#cosplay making portfolio

[sarxastixx-revisi3-asdfasdfasdf]

Yukari Takeba Persona 3 Cosplay Log

I'll just compile these in a post 🫠🫠🫠

Honestly, this costume quite rushed because there's a lot things happenned on these 2 months back yet I have to finish it for last weekend photoshoot session(it was the "Cosplayer Curse" after all)

I rly want to finish her outer jacket, choker(yes, I rushed to made one and it broke in the midst of photoshoot fml), and both her weapon and evoker as well later on. Might change her skirt as well since it was too short on me..

[toughtinkcosplay]

This is super duper still under construction, but I've been slowly building my own cosplay archive website! I really only have 2023's cosplays up so far along with a couple others, but I'm really proud to have been able to code even this much.

I'd like to give it a snazzier layout in the future, maybe one with some pixel art flair, but I'm happy to say I have a little place of my own for the moment!

[basslinegrave]

..

[undistortedworld]

*voice of the mc from starmyu* I DONT KNOW HOW TO GIVE UP ON MY DREAMS!!! :D

rekindled my passion for theatre costume and refuse to give up despite failing to get contacts and a job out of uni and some of my teachers convincing me i was shit and the elitism of a lot of the costume industry ;^; it was my dream for so so long!!!! i tried so so so hard!!! why should it be too late!!! i am STUBBORN and DETERMINED it is my best and worst trait and i cant believe it failed me for a while BUT NOT ANYMORE

[skautism]

stress stress stress syress

[boygirlctommy]

barely caught the last few minutes of tommys stream, but it doesnt matter bcus i still cried my eyes out :,) i love you dsmp and most of all i love you dsmp fandom <3

[feraltragedy]

Just a short Noah drabble, part 2 whenever I can get my thoughts into words.

No content warnings apply for this one, just a hot boy in a mask and mild adult themes.

@thelesbianwithissues @concreteangel92 @madomens @lilhobgobbler

Ghost

I send a text to my best friend telling him I have great news I want to share. His reply a short ‘I'm home bunny.’ With the letter in my hand, I make my way to his house.

Coming through the door of the house I see the faces of my friends except Noah. “Upstairs, he's getting ready to stream.” Nicholas is quick to notice my searching eyes.

“I've got some really good news, let me share with Noah first and I'll come back down and tell you guys too!” I head for the stairs and make my ascent.

Noah was the only one who knew about The Tortured Poet Society reaching out to me after finding a story I had posted. When they wanted me to send in a portfolio for review to possibly land me a seat at the round table, I had called him immediately freaking out. I didn't want to tell anyone else about the application. If they rejected me, it would just be a disappointment. They are like the most elite book club, some of the best authors make up the table.

Reaching my best friend's room I opened the door, stepping inside I almost forget why I'm here. The sight before me clouding my already excited mind.

“You're really gonna stream like that, sweets?” His shoulders only shrugged in response. “I got the letter today.” Holding the piece of paper up, I make my approach.

He sits low in his chair, hips all the way forward and long legs spread wide. My eyes can't help but rake up his form, from his lap where his hand rests on his thigh, up his bare torso and landing on the mask hiding his face. Tattoos on display, and freckles painting the tops of his shoulders.

Normally I wouldn't think twice about plopping myself on his lap. But this all feels too intimate. I'm pretty sure I don't have a thing for masks, but knowing it's him underneath the Ghost cosplay is setting me ablaze. I stand directly in front of him, just between his knees to read the letter.

As I'm reading I don't realize my left leg has risen to rest on his thigh, bent at the knee. A warm hand on the top of my thigh just below the hem of my skirt makes me suddenly aware of just how I am encroaching on his space.

“Uh, so yeah, I'm in! I can't believe I'm actually in!” “I already knew they would love you bunny. You're so good.” He spoke for the first time and his voice is lower and deeper than usual, getting husky with his last statement.

