- FNAF Cosplay Guide: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started - August 10, 2022
Ah, cosplay; the perfect blend of fashion and transformative art—and all the highs, lows, and hot glue that comes with it.
When it comes to a series like Five Nights at Freddy’s, cosplaying as your favorite characters can be a challenge for both amateur and pro cosplayers alike. Most of the characters depicted and modeled in-game are hulking animatronics with incredibly detailed suits and dangerous mechanisms. On the other hand, many human characters are never given canon appearances to use as the basis for your cosplay.
Needless to say, creating a 100% true-to-model, “accurate” FNAF cosplay can be difficult to achieve.
Still, cosplay is nothing if not creative. The interpretive nature of costuming and fashion gives you the freedom to come up with endless concepts for your character, which allows you to incorporate your own style and personality.
There are a near-infinite number of ways to portray just about any character in the FNAF series. With well over 150 animatronics, humans, and everything horrifically trapped in between, FNAF cosplay is teeming with creative potential, giving you plenty of options for an authentic cosplay that expresses everything you love about your favorite characters—and FNAF itself. Welcome to a FNAF Cosplay Guide.
TL;DR – Create-Your-Own Authentic FNAF Cosplay Checklist
Stuck on your FNAF cosplay? Not sure where to begin? Here’s everything you may want to consider when creating your costume.
- Is your character an animatronic or a human? Will your animatronic cosplay be animalistic or humanized?
- Which version of your character are you cosplaying? What aspects of their design or backstory do you want to incorporate into your cosplay?
- What clothes, accessories, or makeup does your character wear in-game? Which parts of their design are most iconic or representative of their character?
- What is your character’s primary color palette? Which elements of your design will incorporate those colors?
- What skills do you need to create your cosplay? Will you need to sew or build anything by hand? Does your look require makeup or special effects?
- What materials, clothes, and costume pieces will you need, and where can you get them? What pieces can you pull from your own wardrobe?
- What is your budget for your cosplay?
- If you’re cosplaying for photoshoots, TikTok, or social media, how does your cosplay look when photographed and filmed? How will the lighting of your environment affect your look? Is there anything you want to add to your background to compliment your cosplay? What filters, effects, or editing will you add to your photos or videos?
Why FNAF Cosplay?
I had the incredible opportunity to attend Connecticon 2022 just a few days before writing this cosplay guide and to be honest, I was almost taken aback by the amount of Five Nights at Freddy’s cosplayers and events.
There was an amazing range in creativity and aesthetics that made each and every FNAF cosplay I saw unique, and there was an entire FNAF-themed game corner complete with a plushie-filled prize corner set up near the main atrium all weekend.
There was even a FNAF-inspired live performance featuring DJ Music Man on Saturday night!
While I had considered creating a FNAF cosplay for this convention, I ended up going with a Breath of the Wild Gerudo-inspired Link look. Unfortunately, most of my FNAF cosplay pieces need some reworking or refitting as, until last week, I hadn’t been to a convention since before the pandemic. Connecticon’s FNAF cosplay scene inspired me to dig my old looks back out and freshen them for my next con.
It’s one thing to see cosplayers posting their looks on social media like TikTok and YouTube, but being at an in-person event really puts into perspective just how big the FNAF cosplay community is, especially since the release of Security Breach. Social media is a great way to share your art and interact with other fans online, but when you’re in a building full of people, a group of 100 feels much bigger than 100 likes.
Still, conventions aren’t the only reason to cosplay. Using social media to inspire and share FNAF’s most fashionable form of fan art is a great way to interact with the fan community and inspire your cosplays. Discussing ideas, techniques, and unique interpretations of FNAF’s freaky cast of characters with others online can help you dive deep into your creative hobby, improve your artistic abilities, and make a lot of great friends along the way.
So, why choose a FNAF character for your next cosplay? Whether you’re cosplaying for a convention, creating looks for photoshoots and social media, or coming up with ideas for a live cosplay performance, FNAF offers an incredible range of characters, aesthetics, and potential for creative interpretation to inspire your looks. It’s a great option for beginner and pro-level cosplayers alike, and working on your FNAF cosplays over time can be a great way to improve your skills and establish your own personal cosplay style.
Getting Started: Choosing Your Character
There are two main categories of characters in the FNAF franchise to consider when coming up with ideas for cosplay: human and animatronic.
FNAF’s animatronic characters tend to be anthropomorphic animals, so a lot of FNAF cosplayers will incorporate animal costume pieces like ears and tails into their cosplays. However, there are a variety of humanoid animatronics in the franchise as well, and you can also cosplay a humanized version of an animatronic character.
