SANJIESAN COSPLAY / PRACTICAL GUIDE
Make a costume reference sheet you can use
A folder of screenshots can contain several different costumes without you noticing. A useful reference sheet makes the version explicit and gives each observation a place. It also makes a project easier to discuss with a photographer, maker or friend without asking them to decode the whole folder.
Name the version before the garment
Put the character name, work title and chosen version at the top. A scene, card artwork or officially named outfit can identify the reference more clearly than a loose label such as “the blue one”. Record the original page or file for each image so that you can return to it when a small detail becomes important.
Keep official references apart from fan work, styling experiments and your own sketches. All can be useful in a personal planning folder, but they answer different questions. If two references disagree, write the disagreement down instead of combining them into a new claim about the character. For Sanjiesan, an alternate image or outfit does not create a new card identity.
Describe what is actually visible
Start with the outer silhouette: where the shoulders sit, which layers are long or short, and which shapes remain recognisable from a distance. Then list the main colour blocks and repeated motifs. This gives you a way to compare the whole look before spending attention on tiny trims.
Use separate columns for observation and interpretation. “Dark strip along the front opening” is an observation. “Leather fastening” may be an interpretation if the image does not reveal the material. Mark hidden back views, unclear closures and uncertain colours as open questions. Do not let an attractive mock-up turn an unknown into a specification.
Turn the sheet into a project list
Divide the look into clothing, hair, accessories, footwear and photography notes. For each item, record whether you already own it, need to compare options or need to ask someone a question. Keep measurements and fit notes separate from character observations. A fictional garment drawing is not a sizing chart for a real person.
If you enquire about a real item, send the relevant reference and ask for its own sizing, materials, included pieces and care information. Describe a proposed adaptation as an adaptation. Availability, production and permission to use a character commercially need their own confirmation; a reference sheet does not settle those matters.
Before sharing the sheet, remove images you are not entitled to redistribute and use source links where appropriate. Save a dated version so that later changes can be discussed against the same reference. A short, organised sheet is easier to correct than a mood board where every detail looks equally final.
Give the sheet a version number as well as a date. If the neckline changes in your next draft, the earlier conversation should still point to the drawing everyone saw.