Let's Talk About Realistic vs Stylistic Cosplay
Realistic and stylistic cosplays is something that I've thought about for a long time, but it's hard to explain what I mean, and I don't think most cosplayers think in these terms. So I'm going to try to explain these.
I first came up with this idea when writing my very first panel, which was oh so many years ago, but that was more me finally putting into words something that I had been thinking about almost my whole cosplay career. Basically, the question is: do you want your cosplay to look like something from the real world, or do you want it to look exactly like artwork? By the latter I don't mean screen accuracy, but rather, making something look like the style of the artwork of the IP.
These two modes are on a spectrum, not in binary or strict opposition, and most costumes fall somewhere in the middle. I would say most cosplays are somewhere closer to realism on the spectrum, up to just past the middle of the spectrum. Typically, anime and anime styled costumes (and Western cartoon, and anime styles video games, and cel shaded video games... you get the idea) lend themselves more easily to being stylized, since they are already based on stylized artwork. Live-action costumes (and realistically drawn, and realistically rendered video game, etc.) tend to lend themselves more easily to being realistic, since they are, in turn, already based on something that looks like our real world. Of course, there are exceptions all over the place, and you can do whatever you want, since it's your costume, but this is just the path of least resistance for these types of costumes. An anime like Witch Hat Atelier or Dorohedoro lends itself very well to realism in cosplay, for example -- WHA because of how Shirahama draws intricate details of fabrics, and Dorohedoro because of the gritty aesthetic of the series -- while a live action film like The Fifth Element is so out there with science fiction fashion design that even though these garments existed in real life for filming, they are inherently more stylized just by virtue of design. No real-life flight attendant wears those iconic Gaultier costumes.
Not everything fits neatly into the spectrum, either! If a design is very scifi or fantasy in a way that simply does not translate to real life, it can be hard to say where exactly it falls, especially if it has elements of both ends of the spectrum. For example, something like my remake of my Hard Disc Major Kusanagi is a very scifi design. The materials are all futuristic in a way you wouldn't necessarily see in real life, as is the design, the cuts, the lighting elements, etc. But on the other hand, the materials and fit suit the realism of the world it comes from, and there is weathering, battle damage, and other more typically realistic elements to the costume. Something like Lady Blackpearl or Mink are also very fantasy designs that don't translate easily to these terms that are more grounded in our world, and not enough is known about the world they come from to know if what I used is realistic for that world or not. (I would argue that Blackpearl, despite using interesting textures and materials, is more stylistic because I wanted specifically to mimic the art style of the game in a way that works in real life by using said materials.)
Don't worry too much about classifying your cosplays super specifically, but instead think about the intended overall effect.
Note to self: make a graphic of the spectrum and pull examples and place them on said spectrum
Not everything fits neatly into the spectrum, either! If a design is very scifi or fantasy in a way that simply does not translate to real life, it can be hard to say where exactly it falls, especially if it has elements of both ends of the spectrum. For example, something like my remake of my Hard Disc Major Kusanagi is a very scifi design. The materials are all futuristic in a way you wouldn't necessarily see in real life, as is the design, the cuts, the lighting elements, etc. But on the other hand, the materials and fit suit the realism of the world it comes from, and there is weathering, battle damage, and other more typically realistic elements to the costume. Something like Lady Blackpearl or Mink are also very fantasy designs that don't translate easily to these terms that are more grounded in our world, and not enough is known about the world they come from to know if what I used is realistic for that world or not. (I would argue that Blackpearl, despite using interesting textures and materials, is more stylistic because I wanted specifically to mimic the art style of the game in a way that works in real life by using said materials.)
Don't worry too much about classifying your cosplays super specifically, but instead think about the intended overall effect.
Note to self: make a graphic of the spectrum and pull examples and place them on said spectrum
The Spectrum
Here is a very rough graphic of the spectrum, with a few examples of my own cosplays plotted in. I've never gone fully to one extreme or the other, but I do have quite a spread.
