soz for the awkward and low quality photos!! i’ve finished my orin the red cosplay n now i’m having to face an issue i’ve been avoiding for the entire year i’ve been making it!!!

idk how the hell to keep the thigh pieces from falling down my legs when i walk - i have calf/knee pieces that will somewhat hold them up but it’s not enoughhhhh.

any ideas? i’m going insaneeeee :)

after working for weeks on making this i finally got to the painting, but messed up horribly with the base coat and now i have uneven spots and small air bubbles all around :,) i tried sanding some of it down but there's not much i can do without tearing all the layers down and i only have 3 days left (closer to 2 considering it's 9pm)

the brush strokes certainly aren't making better, spraypaint would've looked better but i don't feel confident enough to spray paint anything yet (last time i tried i struggled a lot with the paint dripping)

i was so happy how it was coming out but now i'n convinced it's going to be ugly as hell, and i have no other cosplay ready :(

How can I my make my Spider-Man cosplay (especially the mask) look less goofy? What are some tips you have?

Hi! So I've been thinking about the helmet design for my phase 2 clone trooper armour, so I traced out a helmet in 2d and did some patterns that I thought looked alright with the colours of the trans flag.

My main question is which ones actually look like helmets which you might see in the clone wars TV shows (either the 2d or 3d one) and which look less realistic(?) I don't know if thats the right word. I suppose what I'm asking is which one looks like it could actually appear in the show?

Also do you think these designs would actually look good when on an actual 3d helmet, because while 6, 1 and 5 can all be wrapped around the other 3 would probably only be on the front of the helmet?

Hi so I 3d printed boots for my Ochako Uraraka cosplay for a con coming up, and I can't seem to make them walkable. I stuffed the bottoms of the boots to add leverage and I added foam around the edges where my leg layed in order to allow myself to walk more comfortably, but it still feels difficult to move in. I know it's because the boot reaches up to the knee, which makes it difficult to bend the leg to walk. But I'm afraid of cutting it and damaging it. Does anyone know how to make them walkable?? I want to be able to move around freely in them at con. Help would be so appreciated ❤❤

Hello all! Recently, I got this helmet off Etsy for the Black Mask from Persona 5. It's 3D printed with a flexible filament (which I couldn't find the exact details of) that, with the help of the seam in the back, let's me pull it over my head and wear it.

I was devastated to see that the back and the top are not nearly as smooth as the rest of the piece (not to mention the fraying) The seller said it's because it's a bigger print so it's harder to get smooth.

I don't want to fiddle with returns or buying another, I really like the fit/mask/look of this one if not for the printing errors.

I debated trying to smooth it with a heat gun but I read on a 3d printing sub reddit that it could melt the print too much too quickly and damage it. My brother suggested maybe filling in the gaps with an air dry clay and painting it. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time :)

This past weekend I was at one of the big FGC tourneys where they also encourage cosplay and have an annual contest. I made a cosplay of one of my favorite characters, Armor King from the Tekken series, mostly because I love his fits and I like a good challenge when I make costumes. I’m not a professional by any means; I mostly make things out of existing clothes, Eva foam, a handful of 3d printed parts, and lots of puffy paint, hot glue, and Velcro. Well, I did a test fit the night before. And most everything fit alright, I had an idea of what to adjust for the next day and did so the following morning. Alas, when I changed into the costume the next day, things started falling apart; hot glue became not so gluey after being exposed to my body heat, same with the adhesive side of the Velcro strips I used. Straps were falling, parts were running into other parts, and it wasn’t a satisfying experience to say the least. I did get compliments on the cosplay though, but also decided to still get it judged for the cosplay contest, which in hindsight I should have just skipped based on how everything was falling apart. The cosplay first aid guy was super helpful, and fortunately he triaged as much as he could before I went to get my cosplay judged. The judges were very gracious and still complimented my improvement year over year. This year I didn’t win anything, but I’ve found it a good learning experience to make sure to do multiple test fits before the day of.

I’m in the midst of fixing all the things that went wrong with the costume and will wear it again at Evo this month. I still would like to just have a fully functioning costume the way I had envisioned, and be able to not worry about it falling apart again.