Human characters, on the other hand, tend to appear in the FNAF franchise as nighttime security guards fated for a week of truly terrible night shifts. However, there are several other non-security human characters from FNAF’s cast to choose from.
The trick to creating almost any FNAF cosplay is to identify the most recognizable parts of the character’s design and construct an outfit that draws attention to those details. Most FNAF characters have either visually striking designs with a handful of iconic elements—such as Chica’s “Let’s Eat!!!” bib, Foxy’s eyepatch, Circus Baby’s red cheeks, and pigtails, etc.—or design elements that are relevant to their character’s narrative, like Michael Afton’s association with Foxy.
Basing your cosplay around these notable elements makes it easier to design a striking, recognizable look, even with minimal experience and budget.
FNAF Cosplay Inspiration Board & Creator Shout-Outs
One Big Happy Family – Afton Cosplays
As both the main antagonists and protagonists of the FNAF series, the five infamous members of the Afton family are great options for cosplay. Depending on which parts of their stories you use as the inspiration for your design, you can create a near-infinite amount of unique, interpretive looks to make your cosplay more authentic.
These Afton Family and UV Afton Family cosplays were created by AshLeiTikTok on Deviantart.
Top Picks for Afton Cosplays
- Security Hat (chauffeur-style option – $15 OR text option – $10) from Amazon
- FNAF Security Guard Badge – $17 from Sanshee
- Purple wig – $17 from Amazon
- Red wig – $28 from Amazon
- Red hair bow – $7 from Amazon
- Light brown wig – $20 from Amazon
- Dark brown wig – $21 from Amazon
- Foxy & Fredbear plush backpacks – available from Amazon or Aliexpress (I’ve also seen these for sale in my local mall!)
Bears Attack – Freddy Fazbear Cosplays
Freddy Fazbear has been the face of Fazbear Entertainment since the first FNAF game was released back in 2014. It’s no surprise that he and the other core animatronics have inspired a wide range of cosplay looks.
- Freddy by @lilybeanpuff on Tiktok
- Freddy by u/Telephonechirpchirp on Reddit
- Golden Freddy by FoxyBonnieFreddyFaz on Deviantart (check out his Springtrap as well!)
Of course, Glamrock Freddy’s vibrant sense of style gives you a ton of great options for creating a cosplay as well.
- Glamrock Freddy by @artfulrenegade on Instagram
- Glamrock Freddy by @halcybella on TikTok
- Glamrock Freddy by @insomniacdjinn on TikTok (featuring a duet with Glamrock Bonnie by @artfulrenegade)
Top Picks for Freddy Fazbear Cosplays
- Top hat – $9 from Amazon
- Short brown wig – $17 from Amazon
- Long brown wig – $24 from Amazon
- Bowtie – $6 from Amazon
- Lightning earrings – $8 from Amazon
- Fingerless gloves – $12 from Amazon
- Leather bracelets – $14 from Amazon
Puppet
The Puppet is one of FNAF’s most iconic characters, as well as one of the most flexible in terms of cosplay. Coming up with a recognizable Puppet look requires very little, but the simplicity of its canon design gives you plenty of room to get creative.
- Charlie Emily/Puppet by @iforselener on TikTok
- Model-accurate Puppet by AshLeiTikTok on Deviantart
- Puppet by JunLilith on Deviantart
Top Picks for Puppet Cosplays
- Striped gloves & socks – $14 from Amazon
- Five Nights at Freddy’s PUPPET – Cosplay makeup/tutorial by iHasCupquake on YouTube
- Mechanical finger extenders – $17 from Amazon
- Long straight wig – $18 from Amazon
- Short black wig – $19 from Amazon
- Short white wig – $20 from Amazon
Circus Baby
Since the release of Sister Location, Circus Baby has become another of FNAF’s most popular animatronics. Her appearance shifts and changes often throughout the course of FNAF’s canon installments, and her character arcs in both the games and books are rich with cosplay potential.
Both of these cosplays were created by nonbinate. They also did a fantastic Michael Afton look!
- Circus Baby on Reddit
- Graphic Novel Circus Baby on Twitter
Top Picks for Circus Baby Cosplays
- Long red pigtail wig – $27 from Amazon
- Short red pigtail wig – $16 from Amazon
- Red ruffle sleeve crop top – $22 from Amazon
- Button-up knee-length skirt – $66 from Torrid
- Retro cocktail dress – $50 from Amazon
- Tank top flare dress – $17 from Shein
- Red skater skirt – $19 from Amazon
- Red tutu – $20 from Amazon
More FNAF Cosplay Ideas & Inspiration
FNAF has no shortage of canon redesigns, recolors, and reimaginings of its own characters. If one version of an animatronic isn’t quite your style, you can always turn to the Toys, Funtimes, Glamrocks, and more to inspire your cosplays.
