#realistic cosplay

[clockworkcreature]

Quetzal-dragon/Gatafu progress shots! I forgot take photos for a bit in there.

The cowl is taking FOREVERRRRR

[mewkwota]

I am really enjoying those overly-realistic artworks of LanFrank Hikari people have been making for such a perfect DLC costume. And as always I take things up an extra, unnecessary notch because I can.

[springlock-suits]

"This place was huge in the 80's with the kids. They shut it down years ago.

The owner's just not ready to let it go yet."

Edit: Redrew this now that the fnaf movie is out :D

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Time Taken: 10 hours

Program used: IbispaintX

[likopinina]

If there are any Kim Kitsuragi cosplayers in the room, Mil-Tec MA-1 US Flight Jacket comes in a black colour with an option to wear it inside out

Can't vouch for quality though, I saw this just now

[dracothedeatheatingcupcake-ao3]

Good news! My plan to fix the fact the pompadour wig kept sliding off my head with barrettes worked!! And so…

The quality of the photos isn’t the best, since my brother and dad are at work, and my mom can’t take pictures due to her CP, so I had to take them myself on my little tripod in my hallway. Not the best way to get a photo taken, ha.

But!! I think the outfit turned out so good!! I wasn’t going to cosplay as Mondo to Comic Con this year, since last year my modified hairstyle didn’t turn out very good and I didn’t look much like him. But now! Now I actually kinda look like him and if there are any Danganronpa fans at the con they might recognize who I’m dressed as, ha. Bryce Papenbrook (voice actor for Makoto) will be at Comic Con signing with the Demon Slayer cast, so maybe I’ll try to get a ticket for that autograph, even though I’ve never seen Demon Slayer. The kids at work like it, though, so getting an autograph there would be worth it for that anyway, ha.

Anyway, what do y’all think??? Is it good???

[realreadysetrose]

I wanted to be able to feature Sawtooth and Squarewave in my cosplay videos but didn’t have the resources to build A Couple Of Robots. So I did the next best thing and learned Blender off of gay audacity alone.

Now they’re just standing there.

Menacingly.

[lucifer-imaginaryfriend]

Decided to draw some a more realistic Lucifer, I got inspired by the cosplayer below, such great makeup they did :)

[once-in-a-half-life]

my friend and I have developed a sort of "tradition" or something where we doodle a little G-Man on each other's mirrors whenever we visit each other lol

the first three are mine, the rest is hers (featuring Gordon Freeman in his hev suit that she drew from memory haha)

[clockworkcreature]

Painfully honest progress shot. The first round of scales had problems and were removed, and I’m approaching the second attempt a bit differently. This is why things take forever.

Anyway, this is in an amazingly unflattering state right now as the hood is built and attached, and the face scales are at an awkward reset point.

[red-eft]

going to anthrocon this yesr and making a partial fursuit of sorcha before i go. godbless

[mouthsfullofsharpteeth]

if my oc's had a fandom you guys would never see me shut up about it. i cannot comprehend authors that dont like the fan content people make for their books, because i would be like crying at a cosplayer or artist or fanfic writers feet if i saw them making stuff for my oc's

[hellwurld]

normal girls looking in the mirror in the morning

[hubr1s69]

hair sneak peak..... still doing transitional strands and flyaways

[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

[whirling-fangs]

[[ con haul 🥺❤️ that plushie is so big and cuddlable and i'm going to nap for the rest of the day holding him tight. And I even found a Gakuen keychain to go with my cosplay 🥺🥺😭😭😭 ]]

[toxic-toon]

Debuting my fursuit fittingly at some old castle ruins! 🏰