Cosplay Unraveled: A Look at the Art of Monetizing Costume Play

For fans of pop culture and personality-based content, cosplaying is the ultimate convergence. Seeing their favorite fictional characters portrayed by their favorite real-life creators doubles the fun — and when adult creators supercharge the action with a sexy twist, the excitement triples.

That should come as no surprise to anyone who has ever visited one of the countless fan fiction sites rife with smutty reimaginings of beloved characters, demonstrating the infamous Rule 34: “If it exists, there is porn of it.” Seeing a favorite waifu come to life thanks to a spicy creator’s equally passionate fervor is a dream come true.

Yet bringing the dream to life in a sexy and engaging way is not merely a matter of donning semi-convincing Halloween store garb and masturbating while tossing off one-liners from whatever video game, TV show, movie or anime the character features in. An innovative scenario, stagecraft and genuine excitement for the source material all factor into the final product, be it livestreamed or recorded.

According to the top cosplayers whom XBIZ sought out for their input on the fine art of producing adult cosplay content, that effort is well worth it — especially since few fans pay as handsomely as the die-hard geeks and bona fide aficionados of all that is nerdy and naughty.

Crafting the Costume, Setting the Stage

Role-playing is certainly important for bringing a character to life, and so are production values, but everything begins with the costume. Without the outfit, there is no cosplay.

Not every costume needs to be an elaborate, painstakingly crafted masterpiece, but some degree of thought and preparation goes a long way toward nailing the look and aesthetic of a character. For some, it is merely a manner of purchasing a premade costume, while for others, it is a labor of love that requires many hours, glue guns and a bit of fancy threadwork.

Chrissy LeBlanc shares that her Glam Jason cosplay originated with a vintage pearl-covered Victoria’s Secret corset she discovered at a thrift store during college.

“I knew it was a fabulous find but struggled to decide how to use it for years,” she says. “Inspiration struck when I came across some Pinterest images — a pearl necklace dripping with ‘bloody’ red jewels and a beglittered ‘Scream’ mask. I adapted these ideas, swapping rhinestones for pearls and switching the villain to Jason Voorhees. This process is typical for me; I often start with an inspiring image and blend it with other elements to make it unique. I love incorporating pinup, burlesque and drag influences into my designs.”

Once she obtained the base Jason mask at a dollar store, LeBlanc then ordered a prop machete, rhinestones, blood-drip tassel pasties from LuciesPasties on Etsy, pearls, sequin ribbon and beads. She embellished a pair of clear Pleaser heels she already owned with pearls, and customized a G-string by adding foam, foam clay, paint and more rhinestones to match the blood-drip pasties.

“Assembling the complete look took approximately 35-45 hours, with intermittent work and continuous additions each time I wore it,” she explains.

Another acclaimed creator, Savannah Solo, who co-hosted the 2022 XBIZ Creator Awards alongside Jewelz Blu, jokingly admits that Step 1 of her costume creation process is: “Procrastinate making the whole thing until one week before the convention you’re taking it to.”

“I’m terrible about waiting until the last minute to build things,” she confesses. “But it’s not my fault that I work best under pressure! My most intense cosplay build was a cosplay of Shin Hati from the ‘Star Wars’ show ‘Ahsoka.’ I planned to take it to Los Angeles Comic Con, and I had about two months to get it finished. My best friend CursedEnergies learned how to use my 3D printer because I am way too dumb to understand it, and she built me some gorgeous armor for Shin.

“We holed up in my craft room for weeks chipping away at it, and it was absolutely brutal from start to finish,” she recalls. “We went to Hobby Lobby about a billion times and made multiple hours-long trips to Jo-Ann fabrics, scouring the shelves for the perfect materials. By some sort of divine intervention, Sionnach Studios released a pattern for Shin’s unbelievably complicated vest, which saved me countless hours even though I had to trek back to Jo-Ann’s and buy all new fabric to start over.”

Solo ended up dyeing and hand-painting the upholstery fabrics she chose for her costume, weathering them with wire brushes and a Dremel to get the perfect dingy look.

