"Don’t stress about making everything yourself" - How to get started in cosplay with tips from Opal Ink

Getting started with cosplay can be extremely daunting (trust me, I know), and it might sometimes feel impossible to know where to begin. But cosplay doesn't need to be an overwhelming experience, whether you're buying a costume online or making it yourself from scratch. Now that I've been learning how to 3D print cosplay props, I might finally take another shot at cosplay after dabbling in it for several years.

But what is cosplay? It's difficult to define. Some people might describe cosplay (dressing up as a character) as a creative hobby, but in a lot of ways, it's an art. Technically, the word cosplay is derived from a blend of the words 'costume' and 'play', with somewhat juvenile connotations.

Abi works as a Marketing Specialist for Future Friends Games, but in her spare time, you'll find her Twitch streaming, content creating, and cosplaying as some of your favourite characters.

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Beth is Creative Bloq’s Ecommerce Writer and has the fun job of finding you the very best prices and deals on creative tech. Beth kicked off her journalistic career writing for Digital Camera World and has since earned bylines on TechRadar and PetsRadar too. With a Master's degree in Photography, Beth loves getting to tinker with new cameras, especially camera phones, as the resident Samsung fan on the team.