28 Halloween Prop Ideas (with tutorials)
Tutorial: How to Make the Perfect Witch Hat for Cosplay or Halloween
Have you tried making a witch hat only to find that it looks stiff and lifeless or keeps drooping? Well, I have the fix for you! Mostly, this comes down to the material you use for your witch hat. I…
Tutorial: How to Make Vampire Fangs for Cosplay
It’s pretty easy to create custom fangs for your next cosplay. You can use a non-toxic thermoplastic and mold your fangs from scratch. With this method, you can also create bottom fangs, a snaggle tooth, or even large tusks (links…
Tutorial: How to Create Claws for Costumes
You can attach claws directly to your fingernails for a beast-like effect. The type of claws you make will depend on the overall look you’re going for and the amount of work you want to put into the claws. Nail…
Tutorial: How to Make Dragon or Bat Wings
Making cellophane wings is slightly more difficult than other methods of costume wings, but it’s still doable for the determined beginner. This method creates shining, see-through wings that look somewhat ephemeral. It’s best used for open wing structures, such as…
Tutorial: How to Make Fake Burn Scars With Liquid Latex
Liquid latex is the most versatile method for creating scars, cuts, and any kind of special effects makeup. You can use it to create large burn scars, like for Zuko or Todoroki, but you can also use it for realistic…
How to Make a Devil Tail and Horns (For Halloween, cosplay, tieflings, etc.)
If you want to be a devil, demon, tiefling, oni, or any other similar type of mythical creature, you’ll want to make a tail and some horns to go with the costume. There are a lot of different ways to…
Tutorial: Create Armor Talons for Costumes (with moveable joints)
If you want to create talons that you can wear and move around with your fingers, EVA foam (or craft foam) will be the easiest material to use. You will create three separate pieces and create hinges around your finger…
Tutorial: Easy Vampire Fangs with Acrylic Nails
It’s pretty easy to create custom fangs for your next cosplay. The cheap, simple method is to use acrylic nails and cut them into points. If you want to create more realistic teeth, you can use a non-toxic thermoplastic and…
Tutorial: How to Make Tiefling Horns for Costumes
Crafting tiefling horns for your cosplay ensemble isn’t just about adding a striking visual; it’s about embodying your character’s otherworldly charm. It’s easier than you might think to create your own custom horns that look great and stay put no…
How to Make a ‘Wooden’ Wizard Staff (with clay)
Sometimes you need to make a wooden wizard staff for your next cosplay, but there’s no way to get ahold of an actual stick to use. Or maybe you need to create a wooden staff that has a very specific…
Tutorial: How to Make Costume Scars With Only Makeup
If you don’t want to use liquid latex or rigid collodion, you can create scars by simply drawing them on with makeup. This method is ideal for scars that are very close to or on top of senstive areas (like…
Tutorial: Make a Clip-On Unicorn Horn
For this tutorial, you use two strands of clay and twist them around each other to create the horn effect. This method creates unicorn horns that have a somewhat more cartoonish look, which will work well for a lot of…
Tutorial: Easy Full-Face Mask for Costumes
There are many, many ways of creating a full mask, but this is the method that’s the cheapest and does not require you to make a mold of your face. This method will not work for a mask that’s supposed…
Tutorial: How to Dye a Wig With Fabric Dye
This method of dying a wig with fabric dye will create the most uniform color throughout the wig compared to the other methods (or you can create a basic gradient). However, it’s more difficult to get a vibrant color and…
Tutorial: Color Your Eyebrows to Match Bright Wigs
When you wear a bright and unnaturally colored wig with a costume, the natural color of your eyebrows will probably look a little awkward. To give your cosplay a more realistic look, you’ll want to use makeup to color your…
Tutorial: Creating Realistic Cosplay Scars with Rigid Collodion
Creating realistic scars can add a compelling layer of detail to many character’s appearances. Scars can tell a story of past battles, adventures, or encounters. One effective method for crafting these details is by using a product called rigid collodion…
Cosplay Armor: How to Make a Full-Face Helmet with EVA Foam
Helmets are absolutely one of the most difficult pieces of armor to construct for a costume. Not only do you have to get the shape of the helmet right, but it also has to fit over your face (sometimes with…
Tutorial: Create a Round Domed Shield for Costumes
For this tutorial, we will be heat-forming a flat disc of EVA foam into a domed shape (like the Captain America shield). If you’re unfamiliar with EVA foam, I recommend you take a couple of minutes to learn the basics…
How to Paint Fabric for Cosplay Costumes
Many anime and comic costumes have unique designs that you’re not going to find at the fabric store. This can be anything from a superhero logo to a specific pattern of stripes on your character’s T-shirt. If you can’t find…
9 Tips to Weather Your Props
Weathering props adds character and story to them. After all, what fighter will ever have a pristine shield or armor that looks like it’s never seen battle? All of the items that we use day-to-day will have some kind of…
4 Methods to Make Cosplay Props Look Like Metal (for beginners)
The easiest method for making your swords and other props look like metal is by using metallic acrylic paint. However, this doesn’t give you the most realistic effect, since there will always be brush strokes and surface texture even if…
How to Make (faux) Fur Animal Ears For Cosplay (a step-by-step guide)
In these tutorials you will learn how to create animal ears that are made of fur and can be attached directly to a wig or headband. The other method will involve attaching ears to a hoodie, coat, or caplet so…
Tutorial: Cosplay Swords for Beginners
Need a shield to go with your sword? check out my other tutorial (which includes two types of shields) Crafting a cosplay sword can elevate your costume from good to great, providing that element of realism that can impress at…
How to Make a Cardboard Dagger or Knife for Your Cosplay (the easy way)
There are any number of ways to go about making a dagger for cosplay. If you’re a beginner and you want an easy first project to try your hand at prop making, this tutorial is for you. It is a…
Tutorial: How to Make “Wooden” Shield for Costumes
You can use props of any kind to help your costume stand out within the crowd of cosplayers. One of the most common types of props that costumes call for is some form of shield. There are many different types…
How to Make Floppy Dog Ears with (faux) Fur
Making floppy dog ears is a little different than cat ears for a costume. In order for the material to accurately reflect the shape of a dog’s ear, you need to create a solid base for the ear (I used…
Tutorial: Superhero Eyemasks for Costumes
Creating a superhero eyemask for cosplay is a fun way to immerse yourself in your character. Whether you’re aiming to replicate the iconic look of characters like the Incredibles or crafting an original creation, the eye mask is a central…
Tutorial: Dye a Synthetic Wig With Bold Colors for Costumes (gradient colors too!)
If you’ve got a synthetic wig and you’re looking to switch up its color, consider using acrylic ink rather than traditional dye. It’s a popular method among DIY enthusiasts and cosplay fans for its flexibility and the vivid color results…