Malindachan is a college Senior majoring in Art with a focus on Computer Animation, but she is also a fantastic cosplayer with some impressive wigs and costumes. She has had her costumes published in COSMODE - Issue 29, Cosplay in America, Otacool2 and a tutorial in Cosplay Gen - Issue 2, she has won various costume awards and attends cons as a cosplay guest, panelist or judge. Check out her:
Deviantart: malindachan.deviantart.com/
Cosplay.com: cosplay.com/member/76010/
ACParadise: acparadise.com/acp/display.php?a=44388
Photo taken by Ex-S Cosplayer (Ex-shadow on Deviantart).
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»What got you into cosplay, and what was your first costume? I got interested in cosplay when I was in high school because we were encouraged to dress up at special Anime club events. It was then that I got the inspiration to create costumes for myself so I could join in on the fun. Sewing was something I had been teaching myself since middle school, but I was only hand-sewing simple things like plushies, so moving onto bigger things like costumes was a huge step for me. My first official costume was Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist, which was mostly modified store-bought pieces except for the coat. Things were a bit slow at first since cosplay wasn't something easily accepted by my family and peers, but I knew I was hooked after I attended my first convention a few years down the road.
»You do some fantastic things with wigs and styling them! Where did you learn to style wigs, and do you have any tips for styling or buying a good wig?
I had no idea what I was doing when I started styling wigs. The first cosplay I ever made that required lots of wig styling was Yami Yugi (of all the things!), but it was because of that wig that I found a hidden talent and another craft that I enjoyed doing. I did some research and asked a few questions to cosplayers on cosplay.com to get me started, but even then I still had to think of some ideas of my own to pull it all together. I surprised myself with the result, which is why I always encourage cosplayers to experiment and find the courage to try new things no matter how intimidating they might be.
As for tips for styling and buying wigs, there's so much I'd like to share! First of all, the quality of a wig is really important. You don't have to spend a fortune on a wig, but do expect a good wig to range between $25-40 on average for a good wig, give-or-take depending on where you buy it and the length and/or thickness of the wig itself. I personally love shopping on Arda-wigs.com, Amphigory.com, Cosworx.com, and sometimes Ebay.
When styling wigs, my favorite hair product is Got2b glued freeze spray, though Aqua net is also a good, cheaper alternative. Never use hair gels, since they're meant to react with the natural oils of human hair in order to work. Also, don't load too much hairspray when styling your wigs, since that'll clump the fibers together and make spikes have gaps, look stringy, and overall have less volume. When I spike wigs, I'll oftentimes use fabric glue to keep the tips of the spikes together so I don't have to overload on hairspray, though Got2b spiking glue is an alternative too.
Since most wigs cosplayers use are made of synthetic fibers some of the wigs you buy might not be heat resistant. Always do a test on a small piece of hair that you don't mind messing up in the scenario that the fibers might get ruined. Usually you can get away with using a blow-dryer or straightening iron on a low heat setting, or you can use hot water (but not boiling!) to tame a wig.
One last big tip I'd like to share is how to cut the hair on a wig. I sometimes use fancier thinning sheers to make the end result look more natural and get better tips in my spikes, but you can get away with just a regular pair of scissors too. Cutting perpendicular (straight across) to a section of hair is generally a no-no, unless you're just taking off large amounts of hair to make things easier later. Even if you're character has straight bangs, a straight-cut can look really choppy if that's all you do. Cut with the scissors going in the same direction as the length of the hair to slowly thin out the ends. You also might even start with a longer length than you might need and then try it on, just in case it looks shorter on you than on your Styrofoam wig head. You can always cut it shorter, but it's impossible to make it longer unless you add in more hair wefts.
»What is your most memorable cosplay experience?
I have too many good memories to narrow it down to just one! Almost every con I've been to has had a bundle of good memories thanks to all the wonderful friends I've made through cosplay. I think one of the biggest memories was a few years ago when my best online friend flew halfway across the US to attend a con with us. We had fun cosplaying together and practiced/performed a cosplay skit that we wrote together. On the trip down my car got totaled due to the slick road conditions, but I wasn't going to let that stop me from going through with the rest of the trip. The memories I made with her and my cosplay family made the weekend well worth it.
» Have you ever felt demotivated by a project? What has kept you in the hobby?I sometimes feel demotivated to do something when I run into a part of a costume that intimidates me. This usually happens when I am stumped with what I want to use as materials or I'm using new materials that I've never experimented with before. Once I get started though and make even a small breakthrough, I have more confidence and can plow trough it. The characters I cosplay and the groups of friends I cosplay with are my biggest motivations and inspirations. I get pumped with excitement when I think about how fun it'll be to walk in the shoes as my favorite characters, or how fun our group is going to have if we're all cosplaying from the same show or game together. This hobby has also helped me grow as a person into who I am today; I'd be crazy to throw away something this important to me.
»Your deviantart says that you are involved in several panels at San Japan. How did you get involved in panels and do you have any tips for aspiring panelists?
