How to Cosplay on Twitch

If you are interested in cosplaying on Twitch, here are a few things you should consider:

Cosplay Ideas for Twitch

1. Cosplay a Character in the Same Genre as Your Game

   Sea of Thieves is a game where I frequently see streamers cosplaying as pirates. Some creative streamers even used stuffed monkeys or parrots as props. A pirate cosplay is fairly easy to put together as you can start out simple and continually add to it as your stream grows. 

   You can also cosplay an alien in sci-fi games, a zombie when playing Left 4 Dead, or any and the dozens of skins on Fortnite. As you become more comfortable in the costumes and make-up, you can morph yourself into anything. A few streamers have even broadcasted in armor on occasion. 

   

2. If You’re On the Fence, Start Out with a Halloween Stream

   If you’re not sure about how your viewers will react to you dressing up, start out with a Halloween stream. Many streamers who rarely or never cosplay will dress up on Halloween. Gauge your audience’s reaction (and how much fun you had) to determine if you should continue in the future.

3. Stream Yourself Creating Your Costume

   If you are building your costume from scratch, create streams to show your viewers how you forge your sword with cardboard and duct tape or stitch up your sleeve to make it appear closer to the original. While this audience may be a different one to your gaming audience, cosplay is a growing phenomenon and many people want to learn tips for their own creations. 

   Educational streams can attract a very active audience, as they will want to ask you questions and seek out tips to better their own projects. As your knowledge (and wardrobe) of cosplay items increases, you’ll become an expert in the field and can help others on their journey.

Cosplay Guidelines on Twitch

While Twitch has a vague dress code, it does explicitly state that streamers should avoid nudity and sexual conduct. While what Twitch considers “appropriate” for streamers to wear is a hot topic (pun intended) for people to debate, cosplay is generally safe so long as you keep all sensitive areas of your body covered and don’t show your underwear. 

Bear in mind that while you might not intend something to be “sexual in nature,” others might and you could be reported and banned (generally temporarily). The one thing everyone can agree on is that Twitch isn’t always consistent on what content is “appropriate” or “inappropriate.” 

In the event that you are banned, reach out to the platform in a respectful way and work with them to reinstate your account. If you need to make adjustments to your cosplay, do so. 

Pay attention to the reasons why other streamers were banned. For example, Karupups was suspended for a blackface cosplay and Quqco was reported for “sexual content” when she cosplayed as Chun-Li. 

Add a Cosplay Channel to Your Discord

Create a channel in your Discord where your followers can post their own creations or help each other with aspects of the design. Creating a place for them to collaborate is a good way to grow your channel stronger as some may invite people to the Discord just to see the cosplay. 

Make sure to add rules on what can be posted or said. Moderate (or ask your mods to do it) the channel frequently to make sure everyone is following your guidelines. 

Collaborate With Other Cosplayers

One of the great aspects of Twitch is the ability to collaborate with like-minded people. Try to find other cosplayers that you can co-stream with. You can represent two characters of the same game, movie, or genre and try to stay in character through the duration of the broadcasts. Reply to each other in your character’s tone and build each other up. 

Collaborations can be very entertaining and will attract a larger audience. If you and the other streamer hit it off, try to incorporate a weekly (or biweekly) collaboration into your schedule.