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

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!

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!

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!

That’s all for now!

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

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

So I could totally write a post on hand and machine sewing basics, but I think there’s plenty of resources out there that do it a lot better than I ever could. So here’s a little crash course guide to some basics that will get you sewing in no time.

If you don’t have access to a sewing machine, and aren’t ready to invest in one (those suckers don’t come cheap!), you’ll be picking up a needle and thread. The only real thing you need to know to get started is a few basic stitches, and here’s where you can find them:

• Your Mother - or grandma, or sister, or friend - for most people, having someone show them how to do something is much simpler than reading about it. If you have this valuable resource, take advantage of it!
• The Internet - There are plenty of tutorials with diagrams on hand and machine sewing on the internet, with the links above being just a few examples. Everyone learns differently, so do a search and look around to find the guide or tutorial that works best for you.
• Books - If you’re willing to spend a little money, I would suggest Simplicity’s Simply the Best Sewing Book. If you have a machine you can use or plan on buying one I would also strongly recommend Sew U - I wish I had this when I had started sewing! It comes with free patterns and even has a guide to shopping for sewing machines, another thing that sure would have helped me out in the past.

One last piece of advice - Don’t wait until the last minute to make your costume! It will only lead to frustration and most likely an unsatisfactory outfit.

Character goes a long way at the CosplayLocator.com Blog (no pun intended). mmm_organizedcrime’s comment filled my guts with happiness today so I felt she deserved a dedicated post as a response.

Firstly…LOL Red Panda?? ^_^
I think you should just go as a red panda. Everytime someone says, who the heck are you? You can just scream, RED PAHNDA!!! And run away.

Bring some Bamboo along and maybe stuff a little kid in your pouch… Pandas are marsupials aren’t they? I think they are. Even if they aren’t it’ll make for an interesting conversation starter.

I think you’ll have to make this one on your own… ask JessJezzz for some help. And don’t forget to tell everyone at the Con that you got the idea from the COSPLAY LOCATOR BLOG!

Happy Cosplaying Otaku!

-B