Whether this is your first cosplay, or your millionth cosplay, chances are you've had to style a wig or will need to style one in the near future.
Wigs can be challenging, I know this is personally my least favourite thing to do because it's not something I've had a lot of experience with. But by following tutorials and with lots of practice I find ways to get the job done! I wanted to share with you the few things that I have learned about wig styling and also give you a few resources that you should definitely check out! 1. Should I use product on my wig? - Absolutely! You will need to use products on your wig in order to get it to hold it's shape and also to detangle it. You won't need to use a lot of products like moose, or volumizing spray or anything like that, but you will need a good strong hairspray and a good detangler. I would recommend getting yourself a can of Got2B Glued and also Mane and Tail detangler. 2. How do I get my wig to "defy gravity"? - In order to make those awesome spikes or gravity defying bangs, you will need strong hair spray, a blow dryer, a flat iron or curling iron, a comb and a lot of patience. You will need to do a lot of back combing on the wig in order to get the fibres to bunch at the bottom and make a strong base. Don't be afraid to use a lot of hairspray either, but also try not to cake it on. If you spray too much in one area, it just starts to make the wig look like plastic. 3. How do I get my ponytail to look right? - If the wig you are using isn't built for a ponytail, as many aren't, you may either need to make your ponytail lower on the wig, or you will need to sew more wefts into the wig in order to cover up the wig cap. You can check out this great Arda Wigs tutorial here. 4. My wig is too big help! - If you are buying a bagged wig, chances are you won't be able to choose the size of wig you are buying, you just have to hope it fits. If you need to make the wig a bit smaller to fit your head, you can trim some of the elastic out of the wig cap and stitch the gap together. But this is definitely something you should do with a tutorial, don't just wing it. Last thing you want is to cut the wig and not be able to fix it! This is the tutorial I would recommend for resizing your wig. You can also size a wig larger if needed, but again, it's best to follow a tutorial. 5. Heat on synthetic fibres? - Synthetic fibre loves heat! But be careful how much heat you use! If you use a heating iron or blow dryer on medium to low setting, the fibres of your wig will become more relaxed and easier to handle and style. DO NOT use a heat gun! I tried this years ago on a wig, and managed to melt the front of it together. Needless to say, it's a bad idea. So stick to hair dryers, curling irons, flat irons and low to medium heat! 6. My wig isn't the right colour, can I dye it? - You can definitely dye a wig! There are a few ways to do it as well. You can use markers like a Sharpie, or you can buy fabric dyes such as Rit. Each of these have different methods to get the colour you want and there are lots of tutorials online to show you how! 7. How do I wash my wig? - This is a tricky one. Cosplay and costume wigs are not made with real human hair, and so if you wash them with regular shampoo, the fibres will deteriorate quickly, or become frizzy, or lose their colour and sheen. It's best to use a synthetic fibre shampoo to keep your wig in good quality for a long time. The only problem with synthetic fibre shampoos are they are either expensive or hard to find. This isn't the typical product you will find at just any drug store or grocery store. You'll need to go to a wig shop or somewhere that sells wefts and wig products most likely. As an alternative, you can use a very mild detergent or soap on your wig. You can use products like sunlight laundry detergent, or very mild shampoos such as suave. I personally have not tried the sunlight or the suave, but I have seen tutorials and blogs that do use these products. Arda Wigs & Kinpatsu Cosplay are my two favourite go-to's when it comes to styling wigs. They have fabulous tutorials, step by step instructions and Kinpatsu's book on wig styling is a must have for any cosplayer!! Good luck on your hair styling endeavours!
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Years ago I found this awesome tutorial for how to make a small compact cosplay first aid kit that I can fit in a pocket, and I never leave the house without it! Here's what you need to do:
Get a small plastic container like a pill container. inside put: - a bobbin of thread - small foldable scissors - a button - a piece of velcro - super glue - sewing needle - a couple sewing pins - a few safety pins This covers the basics if you have any issues with your costume while you are out and about. I highly recommend making one of these to take with you, I know it's saved me a few times. I'm sure right now you are thinking WOW this is going to be super complicated, but there are lots of ways to make a sewing pattern for your costume without having to know all the proper measurements or any tailoring skills. We will cover how to revise an existing pattern, how to make a simple fitted pattern using tissue paper and tape and we will also touch on how to make a professional pattern.