A noise from his computer cuts through the haze, his stream friends are waiting for him. I bite my lip and sit the letter down on the desk, placing both my hands at the top of his chest. My fingers rest against the chain around his neck, the cold material a stark contrast to his hot skin. His hand on my thigh slides up slightly as I lean in, planting a kiss on the mask. I move my head close to his ear and give my best sultry whisper.

“I'll let you get to your stream, sweet boy.” I pull away, making a show of letting one of my hands trail down his torso as I bring myself back to standing. Instead of turning to walk away I opt to back away slowly, drinking as much of him like this as I can. My hands interlocked behind my back, a subconscious move to keep me from reaching out for him more. “I've got an early morning, I'll see you tomorrow.” “You can count on it, bunny.”

I reluctantly make my way out of the room, eyes never leaving his form until the door blocks my line of sight. For once, I don't care if he knows the effect he has on me. Instead, I want him to know.

Downstairs I share the news with the rest of the guys. “Congrats bunny!” Matt says, not knowing the sultry way that nickname fell from Noah’s masked lips just moments before. Each of the boys congratulate me and pull me into an array of tight hugs before I leave for the night.

My car feels quiet and empty. I turn on some music, body still hot and mind cloudy. Pulling out of the driveway, “The Feels” by Labrinth and Zendaya plays.

That boy will be the death of me.

[sarxastixx-revisi3-asdfasdfasdf]

Kagenou Cid Wig Commission

A friend of mine commissioned me to style his wig. A bit rushed, but works.....kinda?

I even had to make a special box just to carry it around since the plastic wrap didn't fit.

I find it a bit difficult to work with cheaper wig(I used the cheapest option due to my own friend request.....I usually asked my clients to provide themselves their own wig to style), but still works! I just had to work around with less heat since cheap wig doesn't really stand heat that much, compared to other wigs.

[rabbittwinrithings]

An Announcement

(The announcement below is copied from my discord)

   Hey everyone! This announcement has been a long time coming, I’ve just been pretty busy these past months. This announcement will have some good news, but also, some bad news. 

   First off, the good news: 

   End of last year I graduated from college and a few months after I got a new job! I had to move to a whole new state and it’s been perhaps one of, if not the, best experience of my life. This job has been amazing. My new place has been amazing. And just my life in general has been amazing! I can’t remember the last time I’ve been so content in my life! Sometimes I’ll just start looking around and be struck with disbelief that things turned out so well for me. Basically, I got a really nice job in writing and I couldn’t be happier! 

   With this new job, it has also given me time to discover old and new hobbies such as writing my own new material, reading, and I’m getting back into playing/running Dnd! (And once I get my hands on my sewing machine next month you better bet I’m gonna start sewing again!! And get back into cosplaying!!!) 

   But with this all new amazingness comes with a down side. My new job offers little time in the terms of modding. By the time I’m done with work I’m usually exhausted. (this may also be health related which I’m trying to figure out, but we’ll see.) And on the weekends I find myself looking for new hobbies. 

   Let me rip the bandaid off real quick:

   For now, I will no longer be working on my mods. That doesn’t mean I hope nothing new comes out of them. I’m still hoping to make an announcement later that may open up *some* of my mods for fan made expansions (if users wish to do so,) but I’m still trying to get all that sorted out. There was a lot of update work being done, and I’m still figuring out what to do with it. 

   I also still love seeing mod patches like replacers, translations, and such (like always, just shoot me a message first so I know they’re coming out.) 

   This also doesn’t mean it’s forever over. One day, I may return, but for now, I’m stepping aside.

With that sad news said, I want to let all of you know what a ride all this has been! I first started modding because I wanted to find a creative writing outlet, then it turned into realizing I could make a portfolio for a future career with it, and then, finally, I realized how many people enjoyed my work. There were a lot of times where I self doubted whether or not I was a good writer, but seeing the overwhelming support over the years for my art has helped me get over that. My final years of college weren’t great, and modding and you all helped me through the vast majority of it. Because of all that, I want to thank each and every one of you for your support!

