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Cosplay - The Beginner's Masterclass: A Guide to Cosplay Culture & Costume Making: Finding Materials, Planning, Ideas, How to Make Clothing, Props & Enjoy Conventions
The Second Edition of Cosplay - The Beginner's Masterclass is longer, more detailed and has dozens of new pictures and illustrations! Veteran cosplayers Miyuu Takahara and Kenji Weston team up experience to give new and aspiring cosplayers the introductory guide they deserve. Expertly composed, this book contains hundreds of images, many of which illustrate the advice, instruction and ideas discussed. Each cosplay topic and technique is explained lucidly, comprehensively and straightforwardly. All manner of costumes are closely examined: superheroes and supervillains, video game characters, and of course those from Japanese anime and manga culture. Hundreds of hours of research and collaboration were lavished upon this book. To write it, the authors drew on the spirit of commitment and passion that is at the very core of good cosplay. It is guaranteed to give newbies and beginners plus even experienced cosplayers the guidance and tips they need to do well in this, the most epic of hobbies.
306 pages, Hardcover
First published May 17, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 27, 2015
This should be called the cosplay bible
I was pleasantly surprised when I read this book. I was unfamiliar with how cosplay came about and this book gave a great lesson on just that. It actually made me understand it better.
This book is so detailed on every aspect, It's basically the bible of Cosplay! I feel this book is for people of all Cosplay levels, from beginners to expects! This book has taught me a lot of great techniques for my costumes as well as some great new places to get my supplies.
I was amazed by the end of the book where it has lists of many different website to help me along with my needs. You will not be disappointed after reading this book! You will be amazed on how much you didn't know!
I was pleasantly surprised when I read this book. I was unfamiliar with how cosplay came about and this book gave a great lesson on just that. It actually made me understand it better.
This book is so detailed on every aspect, It's basically the bible of Cosplay! I feel this book is for people of all Cosplay levels, from beginners to expects! This book has taught me a lot of great techniques for my costumes as well as some great new places to get my supplies.
I was amazed by the end of the book where it has lists of many different website to help me along with my needs. You will not be disappointed after reading this book! You will be amazed on how much you didn't know!
January 11, 2018
An indepth bible for the newly initiated into cosplay. As someone with no prior induction into the hobby, I found it a great springing board for some basic designs.
January 30, 2018
First and foremost despite the presence of an ISBN this is clearly more of a fan published affair but given how cosplay is such a niche and new thing that doesn’t automatically send it to the trash bin. The cover/photo quality does raise questions as to the rest of the book’s quality. It’s a hefty book though at over 350 pages and the text itself is laid out in an easy to read format. All the interior photos are in black and white.
There is a reason this book is so long though as it covers not only the background of cosplay itself but the experience from planning to creating to wearing. It’s very much the author’s opinion and lacks citations to back claims that are made, especially where they would be useful such as in the All About Cosplay section which details the history and some general qualities about cosplay. Unless this book was written about ten years ago the assertion that “By contrast cosplayers aren’t out to profit” is wholly inaccurate as that cannot be a marker to distinguish between cosplayer and professional costumer/entertainer these days. While a “professional” cosplayer or commissioner isn’t a common career it is still a possible career. There also seems to be some confusion in the author’s opinion on whether Halloween costumes constitute cosplay or not, asserting first that they can be then later a Halloween party isn’t cosplay territory. The what is section also clearly has a very specific view on what cosplay is and unfortunately it’s not nearly as all-encompassing as it really should be. There is more to cosplay than a single person making a costume of their favorite character and wearing it to a convention. The history section in particular is in dire need of citations as while it paints quite a picture there is no way to show that this picture is in fact based on any hard facts. The subcultures list is interesting as well as it’s actually quite inclusive but perhaps too much so. Tell a historical reenactor they are cosplaying a civil war soldier and they won’t be very pleased with you. Also truly the book would benefit either from a better selection of photos to suit being printed in black and white or the pages with photos should be in color.