“Don’t even get me started on the Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Pink Dye Catastrophe,” she laments. “I tore tiny strips off my skirt fabric and used it to create piping along the edge of each panel on my vest — all 28 of them — and actually ended up having to purchase a cheap sewing machine when we got to Los Angeles so I could sew each strip on the day before the convention. It only took a mere seven hours… and a few ounces of my sanity.

“We’ve made a ton of modifications since then, too,” she adds. “One of my favorite parts of cos-play is that you really never stop improving the costumes that you love. Even now, I can think of 10 more things I’d like to change on my Shin costume to make it better. But on the other hand, it won Best in Soft Goods — hand sewn clothing — and Best in Show at the DragonCon ‘Star Wars’ costume contest last month, so it must not be too shabby as-is!”

Recently-crowned XBIZ Europas Female Clip Artist of the Year Octokuro says that when it comes to trying to emulate characters from video games and anime, they often come with an impressive array of accessories, which makes a 3D printer an absolute must-have.

“Mine sometimes works around the clock, printing armor or a magical staff for my latest look,” she says. “I adore painting the props myself, but when deadlines are tight, I call in reinforcements from my workshop buddies. A seamstress is also indispensable, especially with my nonstandard figure. I’ve even got a custom mannequin made to my measurements.

“Plus, the costume needs to be functional,” Octokuro adds. “I’m not just striking poses for photos; it has to withstand real action without tearing or breaking. Of course, sometimes accidents happen! These days, not only do I transform on screen, but my co-performers do too. Figuring out how to secure large demonic horns so they don’t interfere with movement was quite the challenge on our last shoot.

“And then there are times when I’m intrigued by bringing an unusual concept to life, like the four-armed witch Ranni,” Octokuro recalls. “I used a pair of ball-jointed doll arms and manipulated them like a puppeteer. We even filmed a four-handed hand job!”

The pièce de resistance and most crucial part of the ensemble, she says, is often the wig — especially when clothing becomes scarce during shoots.

“The wig has to survive all sorts of wild poses and still look fabulous at the end,” she notes. “I confess, I no longer style wigs myself, but I did in the past. Recently, though, I crafted the wig for Sarah Kerrigan myself; it had to fit perfectly and endure the Hentaied slime shoot.”

Equally renowned and decorated creator Emily Bloom finds making costumes to be incredibly fulfilling creatively.

“Every new project is a challenge and every time I create a new cosplay, I have to learn new skills,” she says. “Sewing, hot gluing, 3D modeling, foam work, sculpting, painting, you name it. A million things go into creating a costume, and all of them are super fun, even if tedious at times. I usually get my materials from Amazon, Ali Express or, in some cases, in person in the DTLA fashion district if I need to find fabric and accessories with a specific feel.”

She considers her two most iconic creations to date to be her Aloy Brave costume from video game Horizon Zero Dawn, and her Mystique costume, based on the “X-Men” femme fatale.

“Both of them, I created over many hours on stream,” Solo explains. “I think Aloy took somewhere around 50 hours of work and many different skills. I had to learn to work with foam and leather. Mystique was a lot simpler to create, but required a lot of tedious work, painting every little blue scale by hand.”

For those who may not have a deft hand at sewing, buying costumes from online stores can be a lifesaver. At least, that has been Aery Tiefling’s experience.

“I sometimes make or alter my own props, though!” Tiefling points out. “Since I do lingerie as well as full cosplay sets, it’s super fun to go on a hunt for the best matching and sexy underwear pieces for each character.”

Amber Hallibell also usually turns to professionals for her costumes, but did make the costume herself for one character: 2B from the beloved video game Nier Automata.

“I also enhanced the wig by adding volume with some more hair from another one,” she says. “Right before filming, I realized I didn’t like the costume I already had, so I made a new one by hand — I don’t have a sewing machine— with materials I had at home. It was quite rough, due to the rush and the fact that it was my first attempt at sewing!”

For Juliette Michele, every costume is different. Sometimes she makes everything from scratch herself, while other times she will piece together different clothing and prop items from online or in-person shopping. She will hire a professional seamstress for certain cosplays — or just use body paint, her favorite option.

“It really depends on the costume and how much time I have before the deadline,” she says. “For my most recent ‘Alien’ cosplay, I actually commissioned my body painter, @mypetmonstergirl, to make the prop head and tail out of latex and foam, and found a bikini online to match the black iridescent shine of the Xenomorph’s skin. There are always ways to make cosplays your own and while I strive to be as accurate as I can, I also love cosplay projects where I can be a bit more free in terms of design.”