   Now, just because I’m stepping away from modding doesn’t mean I want to stop creating. Like I said, I still love writing in my free time, so maybe in the future I can post various personal writings I make here. 

   And with that, once I get everything figured out about the future of my mods, this server may be taking a shift in a new direction from being solely about Sidekicks of Tamriel, but just as a general Rabbitt Winri server and whatever personal projects I pursue in the future. (I will also be changing my various social media accounts accordingly too.)

   Once again, I cannot thank all of you enough for what you’ve done for me! None of this would have been possible without you!

[gikabizine]

QNA time!

The forms are closed, and there's been a total of 82 responses! Woo! Thank you so much everyone <3 (Also, psst, mods applications open tomorrow, for those interested hehe)

Though of course, you also left a lot of questions which we shall answer below!

All of these answers are being written by @somethinginworl

Why do you want to make the zine in the first place? Since the Kirby gijinka fandom is rather small and some people are either too shy to share their designs or haven’t considered even making it, I thought making a nice cozy event would be the perfect opportunity to bring the fandom together and even inspire new people to make them!

I know I said "first come first served here but like. Why can't we just. Draw whichever gijinkas we want. Just curious

Firstly, we do want to push people into making new gijinkas, or artworks of characters people usually don’t consider! Secondly, if that were the case then the zine would just be 50% Magolor. With all due respect I don’t find it exciting and I’d rather have more variety.

Will there be limited slots? Or as more people join more characters added for gijinkas.

If you’re talking about slots of the zine itself, we’ve decided 35 participants is good. If you’re talking about character slots, we do have characters planned to put in a list so people can pick, but if someone wants to pick a character that is outside of the list provided we’ll allow it to as long as it’s from Kirby.

Is this whole thing basically like a newspaper?

It’s more akin to, well, a magazine. Each page consists of one artwork/photo/illustration.

Will only certain people get certain characters?

No.

Is there a problem if you’re under 16? Does this make you unable to participate? || I was just curious since I am 16 years of age, would I need to be older to participate?

The team believes working with folks over 16 will make the event run smoothly and be more active :) So yes, you need to be 17 and over to participate.

I wonder if the anime counts in this, but if not that's fine too || Does Gijinkas of like places count? Like i have a Fountain of Dreams Gijinka and I’m like really obsessed with her, but not sure if she would count or not

We’ll count anything that is within Kirby canon, including anime and places.

After the survey time, will you send us a message?

The survey doesn’t collect emails or usernames, so no.

Would quilting or plushy making count and would that fall under arts and crafts?

Yes!

has the timeline of the zine been figured out yet? are there limited spaces?

It has! Take a look

Mod Applications

9 Nov - 16 Nov

Mod App results send

by 20 Nov

Contributor Applications

1 Feb - 15 Feb

Contributor App results send 23 Feb - 28

Contributor Confirmation Deadline

4 March

Check-in 1 15 May

Check-in 3 15 August

Final submissions 1 June

Layout & Format Revisions June 2024

Zine ready for download July 2025

and yes, it is 35 applicants.

When do we know if we're picked or not ? So I don't bring on confusion like last time

Not sure what you mean by last time, but we’ll email you if you got in or not.

Will the event need a portfolio?

Yes, we stated it in the carrd FAQ

en que idiomas se presentara? hablo español y no entendi muchas preguntas

Inglés, tenemos dos mods que hablan español (Mod Capn y Mod Michi) pero lo haremos en inglés, si tienes alguna duda nos puedes preguntar de todas formas.

Would cosplay be an acceptable medium for the zine? If so, that may affect some of my choices haha but my current answers are for 2D art ATM!

Yes! You will need to send cosplays you have designed, and since it’ll be rainbow themed you have to have some photography experience, but we’ll be far less strict on the case of cosplays. Please look at the schedule to see if you can make a cosplay in the amount of time given.

