If you’re reading this then you’ve probably discovered the wonderful and fun world of cosplay and like most players, you’re hooked already. The great thing about cosplay is that it allows you to completely unleash your creativity and immerse yourself in play like you’re a little kid again.
As you’ll see below, it doesn’t take much to get started and enjoy yourself as a cosplayer, especially because the materials required are super easy to find.
Here you have the top 5 materials:
-
Table of Contents
Crafting or EVA Foam
Image by Pham Trung Kien from Pixabay
Craft foam is hugely popular among cosplayers because it’s cost-effective and easy to work with. Since it’s lightweight, craft foam is perfect for creating armor that compliments your outfit and you can walk around in it all day without getting weighed down. You can also layer craft foam or score it with an Exacto knife to create interesting patterns that truly add texture and detail to your outfit.
-
Hot Glue Gun
Hot glue is another essential material that you absolutely need to have in cosplay because it’s what you use to attach different materials when putting your outfit together. It can also come in handy when you want to strengthen your armor by adding raised edges to the surface of the material, and it’s crucial for strengthening your armor as well.
If we were to recommend one particular brand of hot glue for you to try out, it would be Surebonder. Their hot glue is reasonably priced and it can handle even the toughest materials because it features an industrial glue gun.
Image by Zhanat86 from Pixabay
-
PVC Plastics
Image by Виктория Бородинова from Pixabay
PVC is absolutely perfect for creating all types of different cosplay props, and you canget it at a really inexpensive price at your local hardware store. However, what really makes PVC so special is the fact that it’s really versatile, and comes in the form of fittings, pipes and even flat sheets that you can cut up into different shapes to create different objects like armor or weapons.
-
Scrap Fabric
It’s safe to say that scrap fabric is the foundation of your cosplay adventures because it can be used to create all kinds of different outfits. This is why most cosplayers keep a few small bins of scrap fabric on hand to play with.
Get yourself a bunch of scrap fabric from a local fabric shop or collect it from old clothes that you don’t wear anymore to get started on making new cosplay outfits. You can also use scrap fabric to make really strong and long lasting shields by sticking it onto your EVA foam using hot glue. You can even roll up certain types of fabric to create unique jewelery that compliments your outfit.
Image by Tania Van den Berghen from Pixabay
-
Anything You Can Get Your Hands On
The beauty of cosplay is that it doesn’t limit you in terms of how you choose to interpret outfits and you can literally use any material you like to create an outfit. For instance, you can make a proper Gambit outfit using some scrap fabric, hot glue, PVC and baseball catchers. So all that stuff that’s pilling up in your garage has the potential to become an outfit and with a creative mind, you can adapt all types of objects and materials into components for your cosplay outfit.
Image by nicola ferra from Pixabay
