+

[Sayabean]

A friend and I are going to attend Sakura-Con as a school-girl Rukia and Momo from Bleach. We've got the PERFECT uniform, I (as Rukia and not wanting to cut or dye my hair) got the wig, we've got our props (sketchbook, Soul-seperation glove, hair-bun accessory, Soul Society Cell Phones with Chappy the Rabbit chains, Kon, a real-live Ichigo and Hitsugaya and Renji sticking along, complete with kneescabs and all even contact lenses). As you can see, we're friggin professionalists that can't help but try our bloody best to BEEEEEEEE the anime characters.

Now, a few months before the actual con, we realized that, OMG, we don't exactly look like Rukia and Momo. Not in the over-weight sense (we're actually both underweight from watching too much anime and munching on Japanese 0-calories snacks) or even the TOO AMERICAN way (I'm half-Japanese [I can speak and write it too!!] and my friend who has no Asian blood whatsoever somehow seems to look more Asian than me). Its not like we have some weird skin disease (I have a bit of acne, but that can go away with concealer). We just don't...click with the characters. Like when you look through the photos of this site, some people who cosplay characters just look like an '??? Er...okay'. Sort of like (no offence whatsoever to people who have done this) a 40 year old 6'5" Hitsugaya or a black Sakura from Naruto.

So, does any one have tips on how to create the illusion of a great Hinamori Momo and/or Rukia Kuchiki with the ultimate power of make up? How to create the HUGE yet still Asian-looking eyes? How to create Rukia's stubborn-look and Hinamori's innocence? Specifically how to choose the colors for our eyeliners and eyeshadows?

PLEEEEAAAASE HELP US!!

[ly*chee]

Well for Rukia I'd suggest abit more eyeliner than Momo.
Looking at Rukia her eyes stand out quite abit more.
So try putting abit heavier of an eye liner but...not too heavy that people are like, "WTF did you put that on in the dark??" kinda thing XD

I say just keep experimenting with eye liner and other make up to see which one works best for you and your friend! As for eye shadows I'd suggest neutral shades...because when people put white eyeliner/light eye shadows for characters who don't really wear it it looks out of place :x

Also take some pictures along the way and then look at them later on so that you can see what it looks like on camera as well ^^; Even better try it with your wigs too.

Sorry if that wasn't very helpful >_<;

[Jacaranda]

One thing I noticed about several great cosplayers is that they really ACT like the characters. Behindinfinity on deviantart (shirosaki here) once said something about getting a good feel for the way Ichigo moved, stood, and expressed himself before he cosplayed as him. He seems to do the same thing with his other cosplays, too, and it really makes a difference in my opinion.

Here's my take on the characters:

Rukia: Rukia shows a wide spectrum of emotions in the series when she's in her school uniform, but for generic poses I'd suggest a confident expression. Eyebrows set in determination, maybe a smile that's just the slightest bit arrogant. Also, don't slouch! One thing I've noticed about Rukia is that she almost NEVER slouches. Shoulders back, head held high, etc.

Hinamori: This really depends on which Hinamori your friend is cosplaying: happy, or post-betrayl. If she's going with Hinamori as she's shown before Aizen's faked death, then it should be eyes open wide, uber cute smile, and maybe with a slight head-tilt. If it's after, then the expression should be somewhat troubled. For generic posing, I'd suggest happy-Hinamori, though.

Now, let's move on to makeup. *happens to have vol. 20 right next to me* Start with the basic anime-eyes drill: mascara and eyeliner, even if you think you don't need them. No matter how naturally thick a person's eyelashes are, anime eyelashes are anything but natural. Slap on some falsies if you feel so inclined. There's one thing about the two character's facial features that I think really sets them apart: their eyebrows. Rukia's are thin and short, like she's been plucking a little too much and a little too long. This doens't mean you need to shave or wax, though; I've heard that concealer makes a handy eyebrow-hider. Hinamori's, however, are thicker (and more natural in my opinion). If your friend has natural-looking brows, then that's perfect. If they're a bit thin in terms of shape, eyebrow pencil or eyeshadow are the first things that comes to mind. If they're thin as in sparse, might I suggest a lash-tint? My mom recently brought a tube of it home for me in liu of mascara since most mascaras make my lashes prone to sticking and tangling (thick, long lashes are NOT as great as you might think). On a whim, I tried applying it to the thinner areas of my brows and BAM. They looked darker and thicker. This is also useful if you or your friend have light-colored eyebrows.