While the more “academic” part of the book is honestly in dire need of some work the actual part for getting into the hobby is not bad at all. This is clearly written by someone who has been in the hobby a while and wants to impart some of the hard lessons we all learn for someone getting into the hobby. It talks of how most new cosplayers over extend themselves and how planning helps so very much and how most detailed cosplays end up in the $200+ range. All of this is in a friendly tone, words from someone who has been there and wants to tell someone new what to expect. If nothing else there is an entire paragraph on why ironing is super important and if that isn’t proof this is written by someone who has cosplayed for years I don’t know what is. I just wish it mentioned ironing seams while sewing! There is still an undertone of the old guard attitude throughout the text which is disappointing with their insistence that it can never be more than a hobby or that choosing something just because it’s trendy is not a good idea. It really taints an otherwise great resource for newbie cosplayers as does some of the advice on sourcing materials like actual dumpster diving (which is often illegal) and that the best time to buy fabric is after Halloween.
There’s also a very heavy section on sewing but to be honest there are much better sewing books out there and even much better sewing for cosplay books out there. The section on wigs isn’t terrible but could use some help in terms of formatting so it isn’t just a text dump. There’s also a text dump on make up with numerous pages dedicated to skin care which is both a chore to read and nowhere near able to actually convey what is needed. Honestly that is the heart of the issues with this book, it’s a lot of text dump with some photos that don’t look great in black and white and which often falls more into a glossary than anything more useful. The prop section is only a few pages long really only covers the sword and shield.
Similarly the resource list at the back is both lengthy yet is an odd mix of definitely useful and lists that are far longer than they should be with odd inclusions.
5/10: It tries to be so inclusive but you can feel the exact moment the author just switches to listing and defining things because it’s about the exact moment you start honestly getting bored. There’s a horrendous lack of citations and a very old guard opinion throughout. The lack of color images and presence of massive text dumps does nothing to keep it engaging and honestly it feels like a number of blog posts stitched together, with some headings and images removed. There are far better books out there to cover history, getting into and actually crafting.
There is a reason this book is so long though as it covers not only the background of cosplay itself but the experience from planning to creating to wearing. It’s very much the author’s opinion and lacks citations to back claims that are made, especially where they would be useful such as in the All About Cosplay section which details the history and some general qualities about cosplay. Unless this book was written about ten years ago the assertion that “By contrast cosplayers aren’t out to profit” is wholly inaccurate as that cannot be a marker to distinguish between cosplayer and professional costumer/entertainer these days. While a “professional” cosplayer or commissioner isn’t a common career it is still a possible career. There also seems to be some confusion in the author’s opinion on whether Halloween costumes constitute cosplay or not, asserting first that they can be then later a Halloween party isn’t cosplay territory. The what is section also clearly has a very specific view on what cosplay is and unfortunately it’s not nearly as all-encompassing as it really should be. There is more to cosplay than a single person making a costume of their favorite character and wearing it to a convention. The history section in particular is in dire need of citations as while it paints quite a picture there is no way to show that this picture is in fact based on any hard facts. The subcultures list is interesting as well as it’s actually quite inclusive but perhaps too much so. Tell a historical reenactor they are cosplaying a civil war soldier and they won’t be very pleased with you. Also truly the book would benefit either from a better selection of photos to suit being printed in black and white or the pages with photos should be in color.
While the more “academic” part of the book is honestly in dire need of some work the actual part for getting into the hobby is not bad at all. This is clearly written by someone who has been in the hobby a while and wants to impart some of the hard lessons we all learn for someone getting into the hobby. It talks of how most new cosplayers over extend themselves and how planning helps so very much and how most detailed cosplays end up in the $200+ range. All of this is in a friendly tone, words from someone who has been there and wants to tell someone new what to expect. If nothing else there is an entire paragraph on why ironing is super important and if that isn’t proof this is written by someone who has cosplayed for years I don’t know what is. I just wish it mentioned ironing seams while sewing! There is still an undertone of the old guard attitude throughout the text which is disappointing with their insistence that it can never be more than a hobby or that choosing something just because it’s trendy is not a good idea. It really taints an otherwise great resource for newbie cosplayers as does some of the advice on sourcing materials like actual dumpster diving (which is often illegal) and that the best time to buy fabric is after Halloween.
There’s also a very heavy section on sewing but to be honest there are much better sewing books out there and even much better sewing for cosplay books out there. The section on wigs isn’t terrible but could use some help in terms of formatting so it isn’t just a text dump. There’s also a text dump on make up with numerous pages dedicated to skin care which is both a chore to read and nowhere near able to actually convey what is needed. Honestly that is the heart of the issues with this book, it’s a lot of text dump with some photos that don’t look great in black and white and which often falls more into a glossary than anything more useful. The prop section is only a few pages long really only covers the sword and shield.