Will everyone have one character to draw or can you draw two characters together?

The character you will be assigned is supposed to be the main character within your illustration, but feel free to include any other character as long as it doesn’t take the focus away from the main.

-

And that's all folks! If you've got anymore questions, feel free to shoot us an ask! Have a nice day!

[lohstandfound]

I don't know if this is ever going to leave the drafts (if anyone sees this, you can tell I've just said fuck it) but I have many thoughts on bmc but if it was in new Zealand. Or if some of the characters were Māori. Is it largely bullshit? Yeah. Do I care? No. The concept has been swimming around my head for ages I just finally need to get it out

First off. Armageddon. Michael and Jeremy are going every year. In cosplay. Pre Squip Rich would have too. Armageddon = convention.

Anyway, Chloe and Jake as being Māori. Well. Undecided on Chloe, but if she were she would have the pukana down to an art.

This is where projection comes in with Jake. Jake pretends a lot, deflects his own feelings. Let's add in a small identity crisis but making him a white-passing Māori who doesn't know where he whakapapas too. He knows he's Māori but with his parents not encouraging it as he gets older and then just leaving, he's lost the only real tie to who he is and if he doesn't know who he is then what's the point in trying to forge that connection himself when he has no idea where to start. The language that he grew up learning is foreign to him. There's a hole that he just can't fill and there are options for him to take but he won't. After all, who would believe him if he tried to stake his claim?

Speaking of Jake, he's head boy material. If he's not head boy, he's house captain. He'd hold records for athletics and swimming sports.

I don't think this was a universal NZ high school experience, but my high school had a parables competition (yay! go Catholic school! /sarcasm) which was basically each house did a short play that was lovely based on a parable and full of jokes and references. This has Christine written all over it.

(speaking of Catholic education, I do occasionally think about the concept of Jake being raised Catholic. He'd have top marks in religious studies but god he'd be even deeper in the closet)

Brooke and Michael both take art. Michael falls victim to the 'term 4 rush to complete the art portfolio because you spent the whole year procrastinating' curse and rushing to put something together. Brooke has it done in plenty of time. One year, Michael finished his portfolio right before it had to be packed up and sent away.

Brooke makes it to the excellence exhibition for her level three portfolio

Chloe is the type of girl to get all her clothes from Glassons

A while ago I made a post about Jake shopping at Factorie, which I don't think is around anymore. But I walked past it once and everything was brightly coloured and fluorescent

Chloe and Brooke have matching Pandora bracelets. I don't think that's strictly a kiwi thing but they absolutely would

Speaking of Brooke and Chloe, we have no Pinkberry. My town used to have Kiwiberry, so I guess that's the equivalent?? Or they go to Tank and get smoothies.

Christine participates in Summer Shakespeare, or the Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festivals.

I don't think much would really change plot wise. Jeremy buys his Squip in the back of a Kmart. Not sure where Michael's getting his vintage fizzy from. Jake's 100% an over achiever. They're all likely to be wearing school uniforms, and Jake would 100% have a blazer (if he can't have a letterman, he gets a school blazer. It's close enough). My only thing is that school productions (in my experience and observations) happen in the middle of the year? Before Halloween. And if they're juniors in high school, then I would assume they would be like year 12. So that's really getting to the time of year where they have like a week or two left of school because exams start in November. So the climax of the play and Jake's Halloween party don't line up.

The only way I can think of it working is starting, like, the year before? Midway through the plot is when the cast would join the play. Jake's party could just be a regular house party during the term breaks. Or, y'know, I could be completely wrong regarding the timings of school productions. But exams do start in November so the characters wouldn't really be in school.

Unless the squip tries to hijack prize giving which would really be an odd choice.