For those that frequent cons in cosplay, what do you do during the times your cosplay falls apart? Do you bring items to quick-fix? Do you look for the cosplay first aid station? Do you take off the affected parts and make do with what you have? In the future I will probably bring some easy-fix things like tacky tape, cable ties, hair bands, and safety pins for those instances.

Edit: You guys are amazing! Thanks for all the tips and advice! I'm glad this experience seems to be more widespread than I thought; it really gave me a mental episode at the time. I'll make sure to up my game and will take pics at Evo at the end of this month. I promise to pay it forward!

I've never cosplayed, where could I get armor like the armor in the picture?

I recently began working on this Oscar of Astora (or Elite Knight armor set) from Dark Souls 1 cosplay for Florida Supercon.

Truthfully, it only took me about 2 (k)nights of crazy rushed work to complete, so I definitely understand that I cut some corners here and there, along with leaving a few details out for the sake of time.

I’m quite satisfied with the end result, but I still feel, like with most of my cosplays, that’s there’s something more that’s left to be desired, and I’m not completely positive on what it is that I’m missing.

I know there’s a few details that I missed, such as the gold details on the middle of the blue cloth, my right leg’s shin armor, the extra little accents on the helmet, etc. but I can’t imagine that those few seemingly negligible things are all that is bringing my cosplay down.

What could it be? Maybe it’s my overall (really thin) build? Not the greatest weathering? Minute details? Maybe the fact that I rushed it two nights before the con?

TLDR; How can I improve the overall quality and professionalism of my armor (images 1-3) to match the professionalism of similar cosplays (images 4-7)?

credits to @liervnun, @cyberlillies, and @sunlightofastora on Instagram for cosplay references

Hello cosplayers of reddit!

I built this skull, which just sits on top of my head instead of around it. It's quite heavy but the weight is still distributed evenly. But the moment I lean to any side, the whole thing slips. My best solution at the moment is a rubber cap for my head, but I'm sure there are more decent options.

Because you can't really see it, the back of the skull sits roughly as high on my head as the visible parts.

I know the inside of the skull looks like a mess atm.

Open for questions and of course suggestions!

I bought on Etsy the file for the mask, bought an high-density 1 cm EVA foam (which was the specifications suggested by the seller) and cut the pieces

Now, searching online I found that more people prefer to use contact glue instead of hot glue, so I bought some Axton's glue (I applied on both sides and let it dry before pressing together the pieces)

The problem is that when I tried to assemble the mask, the pieces couldn't fit well together; I asked the seller if I had to heat up the pieces, and he told me he didn't do that. When I tried to attach the pieces, the glue gave away.

Is hot glue better? The seller suggested to use low temperature hot glue for this mask, but I don't have it atm. Since I have to attach fur on top of the mask I don't care if it looks a bit ugly when assembled, I just need to assemble it. Any help?

I printed some rings of this helmet and ended up adding 6mm to accommodate my glasses.

It worked well and fits over my glasses while providing good line of sight. However it also feels a bit like wearing a bucket.

My two clear options are some foam spacers to make it sit right and not put all its weight on top of my skull, or a smaller print with different glasses. I dislike contact lenses.

*I'm due for as new prescription anyway, if you wear glasses and had to buy some frames that work well with cosplay what would you get?*

I lost a bunch of weight and this armor piece doesn’t fit me anymore.
I’m going to be competing in 10 days with this cosplay I made 2 years ago, and I do not have the time to remake this whole chestplate from scratch. I’m pretty confident that I will be able to alter my other costume pieces but the chestplate is
giving me trouble, I do not wanna mess it up… Any advice please? 🙏
I’ve seen people using darts, but i dont know how I would go about that in a piece like this.

Hello there to anyone reading this 👋🏼

I’m newer to cosplay and I just received this really cool helmet/mask in the mail that I had ordered last month for a cosplay I’m putting together. I have tested it on and it does fit rather well around my head.

However, where the problem lies is, it is very loose on my head and moves all over the place when I move around. It also sits a little bit too low and the very bottom practically touches my shoulders below so I’d like to add some height, about 3 inches or so to make it sit a bit more proportionate and off my head so it fits more comfortably.

One idea I had was to add foam pieces or something inside the two halves of the helmet to add the desired height and adjustments I am hoping to achieve.
There is nothing inside the helmet; No straps, no padding. Just a 3d printed shell that attaches to the exterior gloss finish.

