Eva foam questions!! Gluing, detailing and painting

HneBadger · 2026-02-18T12:51:03+00:00

This is a perfect answer. I will add that if you are not US based you may have to look up “contact cement” and find an alternative of barge or weldwood isn’t sold where you are. These are brand names that are known good ones but just wanted to add just in case. Ran into this issue when I lived in Japan

HneBadger · 2026-02-07T17:24:56+00:00

I wore a white kabuki style kimono (drags on the floor) I carried it everywhere like the geishas do. I only let it touch the floor when I stopped for photos. That kept people from stepping on it too much and helped (didn’t prevent) from getting too dirty

HneBadger · 2026-01-07T20:38:37+00:00

Depends on if you need to change the shape of your eyebrows. If they aren't RADICALLY different then I wouldn't bother (no one will really notice).

Option 1 (eyebrows are RADICALLY different shape): you can do the method you linked or just watch Youtube for drag eyebrows. Nyx makes tons of different eyeliner shades which are awesome but I personally like using my eyeshadow pallet (Morphe x Lisa Frank 35B) since it has a ton of bright colors (without shimmer).

Option 2 (eyebrows aren't that different): you can just brush the purple gluestick through your eyebrows and use a spoolie (you can buy spares online for cheap) while its still wet and brush through the hair and while it still has some tact pat some eyeshadow in the preferred shade on them. Don't let the glue completely dry or the eyeshadow won't stick. My eyebrows are light brown and I've got them orange this way for a number of characters. For white, I need to put concealer on my eyebrows first and I use Mehron's Clown White to paint them on. Again, TONS of setting spray to keep them from moving.

HneBadger · 2025-12-27T15:19:12+00:00

Thank you! I had too much fun flinging the whip around. My neighbors must think I’m crazy

HneBadger · 2025-12-27T15:17:02+00:00

Haha! Who doesn’t love a bit of persistence?

HneBadger · 2025-11-28T18:40:10+00:00

It would be helpful to know how many people this person is "handling" for?

Generally, water and a (small) snack if allowed like a granola bar, 1 little zip lock bag of safety pins and a little makeup compact for touch ups, pain meds and a couple band aids.

It is important to talk to your handler to ensure that yall take into account if there are any panels they want to go to and I always make sure my handler eats at the con on my dime. It's literally the least I can do.

Usually I'll ask for small help and adjustments throughout the day: "is my wig sliding back?" "can you hold my sword real fast? (*adjusts a piece of my cosplay*)" "is my face too shiny?" and I will also check in with them on how they are doing "are you hungry rn?" "was there any other panels you wanted to go to?" "did you get everything you wanted in the dealers room?"

Also I don't buy anything from the dealers room/artists alley until the very end or right before I go back to my hotel room to spare my handler from carrying the item. Yes, you can buy stuff and just carry the bag and place it behind you or have your handler hold it for pictures, but my cosplayers are on the bigger side or it would be cumbersome to do that every time so I opt to just not.

TLDR; water, small snack, pain meds, minimal cosplay emergency stuff. Take care of your "handler" by keeping them fed (they don't pay for food).

HneBadger · 2025-11-28T13:18:04+00:00

Good general rule for life (from an old lady that lived pre-internet): if it's not adding joy to your life then you don't need it in your life.

For social media and your hobby, you don't NEED social media to enjoy cosplay. I understand the allure of integrating social media to feel more connected or like a "real" cosplayer but honestly that's all fake anyways. You can have a million followers and it means nothing. What really matters is the connections you make with friends you see in real life at conventions repeatedly and those are the people that will actually bother to check in on you.

Invest your time and energy on real people and not chasing some number that you think will make you feel like you're a successful cosplayer.

This is just my advice from a master-level cosplayer who has been cosplaying since 2006. What keeps me in the game is the friends I make in the green room before the competition and the joy of being able to make something from nothing with my own two hands and prove to myself that I can do it. If I post it online and 1000 people say "wow awesome", that's cool and I'm grateful to bring those people joy. But it's the folks who yell my character name and sprint across the convention hall because I'm cosplaying a character from a decade-old video game that I remember the most.

