Author: Viper

How to Change a Shoe Color For Cosplay

Viper

Cosplay Shoe color change tutorial

  • -Floral Paint (Design Master Brand)
  • -Shoes in the style for your cosplay
  • -Acetone/Nail Polish Remover
  • -Painter’s tape (only if you want the heel color or any portion of the shoe to stay the same color as the original)
  • -Sealant (optional)

We all have been window shopping for cosplay shoes at one point. Did you ever have a moment where you found the perfect shoes in your size, affordable and the perfect style, but the wrong color? I know I have. Did you ever try to use acrylic spray paint on the shoes and thought it worked well only for the paint to start cracking after a wear or two? I’m also guilty of that.

This is before I found out about the method of using Floral paint, a paint that can be found at your local craft or fabric store. These cans are found in the spray paint section, which is good for easy coverage and run to about $6 dollars or so, which is much easier than buying more expensive but accurate shoes.

While it may look the same as any regular acrylic spray paint, floral paint is meant to be used on live flowers, so it is more flexible and is meant to get into nooks and creases like the ones in flowers without cracking or chipping off.

It comes in a wide variety of colors and is very easy to use.

1.) First, you take your shoe and make sure to keep it on your foot. This isn’t absolutely necessary but it is easier because you can stretch the shoe with your foot more so that all the creases caused by the shoe’s fabric will get covered and lessens the likeliness of the paint from splitting where the creases are. If you’re not in the mood, spray it while someone else is wearing the shoe or stuff newspaper into them.

2.)Clean the shoes off and strip them with nail polish remover. This will take off dirt and let the paint better adhere to the shoes. You can also paint them white to bright the color of the final product.

3.) If you want the heel of the shoe to stay the same color as the original shoe (example: if the heel on the original shoe is black and you want it to stay black before you spray paint the rest of the shoe a different color), take the painter’s tape and cut little strips. Painter’s tape is easy to rip so it is better to rip off small strips and cover the section in it to make sure no paint gets on it. If you just want the entire shoe one color, skip this step.

4.) If the shoe is like a Mary Jane shoe or flat kind of shoe where there is nothing covering the opening of the shoe, stuff newspaper into the shoe so the inside of the shoe doesn’t get covered in paint and rub off on your socks or feet.

5.) Start painting! Take your time and be patient. You can paint the smaller details with a paintbrush.

6.) When your painting is done, feel free to either do another coat, take the tape off and leave it alone, or protect it with the sealant.

7.) Enjoy your new accurate cosplay shoes for a quarter of the price!!!

 

Cosplay Makeup Essentials

Viper

Cosplay Makeup Essentials


While not every cosplay needs fake eyelashes and lipstick, particularly for male characters, you still want to remain looking out of this world fabulous and with just these small makeup pieces, your cosplay will look as great as ever!!

-BB Cream


Whether you’re in cosplay or even out of cosplay, BB Cream can take your looks to a whole new level!

I personally use the Tony Moly brand Goddess Aura BB Cream, though it can get pretty pricey. The reason it’s so expensive is because it smoothens your face and makes it all an even color with a touch of light so that you look radiant. It evens out uneven skin and hides pores and smoothens out acne you might have right before the big con! This product isn’t just for girls either, a lot of KPOP stars use BB Cream on their faces because it stays on for a while and makes you look gorgeous in front of the camera. It’s one of my highest recommendations and you can find BB cream at any local beauty store!

-Contouring


Now that you have your BB cream on, you can move onto contouring your face so that you can have a better defined and more pronounced face. If your facial structure is similar to that of the character, just do some light contouring with a dark color underneath your cheek bones and the sides of your nose, as well as a little bit on your jaw line, and don’t forget to highlight using a light color on your nose and the apples of your cheeks!! Contouring can make someone’s face go from a baby face to a stronger looking face in just a few minutes!! It’s definitely recommended for older characters.

-Eyeshadow


The eyes are a key focus to any good cosplay, so regardless of gender, try your hand at a good eyeshadow to enhance the look and create a more natural looking cosplay. For girl characters, go for a color in their general theme and go either intense or light depending on their personality. For male characters, use a nude palette with brown and peach tones to give the eyes a little bit of pop and use the eyeshadow to create dark circles under the eyes for a more natural tired look.

-Eyeliner

Sticking to the key focus of the eyes, eyeliner (while it isn’t always necessary), can make your eye shape look wider or more sleepy in order to match a character. If you have a shaky hand or just need help when it comes to eyeliner, have a friend do it for you or use the tape method, where you add a piece of tape to the corner of your eye in a diagonal slant so that your eyeliner will come out in a perfect wing. Liquid is usually preferred over pencil for the top of the eye but feel free to use a sharp eyeliner pencil for both if that works for you. Even male characters can use some light eyeliner!