Similarly the resource list at the back is both lengthy yet is an odd mix of definitely useful and lists that are far longer than they should be with odd inclusions.
5/10: It tries to be so inclusive but you can feel the exact moment the author just switches to listing and defining things because it’s about the exact moment you start honestly getting bored. There’s a horrendous lack of citations and a very old guard opinion throughout. The lack of color images and presence of massive text dumps does nothing to keep it engaging and honestly it feels like a number of blog posts stitched together, with some headings and images removed. There are far better books out there to cover history, getting into and actually crafting.
January 30, 2018
First and foremost despite the presence of an ISBN this is clearly more of a fan published affair but given how cosplay is such a niche and new thing that doesn’t automatically send it to the trash bin. The cover/photo quality does raise questions as to the rest of the book’s quality. It’s a hefty book though at over 350 pages and the text itself is laid out in an easy to read format. All the interior photos are in black and white.
There is a reason this book is so long though as it covers not only the background of cosplay itself but the experience from planning to creating to wearing. It’s very much the author’s opinion and lacks citations to back claims that are made, especially where they would be useful such as in the All About Cosplay section which details the history and some general qualities about cosplay. Unless this book was written about ten years ago the assertion that “By contrast cosplayers aren’t out to profit” is wholly inaccurate as that cannot be a marker to distinguish between cosplayer and professional costumer/entertainer these days. While a “professional” cosplayer or commissioner isn’t a common career it is still a possible career. There also seems to be some confusion in the author’s opinion on whether Halloween costumes constitute cosplay or not, asserting first that they can be then later a Halloween party isn’t cosplay territory. The what is section also clearly has a very specific view on what cosplay is and unfortunately it’s not nearly as all-encompassing as it really should be. There is more to cosplay than a single person making a costume of their favorite character and wearing it to a convention. The history section in particular is in dire need of citations as while it paints quite a picture there is no way to show that this picture is in fact based on any hard facts. The subcultures list is interesting as well as it’s actually quite inclusive but perhaps too much so. Tell a historical reenactor they are cosplaying a civil war soldier and they won’t be very pleased with you. Also truly the book would benefit either from a better selection of photos to suit being printed in black and white or the pages with photos should be in color.
While the more “academic” part of the book is honestly in dire need of some work the actual part for getting into the hobby is not bad at all. This is clearly written by someone who has been in the hobby a while and wants to impart some of the hard lessons we all learn for someone getting into the hobby. It talks of how most new cosplayers over extend themselves and how planning helps so very much and how most detailed cosplays end up in the $200+ range. All of this is in a friendly tone, words from someone who has been there and wants to tell someone new what to expect. If nothing else there is an entire paragraph on why ironing is super important and if that isn’t proof this is written by someone who has cosplayed for years I don’t know what is. I just wish it mentioned ironing seams while sewing! There is still an undertone of the old guard attitude throughout the text which is disappointing with their insistence that it can never be more than a hobby or that choosing something just because it’s trendy is not a good idea. It really taints an otherwise great resource for newbie cosplayers as does some of the advice on sourcing materials like actual dumpster diving (which is often illegal) and that the best time to buy fabric is after Halloween.
There’s also a very heavy section on sewing but to be honest there are much better sewing books out there and even much better sewing for cosplay books out there. The section on wigs isn’t terrible but could use some help in terms of formatting so it isn’t just a text dump. There’s also a text dump on make up with numerous pages dedicated to skin care which is both a chore to read and nowhere near able to actually convey what is needed. Honestly that is the heart of the issues with this book, it’s a lot of text dump with some photos that don’t look great in black and white and which often falls more into a glossary than anything more useful. The prop section is only a few pages long and really only covers the sword and shield.
Similarly the resource list at the back is both lengthy yet is an odd mix of definitely useful and lists that are far longer than they should be with odd inclusions.
5/10: It tries to be so inclusive but you can feel the exact moment the author just switches to listing and defining things because it’s about the exact moment you start honestly getting bored. There’s a horrendous lack of citations and a very old guard opinion throughout. The lack of color images and presence of massive text dumps does nothing to keep it engaging and honestly it feels like a number of blog posts stitched together, with some headings and images removed. There are far better books out there to cover history, getting into and actually crafting.