Revising an existing pattern: If you're comfortable using existing sewing patterns then this could definitely be a good way to make yourself a new pattern. This is how I have been making my Evie Frye jacket! Find a pattern that is similar to the item you want to make. Only using the major pieces of the pattern (back, front, sleeves etc) cut them out of scrap fabric and sew them together as a draft. From here you can draw new lines on your draft for the new seams you want. Cut it all out, trace the new pattern pieces onto paper and add your seam allowances. Make sure to take your new pattern pieces and sew them together as a draft to make sure that your new pattern works! Making patterns from tape: This is one thing I would love to figure out how to do! Making patterns from tape for armour is relatively straight forward, but I've seen some cosplayer's making sewing patterns from tape which completely amazes me! Essentially you need to wrap whichever body part or a shoe in plastic wrap and then cover in masking tape or duct tape (I find masking tape easier to mark and cut), draw your pattern on top to the tape and then cut it off what ever you have wrapped it on (but please be careful!). Once the tape is removed from your arm/leg etc you can cut out the pattern and use this to transfer to foam or fabric. When transferring to fabric make sure to add seam allowances ex 1" to each side you are sewing. This will allow for a little bit of breathing room. But remember, this pattern is fitted to your bare arm or leg or a shoe so there is no wiggle room. You'd have to add more than an inch to each sewing edge if you want it to fit loosely. Making a moulage: A Moulage is a much more complicated route and I wouldn't suggest this for beginners. This is where you take all your body measurements, transfer them to paper and do multiple calculations in order to make a fitted pattern. You can tutorials on this online on My Bluprint, or through professional sewing courses. Make patterns from existing clothing: You can make patterns from your existing clothing without even taking the clothes apart. You can trace out pieces by folding the clothing piece you want along the seam lines. Here is a great tutorial by Professor Pincushion on how to do this! I hope you found this overview helpful! In the future I can do full tutorials on how to make your own patterns! Let me know in the comments section if you would find that helpful! Here is just a simple overview of how to best measure yourself for a sewing pattern, or to make your own!
Neck: Wrap the measuring tape around your neck at the base. It shouldn't be super tight around your neck or too loose, but should sit comfortably around your neck. Measure to the small divot between your collar bones to get your neck circumference. This is useful when measuring for dress shirts and collars. Bust: Wrap the measuring tape around the centre of your chest. Make sure the measuring tape stays level all the way around. If you are measuring for a pattern this method will work just fine. If you are measuring for a moulage, or a base pattern that you are designing, make sure to press the measuring tape to your sternum in between the breasts. Waist: Wrap the measuring tape around your mid section 1/4" above the belly button. Make sure that your measuring tape is level all the way around. To make this easier, you can tie a 1/4" elastic around your waist 1/4" above the belly button. The measuring tape will relax into your natural waistline. If you do the elastic method overtop of a tank top or tight fitting shirt, be sure to adjust as necessary as the elastic will inch upwards. Hips: If you are measuring your hips for an existing sewing pattern, you want to wrap the measuring tape around the widest section of your hip area, usually the fullest part of your bum. If you are measuring to make a pattern you will want to measure both your high hip and low hip. Your high hip is 4 1/2" below your waist line. The low hip is 8 1/2" below your waist line. Armhole: Wrap the measuring tape around the top of your arm directly through the centre of the arm pit. Since I have a photoshoot coming up this weekend I thought this would be a great chance to talk about things you can do to prep for your own photoshoot!
This weekend I'll be taking my Aerith cosplay out for photos, and possibly my Sailor Jupiter so that means this week I've been updating wigs & props, checking for any maintenance quick fixes, and doing an inventory of all the things I need to take with me. So here's what I've got planned, and you can use this as a guideline for getting your own photoshoot prepped. 1. Grab a friend! - your photographer or handler or both! 2. Make sure your costume pieces are all together 3. Check for fixes 3a. Take a cosplay emergency kit (just in case) 4. Choose your location 5. Pack any photography gear you need (if you are taking it) 6. Check the weather forecast! 7. Have fun! This week I am making new bracelets for Aerith as well as styling her wig, and if time permits I'll style a wig for Sailor Jupiter as well. I've gone over my costumes and made sure there are no rips and frays so we are good to go there, and of course...everything still fits! It's going to be nice and warm and sunny this weekend and we are going to go over to Deer Lake Park to take advantage of the great scenery. We will be packing lots of water and some snacks, as well as sunscreen! I've got my camera charging and picked out which lenses I want to take. By Friday night they will all be in a back pack and ready to go! I hope that the above list helps you get ready for your own photoshoot, and be sure to stay tuned for new photos coming soon! You've made your super cool costume, you're really proud of it and you go and do an awesome photoshoot! But how do you make your photos that much better??
