How to brief a cosplay maker (with a template)
Most bad commissions go wrong in the first message. The maker guesses at what you meant, you assumed they'd know, and six weeks later you're arguing over a pauldron. A good brief is boring, specific and takes ten minutes.
What a maker needs to quote
- Character and exact version. "Garrus" is not a brief. "Garrus, Mass Effect 3, default armor, blue variant" is.
- References. Front, back, side. Detail shots of anything intricate. Screenshots from the source beat fan art.
- The list of pieces. Write it out. Helmet, chest, back, both pauldrons, both gauntlets. Makers price per piece.
- Measurements for anything wearable. Height, chest, waist, hips, head circumference, shoulder width, inseam, shoe size. Measure over the underlayer you'll actually wear.
- Date in hand and the con it's for. Makers plan around con calendars.
- Finish level. Con-ready (clean from arm's length), photo (clean at 30 cm), or screen-accurate (weathering, decals, hardware).
- Budget range. A real number. "Whatever it costs" gets fewer bids, not better ones.
- Shipping country and whether local pickup is possible.
The template
Paste this into your post and fill it in:
Character:
Source / version:
Pieces wanted:
References: (3+ images attached)
Wearable? Y/N — measurements:
Need by: (date, con)
Finish: con-ready / photo / screen-accurate
Budget (USD): $
Ship to:
Notes:
What happens next
On The Spool List, makers reply with a bid and a timeline. Compare their profiles and reviews, pick one, and pay. The platform holds the payment until you confirm delivery, and on long builds the maker can post milestone updates with photos along the way.