-Lipstick

While no one would expect you to use lipstick for male characters, a light dab of a nude color can really help create a natural look as male lips tend to be paler in color than women’s lips. For girls, go for a pale color in pink or peach for younger girls and for older girls, go with a deep red or plum pink if it matches your character’s color scheme and personality.

-Blush

You’ve got the rest of the components down, now to add a pop of color to your cheeks! Anime characters tend to have this “perma-blush” going on that makes it look like they’re usually embarrassed or nervous or just happy!! For this, you can use a light dust of rosie pink or peach color to brighten up your cheeks, but don’t use too much!! Anime characters aren’t THAT shy!

-Contacts

While contacts aren’t necessary, they add an extra zing to cosplay that makes it come to life!
Find a contact seller such as Pinky Paradise, Honey Color or Lens Village and choose a pair in the color of your character’s eyes. Remember to know your prescription and ask a doctor before ordering contacts to make sure that you’re able to wear them!
Also make sure to brush up on contact care and replace the solution often so they don’t end up drying up before you get the chance to wear them! Also remember not to stress out the first time you put them in, it could take a while.

-Eyelashes

Anime characters are usually known for their big eyes, so to get this effect, use fake eyelashes or use mascara on your real eyelashes in order to gain that anime appeal. These usually come in sets so you have a few different options to choose from. Use bigger ones for females and shorter ones for males. Choose the one you like best and apply the eyelash glue and blow on it so it will become tacky and stick better. Apply right on your eyelash line and position it well. Now go bat those eyelashes~

With these small essentials, your cosplay will look a million times better than ever before!!

How to Start Your First Cosplay

Viper

Now you may be thinking, wow! I love seeing cosplayers and I love this anime, I really want to cosplay from it!! So here are some tips to get started on choosing and creating your first cosplay.

-Pick your favorite anime:
Choose your most favorite anime in the whole wide world! It can be a really old one or a new one, regardless, there will be somebody who says ‘Hey, I know where you’re from!’.

-Pick a character you like, even your favorite:
While some people don’t like to cosplay their favorite character, I personally love it! There’s nothing more exciting to me than to be able to cosplay my all time favorite at a convention and have someone tell me that I look the way they imagine the character to look in real life.

-Start with a simple cosplay:
While a more intricate cosplay is always nice, those are best saved for a second or third cosplay, once you have a little more experience. Try shopping locally and piecing together a cosplay out of parts you can find at a thrift store or things you already have. Try cosplays like Misty or Ash from Pokemon, Finn or Fionna from Adventure Time, or L or Misa Amane from Death Note!

-Sewing:
If you or someone you know sews, try asking them or sewing yourself a simple costume out of a store bought or printed out pattern. You can also try adding simple little details like lace or sequins.

-Wig:
Invest in a wig that matches your character’s hair but if your hair matches the color or length, you can use your own hair for your first cosplay by styling it or using a temporary hair dye if you want to match an odd color (and if your parents say it’s okay). If anything, a wig would work better because you wouldn’t have to mess with your own hair and they are usually fairly cheap on sites like eBay or Amazon and even on Miccostumes!!

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How to Style a Space Dandy Cosplay Wig

Viper

How to style a wig for Space Dandy:A pompadour tutorial!


(image credit: https://warosu.org/cgl/thread/7384530)

Hello everyone! I’m back with another article!! This time, it’s for a wig for the title character Dandy from Space Dandy, a dandy guy in space who is an alien hunter and travels the galaxy with his robot assistant QT and cat alien friend, Meow.

Now Pompadour wigs can be tricky so here is a list of things you will need!

  • A short black base wig (but not too short!)
  • Newspaper or mesh wire
  • Tape (strong tape, so masking or painting tape)
  • Glue (a strong one, possibly hot glue)
  • A lot of matching black wefts
  • Black acrylic paint
  • Long lasting hair spray
  • Patience
  • A wig head (or a friend’s head if that’s easier)

1. First off, you are going to place your black base wig onto the wig head or friend’s head. You want to make sure it’s nice and tight on the stand so it won’t fall off while you’re styling it.

2. Leave the wig head alone for now and start working on the main portion of the pompadour. You can do this in a number of ways but the easiest would be using newspaper or wire. Bundle the newspaper or shape the wire into the way you want, which should be like the shape of a loaf of bread.

3. Once you’re satisfied with your shape, start to cover the whole thing in tape so it won’t come apart. If you want, you can cover the pomp in glue so the tape won’t come apart.

4. Next step is to get your black acrylic paint and start painting the pompadour until it is all black so it matches your wig.

5. Now using your glue, take your black wefts and start to cover the top of the pomp. Then start gluing wefts to the circumference of the pompadour and go from ear to ear, leaving the back without the wefts glued.

6. Measure where you want to cut the wefts by wrapping the hair up and around the pompadour, find a good length that you prefer and then start cutting the ends vertically so that there is no blunt cut on the ends of the wefts.

7. Start styling the wefts by hair spraying them and slicking them down against the pompadour base. Hairspray from the bottom to the top until it feels stable.

8. Now go back to your base wig and try it on while holding the weft covered pompadour on top of your head where you want the pompadour to be positioned. If you like the way it looks, start hot glueing it to the top of your wig. Try not to use too much because you could burn the top of your head if too much hot glue seeps through the wig netting.

9. Finally, have a friend or someone in your house style down any inconsistencies on the pompadour and blend in the base wig with the pompadour wefts in the back of the wig to make it look even and whole. Lastly, style the sides of the base wig to look like Dandy’s sideburns!

With this tutorial, I hope you enjoy your new space dandy wig!!

The great social network and apps for cosplayers and how to use them more effective

Viper 1 Comment

As a cosplayer, have you ever just wondered “Oh man, I wish I could meet more cosplayers and find out who likes what and who is going to the next convention”? Well I have too! But now there is no need to worry! Here are a few social media apps you can easily find cosplayers on! As a cosplayer, have you ever just wondered “Oh man, I wish I could meet more cosplayers and find out who likes what and who is going to the next convention”?

1.Instagram

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The popular Instagram, known for posting photos for all over the world! While it is not only for cosplayers, after just one search in the section using the hashtag ‘cosplay’ or ‘cosplayers’, you can find millions of cosplayers from all around the world! Leave a comment telling them how cute they look or how they look just like the character, and you’ll be friends in no time!! For more specific cosplays, just search for the name of the series you want to find a cosplay from followed by the world ‘cosplay’. It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3!You can download Instagram on Apple app store or other android app stores.

2.Cosplyr

Cosplyr is a social media site made exclusively by cosplayers for cosplayers! It has thousands of cosplayers already just looking to make friends. There are filter options that you can use to find someone of the same or opposite gender to be friends with and links to cosplay blogs or photos of other cosplayers so you can get some inspiration too.

3.Anime Amino

Anime Amino is available for iPhone and it is made for anime and cosplay fans from around the world. It’s perfect for anyone looking to make friends with others who like the same animes and cosplay the same characters or from the same series. You can share photos of your cosplay costumes and tell people on the app all about your convention experiences. It is a easy and unique from most apps because it is made specifically for anime fans.

4.Tumblr

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Tumblr is a popular blogging platform that comes with an app ready with all kinds of people and all different kinds of cosplayers. Tumblr is one of the biggest social media networks so there are millions of cosplayers on here. There are blogs full of helpful critique and sewing and prop-making techniques, as well as tons of friendly people who are only an ‘ask’ away. With it’s easy layout, making friends should happen in no time at all! Perfect for all those cosplayers who need some inspiration.

5.CosplayNet

CosplayNet, also known as The Cosplay Network, is a fast growing community for cosplayers. It is similar to instagram but made specifically for cosplayers. It’s perfect if you want to show off your beautiful new cosplay or even if you need help deciding on which cosplay to choose. You can just browse photos from other cosplayers or choose to submit your own. It has image editing, bookmarking for your favorite cosplayers, and private messaging. It even has an ‘offensive content blocker’. This app sounds like just the one you want if you’re trying to make new friends quickly. Avaliable on the iphone.

6.Cosplay Showcase

Just like the name, this app is for if you want to show off your great cosplay to others. It’s perfect for younger cosplayers if they just want to look at cute cosplays and get inspired to try to do one for themselves. Avaliable on the Android.

7.Cosplanner

This app is a life saver for cosplayers!! It helps you sort your cosplay plans into different sections from most important to future cosplans. You can type in the character and write down what you need to get and you can effectively cross off everything on your list until you’re all done. Everyone I know who cosplays has this app and it has done wonders for them! A must have for all cosplayers. Avaliable on the iphone and Android.

8.Facebook

Where would we be without one of the most original social media sites ever made? Facebook is used to keep in touch with old friends but you can also use it to make new ones, especially with all the suggested groups to join based on your area and interest. Facebook can connect you to other cosplayers in your area going to the same conventions you are so you can make friends before you go and you can have someone to talk about cosplay and convention plans with. Not to mention that most cosplayers and cosplay sites would love it if you ‘liked’ their page! You can upload cosplay/convention photos, make status messages, send instant messages and even join cosplay groups for more fun on your convention day.