With photo editing you can do a wide array of things from making your photos sharper and crisper, adjusting the colour, painting out blemishes or even going as far to completely change out the background! There are plenty of tools available for doing this, but the most common one you will hear of is Adobe's Photoshop and Lightroom. You can also use programs like Affinity Photo, or my favourite (and definitely the least conventional) Nuke. I've had plenty years experience using photoshop, but never to actually edit photos. This is something I want to get better at. I'm learning Affinity photo right now as well, which does all the same things as Photoshop but for a fraction of the cost. The reason my tool of choice is Nuke is because of my years of experience doing compositing for film. In Film and TV you need to know how to adjust colour on elements you are adding to your shot, how to roto around characters and objects to replace backgrounds, and also how to work with different formats and resolutions. This is not the tool I would recommend to a beginner for photo editing, I just find it easier since it's a tool I already use daily. There are SO many books, websites and tutorials that teach you how to do photo editing. I highly recommend looking up some youtube tutorials before you dive in. Try to get some ideas of what you want to do with your photos and watch some videos on how to do that. I just recently bought Kamui Cosplay's book on photography and photo editing for cosplay and I have to say it is by far my favourite reference. She has so many great tips on what to look for in your software, what things you should try changing first on your photo like white balance, brightness and contrast. Well worth a look! I hope this has helped spark some interest for you on editing your photos! One of the best things about building your own cosplay is that it's like putting together a puzzle. You need to make the pieces and figure out how they are all going to fit together, which at times can be difficult. You can be moving along at a great clip and then just hit a dead end...so how do you work around it?
I don't think there is a single costume that ever comes together perfect on the first try. There is always problem solving and troubleshooting that you'll have to go through. Whenever I get really stuck on something, I walk away from it for a while. Sometimes I will spend a few nights brainstorming to see if there is a better way to do things. I also talk to my friends and family and fellow cosplayers to see if anyone else has some ideas I didn't think of. It's super important to try different methods until you find the one that works. Research, research, research! Find as much reference as you can before you start making something. I'll save pictures, videos, concept art and tutorials all in a folder pertaining to the character I'm trying to make. This makes it easy for me to go to one location to refer back to what I'm trying to make. It's a good idea to make draft versions and tests before cutting out your good fabric or foam. Once you make a cut, you can't go back! Try making templates out of paper and adjust them as needed before you cut out your final pieces. Or if you are modifying an existing sewing pattern, make the original out of scrap fabric and then draw out your changes on top, then make a new paper pattern for yourself. It's also good practice to keep any new patterns you might make yourself, you never know if you'll need it again! Look up tutorials and videos on what you are trying to make or techniques you want to use. Videos, blogs and tutorials make great reference that you can lean back on when you are struggling with something. Find cosplayers who have made the same costume as you, or a similar one. Look at their photos as reference or what you can do. If they have social media, also reach out and ask, it doesn't hurt :) Try a few of these out when you work on your next costume! Good luck and have fun! This is definitely a topic I am new to, and I've been trying to get out and take as many photos as possible, as well as learn as much about photography as possible!
So this post won't tell you how to be the world's best Cosplay photographer or start your own killer business, but I will definitely share some tips and tricks I have learned through experience, and some great resources you should check out to up your photography game! First off, get yourself a decent camera. Your phone is a great tool for taking quick pics when you are out at a convention, but you probably won't get that star quality photo you've been looking for from your phone camera. This doesn't mean you need to rush out and buy a DSLR, but find your self a decent quality camera that you are comfortable with and work up to the big cameras and multiple lenses. You can get a great point and shoot camera for a decent price and this will get you into the photography game. Next, make yourself familiar with good composition. Whether you decide to take a photography course, watch a tutorial online or read books on the topic, composition is definitely super important to taking great pictures! A few of the simple techniques I would suggest trying and starting off with are rule of thirds and bordering. Examples below of both techniques. - Rule of thirds: Imagine your view finder is split into 3 equal parts. Try making your subject stand in one of those three sections. This will make for super easy and interesting composition! -Bordering: This one is probably one of my favourites, because you can find great borders everywhere! Try looking down a side walk with trees on each side. If you centre your aim and put the trees on either side of your frame, you have a border! Now that you have your composition planned out, it's time to think about lighting your subject. I'm not talking about getting a whole bunch of lights and setting up your home studio, but I guess you could do that too. But first get used to how to use the natural light around you. What's the best time of day to take photos? Where is the sun positioned currently? When shooting outside it's really important to know where the sun is in relation to your subject. You don't want your subject backlit because you won't be able to see their face or those awesome front details. You also won't want your model completely front lit with bright light because you don't want them squinting, and you don't want to wipe out all those details with light that's blow things out. Location, Location, Location! When you're looking for a location to shoot think about the character's background or where the comic/game/anime/tv show takes place. Keep a journal of cool places that you visit that you would want to go back to for a photo shoot. Having this handy will make it a lot easier for future photo shoots. When you do go out shooting, take different landscape photos and architectures photos that you can add to your own personal stock library. This will be super helpful later on when you want to edit your cosplay pictures. There are so many great resources out there on photography and taking photos for cosplay, so do lots of research, get out there and have fun! |
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