(Part 3) Top products from r/cosplayers

So I scale my makeup up or down depending on my character. A more rough and tumble type guy obviously doesn't get as much as a bishonen or female. Remember to always start your makeup routine with a freshly washed face and an application of moisturizer appropriate for your skin type.

1st let's briefly cover the "why" for those unaware of the benefits. Sorry OP if you find this patronizing. Skip ahead to the next paragraph if you already know why makeup is suggested for guys in cosplay. In your costume, I'm sure you want to make a good impression in the hall and in pictures. Makeup will help with this because it will:

• Reduce oily shine from natural oils.
  
• Bring out facial features that get diminished in pictures or poor lighting (eyes, eyebrows, skeletal contours, etc), especially with colorful costumes and wigs.
  
• Even out skin tone (scars, birthmarks, acne, redness, tan lines, etc)
  
• adjust skin tone to be more complimentary to your wig color or closer to character.
  
• Re-contour your face to closer resemble character's
  
  All these factors means the makeup type, amount, and technique required is pretty variable from person to person, costume to costume, even convention to convention.
  
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  I would say that bare minimum is a matte loose powder (I use Maybelline Shine Free) and a brown eye liner (any basic pencil that glides on works but I use Sonia Kashuk gel liner). Make sure these are applied to a clean, moisturized face. These 2 products will take care of the top two bullet points above. Powder will knock down the shine and allow you to control it as it pops up during the day. Brown eye liner will bring out your eyes without being as dramatic and obvious as black eyeliner. The eyeliner can also double as a brow pencil but I use a brow specific pencil most of the time for natural colors.
  
  Suggested tools for these products? The loose powder will come with a puff that you can use to apply. I would suggest a Fan Brush or Powder Brush to knock off any extra powder that gets deposited. For the pencil, you should only need a sharpener; some even come with one. I just have a cheap 2-hole metal sharpener I picked up at an art store. If you want to use the pencil on your eyebrow, a spoolie brush will help even out the distribution of product. If you chose the gel liner, it will probably come with a 3-inch long angled detail brush. It works but I found the bristles very stiff and the handle too short to get my hand out of the way so I can see what I'm doing in the mirror. I picked up a longer handled synthetic fiber angle brush to replace it and have been quite happy. Only other tool I can suggest is cotton swabs to slightly smudge the edges of your eyeliner to make it more natural looking.
  
  Before I get too far, an important concept for you starting out is that you want products that have a matte finish. If they don't, you'll get flash reflection in pictures with and look lighter (you know when you see to pictures of women where their face looks 4 shades lighter than their neck and body, that's flash reflecting back at the camera). Shiny/reflective properties in make up is not always apparent when buying or even applying. Steer clear of products with names like luminous, dewy, illuminating, radiant, or brightening. Other words that are tricky descriptors but more of a crap shoot are color correcting or satin, maybe some others that I can't think of right now. Powders, both loose and pressed, are notoriously tricky about this. Eyeshadow is very difficult to find in matte.
  
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  The next step up from bare minimum is concealer and foundation to provide coverage and color correction. If you just have a few blemishes you want to cover, a simple combination of concealer on those few spots and powder may be all you want or need. If your powder has a bit of color as the one I linked above does, it will even provide a bit of coverage. There are multiple types of foundation and many hybrids in-between and will probably take a few tries to find the one you like in terms of coverage, color, weight, and finish which all tend to be quite variable, even within brands. In order of less coverage to more we have powder foundation, powder to liquid, liquid, and cream. I really like liquid because it tends to be buildable, that is; you can put on a layer, let it set and dry, then add another layer if you need more coverage. While I use primarily budget or drugstore bands for my makeup, I to get spendy with my foundation and don't regret it one bit. I use MAC Studio Fix and will likely buy more when I run out. I have a couple of different shades that I use to change my complexion to go with blonde wigs. I'm naturally black haired so blonde, white, or pink takes some work. It will take some playing around to figure out what you need for a specific costume but I use the loose powder in light and medium to help me adjust lighter or darker from the two shades of foundation I have. Beard shadow also falls into color correction. Most beard shadow is bluish in tone. Reach back to your middle school art class color theory and remember that orange is blue's complementary color. For our use, putting one on top of the other has a cancelling effect. I sparingly use a matte orange lipstick like NYX butter in Hot Tamale before I put on my foundation in areas where the shadow is really bad. I much prefer taking down beard shadow with a close shave but that's because my beard shadow isn't that bad and my double-edge razor gets much closer than an expensive ass 5-blade monster.
  
