Add a Record to the Database

Information about you

Your name:

Enter your name or nickname. This will show up on the record's webpage.

Your email address:

Enter your email address. This will not show up on the record's webpage. It is so I can email you if there are any questions.

Information about the character

Character name:

Just what it says. Example: Utena Tenjou

Source, i.e.: name of anime/manga/game/J-pop band:

The name of the anime, manga, movie, etc. that this particular version of this character's costume comes from. Example: Revolutionary Girl Utena

Source format:

This is where you say if this particular version of this particular character is from an anime TV series, OVA, movie, manga, game, or J-Pop band. If the character wears teh same costume in more than one form - i.e., if this costume is seen in both the TV and the movie versions of the anime, then you can choose either one. Example: Movie

Source genre:

This is the genre of the anime, manga, or game this costume comes from. Notes: if it is a J-POp costume, choose 'Other.' This is for the genre of the source itself - the genre of the individual costume will be chosen later. Example: Fantasy

Major or supporting character?

Does the character play a major role, appearing in or influencing all or most of the episodes, or does the character play a supporting role, appearing in just a few? Example: Supporting

Physical description of the character

How human does the character appear?

How human does this character *look*? Human = completely human in appearance. Humanlike = mostly human in appearance, like an elf or Dota from Sorceror Hunters. Anthropomorphic = has animal characteristics or is an animal-like creature, like catgirls or Totoro. Mecha/Robotic = robotic or metallic in appearance, like the Gundams or Battle Angel Alita. Other = Does not fit into any of the above categories. Note: Place characters who are not human, but are completely human in appearance like Nagisa Kaoru from Neon Genesis Evangelion, in the "human" category.

What gender is the character?:

Fairly self-evident question. For characters who switch gender like Maze or Ranma, choose one gender for this record and then enter a new database record for the other gender. Example: Girl-type Ranma and boy-type Ranma should each have their own entry in the database. For characters whose gender is indeterminate or irrelevant, like Totoro, enter "NA" for Not Applicable.

What is the general age of the character?

Another relatively self-evident question. Again, for characters whose age is irrelevant, like Totoro, enter "NA" for Not Applicable.

How tall is the character?

Same sort of thing. Enter "NA" in the case of any real confusion such as (again) Totoro, who is a very large character but the nature of the costume is such that the height of the person inside is irrelevant.

Does the character wear glasses?

Yes or no. No real confusion here. If the character wears glasses only part of the time, choose "Yes" if he or she wears them most of the time and "No" if he or she does not wear them most of the time.

What tone is the character's skin?

Use "dark" and "light" for human-toned colors. Use "other" for strange colors like Leader Desslock and "NA" for characters like Totoro who are covered in fur, are mecha, or don't otherwise show any skin.

What color is the character's hair?

Which of the myriad colors of anime hair does the character possess? If the character is bald, use "NA" - you'll get to enter "bald" in the next question.

How long is the character's hair?

Use bald for human characters and humanlike characters who would normally have hair. For characters like Jet Black who are balding but have some hair, use balding. Short covers everything from a buzz cut to about the level of the ears, medium from the level of the ears to the shoulders, and long for anything below the shoulders. Characters like Totoro or the Gundams should be listed as "NA" for Not Applicable.

What is the texture of the character's hair?

Fairly straightforward. Again, the note about characters who don't have humanlike hair, like Totoro: classify them as "Other."

Information about the costume itself

What kind of clothing is it?

This field describes the costume itself, not the show. For example, Hitomi from Escaflowne wears a modern Japanese school uniform throughout the anime The Vision of Escaflowne, so although Escaflowne is classified as fantasy, the costume itself is classified as school uniform. For characters who do not wear clothing, like the ubiquitous Totoro, use No clothing. Other is for anything that does not fit into one of the other categories.

Does the costume include any prosthetics??

'Prosthetics' refers to any elements of the body that the cosplayer might want to construct: elf or cat ears, tails, fangs, wings, mechanical arms or legs, and so on. These are integral parts of the character and not props: i.e. Xelloss' ears and the rocks on his skin are prosthetics, but his sword is a prop. These elements are not always constructed by cosplayers but it can add a nice touch if they are. Describe what sort of prosthetic it is in the Notes field below.

How difficult is it to construct?

Easy is a costume that a complete novice who has never touched a sewing machine before can make, like Ash or Misty from Pokemon, which can be put together by combining ready-made jeans, shirts, and so on (the sort of thing that looks nice but wouldn't really win an award). If there's any sewing involved it's all straight lines, and there's no modifications to patterns involved.Moderate refers to costumes that need some experience with a sewing machine, modifying patterns, or other forms of costume construction to be able to do, and advanced means that good knowledge of creating patterns, tailoring techniques, metalwork, or other crafts are necessary to really be able to do it (think someone who regularly wins awards). Note: all costumes can be done well by an advanced costumer, but this rating should mean the sort of level the cosplayer should be at to pull off a basic interpretation. An example is Nicholas D. Wolfwood, who would be classified as easy because his costume can be put together using a black suit and white shirt bought at a store, even though an expert sewer could tailor it really nicely to emphasize the shoulders and draw in the waist to closely match the anime. (If anyone has actually *done* that, I'd love to see it!)

How skimpy is the costume?

For skimpiness factor, skimpy refers to costumes that are small or tight, the sort of thing you'd wear at the beach or to a club -- the Dirty Pair or Lum would fit here. Moderate is the sort of thing your average person would wear at the mall or while walking down the street -- miniskirts like the ones on most school uniforms in anime fit here. Modest is the kind of thing you might wear to a Christian church service or the sort of thing that wouldn't shock anyone - long pants, full skirts, costumes like Totoro that completely cover the wearer, or the dueling uniforms from Revolutionary Girl Utena. Skimpiness and shockability are pretty subjective things, so it's not really going to be easy to classify a lot of things, and most men's clothing would tend to fit in 'modest' anyway. Give it your best shot. Nobody's going to complain (well, they might, but I don't care.) If you have a problem classifying it, explain it in the Notes section below.

Additional information

Any notes: