Cosplay inspiration ideas!

Are you feeling like you don’t have any desire or ideas to cosplay anymore? That’s totally fine; I’m sure everyone experiences cosplay burnout at some point. After all, as awesome as this hobby is, there are some things that are not so nice as well. The expenses of cosplay can add up, and the frustrations of making a costume can quickly boil up! So if you need to, definitely take a break from cosplay from time-to-time.

But if you want to continue with cosplaying but just need a little kick in motivation, then perhaps this post is for you! There are many ways to get inspired to dress up in new cosplays again, and that’s what we are going to talk about today.

In this post, I will give you 9 cosplay inspiration ideas to get you started and motivated in this hobby. These are great techniques to get you excited about cosplay. You will be more than motivated to work on cosplay again!

Without further ado, let’s get started.

1. Watch a Cosplay Music Video

I don’t know about you, but nothing gets me more pumped to cosplay again than seeing other beautiful cosplayers doing their thing on YouTube. In particular, Cosplay Music Videos are some of the best ways to showcase some amazing cosplayers at conventions. Most music videos involve filming a ton of cosplayers in a 360 view. The best examples of Cosplay Music Videos are the ones by Mineralblu; they do an awesome job getting some really good cosplayers on camera!

When I see the wonderful costumes that other cosplayers are dressing up, and the convention hallways that the video is being filmed in, that gets me SO motivated to cosplay and attending cons again! It’s not even FOMO; it’s just the experience of cosplaying and being at a con is just so enjoyable. And when I watch a Cosplay Music Video, it reminds me of the fun times to be had at a cosplay convention.

So if you are feeling a little demotivated, watch some Cosplay Music Videos to get you excited again. I’m sure it’ll work well for you. 🙂

2. Scroll through your Instagram feed

Instagram feed of my friend, Nisaba.cosplay!

Okay in most cases, scrolling through your Instagram feed is probably not good for you. It can be a time waster. But in this case of being motivated for cosplay, it can be a good thing!

As you may know, Instagram a popular social media app for cosplayers. We post a LOT of cosplay photos on IG. So if you want to be inspired and see what others are doing, then Instagram is the place to be. Not only will you find a ton of cosplays from the people you follow, but you’ll also get some good recommendations from the app itself. Yes, Instagram will show you a bunch of other cosplay photos you’ll probably enjoy and like. As much as we like to criticize social media algorithms for destroying our engagement and being unfair to us, they are still pretty smart in knowing what we like/dislike.

So who knows; you may see a bunch of cosplays on Instagram that will inspire you and get you cosplaying again! There are so many talented cosplayers using Instagram, so you won’t have any trouble finding really good cosplayers. And if you haven’t signed up for Instagram, as a cosplayer you definitely should!

3. Play a new video game

You might think this is strange, but playing video games can always give you a nice mental break from whatever you’re doing. Not only that, it can get your creative juices going again. I find when I’m immersed in a video game, it gets me thinking differently. Depending on the video game itself, it makes me want to try new things, including stuff in cosplay.

And yes, a video game can you give you cosplay ideas. But it doesn’t necessarily have to be the characters in the game; it can be similar characters in a different series. For example, when I was playing Fire Emblem: Three Houses, it made me want to cosplay different characters from Fire Emblem, and not necessarily ones from Three Houses.

So if you’re feeling uninspired in cosplay but you’re into video games, then try out a new game. It can get your mind going again!

4. Watch a new Anime or show

In a similar vein to playing video games, watching a new Anime or movie can do the same thing in getting your mind going again on a lot of things. I do find that watching something is slightly different though, as you’re not as active and in control like you are with a video game. So it does make it easier to write down ideas and thoughts when you’re watching something.

I actually find it easier to get cosplay ideas from watching Anime. Because Anime characters are so awesome-looking with usually eccentric personalities, it makes me want to cosplay all of them! But of course, we are limited in our budget, so we can only do so many of them.

I’m not really into comic series or even movies in fact, so I cannot comment much on getting inspiration from them. But I’m sure if your interest is greater than mine, then you’ll find it easy to get ideas from a superhero movie or cartoon series!

5. Look for cosplay deals

You can find some good cosplay deals on Facebook!