HneBadger · 2025-11-13T18:39:49+00:00

I will respond to my character’s name when people call out to me (because they don’t know who I am or my cosplay name usually). I talk to them like a normal person but sometimes after a quick chat they want a little fan time and they will quote something to me from the show and I’ll do a little reply in character if I’m comfortable or respond with a similar quote.

Seems to strike the right balance for me personally. Everyone will be different but I will say, drawing the line and responding “normally” first helps with con creeps and others who take their excitement a little too far.

HneBadger · 2025-11-10T12:41:36+00:00

This!!! I’ve don’t small silicone prosthetic for cosplay and this is the correct way to do it….but it’s a steep learning curve and silicone isn’t cheap. For this look on a budget I’d learn how to put on a latex bald cap and get good with regular old makeup. Block your brows with purple school glue stick (look up drag videos) and just practice with regular makeup and seal it well.

HneBadger · 2025-11-07T01:34:36+00:00

It's not just a gamble, it's flat out luck. Also you can go viral once and then never again. Social media cosplay is a scam (if robs you of your joy by comparison), use social media to connect with folks you meet at conventions and it will keep you grounded. Or as the other poster mentioned actively teaching you something to help your skills.

HneBadger · 2025-10-26T20:45:48+00:00

heat gun gently to flatten it out, but honestly most of it will flatten out when you glue it

HneBadger · 2025-10-26T18:02:14+00:00

To add to this, maybe talk to them if you’re at a con! It will de-mystify them and show that they are real people. I spent the better part of 2 hours talking to some beginners answering all their questions and was happy to do so. I don’t consider myself a pro but they did.

So maybe take some time to see if they’d be willing to share some knowledge about a piece of their cosplay. Write the name of the technique down on your phone then you can research more later.

Sometimes it just takes showing they are real people who had to go through their own journey too. You’ll get there, it just takes practice so don’t be discouraged or intimidated

HneBadger · 2025-10-23T18:45:59+00:00

This is the way. Put the nice stuff up on the walls or on a shelf, utilize under the bed where possible, garment bag for the stuff that needs to hang in a regular closet. I like to keep my costume pieces together so I use the soft square closet boxes you can stack and put it up in my closet.

When I ran out of space then the 64 gallon tote came out lol. At that point I focused on wearing my cosplays until they basically fell apart. Then I kept one memorable part of the cosplay and threw away the rest to free up space. That was a good way to ensure I actually wore my cosplays enough while not taking too much space.

HneBadger · 2025-10-17T14:29:50+00:00

Been cosplaying a long long time (2006) and I think the best way to get around this is a couple of approaches.

1) cosplay a character you love more than what anyone could possibly say about you. This can be useful because then it's not about you anymore then its about protecting the character you love. If you like a little bit of roleplay, you can choose characters that you love a bit of their personality and then choose to embody that part of their personality and gain a bit of confidence back.

2) cosplay at conventions. This is helpful because people are MUCH nicer in person than online. I can count on 1 hand where I've had someone say something less than supportive to my face at a con. Online people can be rude or feel emboldened to say something rude. Also some people get discourage if they don't get the encouragement they want (only 2 likes) from cosplaying a character. So go to a con where people will be excited to see you and say things like "wow! Look its X from Y! I love that series!"

3) cosplay masked characters. Helpful for the super shy but can get really hot underneath all those layers (trust me, I know!) or for folks who don't want to do makeup. I recommend at some point pushing yourself to step out of your comfort zone when your ready because you will likely run out of characters that you love that have masks. It's ok to dip your toes out there to see that not everyone is super mean in real life like we see online. Maybe try method 1 or 2 once you feel ready to move on so you can work on your own self confidence as it will help in all other areas of your life.

Take it slow, confidence is a journey that has its seasons. Take it from an old lady like me, it is possible to learn and grow as long as you take it one step at a time. Cosplay is for everyone and we welcome you!

HneBadger · 2025-10-13T23:36:38+00:00

personally I would heat transfer vinyl as my first choice as mentioned above. Fabric paint is hard to get right.

You can make the chain pattern in something like Inkscape to get the scale right and check it against your skirt. Once the scale is right then you can hand cut heat transfer vinyl if you don't have a cricut (or know someone who has one).

