Six Last Minute, DIY, Anime Cosplay Ideas for San Diego Comic Comic 2018 (SDCC2018)

by Athena Zhang Baker

Konnichiwa fellow con goers, looking for some good, last minute, DIY anime cosplay ideas in time for San Diego Comic Comic 2018 (SDCC2018)? How about a way to reuse that old expensive cosplay and/or lolita street fashion outfit that you’ve been storing in your closet for quite some time? If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, then congratulations! You’ve come to the right place.

Here at Costume Grab, we not only offer anime costumes that you can purchase right off the spot, we also offer some valuable DIY tips to help breathe new life into your old costumes/outfits/cosplay items.

Without further ado, here are six last minute DIY anime cosplay ideas! :D

Sakura Kinomoto from Cardcaptor Sakura (Battle version)



Image via [https://giphy.com/gifs/sakura-cardcaptor-MLzRm5xIrcugo/links]

Whether you’re out on a night in the town trying to find and collect all of the matching clown cards or looking for a way to reuse your leftover lolita outfit pieces(which I’m sure cost you and your family a fortune, yikes!), this cosplay is the perfect way to help you make the most out of what is already in your closet.

After all, what’s not to love about this adorable costume, as well as the classic mahou shoujo who wears it?

What you’ll need:

  • A reddish/pink hat with a giant bow on the back
  • A white, short sleeved lolita style inner dress
  • A red outer dress with a white ribbon wrapped around the bottom portion
  • A pair of red shoes
  • White tights/stockings
  • White gloves
  • A pink staff with a white bird etched on top of it
  • Optional: An adorable, though sometimes, annoying yellow cat-winged sidekick named Cerberus

For the most part, you can find these items at any cosplay, lolita, and/or second-hand store that you can think of. Otherwise, if you want to take the long way and try your hand at using the sewing machine, you are more than welcome to.

Of course, if your red dress does not have a white ribbon on the bottom, feel free to buy some ribbon at a nearby fabric/craft store and stitch it on. Just be sure that you don’t accidently sew the front and backs of the dress while attaching the ribbon around it.

Side note: Don’t want to cosplay as Sakura this year? No problem! Here on Costume Grab, we already have a Wood Card Guardian cosplay that you can use to either dress up as your favorite card guardian villain or a sweet innocent fairy from the anime of your choice.

Alternative cosplay: https://www.costumegrab.com/search/view/130

Izuku Midoriya/Deku from My Hero Academia (Green hero suit version)



Image via [https://giphy.com/gifs/funimation-my-hero-academia-deku-26CSE3WZrMsVO]

Suit up fellow My Hero Academia fans! For here is an awesome Deku cosplay just for you.

This is especially great is you already have a green, breathable jumpsuit available from the time you last cosplayed as Rock Lee from Naruto.

What you’ll need:

  • A green suit
  • A brown belt with pockets attached to it
  • Brown/red hiking boots
  • White, gigantic gloves
  • White shoulder pads
  • Black leg plastic braces
  • A grey face mask

For the most part, you can get all of these pieces at any secondhand shop and/or costume shop. As for the mask, gloves, and belt, you can easily purchase them at any hardware or gardening store and make some adjustments to them.

Side note: Don’t have time to dress up as Deku this year, but still want to wear a suit? Then for any of you Vocaloid fans out there, here’s a nice Len costume that you can try to see if you can make some adjustments to.

Costume alternative: https://www.costumegrab.com/search/view/106

Sailor Jupiter (aka. Makoto Kino) from Sailor Moon



Image via[https://media.giphy.com/media/t6i6AMbTTNyjm/giphy.gif]

In the name of the moon, we punish you...for not taking the time to read some of our previous costume blogs, of course. Ha ha! Just kidding.

Anyway, for those looking for a less mainstream Sailor scout to cosplay as, but don’t know where to start, here’s a nice starting cosplay.

What you’ll need:

  • A white short sleeved shirt
  • A green skirt
  • Green high-heeled boots
  • A green collar with a pink bow attached to it
  • Long white gloves
  • Green armbands
  • A giant pink bow to tie on the back
  • A yellow tiara

For the most part, you can find some of these items at any second hand and/or craft store that you go to. However, if you’re really on a time crunch, you can always take a Japanese sailor student uniform and rework it however you see fit.

Take this green sailor uniform that we have on our website for instance: https://www.costumegrab.com/search/view/122

With just a little bit of stitching, as well as some extra materials on hand, you’ll be sure to make the perfect Sailor Jupiter and/or sailor scout outfit out there in the galaxy.

Side note: Of course, you can always use our “starter cosplay” to cosplay as Kagome from InuYasha or any other anime girl who wears such an outfit. Remember her, folks?