I've also marked three more general ranges: the live action range (also includes all that listed above under live action), which tends towards more realistic, the anime range (again, covering more than just anime), which tends toward the middle ranges but a bit more stylistic overall, and the range of most premades, at least, the ones for East Asian animation and gaming that you usually find (I don't know enough about things like Star Wars or superhero premades to really plot them). Mostly, the premades are there because they use cost-cutting measures, which makes the costumes look flatter and less realistic, not because they have any sort of thought put into where they would fall on this spectrum. It's mostly design choices for the sake of accuracy at the lowest cost rather than design choices for the sake of an artistic statement. And need I say it again: these are average ranges, and a slapdash graphic I made. Obviously there are exceptions, and you may disagree with the general sentiment, even, but this is roughly how I see things.
Now for the juicy bits: explanations of why I put my own cosplays where I did.
I chose these based on what seems like a strong example. I don't have a lot of examples in the middle because by virtue of being in the middle, they aren't going to be strong examples of anything. That doesn't mean there wasn't a lot of thought and care put into the fabrics, textures, colors, shapes, etc. that I used, but rather that they use such a blend of modes that it isn't worth nitpicking what is and isn't part of each mode. I would say I generally fall in that kind of yellow to green range overall (so the left middle to early right middle segments), but I absolutely have things into the orange and blue. It might be fun to make something that goes all the way to one of the sides, and I do have a few ideas.
From left (most realistic), I put Windia. But wait, you may say, isn't she from an anime-styled game? A Cave shooter, no less? And she has that weird weapon? And there isn't even any weathering or anything on the costume? And isn't it part of a highly stylized fashion? Well, yes! But I put her so far to the left for a reason, and that is because of the changes I made to the costume. I suppose something else that would fit in around this area would be Yuri Plisetsky, and for similar reasons. With Windia, I took a lot of inspiration from actual lolita fashion, and I changed parts of the design to make more sense as something you may have seen in old school lolita. It isn't fully realistic since it's still a very "anime" take on the fashion, but I made sure to use materials and cuts that you would see in the actual fashion. The sword is a bit more stylistic, I will admit, but changing the skirt shape and decorations, changing the bows, etc., so that it makes sense as a real garment pushes this one closer to realism. If I wanted to make it even more realistic, I would either use actual old-school lolita fashion items or I would lengthen the skirt, change the blouse to a more plausible blouse cut, and change the skirt decorations even more.
Next up is Shizuku-tan. Again, weird place to put her on the face of it. I'm mostly talking about her default outfit here, but the kimono outfit also has an actual kimono and hakama cut, a lace overlay for texture instead of a printed fabric, etc. In her default outfit, I took fabric inspiration from maid brand Candy Fruits (ever wonder where I came up with the idea for a sheer apron?), used materials with rich textures like cotton sateen and heavy lace, and also took inspiration from lolita fashion for the shoes and headdress. The cut of the outfit is always going to be more stylistic, especially with the fake boobs to push the proportions to be more anime, but the materials and construction choices take into account what a girl who actually attends gothic BDSM anime school might have in her uniform, including small touches like a chunky metal zipper in the back.
Eruca is an interesting one, and I waffled on where to put her. She ended up this far towards the center (but still fairly far left) not because I tried to make her look stylized (quite the opposite actually), but because of my choices on the armor. I used a cotton sateen for a richer look, added topstitching in gold to make her fancy, and used things like actual boots instead of bootcovers and filigree buttons to add to the realism. I paid a lot of attention to the textures and finishes as well as the color palette. That said, I also wanted a slight watercolor effect in the color choice, so that's a nod towards stylism. (another nod is the screen accurate sleeve slashes, which took a lot of tiny hand whipstitching rather than doing sleeves that use any real-life slashed sleeve construction method.) The armor, however, is old school Penwiper's tutorial for craft foam with cheesecloth, and while I painted it with a mottled, watercolor-like effect, I didn't want it to look like any known metal. I think if I were to redo it, I would make the armor out of Worbla or similar (which came out right after I finished the costume! I was so mad) and do research on metal finishes to figure out what her armor could possibly be made out of and then use that as inspiration for how I go about it. Instead, I was limited by the shapes I could get with my materials at the time, and I was imitating the way it looks in the art (stylism!) rather than imitating a real life material.