Kitty Quinn, who was crowned Cosplay Streamer of the Year at the XBIZ Creator Awards this past summer, notes that costume making can go many ways.

“Nowadays, cosplay has blown up,” she says. “So there are many options available online ready to buy, which I do sometimes. Other times, I have to make it from scratch. But even if I buy full costumes, I cut them up, resew and redesign them. Creating a costume is like going on a scavenger hunt. I drive around town, from Goodwill to Michael’s and other stores. Whether I need specific jewelry, styling spray for my wigs, fabric to sew or craft supplies like glue and paint, I gather as much as I can together.

“Then, I look at pictures online of the character I am trying to portray,” Quinn elaborates. “I also think about my personal attachment to this character, and how I want to express that to everyone. I check images to see the hair, makeup and outfit so I can match the color scheme the best I can. Some of it gets really hands-on, like building armor for my Mando Kitty and Junkrat cosplays. This is where I have the most fun; I pull out my heat gun, spray paints and glues.”

Quinn underlines that making armor with foam can be a long process, as creators have to cut out the pattern, spray many layers to seal it and build texture, paint it the color of their choice and then seal it with spray again.

“After that, you have to go into details like rubbing dirt and paint on it to make it look weathered, and gluing Velcro and straps so it can be ready to wear,” she adds. “But I have fun creating with any medium, from wigs to sewing fabric to making armor out of Sintra and foam.”

Runesy, for her part, says her most iconic cosplay was Rick Sanchez from “Rick and Morty.” It took her an especially long time to style and spike the wig.

“So much gel and hairspray went into that wig, and I also had to makeshift a unibrow, which was hilarious,” she explains. “I get most of my cosplays premade, although there are some where I get materials off of Etsy and have my partner help me put things together. I thrifted a chair one time and redid it to make a fancy throne for my Princess Azula cosplay. I also got tons of props for that cosplay and put together some green-screen effects like fire to make it seem more real! Another iconic cosplay I did was Liv from ‘iZombie.’ Getting the makeup and all the small details right took a lot of work. The actress even retweeted my photos! I think I died that day.”

Noted creator SweetDarling also purchases most of her cosplays, which she says allows her to focus on nailing the personification of the character instead of on making props. She explains that this led to her popular Ranni video, based on the popular video game Elden Ring, from which she recreated the secret ending. It proved to be her most successful vid.

Zirael Rem describes crafting cosplays as “a really crazy process.”

“I am using printed details for my suits made by FDM — Fused Deposition Modeling — and a resin printer,” Rem says. “Having two different options for the process is a great opportunity to create armor and weapons for the shoot.”

A convincing backdrop and props can also be vital in conjuring an authentic experience for fans. Veteran cosplayer Catjira, who has won multiple awards for her craft, focuses more effort on props and sets than she does on her outfit.

“I really try to get unique pieces that are vintage,” she notes. “I’m definitely the kind of girl who goes shopping in antique shops and estate sales for props for my porn! If I can’t find what I’m looking for, I build it. This year, I was on the hunt for a coffin for a bunch of spooky new looks I’m doing, like Elvira and Vampirella.

“My search was futile, and after a sketchy marketplace ad for a ‘slightly used casket’ failed to pan out, I decided ‘To hell with this!’ and built a whole casket,” Catjira recalls. “I’ve recently moved to an abandoned farm and have had to learn a ton about remodeling and building, so I’ve been applying all I’ve learned to the cosplay-making process.”

Choosing and Role-Playing Characters

Once the costume, set and props are golden, the next part of the equation is getting into character, which can make or break the whole enterprise. As genuine fans of their source material, cosplayers draw inspiration from a diverse array of media, including video games, anime and TV shows, researching and practicing characters to really embody them.

Aery Tiefling shares, “My cos-plays focus mainly on Japanese media, particularly anime and video games. I’ve always been a huge fan and used to play as various characters as a kid, so I’ve been practicing embodying them for as long as I can remember! I study most of my characters by simply consuming their media, but if I’m not familiar enough with them, I’ll go on wikis and YouTube to read about their stories, hear their voices and understand their dynamics with other characters.”

