Hey everyone, admin here.

I don’t write often, but today I felt the need to get some stuff off my chest.

I’ve heard a lot of people ask the question “I’m black, is it okay if I cosplay a white character?”

Obviously, the resounding answer should be “YES!”

I understand that with cosplay the goal is to be as close to the character as possible. But I don’t see what the color of the character’s skin has to do with it. Cosplay is about “costume play” That’s it! If a white kid’s favorite character is afro samurai, why shouldn’t he cosplay him? What’s next, telling a Chinese girl she can’t cosplay Fran (FF12) because she isn’t Vieran? No. Cosplay is about having fun and making, buying or putting together the best cosplay costume you can. If you ask me seeing a black variant on Jiraiya would be amazing. After all, we don’t give people a hard time about crossplaying…

The color scheme of the costume could even be changed to better contrast with the skin tone. Imagine the Black Jiraiya I mentioned earlier in a Black, white and orange color scheme instead of the traditional style!

There are so many untapped ideas out there. We just need to have the courage to be different.

So next time you’re at a con and you see someone toneplaying treat them the same way as a crossplayer! Give em props for originality, snap a pic and send it to us at Cosplay Locator! (brian@cosplaylocator.com)

Late
-B

Posted: February 13th, 2009 under News Flash.
Comments: none

GReader bou asked how to make Gravitation character Shuichi’s trenchcoat, saying they had a sewing machine, but “absolutely no sewing skills.” Well bou (and everyone else out there), let me be the first to tell you that the only way you’ll ever get them is to jump right in.  Bou, go out a find a pattern as close to what you’re looking for as possible, and have at it!  Seriously, just go for it!  You may make some mistakes, but that’s the way we learn - just be sure to have a seam ripper by your side!  Here’s some tips to help you get started on your very first project.

1. Before you even go to the store, take your measurements!  I cannot emphasize this enough!  If you’re not sure how to take your measurements, just Google it - it’s a very simple process so don’t be intimidated.  If you can, have someone else take your measurements for even more accuracy.
2. Go to the fabric store and look through to pattern books - this will take a while, so be patient!  Find a pattern as close to as what you’re looking for as you can.
3. Once you have the pattern, see how much fabric you need for your costume and make sure to pick up the notions needed for the costume, too - both of these are listed on the back of the pattern envelope.  If you are confused or need help, ask a fabric store employee!  They are happy to help you and very knowledgeable. While you’re at the fabric store, make sure to pick up a seam ripper if you don’t already have one - you will probably need it!
4. Go home and jump right in!  Sewing takes time, so don’t be surprised if it takes you a looooong time.  I like to spread the work out a few hours a day for a few days, so it doesn’t get too overwhelming.  Just follow the instructions and if you make a mistake, don’t fret! - rip it out and move on.

Until next time, good luck with all of your cosplay creations!

Posted: January 8th, 2009 under Cosplay Creation Help.
Comments: 2

Stay tuned to this post - I am having a special guest blogger, my friend and plushie expert Bean Chan!  She will help with the question about the Nazo Grunty plush as well as give great general plushie advice!

Posted: November 4th, 2008 under Cosplay Creation Help.
Comments: 1

Cosplay Locator has cosplay costumes for sale.

Bookmark http://cosplaylocator.com and come back anytime you need any cosplay items. We’re the only store on the internet that has thousands of premade items including costumes, wigs, props, jewelry, pocky and even more.

Not only that, but you can always ask us your cosplay questions right here on our blog. Ovan and Eliayth are here to help you decide who to cosplay and the all knowing JessJezzz can give you tips and help making your own cosplay. No cosplay website does all this and provides a full store to buy from ^_^

If you need a cosplay commission we can do that too! So bookmark the blog and the store already and come back often to see what we got!

Happy Cosplaying Otaku!

-B

Posted: September 19th, 2008 under Cosplay Fanatic, News Flash.
Comments: 2

Hey guys, Ovan here, your new cosplay suggesterator. Along with Eliayth, we’ll be providing you guys with the best of our knowledge of anime / manga to help you guys out. We just started getting into cosplay not too long ago, but we have been otakus for awhile. Obviously by my name, one of my favorite animes is .Hack//, and my real name is Jeff. I look forward to helping you guys out, thanks~

Hi everyone, Ovan’s girl Eliayth here.  Figured I’d get him to stick my intro in his post to save space.  So, a little about me - I have a lot of favorite animes (too many to list) but I do especially like .Hack//, and I have some hawt Naruto action figures. My favorite manga so far is Wings of Vendemiaire.  So, yeah, looking forward to helping you guys with cosplay ideas, would love to see pics of your costumes. ~ Eliayth

And if it’s alright, I would like to start having you guys post here for suggestions, and there will be some layout, we would like to know what your guys personality is like to better fit the cosplay, and some of your favorite manga / anime, thanks.

Admin sayz - Find all the cosplay you could ever need at Cosplay Locator! Or email brian@cosplaylocator.com to have a custom commission made!

Posted: September 18th, 2008 under Who Should I Cosplay As?.
Comments: 80

Introducing Ovan & Eliayth your new Tag Team cosplay suggestorators!

Lets all give them a hand!

Now that you’re done clapping put your hands to good use and get to asking them who you should cosplay as.

These two know more about anime/manga than me so be prepared for some better suggestions folks!

And as always you can find any cosplay your heart desires at http://cosplaylocator.com!

Posted: September 18th, 2008 under Who Should I Cosplay As?.
Comments: 2

In today’s post I’ll be dishing out a cosplay advice twofer for Yori Nightmare and Kiki0831.

