which cosplay character?

[joannauchiha]

hi i just wondered if any of you could help me!
im female with short brown hair and would like ideas for which character would be best suited to cosplay as! i would ideally like to be another female character. thanks

[joannauchiha]

please can some1 reply!!!

[strangevisitor]

Hi there! First off, welcome to the boards! It's nice to see a new face posting.

As far as cosplaying goes...really, it all depends on what character you WANT to cosplay as. Thanks to things like wigs and such, your natural hair color doesn't limit your options much.

So really, you should be asking yourself what anime/manga you enjoy, and which characters you would have the most fun cosplaying as.

As far as TIPS for cosplaying itself go...well..there's several experienced cosplayers on this board who'd be more than happy to offer some advice on how to do this or that if you ask them.

Again, welcome to the board!

[joannauchiha]

aww thank u finally someone actually talkin to me! well i love naruto it is my fav anime ever! i just need some sort of help with where to start?

[strangevisitor]

You're quite welcome! Well..as far as where to start...usually the first thing is to decide what character you'd like to cosplay. Once you've decided that, you need to figure out what kind of materials you'll need to make the costume. Hopefully you can sew, or know somebody who can who's willing to help you. Unlike some anime, there's not a whole lot of clothing in Naruto that can be replicated using regular clothing, at least not as far as I've noticed.

[joannauchiha]

ah rite i think i would quite like to cosplay as Sakura. do u cosplay? if so which character as?

[strangevisitor]

I've only done one cosplay so far, and that was Auron from Final Fantasy X, and even then I didn't make the costume myself >.>

For Sakura, you're definitely going to want to find yourself a good wig. Brown hair like yours would be next to impossible to dye pink like that. Luckily, you said you have short hair, which is good when using a wig, as you'll have to fit it all underneath.

As far as actually making the costume itself, you'll want to find fabrics that match the colors you need as closely as possible. If you can find one, Jo-Ann Fabrics would be a good place to look for materials.

For putting it all together, though.....sadly you're talking to the wrong guy, lol. I have NO clue how to sew, let alone make something like Sakura's clothes because there's probably no pattern to follow.

HOWEVER! Don't lose hope! Our Admin, Tensei Kaori, is an AWESOME cosplayer who's made several costumes, so I'm sure if you send her a PM asking for assistance, she's give you at LEAST a few good tips.

That's about the extent of my usefulness on the subject of cosplay, though..so..Good luck!!

[Kiri]

If you need a pink wig, I would try either eBay, the cosplay.com website, or amphigory.com.

As for sewing... it might be a good idea to look online or in crafts stores for patterns similar to what you need, especially if you're inexperienced on that account. It might be difficult if you don't have a sewing machine, though.

In that case... well. Since it's Naruto, a fairly well-known anime... especially since you're thinking of Sakura, one of the main characters... it probably wouldn't be hard to find a costume online that you could buy. I also know there are plenty of websites where you can order a custom-made costume ... but they're a bit pricey.

Here are two that I found ready-made:

www.mooncostumes.com/item/15483
www.cosplaymagic.com/sahade.html

Expensive, yeah... but I don't know that buying your own materials and making it would be much cheaper. ^^;;

Anyway. I'm not all that experienced when it comes to cosplay. I've only made two costumes, and they were really low-maintenance things I just threw together (minus the wigs, anyway). I am horrible at sewing and stuff, but hopefully the Hokage or H₂ or Jyou or someone will drop by here to give you some good advice.

[joannauchiha]

aww thanks u guys well i think i will go have a look and see what i can find i'll let u know how it goes how r u both?

[Tensei Kaori]

Hello, dear, and welcome to the forums! As you can most likely tell from my mini-profile, I'm Kaori, your friendly neighborhood Hokage-slash-Administrator. Nice to meet you!

So, you're into cosplay, then? Sounds great! As Strange and Kiri have already pointed out, I've made my fair share of costumes, so I guess you could say I know my way around a sewing machine. I'd love to help you, but I'll need a bit of info first.

1) Which version of Sakura's costume do you want to do? Long hair, short hair, short-sleeved or sleeveless original outfit, or Shippuuden version? There are plenty of choices, here.

2) How much experience do you have? Have you ever sewn before? If you don't know how, do you have access to a sewing machine and someone who could teach you (or the bravery and will to try and figure it out yourself)?

3) How detailed/accurate do you want to get? A lot of factors can contribute to the answer to this one. If you're in a hurry, a super-detailed, insanely accurate costume might simply be too time-consuming. Also, if you don't have much money to spend, that can sometimes have a negative effect too. Then there's skill level. If you're brand-new to sewing, a professional-quality costume - while I won't say it's impossible - would be considerably more difficult than it would if you've been sewing most of your life. Of course, the final factor is how you want it to look. I am of the belief that with enough willpower and ingenuity, anyone can make a well-made, accurate costume.

