Thinking of Cosplaying at SDCC? Tips From The Pros

The San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog attended the BigWOW! Comicfest, one of the best up and coming shows on the West Coast, and encountered quite a few cosplayers over the weekend. So we wanted to help any of our readers thinking about cosplaying at SDCC for the first time by asking them this question:

“What advice, tip or suggestion would you give a first time cosplayers attending SDCC? “

Let’s see what they had to say!

JMJessica & Mike

Jessica – Bring lots of safety pins and fashion tape and sewing pins. Anything you think you might need for an emergency.

Mike – Be patient and your hard work will payoff!

VegasPGVegas PG

The best advice I can give any first time cosplayer is to do a character that you love! Attach to that character, own it, feel it, be that character because no matter what the costume is it’s going to be that much better because you love the character.

ADS@abbydarkstar

Always test your costume thoroughly before you wear it. Make sure you can pee in it, make sure you can drink in it, make sure you can bend your knees, lift, sit if you need to. And do that all before the convention so that way you know you won’t be in it for an hour and then go, “Oh my God I am dying!”

BMBrian Milne

Go with something you are comfortable with if you want to challenge yourself go for it. Just be ready to fix things up and restart. Just never give-up and keep trying at it.

Vamp@Vamp

I would suggest that you go with something not too difficult for the first one and don’t get in over your head because the worst thing is when you have this great idea and then when you get down to it you realize that it is really stressful. So do something that you that know you can do. It will be easy and you’ll enjoy it. It should be something that is fun not stressful!
RR

Rosanna Rocha

Don’t be afraid to ask others for advice and definitely use YouTube. San Diego is a huge convention so be prepared to be stopped for photos, so make sure it is about the enjoyment, be humble and be friendly because in the end everyone is appreciating your work so be patient because it does a little crazy in San Diego!

KJKyra and Jessica

Kyra – Cosplay someone you love just because it makes it a lot more fun the first time and it gives you an idea for later cosplay costumes that you would want to do.

Jessica – I would say just go with a lot of friends and the characters you like because there are always different cosplayers and you can see from them and also go online and check sites to see tips from other cons.

SR

@ScruffyRebel

I would recommend to just have fun, have a goodtime. Make sure that you have your costume done before you get there.

LaurenLauren

My advice for new and up and coming cosplayer is to get your costume from me! Because I will make them for you if you can’t sew yourself. But really if you’re a seamstress, if you’re not a seamstress there’s always a character for you!

If you want to contact Lauren about making a costume for you she can be located here: Castle Corsetry

vampybitme@vampybitme

Make sure that you are not going to be pissed off or rage quit all the time because you are going to mess up a lot! Like I still mess up till this day all the time.

megan@MeaganMarie

My tips would be that you do not want to be overly ambitious. Every time I would do a costume I would learn something new. So pick a skill you would really like to learn and look for a costume that will allow you to explore that. Whether it is making a little bit of armor, or sewing, or doing certain stitches or sew ons. So pick something within your reach.

Ask for help! The community is amazing. So go online, do some research, join some communities like the RPF everybody there is very helpful and outgoing so don’t think that you have to do it entirely on your own. And also I always say when you are just starting try to modify instead of fabricating entirely. I would go out and buy something that is very close looking and then I would taylor it a little bit, maybe dye it, add pieces instead of just starting from a piece of fabric so I think if you take baby steps that is probably a good thing.

I’d say specific to the San Diego Comic-Con also make sure it is comfortable because those halls are so crowded and if you are wearing uncomfortable shoes you will regret it so fast!

zendragon@realzendragon

Advice wise what used to be has changed quite a bit. When I first went to Comic-Con there were less people cosplaying and the people who were was very much into it. So there was a lot more scrutiny in what you chose to do as a costume and how you put the costume together.

Over the years it changed a lot and there is a lot more freedom so people can take their own spin on things and they can do things a lot differently. It’s more of a matter of finding something that you are a passionate about, that you enjoy and put it on and have some fun just grab a couple of friends and go. The thing is if you don’t grab friends don’t be afraid to go up and talk to artist because that’s the way to meet new people and make new friends.

psybaneJoJo PandaFace and @livingichigo

JoJo PandaFace – My advice would be to pick a character that you love because when you are making it or buying it, when you are investing so much money into it needs to be something that you are really passionate about, something you really like.

@livingichigo – I highly recommend to not do a complicated costume like a mecha cosplay because if you are a beginner it can be very difficult. Just pick a simple cosplay that you will enjoy and that you will like and I couldn’t agree more do something that you are passionate about!

vp

@Valerie_Perez

I’d recommend to anyone going to San Diego to wear comfortable shoes no matter what your costume is. Either that or have a back-up pair to walk around because you gotta be good to your feet at San Diego.

jokerHQ

Anthony Misiano

The best tip that I could give is just don’t compromise, don’t be afraid to be picky and particular and work on something till your happy with it and if you are not happy with it keep working on it there is always next year.

ivydoomkity@Ivydoomkitty

My advice would be to always have fun and enjoy what you do and despite any hurdles you may have that come at you. Just make sure you do it because you love too and always push yourself to the next level and to try new things because you never know you may have fun doing it.

x23

Marie

My advice would be to start early and make sure to allow yourself plenty of time to put your costume together. Be good at sewing or know someone who is good at sewing, altering clothes and don’t sweat the small details just get a general look for the costume and have lots of fun!

Thank you to all the cosplayers at the BigWOW! Comicfest for taking the time to answering our question for SDCC attendees thinking of cosplaying for the first time!

Scroll to Top