Cosplay has been trending recently in anime characters and live shows. But what exactly is it? Cosplay is dressing up as a character to perform artwork, and Cosplayers are the people who do this regularly. A cosplayer is unique in that they go further in copying the character’s outfits and act as characters imitating their mannerisms and gestures.
The inception of cosplay
Although the term cosplay, which stands for costume play, was coined in the 1980s, the act dates back to the 15th century when actors dressed up as popular characters for fiction and stage plays, famous historical figures, objects, and even concepts. Today, we have contemporary cosplay, which adheres to the same traditions and is popular inc omic and pop culture conventions. It is even becoming more popular and mainstream in the modern age.
Before, geeky activities like cosplay were considered uncool, but today the cosplay community is getting bigger. Many people are getting into cosplay, and it is even more lucrative than before. Some famous cosplayers like Hana Bunny and Henji Night have been cosplaying and benefit from promoting brands by just dressing up and attending conventions.
How does it work?
If you wonder how cosplay works, it is pretty easy to understand the concept. The primary goal of cosplay is to portray or depict a character. Cosplayers achieve that by copying a character’s exact look with emphasis on details, but they also add a creative spin to it. They achieve their looks by mixing costumes, props, wigs, and accessories.
How do you do cosplay?
Performing as a cosplayer is easy. First, choose a concept or character you want to dress up like. You can draw inspiration from movies, comics, TV shows, fictional books, etc. Then pick the specific style you want to do your costume in. some questions to ask yourself:
- Will you copy the character in every detail?
- Do you want to add a spin of creativity?
- Do a special version of it, for example, a gender-swapped version, a sexy version, a steampunk version, etc.
The next thing is to buy the costumes. You can buy them physically, check out online costumes stores, or create your costume from scratch. Also, you can have a costume maker make a custom outfit for you. Also, you need to practice acting as the character to take your cosplay to the next level. At least try to copy their moves and poses for photos.
How much will it cost you to cosplay?
Cosplaying is not an expensive hobby if you are passionate about it, and the only costs you will incur are shelling out for costumes, wigs, props, and more. But you can also indulge in closet cosplay, whereby you use the items and clothes you have in your closet to recreate a character’s costume. Fortunately, there are so many cosplay events happening worldwide that you can attend to take your cosplay to another level.
conclusion
Cosplay is popular all over the world now more than ever. In some countries like Japan, cosplay is not just a hobby but part of their culture.
