Cosplay @ DBRL

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, not Christmas in July and not halfway to Halloween. We’re only about 4 weeks away from our annual cosplay contest. Join us on Monday, August 14 from 6-9 pm at the Columbia Public Library for our first in-person CosPlay Con in 3 years! Dress up as your favorite character, be it superhero, anime, sci-fi or your own original persona. We’ll award prizes for the best costumes and characterization in different age categories, so be ready to show off your cosplay game! Photos and registration will begin at 6 p.m., followed at 6:30 p.m. by a runway show. All ages are welcome!

If you’ve been paying attention we’ve been hosting cosplay programs all year long to help you build your cosplay skills (or costume). Don’t worry if you haven’t attended them all. Below is a quick rundown of all the projects you might have missed.

Merperson

Woman with short blue hair and glasses with painted on scales combing her hair with a fork and wearing an Ursula shirt.

Become a merperson with this makeup tutorial. Or follow along in this video.

Woodland Creature

Photo of woman in deer make up and another photo of a woman in owl make up.

Follow the instructions on this blog to help you transform into a majestic woodland creature! Will you be a fox, owl or deer?

Zip-Tie Crown

Woman wearing a black and purple flower tiara.

Need a fabulous tiara to top off your fantasy outfit? All you need is a headband and a few zip-ties and you are on your way!

Clothing Swap

During our last cosplay tutorial program, we hosted a swap. Hosting your own clothing swap with friends is a great way to update your wardrobe without having to spend a lot of money! You never know what treasures you might find lurking in the attic. Just make sure you have permission, before turning your sister’s prom dress into your cosplay couture.

Wings

Top photo of the back of a woman wearing purple and black wings. Bottom photo of a woman in black and gold wings.

We also made wings out of EVA foam and you can too!

  • Wing template
  • Scissors
  • White or black EVA foam – We used 12″ x 18″ – 0.24″ thick
  • Wire hanger – the kind with the cardboard tube in the middle is best
  • Contact Cement – this is very stinky so use outdoors
  • Hot glue
  • Elastic ¼ inch or larger
  • Paint – acrylic is best
  • Paint brushes
  • Glitter (optional)

We used the wing tutorial and pattern from SKS Props. He gets pretty fancy with a Dremel and airbrush, but we had great success with regular paintbrushes and some glitter! We also used the hot glue gun to hold things in place and add details to the wings, so feel free to make it your own.