(i actually took a look at when some of the local high schools do their shows and scratch all that, it could work out since they do their shows in march which would mean they probably would start preparing the year before? im not 100% sure considering that is a lot of time for a show- maybe too much. most of the theatre i did during high school was not at school. the theatre i did at school aligned more with a musical but put most of the focus on dancing rather than plot. anyway, those happened in like september)

(im putting way too much thought into the logistics for the plot of a silly little musical that takes place in new jeresy)

Jake's that kid that needs help carrying all his awards and trophies off the stage at prize giving.

If I were to assign them house colours, Jake and Michael are obviously red, Chloe is blue, Rich is green, Brooke is yellow. Not sure about Jeremy, Christine, or Jenna. Are houses a thing in us schools?

Christine becomes performing arts committee leader, Chloe becomes the social committee leader who plans the school ball (Brooke and Jenna are also on the committee).

Chloe is a netball girlie. All the girls who you could possibly think of as the mean girls all played netball

(and they all had platinum blonde hair too...)

Jake, Brooke, Rich and Chloe all have lunch bordering on the out of bounds area, where teachers don't often pass. Jeremy and Michael have a classroom. Michael gets his slushies from the school tuck shop.

Chloe did Kapa Haka as a kid. Undecided whether or not she still does in high school.

Jake gets an excellence endorsement in every subject because of course he does

[poppetsisters]

How did the Fantastic Four cosplay get made?

It started with an idea: to create the most comic accurate fantastic four costume possible. Already I'm hit with the question "but there's so many suits in the comics, so which suit will you choose?" I decided the easiest answer would be "The First One"

Okay I meant "The Second One."

There we go.

Now this costume is not the same as the the costume they wear for the majority of the Kirby run. By issue 6, the costume above was phased out for one without a turtleneck, a blue ring around the 4, a thinner belt, and no drop shadow on the 4. The only change I prefer is that Susan is no longer wearing high heels.

I like the first design better for its distribution of color. The thicker belt just reads nicer to my eyes, and the blue ring around the 4 makes no sense to me. Blue on blue? I also just really like turtlenecks.

Tangent aside, once I decided on a costume, it was time to get to work on the design. Part of the reason I made a Fantastic Four costume retrospective was in preparation for this project. Using the combined lore of the F4 costumes, I could synthesize the most accurate design possible, and my findings can be found below.

I've seen a lot of cosplays too, and part of my secondary goal was to avoid a lot of their shortcomings. I didn't want any bad materials, so I did my research and found materials that best fit my autism texture preferences. I also wanted to be very precise about where the gloves, belt, boots, and turtleneck were placed, hence why I decided to sew them all on, rather than be separate pieces. In an ideal world, there would've been no zipper, but what good is a suit you can't put on?

My brightest idea was separating the leotard from the trousers, instead of having one body suit. This was done as a practical measure to prevent tearing (which is exactly why real strong men in the circus wore them, which in turn inspired Superman's design, and the rest is history. For the F4, I interpreted Jack's artwork as a leotard, or maybe just underpants on the outside. As far as I'm aware, no cosplayer has noticed or applied this to their suit.

Next was a matter of finding someone to make this. I'm an artist, not a tailor after all. Twitter bots flooded my DMs, but what didn't disappoint me was Etsy. I DM'd a few sellers, gauging their personality and their previous work. I settled on PingPing, who you can find here: https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/PingPing

Their portfolio was exactly what I was looking for, and they were wonderful to work with. They asked for additional measurements, were up-front about materials, and were very fast!

Here's the catch. Their page says they use polyester spandex, which was what I wanted, but when they got back to me about materials, they gave me a nylon spandex blend. This made me nervous because I didn't know how this material felt, but every website I read told me it was ideal for sportswear and moving around as it was comfy and good at keeping sweat in, which was what I was looking for regardless.

The real issue was that nylon and spandex is one of the worst fabrics for printing. Nylon/Spandex doesn't do well with a heat press, either melting the fabric or causing shrinkage. In addition, the tight weave makes it really hard to allow flex in printed elements, not to mention adherence.