Amber Hallibell, on the other hand, finds that her fans frequently request that she play “bitchy mature women,” which have now become the easiest characters for her to portray.

“By nature, I’m the complete opposite of that type of character,” she says. “It was kind of challenging for me to play Meiko from ‘Prison School,’ as she was my first stern and dominant character, but I thoroughly enjoyed the process and that video became my bestseller. I try to cosplay only characters I know well.

“Acting is generally difficult for me because I’m introverted and not inclined to express emotions,” Hallibell adds. “So before shooting, I watch a lot of content featuring the character I’ll be playing, try to imagine myself as them and rehearse extensively in front of a mirror or camera. Most of the characters I take on are from anime. I also often watch hentai before filming, as I consider it a form of art in the world of adult content.”

Octokuro says she is more into video games than anime, but has dabbled in cosplays inspired by fairy tales and tabletop games.

“Sometimes I’m playing a game and think, ‘This character is totally my type,’” she shares. “Other times, I notice that I resemble a character physically. Generally, I prefer badass women over princesses. Strong and beautiful characters are incredibly sexy.”

Catjira, meanwhile, nearly always relies on a playlist of music to get her vibe right.

“I pull a lot of characters from literature, gaming and comics,” she notes. “I’ve always been turned on by the villains and love bringing to life my favorite dark romance fantasies.”

Chrissy LeBlanc prefers to cosplay characters with which she is very familiar, to ensure that she can accurately portray their personalities.

“I started with personal crushes of mine and fellow redheads Jessica Rabbit, Poison Ivy and Black Widow,” she explains. “When fan requests for Red Sonja emerged, I delved into a large collection of her comic books to understand her character fully before creating her costume. I’m drawn to strong female characters, especially those with a darker edge. My love for Halloween also influences my choices, so I enjoy exploring creepy and spooky themes, as seen with my Jason and Beetlejuice cosplays. I have exciting new Halloween looks planned for this year!”

Savannah Solo likewise cosplays only characters for which she feels an affinity, drawing heavily on her love for “Star Wars” and some anime, though she has delved into gaming as well.

“My two most popular cosplays are Bo-Katan and Shin Hati from ‘Star Wars,’” she says. “You can say a lot about the ‘Star Wars’ fandom being toxic, but boy howdy do ‘Star Wars’ fans love to pay for their porn. And I really care about the characters, so it’s very easy to improvise a role-play video or make TikToks. That’s something that really draws people in, myself included: a creator loving, caring for and knowing the characters just as much as the viewer.

“There’s a specific kind of camaraderie and TLC that goes into that kind of content,” she emphasizes. “But I do envy creators who can cosplay characters they know nothing about. For example, ‘One Piece’ is always so popular, but I would unfortunately rather die than watch all 1,117 episodes — not an exaggeration! — to understand what’s going on in a character’s journey.”

Emily Bloom draws heavily on video games for inspiration, noting that they often put out a cosplay guide for popular characters, with detailed renders, which makes things a bit easier.

“I do love to use TV shows and movies as inspiration, even though sometimes you have to turn into a detective trying to figure out how the costume is structured,” she says. “I try to embody the character in spirit, at least for the photo shoots I subsequently create. I love strong female characters that are fighters and adventurers. My favorite genre is fantasy, so anything in that realm is extra fun.”

Juliette Michele, for her part, is a multifaceted fan of just about every medium.

“I am a huge anime, video game, movie, horror and comic-book nerd,” she shares. “It’s not very hard for me to fall in love and connect with different characters. I’ve also always had an obsession with fashion and pop culture, so it’s very exhilarating to combine both of those passions. I typically just watch, read or play something that has a character in it that I like and I immediately start working on bringing them to life, often with my own personal and sexy twist. For example, not many people would see Garfield the cat and think, ‘Wow, that’s so hot!’ But I had a vision and created a crazy thick Garfield that might just ruin your childhood.”

Michele finds herself drawn to cosplaying particular characters due to their looks or personality. Most of the time, she says, it is because a character has both in spades.