If your cosplay demotivation is financial, then I can totally understand that. It’s hard to be motivated to cosplay if you don’t have a lot of money to do so. But as I mentioned in previous articles, cosplay can be expensive but it doesn’t necessarily have to be! There are many ways to save, including being on the hunt for cosplay deals.

If you look around and be patient, you’ll find that many cosplay stores will have sales throughout the year. Case in point for me; AliExpress recently had an anniversary sale and I was able to buy a bunch of cosplays up to 50% off! That got me so motivated to cosplay again! Click here for the best cosplay websites.

There are other ways to save on cosplay and keep going with this hobby without breaking your wallet…too much:

Hopefully money isn’t the reason why you cannot cosplay. But if it is, then that’s totally understandable. I also hope that these methods can help though.

If you cannot, you can do this instead…

6. Attend a convention in normal clothing

Honestly, as much as it’s fun and enjoyable cosplaying at a convention, it can also be a huge hassle too. Having to wear a bulky costume alongside thousands of attendees with an uncomfortable headache-inducing wig…being a cosplayer can be stressful!

So that’s why I recommend every now and then, just attend a cosplay convention in your regular clothing. No costume or anything; just be a normie! If you’ve been cosplaying for so long at a bunch of conventions, then you’ll be surprised to see how much more comfortable it is to just walk around a convention in normal clothing. No need to feel like you’re literally carrying something heavy, or any pressures that come from cosplaying (e.g. makeup, posing for photos, etc.).

By doing this, you’ll remember why you attend conventions in the first place!

7. Go through Pinterest cosplay photos

I myself have a Pinterest account and see many wonderful photos on the website (or app if you want to call it that). Some cosplayers I know definitely use Pinterest for many things; to get cosplay ideas, to find tutorials on various subjects and of course to get motivated for cosplay! Most of us use Facebook and Instagram to view cosplay photos. But Pinterest is surprisingly underrated as a platform for cosplay as well. Sometimes you’ll find cosplay you’ve never seen before, because there aren’t as many users as the popular ones like IG.

So I would recommend trying out Pinterest and getting some ideas and motivation there. You’d be surprised how great it is to use!

8. Go through why cosplay is fun

This is a little self-promotion on my part. But when you’re thinking about the negatives of cosplaying (yes there are bad things about cosplaying, just like any other hobby), of course you may feel demotivated. But let me remind you of all the great things about cosplaying and why it’s fun.  Don’t forget the magic of putting a costume of your favorite character, getting your photos taken by people who are into the same stuff as you are, and just having a great time at a cosplay convention for a weekend.

There are many reasons why cosplay is fun. They include: artistic/creative expression, stress relief and fun challenges. Click here to read the full list of why cosplaying is fun!

9. Just take a break!

A nice relaxing getaway like Holiday Matsuri is a great way to get motivated for cosplay again!

If none of these things help to inspire you or motivate you, then it’s okay to just take a break from cosplaying altogether. I’ve seen a lot of cosplayers do this, especially if they burned out financially or emotionally. Let’s face it; cosplaying can be exhausting. There are a lot of little things that can get in the way while cosplaying at a convention, or making a costume yourself.

Sometimes, getting away from the hobby is the best thing you can do. And you don’t have to worry about cosplay being gone permanently. As far as I know, cosplay only continues to become more popular. So it will always be here whenever you’re ready. You can always return to cosplay when you’re feeling inspired or motivated to do so. 🙂

Summary

To summarize, here are the 9 cosplay inspiration ideas to get you going:

  1. Watch a Cosplay Music Video
  2. Scroll through your Instagram feed
  3. Play a new video game
  4. Watch a new Anime or show
  5. Look for cosplay deals
  6. Attend a convention in normal clothing
  7. Go through Pinterest cosplay photos
  8. Go through why cosplay is fun
  9. Just take a break!

And there you have it; 9 cosplay inspiration ideas to keep you motivated with this hobby! I hope you enjoyed this post.

Remember, it’s normal to not feel motivated to cosplay sometimes. We all have different things going on our lives, so we may not feel up to it to cosplay all the time. Sometimes we just need a reminder why we spend so much money to dress up as fictional characters, yet it’s worth it to us. 🙂

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