Cosplay Costume Creation - Level 1

Explore the following elements of design: Line, Color, Shape, Texture, and Space/Form. Read this short article highlighting how the elements of design apply to costume design. Then look up images of costume designs and compare how the designer used each element in their designs.

TO POWER UP: Find an image of a costume from a theatre production (it can be a costume sketch/rendering or a photo of a finished costume) and be able to explain how the designer used color, line, shape, texture, and space/form in the design.

Now that you've powered up your design skills by understanding the basic elements of design, it's time to tackle the design process. The design process usually starts with research. For this experience, you will need to conduct image research and compile an inspiration board.

Cosplay can be defined by the practice of dressing up as a character from a movie, book, or video game, especially one from the Japanese genres of manga and anime.

Get inspired by doing research on some of the following: Greek and Roman mythology, Norse myths, Anime, Manga, Celtic myths, comic book characters, action heroes, sci-fi/fantasy characters, Disney characters or the elements of nature. Make sure you look at images, and let your imagination roam. What kind of a character do you want to design for? What might their costume look like?

Start to narrow down your ideas for a character and pull together a collection of images that illustrate the characteristics of your character and some aspects that may inspire their costume. Think about textures, colors, images, and/or rough sketches that inspire a character and their costume.

TO EARN XP: Compile these images into a digital or physical inspiration board.

One of the best parts of creating a character is discovering their story. To get started, consider the following questions:

What inspired your character?

What is your character’s backstory?

How do you identify with this character?

TO EARN XP: Write down a few sentences about who your character is. This will help you design a costume fitting for this character.

Now that you've gained the needed experience by collecting an inspiration board and creating your character's backstory, you are almost ready to tackle the final challenge.

But don't worry, you have one more tool to tackle this challenge - a croqui. Croquis are silhouettes used by designers as a base to draw a costume rendering. 

TO POWER UP: Click here to view or download a croqui.

During this journey, you powered up by exploring the elements of design and discovering croquis. You also gained experience by collecting images for an inspiration board and writing a character backstory. Now, using the power ups and experience points you gained along the way, you are ready take on the final challenge: sketching a cosplay costume design.

Tips: Start by just sketching some design ideas. No one has to see your first sketches, so feel free to let yourself explore. Start with rough sketches, then refine. Many Cosplay costumes include armor, a weapon or other hand prop, and a headpiece/helmet. Feel free to experiment with each of these options and see if they feel right for your character and your design. You got this!

TO COMPLETE THE FINAL CHALLENGE: Create a final sketch of your design that includes color and texture. Label the parts of the costume on the rendering.