You might think that to dress in cosplay, you’ve got to have a lot of fancy supplies to make your costume. But as Anucha Saengchart (aka Lonelyman) shows, you just need some basic materials and creative thinking. His hilarious Low Cost Cosplay is a wildly popular project in which he documents how he transforms into characters in pop culture and beyond—all on a budget and in little time.
Each post on the Low Cost Cosplay Facebook page and Instagram account is a costume in four acts. The first panel shows Saengchart as he inspects the tool (or tools) that he’ll be using to produce his look. Sometimes, it’s a piece of fruit, other times body paint, or maybe even ketchup and French fries. In the second panel, he takes a shot of his work in progress. The final two panels are a side-by-side comparison of his handiwork and the source image.
Perhaps surprisingly, Saengchart captures the essence of who (or what) he’s trying to depict by creatively arranging his materials or using forced perspective. Are they perfect recreations? Of course not! But, that’s the fun of Low Cost Cosplay, and we wouldn’t want it any other way.
Scroll down to see some of our favorite iterations of Saengchart’s budget cosplay.
