Being a cosplayer requires a versatile set of skills that’s entire dependent on what part of cosplaying you want to do. You can try modeling, photographing and crafting, and then dive deeper with choosing to compete, be an influencer, guesting or being an educator. There’s also nothing stopping you from doing multiple different things. However, there is 5 things all cosplayers should master no matter which of the above they hope to do.
Posing
If you’re going to be a cosplay photographer or model you will want to have a general understanding of posing. This way you can either pose yourself or help a client who might not know what to do during a photoshoot. It’s also great to know for conventions if you attend in cosplay since people might ask you for a photo or if you do competitions and showcases, you often have to pose on stage. Thus its a pretty applicable skill for all cosplayers.
Public Speaking
If you plan to be an influencer, educator, convention guest/judge or panelist, you’ll need to be able to speak to a crowd. Whether it’s through a webcam or in front of the audience, you’ll be doing a lot of public speaking for all of these avenues. Practice in front of a mirror or family and friends to get yourself comfortable talking for the masses so you’re prepared for your next video or convention appearance.
Sewing
Even if you aren’t planning to be a crafter, sewing is a valuable skill. Costumes easily get worn out and damaged overtime. Even when worn for just photoshoots or at conventions. Having a basic understanding of sewing can make repairing cosplays or fully creating them a breeze. Even for armor crafters, sewing under garments or sewing leather armor is going to need you to know the basics.
Project Management
Keeping track of sponsorships as an influencer, bookings for modeling and cons or even just crafting projects takes work. Otherwise everything can fall to chaos quickly. While the term project management might sound scary and professional, it’s actually just a basic skill set that shows you can organize and keep track of different ongoing projects. This can include tracking what’s being crafted, mapping out a cosplan, event bookings or your social media posting schedule. It’s essentially a skill set to hold yourself accountable as a cosplayer.
Painting
Similar to sewing, this skill may seem like it’s only for crafters but does indeed apply to everyone. Purchased props or costumes can easily be enhanced with some additional painting. Not to mention creating back drops and sets for photoshoots can be created as well thanks to this skill. Whether you choose to do it by hand or airbrush, the talent can be really valuable to all cosplayers.
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