“If a concept intrigues me or I can see myself being able to add my own twist to it, I will most likely just go ahead and do it,” Michele notes. “Though I am quite biased toward the more ‘dominant’ characters, like Morrigan from ‘Darkstalkers’ — one of my favorites — and Makima from ‘Chainsaw Man.’ I do love, and am known for, cosplaying MILF characters, as they embody sensuality and sexuality most of the time. A lot of us grew up with these ‘mom’ characters being our first cartoon crush, so I figured, ‘Why not breathe life and sex appeal into them?’ My goal is to bring every fictional mom to life and I am already pretty close to the finish line.”

Getting into character is one of Kitty Quinn’s favorite parts about cosplay.

“I appreciate that cosplay adds the acting aspect to my modeling career,” she says. “Whether it’s a cartoon, live-action movie or old comic book, I do all the research I can. I watch the films, I look at fan art on Google Images and read the online blogs with fans’ perspectives on the character’s universe. It gives me an endless range of scenarios I can role-play for years to come.”

When doing her character research, Quinn watches expressions and listens to tone and delivery to determine whether to play a character seductively, grumpily or bashfully.

“Sometimes I practice my favorite lines when I’m in the car or relaxing in bed,” she says. “For the most part, though, I have found the best way for me is to improv. When I try to remember a script and specifics, it makes me overthink and mess up. So I just roll the camera and go for it. If I mess up, I keep going! At the end of the day, my content is still about me, but it definitely makes it fun to role-play different parts of my own personality through my cosplay characters. I love doing Harley Quinn, because I get to use her cute accent. Morticia Adams helps me channel a more sultry side of myself.”

As a huge gamer, Runesy draws most of her cosplays from video games, plus a few from anime and cartoons.

“I love crazy characters the most,” she shares. “Any character that has a bubbly and crazy personality, I can typically get into the role as well as their look. I also love spooky and creepy characters, so Halloween is my favorite time to experiment with cosplays. I also think props can be very valuable for photos and making the character seem more alive and interactive. I usually rewatch videos of the character to absorb their personality and specific mannerisms. For photos especially, I think some characters have certain facial expressions that pull it all together well.”

Gaming is likewise SweetDarling’s bread-and-butter source of cosplaying ideas, though she has delved into movie characters such as Mavis Dracula from “Hotel Transylvania,” which has become one of her flagship cosplays.

“Another thing I would highlight is that more and more people are trusting in me to carry out cosplay projects where we bring their favorite characters and fantasies to reality,” SweetDarling notes. “This year, a developer of an erotic game contacted me and we did a project about a character made by him for his game. The final output made him super happy! Meeting expectations is very satisfying for me as a creator — and cosplay projects are not cheap, so I like to give my all.”

Calling ‘Action’

Given their expertise in crafting believable representations of pop culture characters, creators receive all kinds of adult content requests. In executing on those ideas, they follow all sorts of approaches to making their chosen character extra spicy in ways that drive sales and hype.

Octokuro declares authenticity her biggest priority when working to deliver the on-camera action fans want.

“Usually, I try to align the character to the intimate escapades,” she says. “For example, by having a commissar from a tabletop game assign her three soldiers a sexy mission to boost morale, or having Shadowheart from Baldur’s Gate 3 put on a solo show for her companion in the camp tent, who then needs to roll a D20 for seduction. I once did one where Wolverine finds himself smitten with Lady Deadpool thanks to a love potion, and she’s all for it.”

Authenticity is job 1 for Chrissy LeBlanc as well.

“When creating custom cosplay content, fans often envision specific fantasy scenarios where they get to be the Spider-Man to my Mary Jane or the Han Solo to my Hutt-slaying Leia,” she says. “They want to be involved in the story. Matching the character’s vibe and source material is as crucial as the costume and makeup, ensuring a complete and immersive experience that exceeds their expectations.”

Aery Tiefling confides, “My fans often request things such as femdom, feetdom, impregnation, egg laying or penis size humiliation. Many also want me to portray a horny character in a relationship with the viewer — but who ends up betraying them because she’s too horny.”

A heavy dose of boobs and fake cum lubricant in the frame are the main ingredients for Amber Hallibell’s most successful videos, in which she strives to be authentic and wild.

