Cosplay is the ultimate show of both fandom and creativity, giving everyday people the chance to live out their fantasy from their favorite universe – and to show off in the process. With the Japan Times reporting that governments, including Japan’s, are looking to tighten up copyright rules on who can or cannot provide cosplay costumes, the benefits of home design have never been more pronounced. Providing the foundation to good design, and becoming increasingly more accessible, is tech.
The Basics
The most basic kit for creating cosplay outfits is the same as any other tailoring, but a key piece of tech can help you to create the incredible designs seen in media. NPR highlights the set of kit and relative ease of getting up and running with sewing – you just need a bit of practice. What of the brightly colored patterns and motifs you see on everything from Link’s shield to the embroidery on the battle outfits in Genshin Impact? An iron is one way to go about it, but a heat press can provide a much more stable platform and consistent heating across the entire design.
3D printing
Many cosplayers struggle to find good replacements for the trinkets and weapons that their chosen characters are equipped with. These are often crucial to the design of the character, too – Minecraft Steve would be nowhere without one of his tools. 3D printing is becoming more affordable, and can help to bridge this gap. PC Mag has highlighted a range of printers that can be acquired for under US$500 and still provide an excellent level of quality.
Painting and decoration
Painting is a pitfall for many creatives – it can take years to get good at making designs accurate. However, with the internet, there is now a huge repository of information to be used, and many tools that can help amateur painters to establish what tools they need in order to get an even-looking and good quality coat on any piece. With this, a steady hand, and determination to produce good results, your designs won’t be out of reach.
With the help of technology, the home studio is becoming as good as anything a professional will muster. As more cosplayers need to look towards the home, that’s invaluable in the cosplay scene. There’s some outlay to get these tools, but they’ll pay for themselves several times over in the quality of designs that can be produced.