[Queen Anime 99]

Just to let you know that many of us cosplay because we like the characters, not because we look like them. That's why there are cosplayers of every age, size, shape, and color.

I can't really give you advice (I am SO not a make-up person ^_^). However, if you can't achieve the look you're going for, don't stress out. Cosplay is about having fun as your favorite character. You don't have to look anything like the character. I would recommend foundation, lipstick, blush, eye shadow, and fake eyelashes. (Fake eyelashes look really good. Just don't get ones that are TOO long).

[Sayabean]

Aww...sniff...you guys are so helpful and nice!! Thanks for making my life a heck of a lot easier!

[Sayabean]

Bump

[Sunakko]

I'm working on deciding how to do the makeup for my Rukia cosplay and my friend's Hinamori too, so this is a great opportunity for me to stop being a lazy ass and start digging up some tutorials and other useful stuff.
I think for all cosplay make-ups, an important part would be to make the eyes look as big as possible. For this I swear by Michelle Phan's tutorial (she's amazing when it comes to any type of make-up tutorial btw. Before I look anywhere else for a tutorial I check her youtube channel.)
Anime eyes tutorial

She says to use a thin line for the eyeliner, but I would go with a thicker one for Rukia since her eyes really do stand out a lot. Even if there's a chance it will take away some from the big eyes effect you're trying to achieve.

I agree with Ly*chee on natural, "nude" eyeshadows. I'm thinking of skipping eyeshadows completely. However, I wouldn't skip the white eyeliner, since it really makes the eyes look big. I also use Isadora's gleaming eyeshadow Wet and Dry in the inner corner of my lower lash line. With a wet brush, that eyeshadow is thick enough to work as eyeliner.
But yeah, I would line the inside of the lower lash line with white eyeliner, no matter how cartoon-ish it may look. These are anime eyes we're going for anyway, so cartoonish should just be a plus, no?

I also second falsies.

Myself, I'm also going to try to make my eyes look more asian, probably. But since you already have asian eyes I'm not gonna post a tutorial for that. If anyone else wants me to look for one though, just mention it.

I'm lucky in that my eyes are the same color as Rukia's, just a little lighter. If I had green or brown one's though I'd think about getting coloured contacts, but that is just the obsessive compulsive perfectionist in me, since I think Rukia's eye colour is a really important part of what makes her look like her (I haven't seen many anime characters with that kind of dark blue eyes). I would never dream of thinking lesser of anyone's Rukia cosplay because their eye colour didn't match.

Oh, also A and O for any make up is the base, even if you have nice skin. I have smooth skin, but I still have a tendency to get dark under-eye circles and general redness around the nostril area, so I take particular care with my concealer>foundation>powder routine. I think it's especially important for cosplay since anime characters always have flawless skin.
Even if you have smooth skin with even colour, aka porcelain doll skin, a good base is still important since it makes your other make-up stick better and last longer. Also, you won't look washed out in photos.

Then there's the eyebrows. I like Rukia's short eyebrows (like them on Axel from KHII too) but I would never dream of plucking mine like that for a cosplay. I was planning on using the stuff that make-up artists use to create scars and other stuff, and I suppose that is the same thing that some Gaara cosplayers use to hide their eyebrows? In Swedish it's called theatre wax, but I'm not sure about English. I was planning on that in combination with concealer to make it blend in with my skin tone.
But if just concealer works fine then I'm definitely going with that.

I noticed Hinamori's eyes are that "droopy eye" style. I've also heard and seen that it's possible to mimick this with make-up. Not sure how it would look though, since droopy eyes aren't generally that pretty outside of anime. I've no idea how to go about it either, maybe instead of winging the eyeliner upwards drawing it more downwards? and then maybe using eyeshadows to make it look like the lid follows that path too.
I don't think I'll be doing this for my friend though, but I'll give it a shot on myself and if I like the result I'll ask her what she wants.

For the lips I'll be going for a "nude", just slightly pink/reddish tone. Nothing very visible and definitely no lipgloss. Huge glossy lips belong in shoujo anime, lol.
I have naturally a very pink lip colour, so I'll definitely be blotting the tone down with concealer and then some nude lipstick.

I just noticed the make-up routine would be very similar to what gyaru fashion does, lol. Who woulda thought? Maybe that's just me being influenced because I like the fashion.

This ended up being suuuper long. I hope some of it was helpful so I didn't end up babbling to myself.