Their solution to this was to stitch on the logo, but I watched the 1994 Fantastic Four movie where they did just that, and it looked like crap! I took a big risk and told them that I would do the printing myself. I live in Toronto after all, surely there's at least one shop in the city that had the ability to do this.

Right?

That was a problem for Future Penny to solve, so I sent the payment and waited eagerly for my california-based commissionee to finish... and finish they did!

I was so excited seeing this. Even without the logo, it was already exactly how I envisioned it! It even wrinkled the same way around the belly that it does in the comics. I was floored! I was a little shocked that they shipped it before I was able to give notes, but then again, if I had requested any changes, they'd likely have to start all over. Thank goodness it's perfect.

It arrived at my apartment shortly after. I put it on, and it was the most comfortable thing I've ever worn in my life. Because it was tailor made, it hugged my body so well, I was quoting Ned Flanders in his ski outfit! I showed my girlfriend and she was a blushing mess (it was perhaps too revealing).

But there was still the matter of the logo. I called up several places across the city, got into email correspondence with them, and discussed what could be done. Unfortunately, out of the seven places that got back to me, none of them felt comfortable with the material.

I was stuck, if the city of Toronto couldn't do it, who could? That's when I realized how stupid I was:

"Don't I attend an arts school?"

With a tote bag in hand carrying the suit, I made my way to the campus, marching toward the textiles department. I had lied to them saying this was for a school project, but I think they all knew what this was really about. Despite this, they were fully on-board to help me.

The first thing that had to be done was make the screen layers. Their process of printing on fabric was to make stencils of the logo that represented each color (in this case, black and white. The blue was just the fabric itself). I hopped onto photoshop and whipped up the layers pretty fast.

Now it could've been printed that day, but there was a request. They wanted a swatch to print on to make sure printing on this tricky fabric wouldn't damage anything. In hindsight, it was really funny having to buy a $1 swatch with $20 shipping and handling. The swatch arrived quick, and I immediately set up an appointment to print the suit the next day.

It was raining hard, the thunder was so loud I thought it was right above my head, and Passover had begun. I was greeted by two wonderful students named Mya and Nicole. They brought my stencils into the dark room and had them imprinted on a screen like so:

They started out on a white canvas fabric, just to make sure it printed well.

Success! The next test was for the pigments themselves.

Uh oh, what happened? Well the black they were using was a transparent black, which was overlayed on the white dye, making it more see through than we wanted. The fabric itself shifted as well, so it was grossly misaligned. Always tighten your fabric with pins, folks. Another student who I can't remember the name of was able to search the storage area for better black dye.

Don't be fooled by the yellow lighting, that's a black print on blue fabric, not a gold print on a white fabric. Regardless, the black worked! The final test then... was the nylon/spandex swatch.

I couldn't believe it! It actually looked really great! The colors are really crisp, and it even allowed for a bit of stretching (an accidental benefit of the blue part being just the fabric is that it creates less strain on the print itself).

The big problem was that, during the drying phase when the white was applied, they used a hair dryer, which due to the heat, caused warping, hence the misalignment. That meant that when it came time to print on the suit for real, it had to air dry in a dry environment.

Through the leg holes, a block of wood with foam attached covered by a canvas fabric is placed inside (wasn't expecting to get any wood thrust in the suit, feels violating). Euphemisms aside, this was to steady the sheet used to print, as well as to hold the fabric and place and prevent the bumps created by the zipper on the back.

We must've spent 5-10 getting the logo to center and at a right angle. The entire time we were applying paint, we were nervous as hell. I had made the mistake of telling them this suit cost me $600, and there was no going back.

We watched with baited breath.

ALRIGHT IT'S GOOD IT LOOKS GOOD OKAY IT'S HAPPENING IT'S REALLY HAPPENING!! We waited for it to dry for about 45 minutes I think. I got something from the café and sat there thinking about how I was doing this on Passover. Jack Kirby's faith meant a lot to him, and it felt fitting that I brought to life one of his creations during a holiday he would celebrate. I think about my own faith sometimes... I'll leave it at that for now.