Anyways, let me know those things, and we'll get started. ^^

[joannauchiha]

hi!
well i'd like the short hair original outfit she wore at the start. i have sewn before i took a sewing class in school. i would quite like a accurate one as i am in no hurry but i don't know whether it would just be cheaper to buy a costume rather than make one with the cost of materials etc.? i think i could probably get use to a sewing machine sometime not quite sure? thanks for ur help btw! the people on here are so nice

[Tensei Kaori]

Well, to answer the question of cost, it would most definitely be more economical to make your own. Costumes purchased from someone else will cost far more than the price of materials. The reason? Labor. Even the simplest projects can be very time-intensive, especially if the maker takes the time to make them right. People want to be paid for the things they make, and paid well. I'm no exception - were I to make costumes for anyone who isn't a close friend, I'd want it to be worth my while.

Anyways, your first step will be to gather reference pictures - and not just one frontal shot. Look for as many different angles as possible. If your pictures don't show a particular detail very well, look for one that does. This Site is excellent for gathering references. So is skimming through manga chapters and printing out copies of pages that show the details you need.

From here, you have a choice of where to go next. I'll go with the list of things you'll need to buy, since buying things tends to be the easiest part.

With that in mind, your first step will be to take a good look at your costume and decide which parts you want to buy, and which you want to make. We'll start with the wig, since I doubt many people want to make their own wigs from scratch.

This eBay store is a good place to start. I have friends who have purchased wigs from that store, so I can tell you from experience that their wigs are beautiful, and very high quality. For future reference, you'll want a wig made of either Kanekalon or Tokyokalon fibers. These are the highest quality, the nicest-looking, and the easiest to work with. Anyways, it just so happens that this cosplay wig store has a Sakura Wig listed right now. If you don't want it to flip out, you can always get a slightly longer wig and cut it to your own personal taste. This can be tricky, but beneficial in the end (my Nico Robin wig started out much longer than it ended up, for example). It's always good to just buy the style you want in the first place, though, if you can manage it.

Next is makeup. If there's one thing being in color guard has taught me, it's that if you want to look good on stage or in front of the camera, always put on more makeup than you think you'll need. You don't have to cake it on, but your face will thank you once you've seen the difference a little makeup can make in front of the camera. For foundation, I recommend Mehron Starblend, which can be purchased online or from a store that sells theatrical makeup. Kryolan Aquacolor is also good if you want some outlandish skin tone (like Kisame's blue), and is available online at the Cosworx store, among other places.

Other makeup you'll want to consider is eyeliner, mascara, blush (not a lot, but a very very small amount is always a nice touch), eyeshadow (consider a very light coat of a brownish color, even if your character doesn't normally wear eyeshadow), and lipstick (a nice brownish or a deep red, blotted down to almost nothing, will define your lips and make it look like you actually have a mouth). And don't forget acrylic paint. Why? Your eyebrows, of course! It does a good job of making naturally-colored eyebrows match an unnatural hair color (like pink), and it washes right out. Trust me, I've done it many times.

Next are the more optional things. Stores like Target sell capri-style exercise pants that look like Sakura's, but these can get pretty pricey - and I've never seen them sold in the tealish color Sakura wears. Since you want to be more accurate, I'd recommend making them out of a nice, stretchy cotton knit or a similar material.

The other necessary items you can either opt to purchase or make yourself would be the forehead protector, leg holster, and ninja sandals. All three of these can be made, or purchased. So can optional accessories like shuriken and kunai. If you want advice on making these, let me know and we'll go into more detail on that a little later.

And finally, we've arrived at the actual making of the costume. Sort of. For, you see, first we must find you a pattern. While a legging pattern for the shorts is easy enough to find - and therefore I won't go into much detail on that unless you need help finding one - the dress will be a little more problematic. Obviously, unless a specialty shop can be found that sells Sakura dress patterns, we're not going to find a pattern that's exactly what you need. And so we go for the next best option - modifying a pattern.

This can be as simple or complicated as you like. I've added extra panels and pockets to cloaks, modified the fit of a bathrobe pattern to make Tsunade's jacket, and other minor tweaks like that; I've also helped mastermind the methods for making Sound Ninja tunics and Akatsuki cloaks from the back and sleeve pieces of a pajama top pattern.

With me so far? Let me know if you have any questions.

And now, because it's simply no fun if I tell you how to do the entire thing, let's have a little exercise. Can you think of a way to modify a pattern to get Sakura's dress? It doesn't matter if it's outlandish, impractical, or utterly impossible. Just try and think of something. It's this process of brainstorming and ingenuity that makes cosplay so much fun, so don't be afraid to get your feet wet. It's okay if you don't want to, as well, or if you really can't think of anything. We'll continue when I hear what you've had to say.

[joannauchiha]

well i have made a simple dress but as far as modifying patterns goes i have no idea where to start? sorry im pretty useless! where is the best place to buy material from? and what should i start with first? oh rite i will try and gather some pictures and try and get some things printed out from the manga i should be able to get some things gathered by the end of the week concerning pictures and such. thanks so much for ur help by the way!!

