The real reason cosplayers don’t share tutorials - my experience

At the end of 2023, I had promised many that I’d film an entire cosplay process. And make it to where multiple people of multiple sizes would be able to copy my design. I chose Xal’atath when she was announced at BlizzCon 2023.

Xal’atath at the BlizzCon 2023 Announcement

The Planning Issue

I had absolutely no idea the hellscape that I was inviting myself into. And I didn't just need my normal equipment. I also had to

First, I had to pick out a pattern that was viable and reusable by others. I ended up going with Mood Fabrics patterns. They say they have over 400 patterns, so it was quite the issue to find one that matched her dress well.

But I couldn’t just pick any dress - I had to make sure that the dress was one that I could alter very easily and quickly. It honestly took a while to pick one out, but the actual modifications themselves are easier to work with now that this part of the planning is done. Adding bias tape to the armscye (arm hole), bias tape to the neck, and shortening the dress.

I also have to make all my own files for foam and 3D print. Luckily, I already knew how to do that. And how to clean them up for publishing.

The Filming Issue

All of the above is easy to do, but getting my cameras to the right places was a pain. I ended up going through so many stands and placements. I finally settled on a very tall stand with a bendable neck. It could go over my sewing and cutting table in my sewing room. https://a.co/d/8Th7e2H

I also had to have lighting, but thankfully I already did. I ended up buying more lights, since we needed some also for the “dirty” sanding and heating work area. https://a.co/d/8MIlwOV

Next up was realizing those large lights wouldn’t work in the small bathroom area that allowed me to work in the winter. I have a small bathroom I can section off for gluing and priming fumes for foam, though I don’t share the full setup because it’s absolutely not idea. I ended up having to use a tiny LED light with a power pack to power it. This is the light: https://a.co/d/4n8EFhq

It may seem easy to run around with a phone and swap camera stands. Having one per room does make it easier. The problem then becomes realizing you have to set up a well lit and uncluttered area for working. Once you set the area up, set up lights, figure out what area you can work in where you won’t accidentally work off camera, then you’re good. But what if there are multiple steps in multiple areas? You can cut and print your pattern, and cut your fabric on one table. But now you have to sew it, and so you move the stand to your sewing area. Move your lights. Move your handheld tools and supplies. It gets burdensome.

Keep in mind I already planned a craft room and bought furniture. A large cutting table and cutting mat. A large ironing mat to go over my cutting table, to iron long fabrics. All of that cost money beforehand.

The Distribution Problem

Now I had files ready, but no one was finding them for download. There are two ways to go that are viable for the everyday, broke cosplayer: grassroots advertising and a website.

I had patterns since 2021 or so on my Ko-fi page. I worked on a website, but took over two years to make it to where it worked. So I had to rely on the grassroots method. I had to post to social media and hope people would find them. A lot of people found my original Gorou (Genshin Impact) foam collar pattern that way. But once the post got drowned out by others premade cosplays, the downloads stopped. And with the removal of the visible recent tab on Instagram, I could no longer really hope to rely on that method. I am fortunate to be focused on Warcraft builds now. You can’t buy most Warcraft cosplays cheap, so I don’t get drowned out on the hashtags with my costumes.

Once I did finally get my website to actually work, I could focus on advertising. There’s a lot of terminology that goes with it, but the main word you want to learn is SEO. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. The cool part of cosplay tutorials is that there are significantly fewer of these. So you can reach the top of search engines much more easily. I randomly learned how to fix things on website over time, so I don’t have resources to share on SEO. Just know that the cost of a website is probably the best paid advertising you can get. And it looks super professional, since most cosplayers don’t have a paid one.

The “Small Audience” Problem

It’s true that those that started cosplay social media before 2015 had the best odds of growing. Pre-2010 was probably better, but I wasn’t watching the scene back then. I hear on some long time cosplayer posts that a picture of completed armor, without anyone in it, could get you thousands of likes.

Then a dual shift happened - mass-produced costumes and spicy content. And a lesser extent is algorithm changes, but I don’t have the data from these eras to go into that.

I mentioned above that I don’t get drowned out on hashtags due to not many making Warcraft cosplays. Most don’t want to spend the $800-$3,000 (USD) to get a costume made. So they have to make it themselves. But many popular fandoms have made costumes, like Genshin Impact. This means cosplay content creators can have a new costume every week, assuming that they have the income to do so. Though once a month seems to be more common. Now the limiter isn’t a mixture of appearance and quality crafting work. The only limiter is how much general cosplay audiences feel you look in your costume. So the crafting gets drowned out. And since the crafting gets drowned out, that means that the videos and pictures showing tutorials hardly get seen. Though a very rare crafting post can make the rounds once in a while.

The second shift was spicy content. You no longer have to be a 30+ year old person with amazing crafting skills. You can make spicy cosplay content with mass-produced costumes as fast as you can take photos in them. This did bring cosplay and it’s demand to the mainstream, but made it much harder for slower crafters to be seen. And most people looking at this content don’t care if you made your costume. They just want to see you in it.

The Follower & Crediting Problem

One big issue with cosplay tutorials is that not everyone credits the tutorial that helped them out. Thus potentially denying the tutorial creator income and followers. There are a few that are very distinct with their finishes, and so they stand out. I have definitely read a certain tutorial book that people use and don’t credit. I wouldn’t expect someone to credit a tutorial on every post, but the first few is probably a good idea. Definitely credit your full costumes, if they were made by someone else.

On the flip side, please don’t cause anyone trouble if you think they aren’t crediting their patterns. For years, I thought someone I knew had used a pattern for a costume. It turned out she didn’t, and she cracked the code herself. She just bought some armor files. The fabric was all her. There are only so many ways to make something with only so many materials.

I have posted my files, and maybe have received 5 followers out of 50+ downloads. So even when seen, I have yet to game the actual social media algorithms. I could get few hundred downloads a month for tutorials in the future. But the companies that want to hire will never know my work is interesting to others, due to the lack of followers.

VIDEO SPACE

The Time Sink

The worst part of it all is how long it’s taking me to make the costume. I really just

Final Thoughts

After going through videoing so much of my tutorials, I’ve honestly just thought of going back to documenting with photos. You only need good lighting for a pic for a moment, and won't have to maneuver around a camera stand with two lights.

I’ll finish Xal’atath with at least photos, and do Alleria probably almost 100% that way.

So next time you see a costume and don’t see a tutorial, you know why. It’s just a lot work!