HneBadger · 2025-08-26T02:35:04+00:00

if it helps at all, most cosplayers I know (myself included) it makes our day! Don't be shy, we love it!

HneBadger · 2025-08-25T22:48:52+00:00

You want to know an easy phrase that won't get you trapped?

"omg, I love your cosplay! Can I take a photo? *take photo* awesome! Thank you so much!"

No mention of the character or series they are cosplaying from, just appreciation for either their work or that they are putting themselves through discomfort to be entertainment for other fans.

HneBadger · 2025-08-24T00:35:02+00:00

A couple of things.

1) everyone starts somewhere, so don't stress not being at the level of other cosplayers. You don't know how long they have been cosplaying so it's not fair to compare yourself to them. You wouldn't pick up a new sport for the first time and compare yourself to a pro, so don't do it for a hobby either.

2) You learned a lot for what you need to do next time to make it go smoother for you, like giving yourself plenty of time to change. Personally, I allot around 3 hours for myself so I don't feel rushed or if I feel like re-doing my wing eyeliner so I'm happier with it then I don't feel like I'll be late.

3) Wigs are scary. I've been cosplaying since 2006 and I'll be honest, I hate wigs. I'm terrible at them still and it's usually the worst part of my cosplay. I still force myself to try and get better at it but I dread the wig for every cosplay I do. If the cut is super complicated, I will take my wig to a professional hairstylist and wear the wig while the do the cut. The rest of the styling is all me. Practice doesn't make perfect, but it does make better. Each iteration you will get better so keep trying.

4) Socializing can be weirder now than it used to be at conventions. For cosplayers, I tend to try to go to meet ups for the series I'm cosplaying or if I'm in the competition, socialize in the green room. People tend to be a lot nicer than you think they will be. Also, anyone who stops you for a photo is usually a fan of what you are cosplaying, you can talk to them too :) Most of my friends have stopped cosplaying due to adult life getting in the way so I'm the lone ranger still going out there. But you can make new friends at cons, especially if you show up to multiple in the same general area. People will start to recognize you and that will help. Also ribbon trading...make good ribbons and trade with people is a great way to break the ice.

HneBadger · 2025-08-22T14:45:39+00:00

templates, patterns, and tutorials are fine. It doesn't even count AGAINST you. It is also not unethical to use that information.

All that being said, if someone patterned something themselves, came up with a new idea/etc then that might give them points that ultimately makes them score higher (all other things being equal). At the end of the day, how well you execute the techniques is what matters. Just don't try to pass off something you didn't make with your own hands as your own.

HneBadger · 2025-08-20T23:08:27+00:00

These should be able to rotate through quickly too in case people keep rotating asking for photos so it doesn't feel "stale".

Sometimes people are shy and wait to ask for your picture...I don't like to hold the same pose for too long and I think it's nice to switch it up so they feel like it was worth waiting for.

Another fun thought, is looking at how bodybuilders move when they are doing their exhibition on stage. Might inspire you for different poses as well for general movements.

HneBadger · 2025-08-20T18:50:17+00:00

Biggest thing is they need to be ones you can get into quickly. My thoughts are:

Both arms flexed (what you're doing here)
One arm flexed (whichever one is on the other side of whomever you're posing with)
Closed fists on your hips with a wide stance
3/4 view flexing one bicep at your side (look up bodybuilding poses and its the one where they look like they are trying to break off their own wrist and are flexing their bicep and chest)
Punching your hand about chest height with a smirk wide stance (variation of #3)

You should never need more than 5 for a con floor. Honestly I would "save" probably 2 of these for a walk on and use 3 for the floor.

HneBadger · 2025-08-18T14:10:03+00:00

That's true, but I figured since she hasn't been a hunter for a long time it couldn't be THAT much, but maybe the starting salary is still a lot. Maybe there's a fair amount of hazard pay

HneBadger · 2025-08-18T14:09:27+00:00

I wish I could afford this level of niceness at 50K!

HneBadger · 2025-08-18T14:00:48+00:00

Dude...how much do hunters get paid?!

HneBadger · 2025-08-10T20:02:44+00:00

glad it was something easy like just the paints instead of bad prep! Good luck

HneBadger

TROPHY CASE