The New York City Comic-Con has exploded in size, bringing thousands of excited cosplayers to the Javits Center in Manhattan for four days of fandom. The NYCC is in its ninth year, and is already beginning to rival the famous San Diego Comic-Con in terms of size. According to Business Insider, more than 133,000 fans were in attendance for the 2013 NYCC. With so many people and so many costumes, here are just a few lessons you can learn from the awesome cosplayers in attendance, so that you can create your own costume and get the most out of your cosplaying experience.
Bring Friends
Group costumes are not only a fun way to cosplay with friends, but they often carry a tremendous impact with fans. While one “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” costume is fun, seeing all the Rangers together could leave some convention-goers nearly delirious with joy. When you go with a group of friends in costumes that are similar or the same, you can often get away with simplifying your individual costumes. Take for instance, these members of the Survey Corps from “Attack on Titan” who were in attendance this year. While a single person in a green cloak might not stand out in a crowd of more than a hundred thousand attendees, a group of three is instantly recognizable.
Props Matter
A character can be almost unrecognizable without the right prop. For many people, a costume of “Game of Thrones” Daenerys, of House Targaryen in a blue dress might be indistinguishable from a costume of Elsa from “Frozen.” Avoid the mishap with the simple addition of a trio of dragon’s eggs—it makes all the difference.
A costume can be enhanced with a simple item. While the right haircut, a cigar, some claws and a white tank top can make a good Wolverine, choosing the right leather jacket for that Wolverine costume can make you stand out among the countless inevitable variations on Wolvie. With popular characters like Wolverine, Spider-Man or Batman a little creativity and variation can go a long way towards making your costume unique.
Dream Big
Have you ever had an idea for a costume that seemed impossible to actually create? Maybe you just haven’t thought about it in the right light yet. After all, one popular costume from NYCC was Prince Robot from “Saga,” which at first might seem impossible with the television screen head and yet it’s been done.
If you want to dress as the Chosen Undead from “Dark Souls” but can’t afford your own set of Gothic plate metal, check out the dozens of tutorials listed at Cosplay Tutorial. You can learn how to make your own costumes, including armor with materials like acrylics, cardboard, plaster, fiberglass, craft foam and more. Cosplayers have constructed entire suits of armor out of papercraft, so there’s really nothing that can’t be accomplished with a little creativity and hard work.
Having a tough time creating a weapon for your character? Luckily, companies like Hello Cosplay specialize in creating custom props for cosplayers, including masks and weapons that are realistic recreations of many recognizable props. If you have the money to spend, a professionally made prop can complete the costume you never thought you could have.