I got back into the studio, and they were waiting for me to put on the black coat. We spent another 5-10 minutes lining up the logo with the other logo so it would be the cleanest possible.

The last step was now.

And there it was. Words failed me, I admit. All I could do was look in stunned amazement that this was REAL!

We let it dry for another 45 minutes, where then they took out the pins and presented the fabric to me. They told me not to wash it for a whole month, which I then asked them what settings I should use for the washer. They told me to machine wash cold and delicate, and hang dry, which is thankfully exactly what PingPing told me to do. I walked home with the costume, hung it up in my closet, and joined my roommate for the seder meal.

Thank you for reading.

[fabrickind]

How do you become a professional cosplayer? Thnx :)

Hello there!

Short answer is: you don't lmao

Long answer is: it's complicated and incredibly difficult, and depends on what you mean by "professional."

If you mean "someone who judges contests and/or gets invited to cons," the VAST majority of those aren't professionals. They may or may not get an appearance fee, even, depending on the con. (Note to cosplayers: don't let cons take advantage of you by not paying you for your work for them! Always get per diem, travel, and hotel at BARE minimum, and preferably also an appearance fee.) This isn't that hard to do, but you need to have a portfolio that backs up why you would be a good guest, and a good reason why you'd be a good guest. It's just a matter of emailing and/or applying to cons. I've only guested once, but if you want tips, I can give them.

However, based on the phrasing, I'm assuming you are a newer cosplayer who isn't ready for that yet. I assume this because if you've been around a while, you know that this isn't a question. Not "this isn't a question you ask" (as in, we don't talk about it in polite society), but that this isn't really a *thing* in the way that people outside of the cosplay community seem to think it is.

(Side note: I remember this question being asked for at least 15, 20 years online lmao it's easier to make money cosplaying now than it was then, but it's still incredibly difficult to make a living wage and fully support yourself on cosplay.)

There are professional cosplayers out there, as in, people who make the majority or all of their income from cosplay. They tend to be few and far between, and one of the open secrets of the community is that some people who try to make a go at it are supported by a partner or family with money.

But! There are ways to make money as a cosplayer. It's difficult and unlikely, especially with how saturated the market is, but there are ways.

This is all from a USA perspective, which I assume you're from or at least a similar culture, since you're asking me and not, say, someone living in Japan.

Do commissions. This works once you have a high enough skill level to have a client base that wants to pay you for those skills. It's difficult to both get enough commissions and finish enough commissions to have a living wage, though, so it's really only recommended if you are fast at it and/or are okay with it being a side gig.

Start a business selling resources. Patterns, 3D models, resin kits, etc. You'll be operating on thin margins, there's competition out there, and you'll need to be good and fast at these things, but some business prowess, skill, and a bit of luck, and people have done it. Some people also sell tutorials and such, but I don't know how much they make.

Sell prints. This is going to be the hardest of these to make a living wage on. You can couple this with other things on this list to add supplemental income. Basically, sell pictures of yourself online and at cons, start a Patreon, become a booth babe (there isn't enough in the way of "official cosplayer" jobs to make a living on, and usually you aren't paid much and still have to make the costume), etc. This bullet point usually goes with the next two.

Become an influencer. Confession: I don't know quite how this works, but your money would be coming from sponsorships, paid posts, youtube ad revenue, etc. This is also a lot of work, and you would basically be hustling 24/7. Think of the direction you would want to take this and what specific thing you would offer that sets you apart, and.....figure out how to become an influencer lmao. idk if there are cosplay influencers that make a full living off of it since it's a somewhat newer field and far from what I do, but the margin of success is also pretty small, I'd imagine.

