The tricky thing about cosplay is that the costume only makes up half of an anime or video game character’s appearance. Sure, you may have every frill, button, and buckle exactly recreating the original artwork, but there’s still the problem of trying to match the character’s physical features.
Earlier this month, we looked at a set of strap-on breasts to give yourself the sort of bounteous bust that’s so common in Japanese animation. Now, one Twitter user has come up with an easy way to replicate the character’s eyes, mouth, and even facial expression, and all you need is a smartphone or tablet.
While anime characters’ faces are generally designed with the aim of being aesthetically pleasing, they’re rarely realistic. Aside from the proclivity of oversized eyes with fantastically colored irises, Japanese animation’s extremely stylized artwork often includes impossibly sharp chins, delicately imperceptible noses, and mouths that range in size from a pinpoint to almost the width of the entire jawbone.
▼ Maybe next time Totoro’s Mei goes to visit her mom in the hospital, the doc should also run some tests to see if the tyke’s freakishly large mouth is a symptom of some condition that needs urgent medical treatment.
But if you’re not willing to spend hours and hours fine-tuning your makeup to achieve the anime look, Twitter user Mea-tan has a quick and simple solution.
新たなコスプレ登場 新たなコスプレ登場 新たなコスプレ登場 新たなコスプレ登場 pic.twitter.com/1ChRzqpb8B
— かしゅー (@kasyuu_) 2015年2月24日
Using a smartphone or tablet, display a picture of the character you’re cosplaying as, turn the screen towards the camera, position the device so it lines up with your face, and you’re ready to create a surprisingly believable anime photo.
Now it’s worth noting that this doesn’t take all the effort out of cosplaying. As can be seen above, you’re still responsible for anything not framed by the image, such as hairstyling and hair accessories. And while the results shared by Mea-tan look great, there’s sure to be a bit of a learning curve as you get the hang of determining the optimal placing of the device for whatever camera angle and distance you’re shooting from.
There’s also the fact that the effect is no doubt much more convincing in still images than when you’re actually standing in front of an audience. Still, if you’re a cosplayer who wants to share the product of your labor of love online, but would rather not have everyone in the world able to see you face, this is a pretty clever way to show off your creation while still keeping your privacy.