Steps you should take before, during
and after cosplay:
Research
and Preparation ...
So
you want to cosplay? Awesome! here's what to do.
If you are going to cosplay Lara, you should check out our Lara Croft outfit list.
If you want to cosplay another tomb raider character, then check out our character list,
so you know what to look for when you shop for your clothes.
To organize yourself , I personally like to use an app called Cosplanner.
(not a sponsor) you can create and manage all your
cosplays with it, know the progress percentage of each piece, save reference
images of the character, know the total cost and time you've invested in making
each of its elements and the time lapse of your project.
Crafting and Shopping...
When you are done selecting your outfit, Check out this
tutorials page to see a
list of costume, prop and weapon tutorials, with any luck, all the tutorials that you
need are on that page.
For crafting supplies, go to the dollar/bargain stores that have everything you
need at super low prices.
For clothing, you've got to be smart about it, shop online and at
thrift/charity shops, some cosplayers have found them to be very useful, and got
items they couldn't find anywhere else, and it didn't exactly break the bank. Don't forget to ask a family member, they might have
awesome vintage items for you to borrow.
Most of the time you won't find exactly what you're looking for, so if you find a clothing item that looks close enough, get it and
customize it.
If you want to buy an item that is hard to craft like belt and holsters. You can also check out
Etsy and Ebay sellers, my
store
has a range of items for sale.
If you want to save money, go to
youtube and watch tutorials that show how you can make things yourself, give
yourself a chance to develop skills that will save you money in the long run is
extremely helpful when you are trying to budget.
Photography...
Once your outfit is complete, the fun can begin! you need a digital camera. It's necessary as you need to be able to
upload and customize your pics using a photo editing software, like crop,
lighting and contrast etc.
You can take your own pics using self timer, or if you're lucky enough to have someone to take them for you then that's even better.
If you have the funds, you can also go to a professional photographer.
Check out the Photography menu on left of this page for help on poses, stunts,
how to make composites and ready to use backgrounds.
Composites...
Some cosplayers turn their regular pictures into composites,
I know I am a huge fan of composites because I just can't get to a good location
most of the time, I use a photo editing software to add myself into a game or movie background. in a manner such as this, find out how here
Publishing your pictures...
You can send your pics to us, and we'll put them up in the gallery for you, you can
also join our forum or facebook group and indicate to us that you'd like them posted here.
Email: tombraidercosplay@yahoo.com
Cosplay Thieves...
We used to get a lot of
fraudulent emails from people claiming the photos attached are theirs, so to
protect yourself from this you should either
watermark your pics if you have a
profile (like DevArt, facebook page) with your URL or let us go through the cosplayer confirmation process and make you a verified cosplayer, email us to get started!