Image via [https://giphy.com/gifs/kagome-nULYEeQSecd4k]

By the way, to the brave folks who managed to get this far into the blog, stay turned till the end for an awesome cosplay couple surprise. I think that you’ll like it! ;)

Gaara from Naruto



Image via[https://media.giphy.com/media/Wr8Salm7IwjQY/giphy.gif]

Who says that you need to love only yourself and nobody else but yourself just to dress up as everyone’s favorite misanthropic member of the sand? With our cosplay tips, you’ll be sure to wow the rest of SDCC2018.

What you’ll need:

  • Black eyeliner
  • A black or red jumpsuit(depending on which version you want to go as)
  • A long, white sash(if you want to go as teenage Gaara)
  • Grey armour/body pads(if you want to go as Adult Gaara)
  • A red symbol that you can either paint yourself or get a tattoo of
  • A giant, handmade calabash filled with sand
  • Open toed black sandals
  • White rope/tape

For the most part, you can find these items at either your local costume, craft, and/or secondhand store. However, in order to make the calabash, you will need to use paper mache to make it. Otherwise, you can always purchase one at any online secondhand store that you see fit.

Side note: Don’t want to cosplay as Gara this year? No problem! Here on Costume Grab, we already have a Temari cosplay that you can use either by itself or as a starting cosplay for any of your other favorite Naruto characters(i.e. Hinata).

Costume Alternative: https://www.costumegrab.com/search/view/108

Fellow freedom fighter from Shingeki no Kyoujin/Attack on Titan



Image via[https://media.giphy.com/media/2EQ7NCJZhI8iQ/giphy.gif]

Greetings, Konnichiwa and Gutentag fellow yeagers! If you’re looking for a nice, reusable, gender bender outfit, then congradualtions! You’ve come to the right place.

What you’ll need:

  • A Nice tan colored jacket with an emblem on it(see photo below)
  • Black or Brown pants
  • Brown leather straps
  • Brown leather boots
  • A white or grey shirt
  • Optional: Either two fake swords and/or a white gun
  • Optional: A nice, round, raw potato or two, depending on how hungry/nervous you are

If your jacket doesn't come with the patch, feel free to order the patch and iron it onto the left shoulder side of your jacket.

Meanwhile, as for the weapons, you can easily make them using either cardboard and grey masking tape or paper mache.

P.S. If you already have a pair of black pants from having cosplayed as Gaara from Naruto from years past, then this should be a walk in the park. Otherwise, please feel free to reference back to the previous section of this blog so you can understand what it is that we’re talking about.

Luffy from One Piece



Image via[https://media.giphy.com/media/QZafWHTjJmwTK/giphy.gif]

Ahoy there, maties! Are you looking forward to becoming the future king of the pirates? Well now’s your chance!

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • A yellow straw hat
  • A red vest
  • Blue jean shorts
  • A pair of plain brown sandals

Much like our last entries, you can pretty much find these items at either your nearest second-hand store and/or craft’s store. Who knows? You might have already found some of these items in your very own home as it is. Hope that you didn’t steal them “by accident.” ;)

Side note: Is our version a little too simple for you, scurvy dog? Well if you’re looking for something a little more imaginative, then feel free to check out this nice Finnian from Black Butler cosplay. You may be able to go as a fancier version of Luffy in time for the ball if you put some of the effort into tweaking it up: https://www.costumegrab.com/search/view/107

Bonus - Free Couple Cosplay



Image via[http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/32300000/Eternal-Love-serena-and-darien-32362069-1024-768.jpg]

Fighting evil by moonlight, winning love by daylight. Never running from a real fight...Yup! You guessed it! it’s everyone’s favorite shoujo anime couple: Sailor Moon and her partner in crime, Tuxedo Mask(aka. Usagi Tsukino and Mamoru Chiba), in all of their former anime glory.

A perfect one for beginners especially to start off with, this cosplay couple pairing is great for those who are on a time crunch, but fortunately, still have plenty of things in their house to mix and match with.

For Sailor Moon/Serenity, here’s what you’ll need:

  • A white, sleeveless dress with gold rings at the bust area
  • A pair of white wings
  • A gold tiara

To create the gold rings on the dress, you can paint them onto your dress using gold acrylic/fabric paint. As for the wings, you should be able to find a pair at your local craft store that you can easily customize. Meanwhile, if you already have a gold tiara from the last time you dressed as a sailor scout, then you should be in pretty good shape. So yeah, pretty easy cosplay now, huh?

For Tuxedo Mask, here’s what you’ll need:

  • A black suit with gold buttons attached to it
  • A black top hat
  • A pair of black shoes
  • A white dress shirt
  • A white bow
  • A white mask

Psssttt...Remember our James Bond bonus cosplay section in our last blog? Perhaps there are some things in it that you can use to help get you started. ;)

Conclusion

So tell me fellow anime fans, are there any other last minute, DIY anime cosplay tutorials that you would like to see on our blog, next? Which anime character would you dress up as for SDCC2018? Please let us know in the comments!

Gambatte for those trying to beat the heat while wearing your utmost, sweatiest costumes! You guys are the bravest. :D