Keep on crafting!
Amirine