Cosplay or "costume play," unlike Halloween, takes place year-round and acts as performance art social entertainment for anime, manga and video game fans of all ages and all walks of life. Fans create costumes and imitate favorite character behaviorisms for events and games. Here is an easy way for you to immerse yourself in cosplay culture and pick a cosplay costume.

Instructions

1.Visit the Resources websites to immerse yourself in Japanese anime and the cosplay subculture. Watch anime shows on television, at comicons or other conventions and events or purchase anime to better prepare yourself for the adventure of costume play and to help create an image in your mind of which character(s) appeals to you most.

2.Pick several characters to potentially imitate. Consider character traits such as personality, dress, body type, height and moral code or ethics. Once you have chosen your characters, return to the Resources websites and print high resolution color images of those characters.

3.Choose a cosplay event or anime, manga, video game or sci-fi convention. Skip this step if your costume is for a local event or fan club meeting. After you have chosen an event, check with the event coordinator or sponsor for costume design rules. Some events limit costume designs to reduce accidents by restricting the size of accessories and the inclusion of real or replica weapons; restrictions on costume styles also occur to protect young children and/or event visitors who may find offense with more revealing costumes.

4.Choose a character and buy or commission a costume through a reputable cosplay costume sales website or store. If making your own costume, buy costume materials. Costume materials include: fabric, hair dye or wig, face paint, replica weaponry, accessories such as headbands or belts, costume foam, boots or shoes, animal ears and others items to match your character's image.

5.Build or sew together your costume. Skip this step if you bought a pre-made or commissioned costume.

6.Model your costume and add additional touches as needed.

7.Wear your costume to your event. Box your costume, and put on immediately before or at the event if you are competing in a cosplay costume contest.



All anime, manga and video game character images are copyrighted by their distributors. Selling or distributing printed images without a license or as your own art can result in fines, penalties and possible legal complications including imprisonment. Only use a printed image as reference for the creation of your cosplay costume.

Cosplay is intended as a fun and relaxing social form of entertainment that offers a temporary escape into roleplay. Cosplay is not intended as a form of permanent escapism. Sometimes individuals with emotional or mental health problems find it difficult to let go of their character's role. Anyone who takes a role too seriously, becomes violent while roleplaying or refuses to stop roleplaying long after an event has ended and real world expectations return, may have serious mental health problems that should be addressed with immediate medical attention.