Characters in books, TV shows and movies are often known for their signature looks. While most people might be content to imitate these characters on Halloween, some take it one step further with cosplay, the making and wearing of costumes from popular media. Cosplayers make and wear costumes, even outside of Halloween. While this may seem like a niche hobby, it’s relatively popular, with more students getting involved.

“Cosplay is about having fun, loving a character, and loving being that character,” sophomore Caitlin Reive said. “I always start off by choosing a character that I think is really cool. My favorite characters to cosplay come from Homestuck, a popular webcomic. However, I have to be conscious about time and money. For example, if I choose a character that isn’t human, I might have to worry about face paint, horns, wings, or any number of things a character might have or wear. With human characters, I might not be able to buy clothes that match the character, so I would have to sew them.”

Cosplaying also has a performance component to it. While some cosplayers just sew the costumes, it’s very common to put on a wig and costume and wear it out in public.

“A lot of cosplayers go to anime conventions or Comic Con, which I would really love to go to some day,” Reive said. “I’ve cosplayed at school for Halloween, which was really nice because it felt more normal since a lot of people were wearing costumes. I’ve also gone to the mall in cosplay. The character looked pretty normal though, so not many people thought I was doing something out of the ordinary. The people who knew what I was dressed as we’re really excited to see me.”

Cosplays can come anywhere from extra materials and clothes around the home, to thousand dollar projects that look like they walked off the set of a movie. But for beginners, the experience is more important than the cost of the cosplay.

“It might seem hard to get started, but the most important thing to know is that it doesn’t take a lot of money to do a cosplay,” Reive said. “If you’re having fun, and your heart’s in it, then your cosplay will turn out great and you will look awesome in it.”

While dressing up in a costume and going out in public may be a little daunting to some, cosplay is a creative, different hobby that could be worth a try.