  Tools for foundation and concealer. I dot on the foundation with my fingers and spread with a foundation brush. The brush can leave streaks so a blender sponge can help diminish them. Just pounce up and down with light pressure before it sets. Don't press and drag. Your powder application will take care of the rest. Do not apply your liquid foundation with a sponge unless you want to waste foundation. It's a sponge. You'll end up with more foundation in the sponge than on your face. If you buy your concealer in a stick, it's probably all you need but mine is in a pot and I like applying it with a synthetic bristle brush for exactness and blending out the edges. I have a lot of moles on my nose and this helps me get it on each and every one.
  
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  So here we are at contouring. You'll probably notice foundation with medium to high coverage really takes some of the depth out of your face. It looks a little weird but can be easily corrected with a matte bronzer or dark concealer to add in shadows. Use the bronzer or concealer to add re-emphasize shadows in the hollows of your cheeks, under your jawline, under your brow bone, etc. Start with your own face shape and then expand your horizons. You are essentially forcing the perception of shadows and depth. Play around with locations, shapes, angles to match your character. Your character have a round face while you have a long rectangular one? Try adding shadow at your hairline and peak of your chin to shorten your face. Get a very light concealer and you can do even more by forcing the appearance of highlights and bringing things forward. This is a good pallet for detail contouring and eyeshadow when you're ready to try that. The eye shadows can be used anywhere on your face for contouring.
  
  Tools: For bronzer, an angled blush brush will get you some nice blend patterns and lines. Cream concealers go on nicely with a synthetic brush or cheap wedge sponges. All said and done, I suggest getting one of the brush kits from Coastal Scents, ELF, or Sonia Kushak. /r/Makeupaddiction tends to like the budget Eco Tools as well.
  
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  My typical order:
  
  
• clean and moisturize
  
• primer/bb cream
  
• beard shadow concealment
  
• foundation
  
• concealer and contour
  
• powder
  
• eyes
  
• brows
  
• powder to set the eyes and brows
  
• chapstick
  
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  Some resources:
  
  Goss
  
  Petrilude
  
  Kevyn Aucoin Face Forward
  
  Whew, I think this is my longest post ever. Hopefully it says what I think it does as I wrote it off and on through out the day and am to tired to proof it.
  
  EDIT: thought I should also specify that I'm a guy cosplayer and regularly use makeup in cosplay. This info is what I've collected through my 7 years of cosplay.

I can't help you with the poses but I have some experience with the hair. I have hair that's all the way down my back right now. Do a tight french braid. If it's thick enough that a single one leaves a visible lump going across the top of your head do pigtail french braids. If you have an excessive tail left over, try doing a french braid crown like this: http://babesinhairland.com/wp-content/uploads/IMG_2622E.jpg

For your wig, get some detanger to comb through it. It won't prevent all tangles but it'll help ease straightening it out again. When you're not wearing it, put it on a foam head and the head on a stand Some T pins will help keep it in place. During transport I've found it helpful to loosely braid the wig and put a hair net gently over it too.

Success!

Thank you so so so so much. Wow. I wanted to wait to try it out to see how well it might work. It went through two layers of leather without any difficulty and it made sewing incredibly fast and easy. I was able to finish tailoring in less than 30 minutes. Thank you so much.

If anyone is wondering: I bought Speedy Stitcher Sewing Awl 120. I bought one of the slight more expensive "new" ones, and therefore didn't need to break $25.

one of my friends used clear coat to make it more shiny but I just used plastidip and then the color that I wanted and it worked pretty well

here is an amazon link to stuff we used it comes in different colors as well.