Yori Nightmare asked what the best material would be for making Shippuden Sakura’s costume and shoes. Here’s the answer in two parts:

1) The Outfit: I would definatetly go for cotton with this one - it’s relatively inexpensive and easy to work with, and I believe it will achieve the look of this costume very well. The only exception would be the shorts she wears: while you could make them out of a stretchy material, I would save your time and money and just go buy a pair of bike shorts!

2) The Shoes: What I would do here is go and buy an open-toed shoe/sandal that appears the same as the bottom half of her shoes, and then sew boot covers to give the appearance of the boot. Don’t worry - many patterns come with a pattern for boot covers, and are pretty easy to make.

P.S.: Yori also asked about how to make Temari’s fan, but I have no idea! What I usually do in this situation is browse Cosplay.com or Cosplay Lab and find one someone has done that I like, then you could contact the person and ask them how they did it. You could also email brian@cosplaylocator.com and he can have one made for you. Be sure to get back to us if you discover a good method Yori!

Our next question is from Kiki0831, who asks if there is somewhere she can get patterns for specific cosplay costumes. Unfortunately Kiki, the answer is…not really. What most cosplayers (including myself) do is find a pattern close to what they need, and then alter it accordingly. Another option is altering thrift store finds, but this costume is a bit too unique for that, so I suggest the former. Keep in mind that you will probably mess up, but guess what? It’s okay! Creating cosplay costumes can be very complicated because of their uniqueness, so don’t feel bad if you’re not sure what to do. If you’re stuck on a certain element of the costume, do what I suggested before and ask someone who’s costume you like how they did it.

Well, that’s all for today! Sorry for the delay between question and advice, but I’ve started up school again and had quite a full plate! Did anyone else go to Anime Iowa this year? If so, I’d love to hear from you - until next time!

~JessJezzz

PS Admin sayz - email brian@cosplaylocator.com for cosplay commissions!

Posted: September 13th, 2008 under Cosplay Creation Help, Cosplay Fanatic, News Flash, Uncategorized.
Comments: 1

I attend 3-5 Cons a year, the two main ones being Anime Central and Anime Iowa.  I often go to smaller cons, too, like Anime Reactor or Anime Detour.  But I have to say, Anime Iowa is my favourite - not too big, and not too small.  Here’s some snapshots from Coralville a few weeks ago, where the festivities took place.

That’s all for now!

Posted: August 30th, 2008 under Cosplay Fanatic.
Comments: none

If you download anime like Bleach and Naruto from Dattebayo.com raise your hand.

I’ve been following Naruto since it started and I must say, when I first started watching it I fell head over heels for Naruto, Sasuke and the gang. The storylines were powerfully driven by a mix of drama, comedy and action like no other anime or manga before it. I laughed at Naruto’s silly harem antics, sat at the edge of my seat when Zabuza captured Kakashi in the water prison during the first encounter and was brought to tears when the handicapped Zabuza shed a tear for Haku before charging into Gato’s army to reap his revenge.

Now-a-days, gone are the compelling story lines with thoughtful comedy, engaging action and sensible drama.

Naruto has gone the way of Dragonball Z, destroying everything that was good about the original 135 episodes, opting to draw out story lines to create tension rather than use good writing to the same effect.

Naruto Shippuuden started off pretty cool by re-introducing us to new, more grown up versions of our favorite characters in the slow pacing that we’d gotten used to between story arcs. The series quickly picked up the pace with the abduction of Gaara by Akatsuki and from there the series began with it’s ups and downs. The exciting action was back with a punch as various characters faced off in the next 30 episodes or so, climaxing with the epic battle between Sakura and one of the coolest villains of all time: Sasori of Akatsuki. Unfortunately, throughout this entire arc we were forced to deal with boring side stories and blatant stalling (think dragonball when goku and villain exchange glances for 3 episodes or so) so the anime wouldn’t catch up to quickly with the manga like it did last time. I don’t know about any of you, but I’d rather sit through 5 filler episodes and keep the actual story line fun to watch than turn the entire show into a yawn fest.

And what now? Now, Naruto has just taken down a pseudo kyubi in an agonizingly long arc that I swore up and down was filler due to the fact the whole thing was basically a regurgitation of the first Sai arc.

When Naruto started I cared about the characters. Now it seems that Masashi Kishimoto is more concerned with plowing through story arcs to make his paycheck than he is with creating an engrossing story. What a pity, I’ll be on the look out for a new favorite anime.

-B

Posted: August 23rd, 2008 under Whatever.
Comments: none

Disgraceful_art left a comment asking where a good place would be to purchase Haku’s hunter-nin mask. Well D_A, I can do you one better and tell you how to make your own!

First, you’ll need to make the basic mask. The easiest way to do this would probably be to make it out of paper mache. Here’s how I would go about it, but if you think you have a better way by all means go for it (and maybe tell us about it in a comment!):

First, get a sturdy piece of card stock (the kind you would print business cards on, for instance), a spray bottle, and a wig head (they’re only about 5 bucks, you can get them at beauty supply stores, or online if you can’t find one locally). The curved surface will help you form the mask correctly.

Next, lightly spritz the card stock with water and place it on the face of the wig head (with the wig head laid back so the card stock won’t fall off, of course). Gently shape the card stock into the shape you would like the mask, spritzing it with more water if necessary.

Once you have your card stock in the desired shape, let it dry and then cut off the corners to make it a mask shape; then, paper mache it.

From here, all you need to do is make eye slits and paint on the details. I would also recommend sealing the whole mask with craft sealant (hodge podge or spray on, which ever you prefer) once you have completed it

Don’t forget a small hole on each side and some string or elastic to keep the mask on your face!

P.S. If you really wanna buy one, try checking our website! Cosplaylocator.com

Posted: August 9th, 2008 under Cosplay Creation Help.
Comments: none