Carbon Costume

In the indie platformer game Only Up!, Jackie must climb, literally, out of a junkyard and up the world to escape from poverty. Jackie’s name is inspired by the folktale Jack and the Beanstalk, where a boy climbs high enough to pass through the clouds. No word on if the namesake wore a t-shirt promoting NFTs though — as Jackie does with his Goblintown hoodie.

In Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy, Diogenes is a nude philosopher who lives in a large metal cauldron. He gets around with only the help of a Yosemite hammer, which he uses to grab onto surfaces, and push and pull himself around. One slip though and he’ll find himself at the bottom of a steep mountain.

Rayman is the titular protagonist of Rayman, a side scrolling platform game. Made by Ubi Soft, the first installment was released in 1995 for the Atari Jaguar, Sega Saturn, & Sony Playstation. As Rayman, players must travel through six worlds to free all the caged Electoons. Only then will Rayman confront his enemy, Mr. Dark. This guide includes both a DIY or a simpler way by purchasing a pre-designed cosplay hoodie.

Wild Woody is the titular character of 1995 Sega video game.  Wild Woody must gather the scattered pieces of a totem pole by erasing enemies and creating sketches to help him in his quest.  To recreate this wacky pencil, you have two choices.  While pencil costumes do exist, few of them are oriented in the same way as Woody.  Still, you could get close by layering one over a black bodysuit and adding gloves and yellow sneakers.  If you’re up for something a little more impressionistic, you can layer a yellow sleeveless shirt and pink shorts over a bodysuit and then add a cone-shaped cap.  Give your pencil a nice sharp-looking tip by using a black fabric marker.  You can even add a silver belt to stand in as your eraser holder.

Illustration by Yu Su “Beneath the fading town of Dirtmouth sleeps a vast, ancient kingdom. Many are drawn beneath the […]

Razputin “Raz” Aquato (voiced by Richard Steven Horvitz) is a 10-year-old psychic and the main character of the Psychonauts game series.  In addition to his psychic abilities, Raz comes from a family of acrobats and is a natural performer.  Though his costume changes slightly in each game, he typically wears a leather circus cap and red aviator goggles with brown gloves and a green turtleneck.  His bag proudly displays his merit badges.

Shovel Knight is a 2-D side-scrolling game.  In this game, Plague Knight is a member of the Order of No Quarter.  As a member of the Order and a master alchemist, Plague Knight serves the Enchantress.  The Plague Knight’s costume is very similar to the familiar plague doctor popular at Halloween and as part of the steampunk aesthetic.  However, to create his green mak, you will need to set aside a little DIY time to either create one yourself using green fabric and an online tutorial or to paint a white mask to match the color of your gloves and belt.

Sly Cooper (voiced by Kevin Miller) is a renowned thief. Which makes sense for a young man who comes from a long line of thieves. Whether he’s traveling through time, outwitting the authorities around the globe, or sneaking into places though too secure to rob, he’s the man with a plan. And the skills to pull it off!

Since Sly is a raccoon there are a few unique components to his costume. Grey ears, a grey tail, and grey SFX paint will mimic the raccoon look. Of course you can just opt for the tail and ears while skipping the body paint if you prefer!

His clothes are fairly straightforward. A blue cap and black eye mask really tip him off as a thief. A yellow bandana around the neck mimics his collar while a blue shirt, grey pants, and blue boots finish the main part of the outfit. Yellow fabric paint is handy for painting the cuffs of some blue gloves for an extra touch. And, of course, you’ll need his hooked staff.