Sex work. This is even further from what I know about, so I have NO idea how much money you would make or how to get into it. I'm sure there are guides online. You can do anything from the extremely soft (think gravure modeling: sexy clothes, lingerie, sexy poses, light nudity) to harder stuff (depicting sex acts, whether solo or with toys or partners, catering to fetishes in addition to cosplay, camming, etc.). This is going to be difficult as well and while all of these are not for everyone, this one especially. (Honestly not my thing at all but so much respect for people who can handle it.) You'll want to keep yourself safe online for SURE if you go into this, and it will require stricter safety measures than the rest of these (which also require strict safety measures). Also think long and hard about whether you want the stigma following you: unfortunately, our society still stigmatizes sex work, and you can lose jobs, friends, etc. if people find out, and it'll be hard to physically get and keep your money because of banks and credit card processors not accepting sex work money. This isn't to say "don't do it" but it's something to really think about and look into. IDK where to get advice on the cosplay specific side of this, but Slate's How to Do It column has had a few letters about sex work generally over the years -- here's a few -- and usually Stoya points the letter writer to further resources. (Also tends to be only cosplay adjacent from what I've seen? You'll be dressing up but won't be wearing much in the way of costumes lmao)

There might be more ways that I can't think of, but these are the main ones you will encounter. Again, being a professional cosplayer isn't really like....a thing. Most people who have done it have had a long and difficult career of carving out space for themselves and finding income streams. There really isn't something, at least here, that is having someone pay you to exist in cosplay, unfortunately.

I'm also assuming you aren't talking about costuming generally as a career, which is a whole different ballpark. Actually, that might be something to look into as a career to fund your cosplay hobby (and possible cosplay side gig) if you are interested. Otherwise, enjoy it as a hobby, slowly build a business if you think you are up to it, and see where it takes you. :]

I hope that helps! Good luck

[hyperionwitch-art]

Hey holy shit I have a website now! Mmmmainly it is a portfolio atm, so it has all my big illustrations (still adding more) and a section for Tev/Dren comics and stuff.

I'm not going to stop updating my Tumblr or anything, this will be in addition to all my socials (which, uh, I have a Bluesky now so look up Hyperionwitch if you want in on that??), but I figure if people are trying to make Ye Olde Internet happen again with the personal sites and the webrings and the sparkly cursors and autoplaying MIDIs (jk I do not have that, I promise), I might as well join in.

I'm still adding to it (more illustrations and sketches coming, probably a commission section, probably a link to my TeePublic, maybe a cosplay section?, etc.), but it's working adequately for the moment.

Thanks for checking it out, if you feel so inclined! 🖤

[zorrtumn]

Opening up some Pokemon Cosplay C0mms over on my Vgen page so make sure to check it out incase you might be interested! And I plan on doing more different types in the future once i have figured it all out! ^^'

[xflashbastardx]

6, 7, 16, 17

Munday Questions

{ 6: How much cash does the mun have on them right now? Uhhhh like maybe 12 bucks probably. I almost never carry cash tbh, I only have cash when we get our tips and then it usually goes right to getting gas lol.

7: Last movie the mun watched. Hocus Pocus! I've been watching shows more than movies lately, but Hocus Pocus is always a Halloween must for me.

16: What does the mun really think about my muse? I love Dennis (and Jaden)! I'm always so impressed with people who make OCs, creating characters from nothing and giving them life. Dennis and Jaden are both so well-rounded and interesting!

17: What is the Most expensive thing you own? Saying my car feels like a cop out because it feels obvious, so I'm going to go with my favourite cosplay. I commissioned a seamstress who specialized in Phantom of the Opera costumes (sadly she doesn't do commission work anymore, or I'd have gotten at least one more from her by now). It's a perfect replica of Sierra Boggess's blue Act II dress from the 25th Anniversary concert of Phantom, and I'm in love with it. I don't have any full body photos of me in the gown, but Kaedra, the seamstress, does have photos of it on a mannequin on her portfolio. It's stunning, and it was worth every penny. And it was many, many pennies. }