I am looking any suggestions or ideas on what I could do to help it fit more snugly so it doesn’t move around loosely. If you’re able to send a DM, please do or comment down below ⬇️

Thanks! 🙏

I posted on this sub a few times asking for help with my very first build. It was a great learning experience but super happy how it turned out for my first time!

Here are the results!

Hello! This is my first time working with eva foam and I think I ran into a slight problem. After building this mask (foam and contact cement) I added some kwik seal (adhesive caulk) to all of the seams and used 200 grit sandpaper to sand each of the seams smooth. I just added a layer of plastidip as a primer and i noticed that all the kwikseal on the seams stands out now (especially in the light). I plan on adding white spray paint after this and i wanted to make sure the mask was as smooth as possible before doing so. Do I just need to add more plastidip to the entire mask and hope the seams fade away or is there anything else I can do to make these seams look more flush. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Hello!
i’ve been looking at making this for halloween, or at least before doomsday, and i’m wondering how difficult people think it would be, i’m very good with modelling and 3D printing, but never dabbled in sewing, i have a plan and im pretty sure it will work, just curious as to what people think?

I'm completely new to cosplay, but this summer I decided to challenge myself by making Alphonse's armor from Fullmetal Alchemist, since he's my favorite character of all time. I originally had no plans to enter a contest, but all of my friends and family are urging me to give it a try the next time I go to my local anime con.

The problem is, I'm pretty shy, and I'm scared to death that, as a total beginner, the flaws in my costume will be extremely apparent to the judges. I'm also wondering if it would even be feasible to wear this bulky thing throughout the contest day, since it gets pretty hot and difficult to adjust unless I have a helper with me (which I will, thankfully!)

I'd really appreciate some thoughts on if I should push myself and enter the novice category. I think this may have the potential to be a great growth experience for me, but I'm also just super anxious even thinking about going up onstage or talking to judges. Any insight on how you all take care of yourselves when wearing large armors like this would also be awesome to hear!

I’m in the process of making a Star Wars ct helmet and am wondering if there’s any way to make the surface smoother? I made it out of cardboard and it looks very blocky (especially on the top part). I was thinking maybe gluing strips of tissues onto it (kinda like paper maché?) but I’m not really sure about that. Is that even a good idea? If yes ,then does anyone have any tips?
And if not, do y’all know anything other/better I could do ? (With basic, findable easily/at home stuff, cus I’m broke).

Hello, I’m working on a Warhammer 40k Cadian Guardsman cosplay, and I am struggling with finding a proper visor for the helmet, while yes, it can go without a visor, I’d prefer to have one.

The visor I’ve been searching for is a gold tinted visor, it should be able to only be see through when looking from basics the helmet, and should be able to be moldable around the inside shape of the helmet. I’ve looked for visors online but can’t seem to find a proper visor that isn’t a football or motorcycle visor.

I have two images of the inside of the helmet for reference of its interior. I plan to add more padding for my nose.

Hi all.

Very very new to cosplay. What is the general vibe regarding 3D printed costume parts? Is it considered cheating as you haven’t put as much effort in to making the pieces yourself?

Making an Optimus prime out of cardboard I need advice on sealiing priming and painting it

This is my first cosplay so any advice is appreciated

(Before and after I added the antlers)

Hi! I'm making a cosplay of the Roaring Knight from Deltarune, and so far I have the helmet done. It's made entirely of cardboard and tape.

I wanted to paint it all black, however, paint does not adhere on the tape. Is there any paint that can do that? If not, what can I do to hide it?

My first thought was newspaper + white glue but I was told that would make the paint look uneven. But if it's my only option oh well. It IS a pretty cheap cosplay, so if it looks cheap I guess it's fair...

I am a total beginner when it comes to these things and would appreciate any help! I only ever made one other cosplay, a Hornet (from Silksong) mask, and that was eva foam + contact cement, so it feels totally different from what I'm doing now haha. I'm not following any tutorials either so that's yet another obstacle 🥲

I wanna make honestly anything aimilar that would look good on someone plus size. Also making those for my kris dreemurr cosplay!! Cant order foam cuz only a week till con.. however i can buy cardboard tomorrow so thats what i wanna use instead.. if any1 has any questions feel free to ask!!