I have uploaded my work papers here that should help, you can also check my post history for other work in progress shots.

Basic rundown:

• Get a set of digital calipers like this they are under $20, and are vital in making measurements off of the figure. Read the instructions on how to use them, they are a great tool.
  
• Figure how high you want the end result to be. I wanted Alphonse to be to scale. I found animator notes that had him listed as 7' - 4" or 88" tall.
  
• I made all of my measurements in millimeters (mm) because I found it easier, you can do inches but pick one now and stick to it for the duration of the project.
  
• Take the height you want and divide it by the height of the statue. You do not need to convert it the same units. I can explain why if needed.
  
• My Alphonse figure was 228.1 mm tall, so that gave me 88/228.1 = .3858.
  
• So any measurement I made on the figure I multiplied by .3858 and that gave me the dimension needed in inches for the costume.
  
  Always more than willing to answer any questions, so let me know if something does not make sense.

He usually has on a pair of Clarks, which are pretty expensive, maybe you can find a knock off?

and definitely the khakis...

or if you can't sew there is iron on tape I've had good luck with for cosplay http://www.amazon.com/Dritz-222-20-Yard-Witchery-Regular/dp/B0001DSIHI/ref=pd_sim_sbs_a_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=0DVWJ5QX57V1F93DVFF0

-use a snap off knife
-invest in a dremel
-use rough then fine grit sandpaper if no dremel
-seal with woodglue or modpodge
-you can also seal with plastidip if you like
-paint with any sort of paint you like: krylon for plastic or acrylic are my top choices

You can get most/all of the above at walmart, harbor freight, or a hardware store

I have read/heard good things about vinyl dye/paint for this kind of application.

Example

I have heard RIT dyes can do the job as well, just take longer per application.

RIT Works Too


Quick example of one method.

Example2

Yes the water is heavy, a pint is a pound the world around. I don't think I will notice it that much, much of the fluid will be distributed in the tubing, and Its just a vest for now.

The coolers and radiators I am looking at aren't much in weight either. radiator I was going to just take a pump one of these and possibly a replaceable ice water reservoir. but I saw this. Peltier Cooler.

As for the battery, I believe the peliter requires a 12v battery. You are correct it is a power hog, however according to this video tutorial I can rig an arduino, temp probe, and relay to shut off the peltier when the liquid is cool enough.

So something like this: http://www.amazon.com/NYX-Cosmetics-Studio-Finishing-Translucent/dp/B009GLQG6Q/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1414481814&sr=8-4&keywords=makeup+setting+powder

Or this:http://www.amazon.com/Dermablend-Loose-Setting-Powder-Original/dp/B0002RI2PG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1414481888&sr=8-2&keywords=makeup+setting+powder

And should I use a light coat of it before I apply the latex?

There are special needles for leather work. You can find a decent selection here: http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/en-usd/Needles.aspx

You can also try upholstery needles: http://www.amazon.com/Dritz-9020-Curved-Upholstery-Needle/dp/B0009V0V5E

Yes it is Arkham HQ. Shoe cream is old fashioned polish. This is what I used https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00066J09A/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_Hsk.tb1EM20XQ

If you need to go purple you should first use white scuff cover to lighten the shoe. Remember to seal your shoes with a rain and stain protective spray before wearing them too.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BDG1D6/ref=s9_simh_se_p193_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=auto-no-results-center-1&pf_rd_r=479787F1BB7E4492ACA0&pf_rd_t=301&pf_rd_p=1263465782&pf_rd_i=hampion%206.7%20oz%20Contrasting%20Raglan%20Sleeve%20Baseball%20Jersey%20with%20Braid%20Trim
It took people a while to recognize me but here you go!
I went as Glenn to a con

Look into galoshes. I checked out the A7L boots you mentioned and I think these might work out for you. I believe you can get similar pairs for cheaper from Walmart or another big box retailer.