[Tensei Kaori]

Well, the best place to buy material really depends on where you live. The place I go most often is Joann's, which is pretty much a standard chain (throughout the US, at least). One of my favorite places to get hard-to-find fabrics is a small local shop, so that'd do no good unless you live near me. If you're outside the USA or don't have a Joann's, you'll have to just look up what's in your area and visit the stores for yourself to determine where you like to go.


Fabric Selection

As for what you'll need, first you need to decide what you want to make. For example, let's say you want to make just the dress and shorts for now. With that decision in hand, you'll need to look at your two items and decide what kind of fabric you want to use. This will be much easier once you've had some experience working with different types of fabric, but the easiest way to get a feel for which fabrics work well for which costumes is just to go to the fabric store and literally feel the fabrics. Unroll part of the bolts and let yourself get a feel for the fabric. How does it drape? Is it thick? Thin? What is its texture? Is it shiny, lustrous, or matte? Does it stretch? If so, is it 2-way stretch or 4-way stretch? Compare what you see in the store to what you see in the anime or manga. If something is supposed to drape and flow, the last thing you'll want is a stiff, paper-thin fabric.

For the shorts, you're going to want something stretchy - preferably 4-way stretch. The best fabric for this would be a cotton knit. Just look for something that feels like a really stretchy T-shirt. Look for something as close to the color you want as possible. If they don't have the exact color, don't worry about it. We'll discuss that later.

For the dress, a good cotton should also serve your needs, but I wouldn't recommend a stretchy knit like you'd use for the shorts. My first choice would be something called Special Suiting or Special Buy Suiting, which has a good weight to it, drapes nicely, and sews well. Special Buy Suiting can be anything from what we'd want, though, to oddly textured woven stuff, so that particular fabric is really hit-or-miss. Coming in a close second would be a simple solid cotton that can be found in the quilting section of your local fabric store. Look for something with a good weight and a nice drape. I usually like to double the fabric I use and line my project when working with quilting cotton, simply because it gives the finished product a much better look and feel. If this is too advanced for you, though, don't worry about it. You'll get there with time.


Matching Colors

Sometimes you just can't get the color you want straight from the store, and that's when my little buddy Rit Dye comes in. You can purchase it in a variety of colors, and it really works well as long as you follow the directions (I usually use the stovetop set of directions, only I boil the water and then mix the dyebath in a plastic tub in my garage). It will stain (duh), so make sure you aren't wearing anything you wouldn't mind turning odd colors. Gloves are a must, too, as this will also stain your skin. I use the latex kind you can find in your grocery store.

In order for this to work, though, your fabric can not be a full synthetic! Synthetic fabrics are things like polyester, spandex, rayon, etc. Synthetics just won't take dye, so don't bother trying. And always do a test dye with a scrap of your costume fabric before dyeing the actual costume! You never know how a certain fabric will take dye until you try it out.


Miscellaneous Miscellany

Now that you have your fabric, you'll need to get thread. Always get thread to match your fabric! You might not think it'd show, but it really does unless you can at least find a color that's close enough. I prefer Coats & Clark, but that's just me. If you're confused as to which kind to get, ask the people at the store. They're pretty helpful with things like that.

There's also the white trim for the dress. You can either buy a package of what's called Bias Tape (but I'm not sure if they make it wide enough), or you can buy some white fabric (quilting cotton would probably work best) and do it yourself. Bias Tape is pretty expensive, so for a small project like Sakura's dress it'd be more practical to go with Plan B. I'll walk you through the process if that's what you want to do.

For the circle, you can either applique the design on or just paint it. If you choose to paint, just get a small bottle of either fabric paint or acrylic like Folk Art, trace the design on with a pencil, and paint away (DON'T put the paint right on the fabric! Squirt it out onto a paper towel or something and paint it onto the fabric with a brush). Appliqué would be better if you want to be able to wash your costume more easily (Acrylic paint is water-based, so it'd be a bad idea to wash your costume if you've used Acrylic on it), and I personally think it looks better. If you choose to use this option, you'll need white fabric and something called Stitch Witchery, which is an iron-on adhesive. You could also sew it on, but Stitch Witchery is so much easier. It comes with instructions, so follow them and you'll do fine.

You'll also need elastic for the waistband in the shorts. Find some that's a decent width, wrap it around your waist, and pull until it stretches just slightly for a snug but comfortable fit. That's the size you'll want. Buy a little extra, just in case, but be sure to measure it again before you sew it into your pants.

Then there's the closure for the dress. It almost looks like Sakura uses a zipper in the front, but sewing a zipper that angles is far too much to ask a beginner. I personally would use snap tape along that white line, but you could also just put a zipper in the back and leave the front as one piece.

With me so far?

[joannauchiha]

yea i think so so i need to start and have a look around a fabric shop to see the best sorts of materials and i think i would do an applique for the white circle as i think this would give a better finish as i have used fabric paint and i don't always give a good finish, yea i think that a zip on the back would look best i think the thing that im still quite confused about is how i actually make the dress as they don't really do patterns? and thank you soo much!!