How to get into cosplay as a guy!

So if you’re a guy that is interested in cosplay, it might look pretty intimidating to you when you see a bunch of hot supermodels cosplaying. Or you see a bunch of dudes who are ripped with muscles or 6 packs. You might be thinking that you cannot cosplay unless you’re a beautiful female, or a guy with a chiseled body.

The truth is though, you don’t need to be any of those things. Let’s remember that anyone can cosplay, no matter your body type or gender. And let me tell you as a male cosplayer, you don’t have to worry about gatekeeping; it’s pretty easy to cosplay as a guy. I’ll show you how. 🙂

In this post, I’ll give you 10 things you need to know about how to cosplay as a guy. That way, you won’t have any hesitation about cosplaying as a male. You can cosplay whoever you want. 🙂

Without further ado, let’s get started!

1. You don’t need to learn makeup.

I honestly don’t use any makeup and do just fine! Once in a while though, I’ll use concealer. In any case, don’t feel pressured to use makeup if you don’t want to!

I wanted to start this guide with something that I feel would be a big issue for a lot of guys (cause I can sort of relate), and that would be makeup. Although makeup can make you look a LOT better in cosplay, it’s not a requirement or necessity. In fact, if you’re not comfortable with using makeup, then you absolutely don’t need to!

I actually wrote a post about how to cosplay without makeup (click here to read about it). But yes my dudes, you don’t need to use makeup if you don’t want to. I myself don’t use that much makeup for cosplay, other than using concealer from time-to-time. It’s up to you though. It can improve your cosplay game dramatically. But it’s not a thing you need to absolutely learn.

2. There are PLENTY of cosplay ideas for men.

Roy Mustang, one of many cosplay ideas for men!

If you’re new to the Cosplay Community, then you might think there are so many cosplay ideas for women but not for men. Not true at all!

To start, it doesn’t matter the gender of the character; anyone can cosplay them. There is a whole niche of cosplayers who either only dress up as characters not their real gender (ie genderbend) or they change their own gender to fit the character (crossplay). So if you’re a guy who wants to cosplay a female character, you’re more than welcome to!

Secondly, there are plenty of Husbandos and male characters you can cosplay as. Whether it’s a comic book superhero like Wolverine and Spider-Man, or an Anime character like Black Butler Sebastian and Roy Mustang, you have plenty of guys to choose and cosplay from! I even made a list of easy cosplay ideas for guys (click here to read).

3. Cosplay doesn’t have to be difficult for a guy.

For me as a guy, I try to keep things simple with my cosplay. I’m not the most talented or skilled in cosplaying and that’s okay. I just do whatever is fun for me and whatever I’m comfortable with. And I think for you as a guy, you can opt for that same mindset.

You don’t need to be an expert seamstress or a master at the art of makeup to cosplay as a guy. It can be as simple as ordering a costume online (click here for the best cosplay websites). Yes, you don’t need to make your own costume in order to cosplay. As long as you a wear a cosplay, then that counts. It’s that simple!

4. You can still do cosplay photoshoots too!

Anyone can do cosplay photoshoots!

As a guy, you see those beautiful cosplay photoshoots online. And after viewing them, you might think either you’re not good enough or qualified to do anything remotely close to that.

Well, that is also another false belief! No matter your skill level in cosplay, you can do cosplay photoshoots. If you want a qualified photographer to take photos of your cosplay, then you’ll have more than your fair share of photographers to choose from. It’s no different from professional cosplayers shooting with their photographers.

As a guy, it’s no different. The only thing I noticed is some photographers may not want to shoot with you; they rather shoot with a hot girl! But that’s okay; you’ll find plenty of other photographers who would love to take your money for a photoshoot. Don’t try to book a shoot with someone who doesn’t want to take your photos. Go for someone who wants to!

5. Same rules and boundaries apply to you when it comes to cosplaying.

Just because you’re a guy, doesn’t mean you get special privileges! As with any hobby, cosplay has a lot of rules you should definitely follow. Always be respectful and sensitive to others; being in cosplay doesn’t mean you get to do whatever you want.

Remember to always ask permission for things such as touching a cosplayer, their props or to take their photo.

6. Improving yourself with cosplaying is the same for everyone.

In order to get better at cosplaying, we all have to go through the same trial and error to improve. Whether it’s practicing your craft, or doing photoshoots to learn how to pose in cosplay, the process will be the same for you as a guy if you want to get better.

There are many ways on how to improve your cosplay (click here to read the list). And I’ve seen plenty of male cosplayers who have gotten better at cosplaying since they started, because they put the effort in!

7. The Cosplay Community will support you.

My friend helping me with my Marth before a shoot.
My friend helping me with my Marth before a shoot.

When you’re just starting out in cosplay, it may seem like you have to do this alone. But not at all. There are many people in the Cosplay Community who are friendly and helpful!

I can vouch and say that they are very helpful and supportive! Maybe it seems like only the most popular cosplayers get the most attention. But anyone who asks for help, will get the support they need. I myself have a received a ton of support not only with cosplays themselves, but also with this website. It’s their generosity that lets me produce a lot of cool blog posts!

So don’t be afraid to reach out for help with cosplay if you need it.

8. Budgeting is important.

If you’re a guy starting out in cosplay, then you should know that budgeting is very important! Even for male cosplayers, the costumes for us can also be expensive. Some male fictional characters have really elaborate outfits (e.g. Fire Emblem). For example, I went all out with my Marth cosplay from Fire Emblem. At the time, I paid over $500 CAD to get the costume personally made! It was worth every penny as I still have that cosplay after all these years. But as you can see, cosplay can be expensive for us guys as well!

So make sure to save up and budget for a cosplay, and only buy or make one when you have the financial resources to do so. As you may know, cosplaying can get expensive. You definitely need to make sure you’re not overspending on this hobby.

9. Just have fun!

You can’t spell cosplay without play!

Last but not least, just have fun as a male cosplayer! Cosplaying is about having as much fun as possible, and that includes you as a guy. You don’t need to be so strict and feel like you’re out of place; you totally belong in the community. As long as you respect the boundaries and follow the rules, you’re good to go in cosplay!

Summary

To summarize, here are the 9 things you need to know about how to cosplay as a guy:

  1. You don’t need to learn makeup.
  2. There are PLENTY of cosplay ideas for men.
  3. Cosplay doesn’t have to be difficult for a guy.
  4. You can still do cosplay photoshoots too!
  5. Same rules and boundaries apply to you when it comes to cosplaying.
  6. Improving yourself with cosplaying is the same for everyone.
  7. The Cosplay Community will support you.
  8. Budgeting is important.
  9. Just have fun!

And that’s all you need to know as a guy. I hope you enjoyed this guide!

As you can tell, there is nothing to it. Being a male cosplayer is just as easy as any other cosplayer. While it might seem like this hobby is dominated by female characters and cosplays (which is kind of true), that doesn’t mean as a guy, you cannot participate. There are many ways you can do so. Fortunately, we already so many amazing male cosplayers in the Cosplay Community, so you can definitely learn and see what they’ve been doing.

Note: So I don’t need to make a version of how to cosplay as a girl. I don’t think we don’t need one for women, as you can see from all the many amazing photos of female cosplayers out there. If you have any other questions, let me know in the comments below!

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