What does it take to make the best possible start in cosplay?Two veteran cosplayers - Miyuu Takahara and Kenji Weston - have teamed up their experience and skills to give cosplay newcomers the guide they deserve. Expertly composed, this book contains hundreds of images, many of which illustrate the advice, instruction and ideas offered. Topics and techniques are explained in easy to understand and straightforward ways, while at the same time being detailed and comprehensive. All manner of costumes are given coverage: superheroes and supervillains, video game characters, and of course those from Japan's vast anime culture.Both authors tasked themselves with providing readers abundant comprehension on every major aspect of cosplay. There is ample coverage on the culture and history; aspects of planning out and making a costume; makeup and props; advice on enjoying conventions and starting off in cosplay photography. Matters of acquiring needed materials or items in myriad ways to suit all budgets and lifestyles receives intense coverage, while the importance of budget and time management are also acknowledged and covered.Hundreds of hours of research, text compiling and collaborating... [Read More]

Bring your cosplay dreams to life with your own two hands! The Best Cosplay Tutorial Guide Ever! Get ready to impress ordinary mortals with your superhuman costume-making skills. You can do it no matter what your experience level with this, the first full step-by-step technique book on cosplay--with no sewing! Internationally known cosplayer Kamui Cosplay (a.k.a. Svetlana Quindt) shows you how to easily create elaborate costumes and successful props out of items available at your local arts and craft or hardware stores: turn foam into a realistic axe, create a breastplate from scratch and use a glue gun to modify just about anything. You will even learn the best and most accessible techniques for working with specialty cosplay materials such as Worbla! Packed with more than 30 step-by-step demonstrations that teach the skills you need to bring all your favorite characters to life no matter the genre, Kamui Cosplay deconstructs the work that goes into making a complete costume, from the first thought to the final photo. Tutorials cover design planning, fabricating body armor, 3D painting techniques and more. Best of all, you can adapt every lesson to use in all future fandom project... [Read More]

300 Cosplay Design Tricks. How to build a professional costume quick and cheap.

Costume designer Alison Freer’s styling kit is a magical bag of tricks, built to solve every single wardrobe malfunction on earth. TV and film productions wait for nothing, so her solutions have to work fast. In How to Get Dressed, Alison distills her secrets into a fun, comprehensive style guide focused on rethinking your wardrobe like a fashion expert and making what’s in your closet work for you. She provides real-world advice about everything style-related, including:   • Making every garment you own fit better    • Mastering closet organization    • The undergarments you actually need    • The scoop on tailors and which alterations are worth it    • Shopping thrift and vintage like a rockstar Instead of repeating boring style “rules,” Alison breaks the rules and gets real about everything from bras to how to deal with inevitable fashion disasters. Including helpful information such as how to skip ironing and the dry cleaners, remove every stain under the sun, and help clueless men get their sartorial acts together, How to Get Dressed has hundreds of insider tips from Alison’s arsenal of tools and expertise.

Have you been trying to think of a way to conquer your local comic convention through cosplay? Do you gaze with envious eyes upon the fan-made suits of armored awesomeness strolling around every year on Halloween? Do you have a spot on your wall, bookshelf, or desk that desperately needs to be filled with a screen-accurate replica of your favorite science-fiction or fantasy weapon? If so, look no further. We've got just the book for you!In this book, master prop maker Shawn Thorsson uses his unique blend of humor and insight to turn years of painful experience into detailed explanations. He'll show you many of the tools, methods, and processes that you can use to create professional-looking science fiction and fantasy props and armor. The ultimate collision of creative imagination and practical maker skills, making props and costume armor involves sculpting, molding, casting, 3D printing, CNC fabrication, painting, and countless other techniques and technologies.In this book, you'll learn:Basic fabrication methods using inexpensive, commonly-available tools and materialsSimple, low-cost methods to make foam armor out of easy-to-find foam matsHow to use the popular Pepakura sof... [Read More]

"Foamsmith: How to Create Foam Armor Costumes" helps you create stunning, comfortable pieces of costume armor as painlessly and cheaply as possible. Learn everything you need to fabricate, paint, and wear your stunning foam armor creations. You'll be introduced to basic tools to work with EVA foam floormats. Then, you'll learn how to make armor templates and combine the foam pieces together. Go over painting techniques and how to add straps to your armor. Also, learn how to add lights to your amazing costume!

If you’ve ever watched Project Runway and wished you were a contestant, or you’re simply ready to take your sewing to a new level, Design-It-Yourself Clothes teaches you the fundamentals of modern patternmaking so that you, too, can create your own inspired clothing. Until now, the aspiring DIY fashionista has been hard-pressed to find self-teaching tools other than dry textbooks or books with outdated looks. Finally, in Design-It-Yourself Clothes, former Urban Outfitters designer Cal Patch brings her youthful aesthetic to a how-to book. If you want to wear something you can’t find on store racks and make clothes that express your individual style, or if you’ve reached a sewing plateau and want to add pattern drafting to your repertoire, Design-It-Yourself Clothes is the book you have been waiting for.In five key projects (each with four variations)–a perfect-fitting dress, T-shirt, button-down shirt, A-line skirt, and pants–Patch shares the art of patternmaking. At its core, it’s much simpler than you think. Patch covers everything an intermediate sewer needs to know in order to become a fabulous fashion designer, from designing the patterns, taking your own measurem... [Read More]

The Cosplay Handbook is full of techniques, and tips for everyone interested in cosplay! Learn how to create your own patterns, costumes, props, photoshoots, and more.

What’s the Secret to Sewing Great-Fitting Garments?The Rub-off—the Insider’s Technique for Creating a Great-Fitting Pattern! Do you love to sew your own clothes but find it difficult to make commercial patterns fit? Has your favorite blouse seen better days but is no longer available in stores? Have you gained or lost weight so that your most flattering skirt doesn’t fit quite right, or would you like to update it by remaking it in a new fabric or adding new details? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you’ll find the solution right in your own closet—by creating customized sewing patterns using garments you already own and love to wear. In Patternmaking for a Perfect Fit, Hollywood and theater costume designer Steffani Lincecum demonstrates the rub-off, a method of pattern drafting used by fashion and costume industry professionals that traces an existing garment or accessory without deconstructing or damaging it. Steffani starts with the basics, outlining two rub-off methods—tracing onto paper or draping with fabric—and explaining essential tools, materials, and sewing techniques. She then shows how to duplicate a skirt, a dress, a blouse, and a... [Read More]

COSPLAY BASICS A BEGINNERS GUIDE GN