31 Days of Cosplay: Tips for Participating Without Stressing Out
October is quickly approaching, launching Spooky Season into full swing. As a 24/7 Spooky Enthusiast, I’m super excited. I already stocked up Halloween decorations (aka everyday home decor), and have had my cosplays and makeup looks mostly planned out for a while now. I’ve also seen some of my fellow cosplayers, makeup artists, and other creative talking about (or dreading?) participating in the “31 Days of Cosplay” challenge on social media.
Personally, I think that trying to churn out a new cosplay for every single day of October would require a lot of planning ahead and/or reposting old content (which is fine and encouraged!). Otherwise, I don’t think it’s worth stressing out over at this point if you don’t have anything ready yet. It’s still a cool challenge, so my recommendation for anyone who wants to participate, but feels pressured or intimidated, is to remember that it’s completely optional. If cosplay or content creation are just hobbies for you, shouldn’t your hobbies bring you joy and an escape from the pressures of everyday life? If trying to keep up is going to stress you out, then don’t do it, or just work at your own pace! If cosplay is part of your career or side hustle, I understand the desire to join in on a trend to help promote yourself and your brand, but you should still consider pacing yourself. If you aren’t sure how to go about pacing yourself and ensuring that you have a fun time while sharing your spooky looks with the world, here are some different, low(er) stress methods I came up with…
Tips for Tackling “31 Days of Cosplay” Without Stressing TF Out
Break the challenge into manageable chunks. Instead of creating and posting 31 individual cosplays, try featuring one new cosplay per week. At 4 weeks in a month, that’s 4 new cosplays! Still a bit of a challenge, but much less stressful, and it gives you time to put a little more work and effort into each look. Post different pictures, make a few TikToks (or Reels, whatever) and just have fun with it! You can still use the #31DaysofCosplay hashtag, and you’re still participating and making new content without stressing yourself out.
Use the month to make 1 “Big Build”, with a big reveal towards the end. In this scenario, you could begin working on one major, ultra-detailed, mega-spooky cosplay now, or on the first day of October. You can post little snippets of progress every day, and then post the finished cosplay towards the end of the month. In this way, you’re engaging your followers by letting them in on your creative process, and you get to show off your skills! Taking a full month to create something special can be a fun exercise in creativity and patience.
Repost! Repost! Repost! If you’re determined to post a different cosplay for every single day of October, consider sharing cosplays you’ve made previously! For some reason, there seems to be a growing mindset that you shouldn’t repost any cosplays that you’ve shared before, and I think that’s really silly. We work too hard on our cosplays to just throw them out into the void one time and never post them again. Hell, I’m still insanely proud of my Enchantress and Tia Dalma cosplays from more than a couple years ago, and I share them whenever a relevant opportunity presents itself! You can mix it up and post old cosplays alongside new ones in whatever ratio you see fit.
See? There I am again, posting these cosplays like they’re brand new.
Finally, the most important thing to keep in mind is to have fun and enjoy yourself. It sounds cheesy, sure, but it’s true! You don’t have to participate, and if you do, you’re free to do so in a way that works for you! Don’t pull your hair out or raise your blood pressure over advanced dress-up, and have a lovely Spooky Season!
And that’s it! Feel free to subscribe to my blog for more! You can also follow me on my free OnlyFans for sneak peeks of upcoming posts, videos, and cosplays, or leave a tip on Ko-Fi if you enjoy my work and want to help me keep my site ad-free!
~DeLa Doll
YouTube. Instagram. OnlyFans. Twitter. Shop. Tiktok.
DeLa Doll is a culture writer, cosplayer, and artist based in Florida. She has been writing professionally since 2016, with some of her work being featured on sites like HuffPo and /Film. She is an advocate for meaningful diversity and representation in media, a gamer, a mom, and an avid user of DIY hair dye.
