Carbon Costume

There are more iterations of Batman than most people can count. And each version has a flair all his own. In Batman: The Animated Series, Kevin Conroy voices a Batman steeped in neo-noir style. And it has made this version of the caped crusader a favorite among long-time and new fans alike.

This version of Batman is fairly old-school when it comes to his costume. A grey body suit and soft touch fabric paint will give you the base layer of his costume as well as the perfect insignia, since the style of his insignia is often the most specific change. On top of that you’ll want a pair of black bike shorts and the yellow utility belt. Bike shorts will give a little more coverage than the actual costume but they might also be more comfortable!

Add on some gloves, boots, a cowl, and a cape, and you’ve finished out the costume!

There is one small note on the cape: It is black on the outside and blue on the inside. You can always skip this detail but if you’re determined to get the same look, you have two options. One is to order the same cape in both black and blue, then cut the hems into points and glue them together on all sides using fabric glue until they are one piece. The other option is order a few extra bottles of the blue fabric paint and paint the inside of your cape. Both options will change how the cape moves and how you’ll have to clean it. So keep these factors in mind when choosing how you alter it!

Caitlyn – Also known as Pop – is your typical little sister. She wants to do everything her big sister does, no matter how dangerous or difficult. And she doesn’t like having her big sister hovering over her. It causes a few fights but at the end of the day Caitlyn’s sweet nature wins out.

Some of Caitlyn’s personality comes out in her clothes. Her main color when not in her magical outfit is purple. Red is her main magical color for those who plan on making their own magical cosplay!

For her daily outfit you’ll need lavender socks, dark purple shorts, blue shoes, and a long sleeved lavender shirt. To get closer to Caitlyn’s details you will also want large white buttons that you either sew or glue to the top, a detachable peter pan collar, and purple pompoms to decorate the top of each shoe. Add in a bright pink wig and a little bit of attitude and you’re ready to go!

(A thank you to Izzy who noticed a mistake in the original version of this article and alerted us!)

Sebastian Shaw has been one of the X-Men’s biggest foes since his introduction to the franchise in January of 1980. He is a mutant capable of absorbing many different kinds of energy. But his status as a mutant hardly puts him on the same side as Wolverine, Charles Xavier, and the others. As a member of the Hellfire club he is determined to take over the world, even going to far as to fund the Sentinel program so that it will hunt down mutants that defy him. And while Kevin Bacon put his own spin on the character in the most recent run of X-Men movies, the Earth-616 comic book version is by far the most iconic.

Shaw often goes by the moniker of Black King and his costume is fittingly grandiose. He wears a coat with tails and a waist coat with an ascot. The colors vary from costume to costume but the elements stay the same. Shaw also wears knee breeches, tall socks, and shoes with buckles on them. A more modern twist is a tailored suit with an ascot but the comic version usually maintains this mid-century look.

Some villagers like to work out. Others like to play music. Wendy likes four things: DIY, MagLev Mike, chasing her dreams of pop stardom, and – of course – her friends. She loves sharing good news with other people on the island and spends most of her time socializing with her neighbors. Her personality is as playful as her style and it shows!

Setting up a Wendy costume requires a little bit of DIY. You’ll have to paint the horns in stripes of marigold yellow spaced out with pale yellow. Then you’ll want to wrap the headband in blue ribbon so it blends in better with the blue wig that mimics the wool on top of Wendy’s head.

A watermelon-print blouse, a blue ruffle skirt, brown leggings, and brown ballet flats finish the look. You can accessorize with a hammer from your DIY bench or – if you’re feeling the urge to chance Wendy’s dreams – a microphone so you’re always ready for your big popstar-slash-fashion designer break!

Shado is a controversial figure in the DC comics. In some iterations she is the mother of Oliver’s half-sister. In others she’s is the mother of Oliver’s son. Oliver was delirious when he and Shado slept together though Shado claimed not to know this at the time. It’s a long-standing point of tension on her character. In the CW show Arrow she is a straight-forward love interest at one point, which is only one of the many changes the show made to the character.

Cosplaying as Shado requires a few specific pieces. The most important is a bow with a quiver of arrows as Shado is a master archer. You will also need a black off-the-shoulder shirt and white wid-legged pants. Shado’s shirt has a long black panel in the front that extends past a belt but finding this exact style is difficult. A black scarf can be used to emulate the look while a white scarf can serve as she belt. Black martial arts shoes round out the look.

Shado also has a red dragon tattoo on her left arm which you can recreate with face paints. She is often seen with her hair in a long braid down her back but her style does vary from time to time so the braid is not a hard and fast costume piece though one is linked above.

Cosplaying as the comic book version of Shado is fairly straight-forward.

In Code Lyoko, he might go by Frank Hopper but this ingenious scientist’s real name is Waldo Franz Schaeffer. He has had three voice actors and one live-action actor across different seasons and incarnations of the show. In this write-up we’re taking a look at his most common cartoon appearance since it makes for an easy and comfortable costume. Best of all, all of the pieces can be used either for day to day wear or for many, many other cosplays and costumes!

All you need to copy Hopper’s outfit is a brown turtleneck, black slacks, brown shoes, and a lab coat. Add in a shaggy grey wig and some costume glasses and you’re good to go! A quick note on the glasses: If you don’t like the frames listed above or they don’t fit properly, you can snag a pair of reading glasses from a store and remove the lenses. They will probably run you between $10 and $20 and are a versatile piece to keep in your costume or cosplay collection.

Most people know him as Sandman but this immortal being’s name is actually Dream. Brother to death and bane of Satan’s existence, he is one of many immortals that drift in and out of the world of humans. Like his siblings, Dream’s appearance changes depending on the era and where in the world he finds himself. This gives cosplayers a lot of options, though there are a few things that remain constant no matter when or where Dream finds himself.

Dream’s clothes are always in shades of black and white. And, more often than not, his black hair is in wild disarray. When he’s not around humans he favors a pair of black pants, black boots, and a long flowing sweater or robe left open over his bare chest.

Even when Dream dresses to suit a particular time period he’s not always accurate. When you’re timeless, the fine details of mortal fashion probably don’t matter all that much. In the case of the Victorian era – or in many modern subcultures – the printed coat and pants paired with a white ruffled shirt and black boots is classic Dream.

Whichever look you choose, you’ll need a black wig styled in a bit of a fly-away style and a contour kit to mimic Dream’s shadowed and sharp look.

Of all the people in the universe, the last one you want to meet is Lobo. He’s the last known Czarnian – because he wiped out his entire species as a science project. And unless you’re Al or Darlene – the owner and waitress in his favorite diner – or a dolphin (the one animal he has a soft spot for) he’s not going to hesitate to wipe you out either.

He first appeared in a 1983 Omega Men comic and has been running from fight to fight ever since. Though you can be sure he’s only running so he doesn’t miss any of the really bloody bits.

Lobo doesn’t wear much which is funny for a man who spends most of his time in fights. Then again he race was nearly immortal before he wiped them out. Of course his clothes don’t make for the best armor. But they do make for a pretty easy cosplay.

A long black wig is a good starting point. From there you can either use a grey bodysuit and body paint or just body paint to get Lobo’s greyish-blue skin tone. Then add in some black leather pants and leather boots. You’ll also want a pair of knee protectors decorated with a red star you’ll have to paint on by hand. Finish up with some costume chains to use against your enemies and you’re ready to chase mayhem too!