Actually, I didn't start doing panels until after I started attending cons as a cosplay guest! I was pretty nervous because I'm not an experienced public speaker and I'm shy around new people. Though, once I get the introductions out of the way and get started with some of my own questions to the audience, I have a better idea with the direction I want to take and have an easier time talking.
Asking the audience a few general questions like, "who here has never sewn before?" or "who here has never worn a wig?" at the start encourages interaction and lets me know more about who I'm talking to. If the majority of the audience is new cosplayers that don't have much or any experience, then I'll focus a lot on the basics before moving onto anything complex. Though, even if I'm in a room with a lot of really experienced cosplayers that I'm teaching more advanced techniques to, it's still good to fill in the gaps with basic stuff so that the less experienced cosplayers can learn new things too without getting confused.
It's also important to have time to answer questions from the audience, because they might have come to the panel to learn something you might have not touched on. Usually panels are only an hour long, which is never enough time to go over absolutely everything on even a small area of cosplay.
People have different ways of communicating to an audience, and I eventually learned that I'm personally more hands-on and communicate best when I'm not worrying about power point presentations or making sure to go over everything on an outline. My mind doesn't like focusing on multiple things at once, so I do better if I focus on the audience and not on a big screen behind me or a piece of paper.
I like to save images in a folder to show my audience in case they need visuals, but it's good to prepare in the scenario that the panel room doesn't have a projector screen. If I can, I like to wear cosplays to a panel or bring pieces that I can use as samples to show-and-tell. The audience can pass things around or come up to get a good look at it, which I feel is better than a 2D image. People also love demos. Most of our generation is visual learners, and they better understand something they can see in person.
It's good to have business cards, or at least paper you can write your website or email address on. You'll likely run out of time before answering everyone's questions, and they'll want to contact you online for the questions they didn't get a chance to ask. Come in well rested, nourished, and with a positive attitude. If you're happy, your audience will be happy too.
»And the last question was from the "suggest a question" we had on twitter and facebook. From @IlanaNight13 "Dear Malindachan, are there certain fabrics/craft materials that should be avoided when making costumes?"
Personally, I feel every material you can think of is fair game. Some may argue that certain materials are bad, but they are only bad if you yourself aren't happy with the end result.
Though, if this question is another way of asking what materials to look into when making costumes, I've got lots of advice.
It's good to look into a variety of options before deciding what to buy, since you might run across something that you might have not thought of at first that ends up working perfectly for what you want. Set aside some time to browse through all of the craft and fabric stores around town to discover what's available and brainstorm ideas before buying anything. Hardware stores are great too! Also search the web for tutorials or ask around on the cosplay.com forums if you're stumped. You might get some feedback or links to websites where you can order something you can't normally find in stores. You might even stumble across things that you might not necessarily need for your current costume, but would be great for a costume you want to do in the future.
Some materials are more expensive or harder to work with compared to others, so you might have to make some sacrifices. When making a costume, cosplayers want it cheap, perfect, and fast. However, usually you can only have two of those three things (unless you get really lucky). You might want a costume to be perfect and inexpensive, but you might have to wait out buying materials until they go on sale and spend more time on details for the sake of accuracy. You might want it inexpensive and fast, but your budget for materials on such short notice might not get you the ideal materials for what you're wanting to do. Last option is perfect and fast, but chances are that you're spending a lot of money in order to get what you want quickly. All of this can really influence what you use in a costume.
Like I mentioned before in the question about wigs, don't be afraid to try new things, and experiment! You might surprise yourself or discover new materials and techniques of your own. Pass on the inspiration and creativity to the rest of the cosplay world by contributing your discoveries. |  | | »Top Tutorials | | »Great Resource
- Commissioner/Merchant review thread
Buying online can be worrying, particularily if you don't know much about the seller. In the Commissioner/Merchant review thread on cosplay.com you can see other cosplayer's reviews which can help you make an informed decision on where to buy. It's also a great place to share your experiences!
| | »New with Cosplay Tutorial
| | »Pro Tips
Usually at a convention you want a bag to carry around with you, but that can look bad in photos and is troublesome to keep putting down. If the series has a mascot character, you could make a backpack to match the costume by making it look like the mascot character!
Remember to bring a cosplay fix kit with you to conventions and photoshoots! You never know what might happen and it is better to be safe than sorry. Good things you may want to include in your fix kit:
- Safety Pins
- Needle and Thread
- Small Scissors
- Bobby Pins
- Hot Glue or Superglue
- Tape
- Clear Nail Polish
- Stick on Velcro Strips
- Mirror
- Travel Size Hairspray
- Spare Wig Cap
- Spare Buttons
- Tide to Go or another stain remover
- Band-aids
- Lip Balm
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» Coming Soon
Wonder what is coming up for Cosplay Tutorial? Here is a sneak peak at what is planned:
- A Where to Buy list, with links to various sites to buy wigs, costumes, makeup and more.
- A variety of fake tattoo methods, with information on what works best
- A tutorial list update, making sure the links all work and including any tutorials that were posted to the twitter or facebook the last 2 months.
- Cosplay tips from those attending Fanexpo Canada!
- New FAQs and an update of the FAQ page
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