I've also marked three more general ranges: the live action range (also includes all that listed above under live action), which tends towards more realistic, the anime range (again, covering more than just anime), which tends toward the middle ranges but a bit more stylistic overall, and the range of most premades, at least, the ones for East Asian animation and gaming that you usually find (I don't know enough about things like Star Wars or superhero premades to really plot them). Mostly, the premades are there because they use cost-cutting measures, which makes the costumes look flatter and less realistic, not because they have any sort of thought put into where they would fall on this spectrum. It's mostly design choices for the sake of accuracy at the lowest cost rather than design choices for the sake of an artistic statement. And need I say it again: these are average ranges, and a slapdash graphic I made. Obviously there are exceptions, and you may disagree with the general sentiment, even, but this is roughly how I see things.
Now for the juicy bits: explanations of why I put my own cosplays where I did.
I chose these based on what seems like a strong example. I don't have a lot of examples in the middle because by virtue of being in the middle, they aren't going to be strong examples of anything. That doesn't mean there wasn't a lot of thought and care put into the fabrics, textures, colors, shapes, etc. that I used, but rather that they use such a blend of modes that it isn't worth nitpicking what is and isn't part of each mode. I would say I generally fall in that kind of yellow to green range overall (so the left middle to early right middle segments), but I absolutely have things into the orange and blue. It might be fun to make something that goes all the way to one of the sides, and I do have a few ideas.
From left (most realistic), I put Windia. But wait, you may say, isn't she from an anime-styled game? A Cave shooter, no less? And she has that weird weapon? And there isn't even any weathering or anything on the costume? And isn't it part of a highly stylized fashion? Well, yes! But I put her so far to the left for a reason, and that is because of the changes I made to the costume. I suppose something else that would fit in around this area would be Yuri Plisetsky, and for similar reasons. With Windia, I took a lot of inspiration from actual lolita fashion, and I changed parts of the design to make more sense as something you may have seen in old school lolita. It isn't fully realistic since it's still a very "anime" take on the fashion, but I made sure to use materials and cuts that you would see in the actual fashion. The sword is a bit more stylistic, I will admit, but changing the skirt shape and decorations, changing the bows, etc., so that it makes sense as a real garment pushes this one closer to realism. If I wanted to make it even more realistic, I would either use actual old-school lolita fashion items or I would lengthen the skirt, change the blouse to a more plausible blouse cut, and change the skirt decorations even more.
Next up is Shizuku-tan. Again, weird place to put her on the face of it. I'm mostly talking about her default outfit here, but the kimono outfit also has an actual kimono and hakama cut, a lace overlay for texture instead of a printed fabric, etc. In her default outfit, I took fabric inspiration from maid brand Candy Fruits (ever wonder where I came up with the idea for a sheer apron?), used materials with rich textures like cotton sateen and heavy lace, and also took inspiration from lolita fashion for the shoes and headdress. The cut of the outfit is always going to be more stylistic, especially with the fake boobs to push the proportions to be more anime, but the materials and construction choices take into account what a girl who actually attends gothic BDSM anime school might have in her uniform, including small touches like a chunky metal zipper in the back.
Eruca is an interesting one, and I waffled on where to put her. She ended up this far towards the center (but still fairly far left) not because I tried to make her look stylized (quite the opposite actually), but because of my choices on the armor. I used a cotton sateen for a richer look, added topstitching in gold to make her fancy, and used things like actual boots instead of bootcovers and filigree buttons to add to the realism. I paid a lot of attention to the textures and finishes as well as the color palette. That said, I also wanted a slight watercolor effect in the color choice, so that's a nod towards stylism. (another nod is the screen accurate sleeve slashes, which took a lot of tiny hand whipstitching rather than doing sleeves that use any real-life slashed sleeve construction method.) The armor, however, is old school Penwiper's tutorial for craft foam with cheesecloth, and while I painted it with a mottled, watercolor-like effect, I didn't want it to look like any known metal. I think if I were to redo it, I would make the armor out of Worbla or similar (which came out right after I finished the costume! I was so mad) and do research on metal finishes to figure out what her armor could possibly be made out of and then use that as inspiration for how I go about it. Instead, I was limited by the shapes I could get with my materials at the time, and I was imitating the way it looks in the art (stylism!) rather than imitating a real life material.
A Note on Vocabulary
The astute reader may notice that I am using very specific vocabulary in this post. What is a "mode," what is "stylism," and why am I talking like this, you may ask?
Great question!
I'm using specific vocabulary for the sake of specificity. I know, I know. I chose these terms for a reason, and that reason is that they best convey what I mean. Well, okay, I may be using "stylism" instead of "stylized" because I wanted it to be a noun instead of an adjective or verb, and there really isn't a better term for what I mean. Basically, "stylism" here is "the concern with the style of a piece in itself" and "realism" is "the concern with fidelity to real life." These terms have meanings outside of this post, but generally, my use lines up with how they are used in academic settings (at least in some instances.... I doubt many people are making a Realism cosplay of the type meant by the late 19th century Realism movement in art!).
I am also calling these "modes" rather than anything else. Styles is too confusing, but the closest other word I can think of. They aren't genres, since that's too codified. Poles, perhaps, due to the modes being on a spectrum, and most things falling somewhere between these poles? I thought that would be too confusing for most people, and I also don't want to imply that anything may be attracted towards these poles. Ends of a bell curve is too unwieldy. Mode, however, in the sense of "a way of doing things," makes the most sense. It's like how film noir isn't a genre, it could be a style, but mostly it's a mode of filmmaking (possibly a bad example since it was only named as such after the fact and I want you all to be thinking about these things as you go, but a good example in how these things are wiggly and have multiple meanings and aren't uncovered as the one Truth about how things are made but rather a lens for looking at them). Maybe this is too academic for the post that orginated basically with "I want to explain why you shouldn't do Jojo face lines unless you also do Jojo full body lines" but hey, you're on my blog, and this is the price of admission.
Great question!
I'm using specific vocabulary for the sake of specificity. I know, I know. I chose these terms for a reason, and that reason is that they best convey what I mean. Well, okay, I may be using "stylism" instead of "stylized" because I wanted it to be a noun instead of an adjective or verb, and there really isn't a better term for what I mean. Basically, "stylism" here is "the concern with the style of a piece in itself" and "realism" is "the concern with fidelity to real life." These terms have meanings outside of this post, but generally, my use lines up with how they are used in academic settings (at least in some instances.... I doubt many people are making a Realism cosplay of the type meant by the late 19th century Realism movement in art!).
I am also calling these "modes" rather than anything else. Styles is too confusing, but the closest other word I can think of. They aren't genres, since that's too codified. Poles, perhaps, due to the modes being on a spectrum, and most things falling somewhere between these poles? I thought that would be too confusing for most people, and I also don't want to imply that anything may be attracted towards these poles. Ends of a bell curve is too unwieldy. Mode, however, in the sense of "a way of doing things," makes the most sense. It's like how film noir isn't a genre, it could be a style, but mostly it's a mode of filmmaking (possibly a bad example since it was only named as such after the fact and I want you all to be thinking about these things as you go, but a good example in how these things are wiggly and have multiple meanings and aren't uncovered as the one Truth about how things are made but rather a lens for looking at them). Maybe this is too academic for the post that orginated basically with "I want to explain why you shouldn't do Jojo face lines unless you also do Jojo full body lines" but hey, you're on my blog, and this is the price of admission.
What is Realism?
Realism is when you try to make cosplays look like something out of real life.
The most extreme versions of realism would be costumes with heavy weathering and made of real clothing or made to look like real clothing. Due to the nature of realism, it's hard to have an extreme version, since by definition, it's something that looks very natural and like it is "real."
The most extreme versions of realism would be costumes with heavy weathering and made of real clothing or made to look like real clothing. Due to the nature of realism, it's hard to have an extreme version, since by definition, it's something that looks very natural and like it is "real."
What is Stylism?
Stylism is when costumes try to have a particular look, typically looking like they came right off the screen or page and using the art style of the series.
Due to the nature of stylization, it is hard to do halfway. Typically, stylized costumes involve flatter colors and more extreme shapes. Think exaggeration and trying to imitate the artwork or model rather than trying to look like something from real life. The most extreme versions of stylization would be something like a fully cel shaded cosplay or a manga cosplay in full black and white with drawn-on hatching as "shading."
Due to the nature of stylization, it is hard to do halfway. Typically, stylized costumes involve flatter colors and more extreme shapes. Think exaggeration and trying to imitate the artwork or model rather than trying to look like something from real life. The most extreme versions of stylization would be something like a fully cel shaded cosplay or a manga cosplay in full black and white with drawn-on hatching as "shading."
Staying Cohesive
One thing to think about when doing a cosplay is where you want it to fall on the spectrum. If you have some parts that are highly realistic and some highly stylistic, or otherwise a mismash of styles, it can look odd because the parts don't form a cohesive whole. I can imagine costumes where, for example, a single prop has a different mode than the rest of the costume for a specific effect, but generally, you want the whole costume to be cohesive with the other parts of the same costume.
For example, you may have noticed that I don't do Jojo face lines. Absolutely no hate on people who do, since a lot of these things come down to personal taste. I would absolutely do face lines in my makeup if the rest of the costume had similar lines and shading, but for me personally, I don't want to mix the much more realistic costume with the heavy stylization of the face lines.
For example, you may have noticed that I don't do Jojo face lines. Absolutely no hate on people who do, since a lot of these things come down to personal taste. I would absolutely do face lines in my makeup if the rest of the costume had similar lines and shading, but for me personally, I don't want to mix the much more realistic costume with the heavy stylization of the face lines.
How to Choose a Mode?
When thinking about which mode you want to do, ask yourself a few questions. Do you gravitate towards certain styles? Is there something specific you want to accomplish with this costume, such as learning a new technique, doing a lot of detail work, or doing a specific photoshoot concept? What does the series itself look like? Something like Jojo, Space Channel 5, Borderlands, Jet Set Radio, etc. that has a very distinctive visual style naturally lends itself better to stylism, whereas something with more realism in the style like Silent Hill, most Western RPGs, almost anything live action, or something like Berserk that references real life clothing naturally lends itself more to realism.
Do you want to use varied textures to make something look like it comes from a real world, or do you want flat textures? Do you want to err on the side of bright colors or duller colors? Are you adding weathering, or is everything pristine? Are you mimicking something that looks like it was pulled directly from a piece of drawn/painted/rendered art and attempting to translate that piece of art as it currently stands into a 3D wearable piece, or are you trying to make something that looks more like how this character would and their clothing would look if they already existed in our world as if the IP were live action or happening right now somewhere on earth? Obviously these questions are not exhaustive, but hopefully they will help you think through how you want the overall effect to be. Of course, translating designs from the screen to real life is an entire topic in itself!
Of course, you can do whatever you want, and sometimes it can be fun to do a cosplay where you reimagine the aesthetics of the series in the opposite direction.
Do you want to use varied textures to make something look like it comes from a real world, or do you want flat textures? Do you want to err on the side of bright colors or duller colors? Are you adding weathering, or is everything pristine? Are you mimicking something that looks like it was pulled directly from a piece of drawn/painted/rendered art and attempting to translate that piece of art as it currently stands into a 3D wearable piece, or are you trying to make something that looks more like how this character would and their clothing would look if they already existed in our world as if the IP were live action or happening right now somewhere on earth? Obviously these questions are not exhaustive, but hopefully they will help you think through how you want the overall effect to be. Of course, translating designs from the screen to real life is an entire topic in itself!
Of course, you can do whatever you want, and sometimes it can be fun to do a cosplay where you reimagine the aesthetics of the series in the opposite direction.