(This post was written by our newest member of Arms, Armor, and Awesome: Skylar, of Lyeric cosplay. You can check her out here!)

Hey everyone! Here is a quick note with some tips on how to prepare and plan your future masterpiece!

This will be a two part tutorial, the second part being about preparing patterns and materials.

The preparation stage of costume creation is probably the most important. If you plan well, it will be much easier, and the whole your experience will be less stressful and more successful. Really, it’s all about researching and organizing!

Tip 1: Gathering Reference Pictures!  

Now is the time to surf the internet to find your references. You should find as many reference pictures as possible. A great cosplay is as accurate as possible. The best thing you can do to guarantee accuracy is to find as many angles as possible. Save this pictures to a folder and print them out. This way you don’t have to run back and forth to your computer.   If you are creating a Warcraft costume, I recommend using www.wowhead.com. They have this great View in 3D feature. To collect the picture, just press Print Screen on the top of your keyboard, and paste the image into MS Paint/Photoshop (whichever you choose). You can also use WoW model viewer.

Tip 2: Decide what details are crucial and which you can be flexible on. 

Accuracy is a great thing, but remember, just because it is like that in game/drawn that way doesn’t mean it works like that in the real world.  This is when your artistic liberty comes into effect! Make it work. Another thing too: search through Deviantart and other pages to see how artists draw this costume. This can give you an idea on how to alter the costume to make it more realistic.

Tip 3:  Ask yourself if this is a costume you can realistically build.

I know there are many amazing costume potentials out there, but make sure it’s within your skill level. If you pick something way to difficult, you most likely will become frustrated and unhappy with it and quit (trust me).

Tip 4: Study your pictures and pick out what material will best suit that aspect of the costume.

Fabric choice, material choice and painting are critical! So make sure you take the time and effort to find out these things. It makes a world of a difference. Also- be prepared! Make a list of things you need to buy in order to create this costume. For some materials (example paper mache) you need a sander to make a smooth surface. Think ahead!

Tip 5: Take risks!

This is the best piece of advice I can give you. If you don’t take risks you will never learn. By taking these risks you can find your own techniques on how to construct items that you may not be able to find on the internet. So take chances! What’s the worst that could happen?

So, this is just a small note of advice I can give you. I hope it can help you a little bit! Part 2 is on its way.

Good luck, and happy costuming!

Lyeric♪