There is a reason this book is so long though as it covers not only the background of cosplay itself but the experience from planning to creating to wearing. It’s very much the author’s opinion and lacks citations to back claims that are made, especially where they would be useful such as in the All About Cosplay section which details the history and some general qualities about cosplay. Unless this book was written about ten years ago the assertion that “By contrast cosplayers aren’t out to profit” is wholly inaccurate as that cannot be a marker to distinguish between cosplayer and professional costumer/entertainer these days. While a “professional” cosplayer or commissioner isn’t a common career it is still a possible career. There also seems to be some confusion in the author’s opinion on whether Halloween costumes constitute cosplay or not, asserting first that they can be then later a Halloween party isn’t cosplay territory. The what is section also clearly has a very specific view on what cosplay is and unfortunately it’s not nearly as all-encompassing as it really should be. There is more to cosplay than a single person making a costume of their favorite character and wearing it to a convention. The history section in particular is in dire need of citations as while it paints quite a picture there is no way to show that this picture is in fact based on any hard facts. The subcultures list is interesting as well as it’s actually quite inclusive but perhaps too much so. Tell a historical reenactor they are cosplaying a civil war soldier and they won’t be very pleased with you. Also truly the book would benefit either from a better selection of photos to suit being printed in black and white or the pages with photos should be in color.
While the more “academic” part of the book is honestly in dire need of some work the actual part for getting into the hobby is not bad at all. This is clearly written by someone who has been in the hobby a while and wants to impart some of the hard lessons we all learn for someone getting into the hobby. It talks of how most new cosplayers over extend themselves and how planning helps so very much and how most detailed cosplays end up in the $200+ range. All of this is in a friendly tone, words from someone who has been there and wants to tell someone new what to expect. If nothing else there is an entire paragraph on why ironing is super important and if that isn’t proof this is written by someone who has cosplayed for years I don’t know what is. I just wish it mentioned ironing seams while sewing! There is still an undertone of the old guard attitude throughout the text which is disappointing with their insistence that it can never be more than a hobby or that choosing something just because it’s trendy is not a good idea. It really taints an otherwise great resource for newbie cosplayers as does some of the advice on sourcing materials like actual dumpster diving (which is often illegal) and that the best time to buy fabric is after Halloween.
There’s also a very heavy section on sewing but to be honest there are much better sewing books out there and even much better sewing for cosplay books out there. The section on wigs isn’t terrible but could use some help in terms of formatting so it isn’t just a text dump. There’s also a text dump on make up with numerous pages dedicated to skin care which is both a chore to read and nowhere near able to actually convey what is needed. Honestly that is the heart of the issues with this book, it’s a lot of text dump with some photos that don’t look great in black and white and which often falls more into a glossary than anything more useful. The prop section is only a few pages long and really only covers the sword and shield.
Similarly the resource list at the back is both lengthy yet is an odd mix of definitely useful and lists that are far longer than they should be with odd inclusions.
5/10: It tries to be so inclusive but you can feel the exact moment the author just switches to listing and defining things because it’s about the exact moment you start honestly getting bored. There’s a horrendous lack of citations and a very old guard opinion throughout. The lack of color images and presence of massive text dumps does nothing to keep it engaging and honestly it feels like a number of blog posts stitched together, with some headings and images removed. There are far better books out there to cover history, getting into and actually crafting.
October 15, 2020
The formatting is terrible, the font choice is just as bad, and the fact that the images are black and white, often grainy, and not terribly helpful really add to the whole experience. But then there's the text itself, which sounds like something from 2005, not 2016. Tons of comments about 'serious' cosplayers or 'amateurish' work, that sounds incredibly elitist and discouraging. There's a section with web links at the back, which is also laughably old school. Do even half of these sites still exist? I feel like some definitely don't, and weren't even that active back in 2016 when this was written. I feel sorry for anyone who picks this book up as an introduction to cosplay because it's incredibly discouraging for a beginner, who it claims to be writing for.
July 1, 2019
Really? You need that much space devoted to lip balm to prevent chapping from licking one's lips??
And applying mascara is potentially more difficult than it is to apply false eyelashes? [not kidding]
I could've used more how-to information about boot coverings, spray paint, etc.
And applying mascara is potentially more difficult than it is to apply false eyelashes? [not kidding]
I could've used more how-to information about boot coverings, spray paint, etc.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews