Cosplaying is the act of dressing up as a character or concept. When people do it regularly, they are called cosplayers. Sophomore Tiffany Guin got into cosplaying in August 2019. Inspired by the love for dressing up on Halloween and influencers on social media, Guin decided to give it a try and has been doing it ever since.

“I was just like…I’ll try it,” said Guin. “Then it just stuck with me.” 

With a preference for cosplaying anime characters, Guin’s favorite is Toko Fukawa from “Danganronpa.”

“I get to do more makeup stuff with her,” said Guin. “Doing the makeup takes the longest.”

 Guin says the makeup process probably takes an hour or two, depending on the character, and the clothes take about 10 minutes to put on. Her most complicated cosplay was Nezuko from “Demon Slayer.” In the anime, Nezuko sports a pink kimono. Kimonos are an important part of Japanese culture, meaning they have to be worn properly. 

“Whenever I first got it, it took about 20 minutes to figure it out,” said Guin. “Now, it doesn’t take that long.”

Clothing is one of the main parts of the character in cosplay, but it can get pretty expensive. If you’re on a budget, get clothes from your closet that look similar to what the character would wear.

 “Try to pick a character that has the same hair as you and with simple makeup,” said Guin. “You can build up from there.”

Overall, it’s not necessary to look exactly like a character. Make it into your own interpretation of characters, that’s the fun in cosplay. 

“You don’t have to look exactly like the character,” said Guin. “Just have fun with it.”