“It might seem like in porn, nothing is especially important to people except the intimate process itself, but that’s not the case,” she says. “I talk with my audience, and in their feedback they constantly highlight the effort put into various details, whether it’s the plot, the cinematography or a song made specifically for the video.”

Catjira considers her content to be a portrayal of what turns her on as an individual.

“With my fans, I’m always sharing what books I’m reading and into, what games I’m playing, what I’m watching,” she notes. “We have a whole Discord channel dedicated to our little geek-out sessions. They love seeing what parts and characters I portray and what toys I decide to pair with the scene. I host a monthly stream called “Smutday” where I’ll cosplay a book character from an erotic novel and read them a personal spicy favorite passage while using a vibrator. It’s like a deep-access dive into my private dirty little mind.”

Savannah Solo points out that, by its very nature, cosplay can take content in unexpected directions.

“Sometimes it takes a long-ass time to strip out of a cosplay if you’re wearing a full kit of armor with 12 layers of nonsense underneath,” she observes. “So you’ve got to have something to say to fill all that silence. Sometimes you physically can’t remove it all yourself, but luckily people also really like half-clothed content and can get an even better visual of the character that way.”

Juliette Michele fields all kinds of requests, with mommy cosplays, femdom strap-on content and body paint cosplays being her three top sellers — as well as her personal favorites.

“I’m grateful that I have wonderful fans who support my kinks and interests and find as much enjoyment in watching that content as I do making it,” she says. “But I often do polls on my Onlyfans and Fansly to find out what my fans want to see and I especially look forward to any custom content fans request from me.”

More often than not, she notes, they ask for something she is already really into, perhaps adding their own creative spin, like a Black Widow interrogation scene.

“Being able to customize content specifically for a fan, or in a way that suits my vision — like doing a sexy ‘Alien’ cosplay or having myself fully body-painted to be a Twi’lek from ‘Star Wars’ — is where I really blossom,” she concludes.

Kitty Quinn’s current top hit with adult cosplay content is playing a taboo stepmom.

“I recently started a new adult brand, ‘Too Twisted Taboo,’ where my partner Alex Roman and I do taboo cosplay videos,” she says. “My fans love to ask me to do nurturing female characters, and have me assign them tasks to satisfy me. They love when stepmommy asks them to touch themselves, as well as ASMR clips of my voice. We have built a brand where our fans are really into the role-play as much as, if not more than, the visual content. It has been really great having my partner, because my fans love to see me act out my role-play on a physical person who can interact with me, making the videos even more enticing.”

Runesy likewise finds success with ASMR, as her fans really like having their favorite characters talk to them personally.

“I think it is a really big turn-on and I’ve noticed people also really like whispering!” she enthuses. “Every time I do characters on livestream, I also do dancing/teasing with music that relates to them, like theme songs, songs they might sing in the show or music in the games. There are also times when I’ll make the characters’ outfits a bit spicier, which is always fun to experiment with.”

SweetDarling has noticed that her fans most enjoy POV doggy-style content featuring the characters she role-plays.

“I always add new stuff in each release to keep the hype going and keep improving, but usually the video climax is a scene related to my ass,” she shares. “It’s clearly another of my strong points — although I don’t do anal, not yet. My most popular video, with 7 million views, features a 2B ‘NieR: Automata’ cosplay. If you don’t know the character, you can guess which of her attributes stands out most.”

For Zirael Rem, fresh air and sunshine make for smutty good times while cosplaying.

“I enjoy shooting sexy outdoor sets,” she says. “There is no better option for me than portraying a sorceress or an elf in the midst of wild nature.”

Thus do cosplayers manifest the stuff of sword-and-sorcery dreams into vivid flesh-and-blood erotic portrayals, complete with cries of delight and no small degree of imagination. The end result: a legion of happy customers, fans who become mega fans as a result of seeing their favorite adult creator incarnate their favorite characters.

Another result: happy cosplay creators.

“I always get really excited when people tell me, ‘I never thought of this character as sexy — but thanks to you, now I do,’” Juliette Michele shares. “It makes me feel so special.”

It is perhaps Savannah Solo who sums it up best, however.

“Cosplay makes it so easy to step outside of yourself, and explore new sides of yourself you never might have before,” she says. “At the end of the day, people just want to see you play and have fun in the same fictional space as them. But like, you know, with your tits out.”