Cheap cosplay ideas?

[Villi1997 1,832]

okay, so i've been getting interested in csplayig and i've been wondering if you guys can give me any tips on cheap cosplay ideas to start with

[dusk 910]

If you are fan of gundam or any other mech. series then you can easily cosplay with little amount of money:

 

[Silvia Kuroi 1,480]

Well, there's Link from the Legend of Zelda. I'd say his costume would be very easy to pull off. Maybe not, but that's all I got.

[Whimsy-Mimsy 99]

I agree with the Link idea. My friends and I made simple multicolored tunics and hats out of fleece ($2-$5), got some leggings ($5) and I found a pair of boots at the thrift store ($6).

 

As a general rule, I'd advise looking at the costume you want to make and start a list of individual articles of clothing in the costume. Once you have your list, print (or have on your phone) a photo of the costume for color reference, go to a thrift store and browse, a lot. Keep in mind that things are much easier to alter to fit you than to make from scratch. If you absolutely have to make a piece of your costume, they sell fabric at thrift stores as well; you can often get 2 yards of fabric for $5 or less, which is super cheap! If not, most craft/fabric stores do weekly 50% off-any-one-item-coupons, so use them wisely and you can save a lot of money (my organization cloak's faux leather went from $55 to $24 after a couple of coupons!)

As for wigs, if you need them, ebay is amazing. I'm not sure why, but they're amazingly priced on there. I usually get wigs from China (which is why they're so cheap!), so they take a long time to arrive. Just make sure the wigs say they're made of either 'high temperature wire/fiber' or 'kanekalon fiber'. Both are high quality and won't look frizzy or cheap.

 

You can probably tell I love cosplay, so if you have any costume-specific questions, feel free to pm me; I'd love to help if I can!

[ViRoxLover 31]

I agree with the Link idea. My friends and I made simple multicolored tunics and hats out of fleece ($2-$5), got some leggings ($5) and I found a pair of boots at the thrift store ($6).

 

As a general rule, I'd advise looking at the costume you want to make and start a list of individual articles of clothing in the costume. Once you have your list, print (or have on your phone) a photo of the costume for color reference, go to a thrift store and browse, a lot. Keep in mind that things are much easier to alter to fit you than to make from scratch. If you absolutely have to make a piece of your costume, they sell fabric at thrift stores as well; you can often get 2 yards of fabric for $5 or less, which is super cheap! If not, most craft/fabric stores do weekly 50% off-any-one-item-coupons, so use them wisely and you can save a lot of money (my organization cloak's faux leather went from $55 to $24 after a couple of coupons!)

As for wigs, if you need them, ebay is amazing. I'm not sure why, but they're amazingly priced on there. I usually get wigs from China (which is why they're so cheap!), so they take a long time to arrive. Just make sure the wigs say they're made of either 'high temperature wire/fiber' or 'kanekalon fiber'. Both are high quality and won't look frizzy or cheap.

 

You can probably tell I love cosplay, so if you have any costume-specific questions, feel free to pm me; I'd love to help if I can!

How cai I made a kewblade and sora's necklace?

can

[Whimsy-Mimsy 99]

How cai I made a kewblade and sora's necklace?

can

 

Okay, first off, this is not the only way to make a keyblade, nor is it necessarily the 'best'. This is just the way I made mine and I think it turned out quite well!

You will need:

~A dowel or PVC pipe (whatever thickness seems proportional for you, mine was 2" in diameter, and long enough to go from the floor to your bellybutton)

~A sheet of styrofoam, as close to the thickness of your PVC as possible.

~Empty toilet paper/paper towel rolls

~Hot glue/Hot glue gun

~Flour

~White printer paper (lots!)

~Paint ( I used shiny silver spray paint and regular craft acrylics, as well as an acrylic spray sealant) 

~Shrinkydink paper (This:

 

. It can be found at most craft stores)

~A screw hook (like these:

)

~Big jewelry hook

~Big chain

~Sandpaper

 

Cut out the handle pieces and the 'blade' from 2" thick styrofoam (I drew them first of paper and then, after making sure the proportions were right, transferred them to the styrofoam, here are my pieces:

 

, but remember to resize them to fit you, as I am a tiny person). To make the styrofoam fit the curve of the PVC pipe, use sandpaper to file down the middle parts of the styrofoam bits (on the side they attach to the PVC) to they fit the PVC pipe snugly. Then, hot glue the pieces to the pipe. For the slightly bulging parts on the handle (here:

) I used empty toilet paper rolls cut in half, and glued them to make the shape. Also, cut circles out of the styrofoam the same size as the ends of the PVC pipe (to fit in the hollow bit) and glue them into the top and bottom of the pipe (make sure the bottom one is REALLY well glued, it'll be important for the keychain!).

 

Now, the shape of the key is done! Next it's paper-mache time! Make a batch of the good 'ol goop ( there's a good recipe here: http://www.dltk-kids.com/type/how_to_paper_mache.htm) and use strips of the white printer paper (it paints easier/neater) to paper mache over everything. This is an annoying part, because the more layers, and the more careful you are, the better your key will look. Take it slow, overlap the pieces of paper, and try to avoid wrinkles in the paper. Do at least two or three full coatings. Also, remember to let one layer dry completely before doing the next.

 

Once everything is nice and dry, get the sandpaper out and sand that baby till it's smooth. Don't press too hard, or it'll tear the paper. You just want to get rid of the ridges the paper will leave behind.

 

Now it's time to paint! I reaaaaally like shiny silver spray paint for the blade, and I used just regular acrylic paints for the handle and detailing. I finished off the handle with an acrylic spray coating to make it all look uniform and last longer!

 

The last bit it the keychain. Get the loopy screw thing and gently twist it into the paper mache/styrofoam part at the bottom of your key (if it seems like it might fall out, glue it in!). For the charm, I used the shrinkydink paper to make a charm (here's the pattern I used:

 

, make sure it's this big; it'll shrink a lot!) *IMPORTANT: cut out the part inside the loop BEFORE baking. You CANNOT do it once it's been baked.* If the edges of the charm being kinda sharp bother you, like they do me, sandpaper them (after baking) to give it a more rounded, professional feel. Then paint it using the same paint you used for your key. The chain and hook you can find at pretty much any craft store (you might want to take this opportunity to invest in a pair of jewelry pliers, if not, prepare to bruise your fingers opening/closing links in the chain!).

Before you know it, tah-dah! your very own Kingdom Key!

 

Sora's necklace is much simpler: shrinkydink. In the same way the Mickey charm was done; print out a pattern of the piece you want (make sure it's huge!) cut it, bake it, sand it, and paint it! Then I'd probably just glue the chain to the back, since it doesn't appear to 'hang' as a traditional necklace would.

 

 

Well, I hope this helps! If anything is confusing/unclear, let me know and I'll try to clear things up. Good luck!

Edited August 7, 2013 by Whimsy-Mimsy

[ViRoxLover 31]

Thanks!It helps a lot!