Hands-on Interactive Workshops at NYCC
This year at New York Comic Con, we are proud to offer a range of both free and paid hands-on cosplay and crafting workshops. Led by experienced and award-winning cosplayers, these sessions will guide you through crafting techniques. Whether you’re interested in building your needlework, prop-making, fabric dyeing, embellishments or special FX skills, these interactive workshops offer expert instruction and practical experience with materials provided. To participate in most of these workshops you must sign up and reserve your spot,or purchase a ticket in advance. Make sure to check the title and description of each workshop to see if sign-up or a ticket purchase is required. Space is limited and spots fill up quickly, so be sure to secure your spot early!
Get Crafty with These Partners:
Cowbutt Crunchies
Cowbutt Crunchies Cosplay is an internationally acclaimed LGBTQ couple who specializes in complex, couture cosplay and incredible pop culture design. Always pushing the envelope of creativity, their experimental mixed media builds feature a wide mastery of unique techniques. Their work has been featured in various news outlets and TV spots including ABC's To Tell The Truth and Adam Savage's Tested, and they have partnered with beloved properties such as Genshin Impact and League of Legends to bring new characters to life. In 2019 Regan was crowned Global Champion at the C2E2 Crown Championships of Cosplay, and since then they've only continued to share their passion with the cosplay community - judging global level contests and teaching cosplayers around the world. They are the authors of three cosplay how-to books on the topics of wigs, footwear, and their latest title, The Cosplay Book of Ballgowns, which is hot off the press this month. Deeply involved with the cosplay community, they believe in giving back through workshops and tutorials, as well as through their cat rescue cosplay charity, which is a homage to their own adopted cats "Cowbutt" and "Crunchies." With over 20 years of experience, their focus is on construction, creativity, and teaching others the art of cosplay.
Lutavia Cosplay
Lutavia (they/them) is a nonbinary cosplay educator and maker from Texas fueled by a passion for helping cosplayers craft their dream costumes. Their first experience with cosplay was as a young teenager attending MechaCon in Louisiana, where a Trinity Blood cosplayer imparted the wonders of cosplay.com to a young Lutavia dressed in a thrifted Persona 3 outfit -- and it's never really stopped there! Now, as a trained technical educator, they teach budding cosplayers both online and off that there’s no greater joy in cosplay than to make something you love.
With nearly a decade’s worth of experience, they've created hundreds of educational resources such as tutorials, build logs, panels, workshops, and more, including teaching at cons as a judge, guest and panelist. They’ve even worked with brands like Dharma Trading Co., Alumilite, and Cosplay Supplies to teach how to use everything from silicone to fiber reactive dye online and off. You may have last seen them judging the Intel Creator Challenge, featured in the book Cosplay FX: Painting, Dyeing, and Weathering Costumes like a Pro, or running the 3rd Annual Cosplay Tutorial Challenge!
Their specialty is in mixed media designs, ranging from 3D printed props and molded and casted armor, to needlework with a rainbow of dye techniques and weathering. However, their true passion lies in making cosplay crafting accessible at any scale for any design, from managing cost constraints and time to working with chronic illness or a full time job.
Casey Renee Cosplay
Casey Renee is an award-winning cosplayer focused on education, craftsmanship, and sewing. Casey is incredibly passionate about cosplay craftsmanship and creating educational content. In 2022, Casey’s first book, “Cosplay Foundations: Your Guide to Constructing Bodysuits, Corsets, Hoop skirts, Petticoats, and more” was published. Casey loves sharing her experience with others and helping the cosplay community as a whole learn new things and celebrate each other's cosplay construction journey.
You can find Casey’s work on youtube.com/caseyreneecosplay and instagram.com/caseyreneecosplay and full galleries of her work as well as her patterns and embroidery files at CaseyReneeCosplay.com
MaskedDad Workshop
Join our Masked Dad Workshop panel for an exciting session on simple cosplay building 101! We'll guide you through the basics of creating your dream cosplay, catering to all levels of experience. Get ready to unleash your creativity and bring your favorite characters to life! Don't miss out on this fun, educational, and hands on opportunity for cosplay enthusiasts and newcomers alike. Let's make your cosplay dreams a reality together
How do I participate in workshops?
The majority of the workshops offered at NYCC this year require sign-ups or a separate ticket purchase. This will be indicated in the title and description of each workshop. If the title and description does not have any disclaimers regarding ticket purchase or sign-ups then it is a first-come, first-served workshop. These are free for fans and the price of the workshop is included in your ticket.
If you decide to forfeit your registration or won’t be able to make it to your paid workshop, please contact [email protected].
If you have signed up for a workshop, and received a confirmation email, please arrive 15 minutes prior to your scheduled workshop. Please bring your ticket on your mobile device (or printed)
If the panel has no sign-up, it is recommended to show up 30 minutes prior. We will start queuing for the next workshop 30 minutes prior.
Depending on the workshop, workshops typically will reach a capacity of around 20-50 people. Some workshops require more 1-1 learning or have more involved materials. Inquire with the instructor about where you can learn more if capacity fills.
If a workshop requires sign-ups or a ticket purchase in order to participate (which will be indicated in the workshop title and description) anyone who would like to participate will need to sign up individually and/or buy a ticket to ensure there will be materials available for them to use. However if, you purchase a ticket for your child and you want to attend the workshop to accompany your kiddo or vice versa, but will not be actively participating, that is okay and you don’t need to purchase two tickets. Just be sure to let the instructor know if this is the case.
For questions about sign-ups and how to participate in workshops, please contact [email protected] with “New York Comic Con Workshops” in the subject line.