So after reading this article from fox news, I decided to do a little research as to how much money do cosplayers make. That is, professional cosplayers.
Talk about one of the most fun careers. We are living in a time where you can get paid for dressing up as your favorite video game or anime characters. So in this article I am going to help you decide if this careers path is worth it. As a geek and nerd, we long to be part of a community with people that are similar to us. Being a full time cosplayer lets you live that life while getting paid.
This is similar to living the Youtube lifestyle. Youtubers who talk about anime, comics, movies, fantasy and scifi and get paid by the Youtube ads are living the dream. Its fun to be a nerd. What would you give to live this lifestyle unapologetic ally no matter what society says.
These are the types of things that we talk about here on Andy Art TV. The blog for all things nerdy and fandom.
Lets break it down
At first I thought that the only people qualified to be a professional cosplayer would be females. If you go on Instagram, Facebook pages and groups, Youtube channels, the fandom is filled with girls that cosplay. It seemed so since beautiful girls attract more people to Conventions and events. Of course the world of cosplay itself is both male and female because its all about dressing up as your favorite character. But when it comes to paying someone for cosplaying the first thing that comes to mind is none other than Miss Ya Ya Han.
That is right, the Asian cosplayer and gorgeous looks. Ya Ya calls herself the ambassador of cosplay. According to celebsagewiki.com her net worth is somewhere around $1 – $5 million. Keep in mind that Yaya Han has been doing this for so many years. She travels, she appears on television, she goes to conventions year around. So to get to her level you will have to put in equal effort.
There are more famous female cosplayers than male cosplayers but that does not mean that males are counted out or should not cosplay or go for this career. Its the same thing in the modeling industry. Female models make more than male models. It is an industry dominated by females.
So if you are a man and you want to turn cosplay into a career then do not worry.
Here is a list of famous female cosplayers.
And here is a list of famous male cosplayers
Check them out and get some inspiration
I dont want to say something like “just stand there and look pretty.” However, it seems that is the job of a cosplayer. Go to conventions and present to the world your amazing work of art. Take pictures with fans of the character you are cosplaying as and promote your own work such as calendars, Youtube channel and all that good stuff.
Its a really fun job and most of the effort is basically creating the costume your self. if you are really famous some companies will hire you and sponsor you yet still the “work” will be the same. Showing up to conventions and flashing your cool cosplay.
Depends on how popular you are. You will have to build a following and there are many ways to get paid as a cosplayer. Here are just a few.
Of course you need to have a Youtube presence. Getting subscribers helps you build an income with Youtube ads. The Ad revenue might not be much at first but its all about how many views you get and hey, you are in the “eyeball” business after all. The more people see you the better. Its all in the numbers my friend.
Youtube also has this new feature with the JOIN button where people can subscribe to your channel and enjoy more perks and extra content that you might provide.
Although Twitch is a gamers website for live streaming, many non gamers have used it interact with their audience and the great thing is that your audience can give you money right there while you are live. Twitch great especially if you are an extrovert. People can also subscribe to a Twitch channel much like Youtube and there more subscription options for people that want to fund their favorite Twitch streamer. If you build a large enough audience you can do things for your audience live as long as you follow the Twitch rules.
So in case you don’t know what affiliate links are, links from companies that are given to people so that they can get a commission every time someone buys from the company’s store through the link. So for example amazon.com, if you click on one links on this website, it will take you to the amazon store and it has my amazon ID in it so when you buy this website will get a commission for each of your purchases. Cosplayers post these links on their website and on their Youtube channel.
Thank god for patreon. Your followers from social media (especially Youtube) can fund your career in exchange of whatever it is you have to offer. Some cosplayers will do live streams or private sessions with their patreons. If your followers really want to get to know you and talk to you then by all means.
Some conventions will pay you for showing up as a guess. Not sure how much they will pay you but that depends on how big the convention is. If you get called up for Comic Con it could be in the four figures so you might be looking at at check of $1,000 to maybe $3,000.
You make you own costumes right? So then get paid for making them. If people see how good you are you might be hired by someone to make a costume and get paid thousands of dollars. Don’t worry these clients are out there. You will be surprise. Some people have money to burn.
Prints. Thats right. Calenders, posters, paintings of your cosplay and even photographs. The great thing is that you don’t even have to do the printing yourself. Take a look at Fine Art America, the mail out your prints for you or even Etsy.
So again depending on how popular you have become, it will determine how much money you make. Some cosplayers make anywhere from $50,000 to $200,000. Keep in mind that the girls will make more money of course, unless the guys can be more creative.
This is one that both illustrators use a lot. You know artist sitting at conventions doing commissioned artwork and selling posters. Cosplayers sell prints of themselves. Photos, calendars, posters and so on. It is actually a great way to make money because now a days we have print on demand. Services like vistaprint.com can do this for you at a fairly low price than you expect. You don’t have to print the posters and stuff your self, all you need is the photos or artwork and the print on demand service will do it for you. This leads to the next revenue stream.
Cosplayers also sell merchandise with either their photos or logos on them. There are services such as teespring or teerepublic that are print of demand service for shirts. Not just shirts but you can upload a logo, artwork or cosplay photo on to items like mugs, keychains, phone cases, laptop covers, hoodies and much more. Zazzle is one of the most popular. Zazzle has a whole lot more options.
As you can see the possibilities are endless when it comes to making money with cosplay. There are other things a cosplayer can that that were not mentioned such as publishing a book on the amazon kindle such as a manga, novel or just a picture book of their best cosplay.
Your best way to start is.
Drum roll please.
YOUTUBE!
I mean seriously. That is the best way to get started with this career because of hey its all about eye candy. Its all in the looks. Looking like the characters from video games and movies and anime. Youtube is the best way to reach this demographics because nerds live on the internet(or mother’s basement).
I also recommend getting your own website. Buy a domain name for $12/ yearly and website hosting as cheap as $10/ monthly.
Having your own website is important. Build up your social media following but bring people to your website and get them to sign up to your mailing list. I recommend starting a blog and posting 1 or 2 times a week.
Being involved in conventions is very important. Since this is going to be your “job” then going to as many conventions as possible is a must. But not just any conventions. Going to the BIG ones. Anime NEXT, Anime EXPO, Comic Con, Anime Boston, Otakon….you get the point.
Going to conventions is going to drain your pocket, that is why its important to start out with free ways such as Youtube. Also having a good photographer is very important. What you should on the web and how good it is will determine how much people will share it. One good cosplay photo can go viral.
When I say learn how to make a costume for your cosplay career, I am not talking about buying cheap material and putting it together. If you are serious about this then put your money where you mouth is.
Start sawing. Buy a sawing machine and design your own clothes. This mean you will need to learn a little fashion design along the way. Spend money on the necessary materials. Learn from other cosplayers. Learn how to make all sorts of cosplay. From dresses all the way to armor and designing weapons with wood or foam.
Thank you for reading and I hope that was helpful.
