Animal Crossing Cosplay At Home - Step It Up!
If you’ve been following the video game scene as of late, you’ve probably noticed that Animal Crossing has taken the world by storm. While it’s not a new game by any means, its latest release, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, has fans hooked — and it couldn’t have arrived at a more perfect time.
Originally released in 2001, the Nintendo game has undergone several iterations over the years while keeping the same basic premises of the game alive. Most recently, Nintendo released Animal Crossing: New Horizons in March of 2020, right when the COVID-19 pandemic started to gain traction and many states began to issue stay-at-home orders. In spite of the real world’s less than ideal circumstances, Animal Crossing: New Horizons gives players a sense of escapism into a beautiful, idyllic paradise.
So, you may be wondering: what is Animal Crossing, and what does the game entail? In a nutshell, players live on a deserted island with the goal of turning it into a thriving community. Players create their own characters and pass the time by gardening, fishing, catching bugs, socializing with other characters, and building their virtual community from the ground-up. It’s a peaceful game that offers players the chance to create a custom, personalized utopia. Sounds nice, doesn’t it?
Animal Crossing Cosplay: The Phenomenon
With Animal Crossing: New Horizons still growing in popularity, the game has inspired people to bring their favorite Animal Crossing characters to life through cosplay. Cosplay is the art of dressing up and performing as a favorite character in real life. While it’s common to see cosplay at special events such as Comic Con, cosplayers can choose to dress up as their favorite characters year-round. Cartoons, anime, manga, movies, and, of course, video games all serve as inspiration for cosplay.
As many folks around the world continue to remain cautious and stay at home, cosplayers are taking this time to hone their Animal Crossing getups. While cosplayers often focus on perfecting the appearance of their costumes, they may also learn to act out their characters’ mannerisms in order to properly role play them. Cosplayers may mimic voices, sayings, facial expressions, and movements that are typical of their characters to truly bring them to life. Some cosplayers try to nail their Animal Crossing characters to a T, like this Reese cosplayer, who completed her look with ears and face paint (view video below at 0:33):
Others, like this Reese cosplayer, may offer a more humanistic take on their characters (view video below at 5:52):
Popular Animal Crossing Cosplay Characters & Costume Ideas
When it comes to cosplay, you can essentially dress up as any character that speaks to you! That being said, there are certain Animal Crossing characters who are more popular among cosplayers.
Tom Nook
Tom Nook is arguably the most popular character in the Animal Crossing games. He is the character who helps each player get started by selling them a house at the beginning of the game; in the case of New Horizons, he sells players a deserted island package. Although Tom Nook closely resembles a racoon, he is actually supposed to be a tanuki, which is a type of wild Japanese dog. Tom Nook is often depicted in the game wearing either a sweater vest with a red tie or a Hawaiian shirt.
Isabelle
I made this Isabelle New Horizons cosplay in a day! I LOVE Isabelle so when I saw in the Nintendo Direct she had a new outfit I had to cosplay it! from r/AnimalCrossing
Isabelle, a kind-hearted Shih Tzu-like dog, eventually appears when players reach a certain point in the New Horizons game. She helps players accomplish whatever tasks they may need assistance with and frequently encourages players to engage in Public Works Tasks throughout the community. Long story short, she wants to make the island a better place and will do whatever she can to help! She typically wears some sort of collared cardigan with a skirt, and in New Horizons, her look gets a reboot with a pink floral shirt.
Reese and Cyrus
Heres a couples cosplay pic of my girl and I as Reese and Cyrus from Animal Crossing New Leaf #28DaysOfBlackCosplay ! pic.twitter.com/dyKvixUNEO
— Dantrell Bryant (@ProfesnlGameDev) February 5, 2015
A popular choice as a couple’s costume, Reese and Cyrus are a married couple who initially appeared in Animal Crossing: New Leaf. The alpaca-like characters own a shop called Re-Tail where players can purchase or sell belongings. Reese has pink fur and wears a red apron, while Cyrus has blue fur and wears a blue apron. Reese is a kind-hearted character who is always willing to help players get rid of things they no longer need, while Cyrus has a slight aggressiveness about him, often warning male characters to stay away from his wife.
K.K. Slider
This beloved Animal Crossing character has been around since the very first game in the series! K.K. Slider is a dog who works as a musician in the game. He is depicted as a white dog playing an acoustic guitar and plays a wide variety of songs — up to 95 in New Horizons! That’s a lot of music to learn, but if you’re interested in cosplaying this character, it may be worth it to learn a song or two.
Take Your Cosplay to the Next Level with Accessories
One of the best things about Animal Crossing is the insane amount of customization that the game offers. Players can customize their characters to their hearts’ content by purchasing accessories such as glasses, masks, and even mustaches. You can up the ante of your cosplay by incorporating these accessories into your costume. After all, customization is what the game is all about!
Cosplay with Custom Skins for Your Tech
If you want to really take things to the next level, you can customize your electronic devices with custom Animal Crossing skins. Deck out your phone, tablet, laptop, or with your favorite Animal Crossing characters to enhance your cosplay. For video game consoles, we offer custom skins for both the Nintendo Switch Lite and the Nintendo 3DS XL.
Whether you’re a seasoned cosplayer or a newbie to the scene, we hope that this blog post gives you some inspiration for creating your Animal Crossing cosplay. For all your Animal Crossing decals and skins needs, you can count on MightySkins to deliver the highest quality custom products. Check out our custom skins for all of your favorite products and get started creating today! From headphones to tumblers and even Yeti coolers, we have you covered.