- Toy Bonnie by @ButterBatch on TikTok
- Nightmare Chica by @foxbottrot on TikTok
- Funtime Foxy by @its.michayla.art on TikTok
- Glamrock Chica by @LDragonArt on Twitter
- Glamrock Chica by @gallykittyrocks on Twitter
- Glamrock Chica by @bunny.tail_cos on TikTok
- Roxanne Wolf by @heirofglee on TikTok
- Roxanne Wolf by @gvmmybearr on TikTok
- Roxanne Wolf by u/nonbinate on Reddit
- Moondrop by @laistormhrim on TikTok
- Montgomery Gator by @deannalexus on TikTok
- DJMM by @themlin_exists on TikTok
Don’t be afraid to look outside the world of FNAF when creating your design, either. This incredibly detailed Halloween Ice Cream Zombie costume from A Well Dressed Life could inspire some unique Circus Baby or Cupcake looks.
Top Picks for Funtime FNAF Cosplays
- Short white & pink wig – $17 from Amazon
- Short curly white wig – $18 from Amazon
- Long pink pigtail wig – $29 from Amazon
- White suit – $55 from HalloweenCostumes.com
- Pink tuxedo vest & bowtie – $31 from Amazon
- Pink suspender dress – $22 from Amazon
- Pink and white ribbon dress – $35 from Amazon
Top Glamrock FNAF Cosplay Picks
- Hair ribbons – $8 from Amazon
- Star sunglasses set – $18 from Amazon
- Pizza friendship necklaces – $13 from Amazon
- Round Kaleidoscope Glow Glasses – $30 from IamTrippyLights on Etsy
- UV reactive jewelry – $18 from NomadKandi on Etsy
- Leather vest – $47 from Amazon
- Leather jacket – $44 from Amazon
- Red racer costume – jumpsuit ($55 from HalloweenCostumes.com) OR leotard ($36 from Costumes Center)
- Fishnet cropped hoodie – $12 from Aliexpress
FNAF Animatronic Cosplay Guide – Tips, Tricks, & Ideas
When it comes to animatronics, a lot of cosplayers draw inspiration from animal or furry costumes to cosplay members of FNAF’s massive mascot cast. Animatronic FNAF characters tend to be anthropomorphic beasts since many of Fazbear Entertainment’s mascots are cartoon animals. Still, there are several humanoid animatronics to choose from as well, like the Puppet and Circus Baby.
Cosplaying an animatronic character can allow you to really get creative with your design, depending on which aspects of their character you use as your foundation. For example, animatronics can be portrayed closer to their cartoonish animal mascot representations, or you can play up their mechanical components and use more robotic imagery like plate seams and wires.
Finding a balance between these two aesthetics—or leaning completely into one aesthetic or the other—will give you a more focused idea of how you want your cosplay to look when it’s complete.
Of course, you can always come up with an original aesthetic concept for your character, too. Nothing is stopping you from reimagining your character as a steampunk-era robot, a terrifying deep-sea mermaid, a Shakespearean actor—whatever you can imagine.
It’s also good to determine how human or animalistic you want your cosplay to look early on. Often, a simple set of animal ears or a tail will be enough to make your cosplay recognizable. Still, you can use makeup, body paint, false teeth, contact lenses, and other animal costume pieces like noses, whiskers, or beaks to build on the bestial aspects of their design and make them more animal-like.
Of course, you could also reinterpret your character as completely human instead, bypassing the need for animal costume pieces entirely.
Suppose you want to flex your cosplay prowess and make something really lifelike. In that case, tutorials are available online for more complex costumes that include animatronic parts, furry/armor suits, and more. While these life-like costumes like Da Regular Sauce’s incredible Glamrock Freddy take a lot of skill, patience, and often money, you can create something truly amazing with enough time and dedication.
FNAF Animatronic Cosplay Makeup Tips
If you’re unsure of how you want the makeup for your animatronic FNAF cosplay to look—or if you’re unsure of how to use makeup to get the look you want—you can find tons of FNAF-inspired or generic animal makeup tutorials for cosplayers of any skill level on YouTube. You can also check out animal makeup tutorials from other franchises to get a sense of how different types of media portray the appearance and personality of anthropomorphic characters.
For a quick, easy, and generically “animal” makeup look, you can use creme paint or eyeshadow to darken the tip and underside of your nose and paint your cupid’s bow with dark lipstick. From there, contouring around your eyes, nose, cheeks, lips, and jaw can help distinguish different characters.
Thin, subtle lines and blending can make your makeup look more realistic. Thicker, more stylized lines and blocks of color can help your cosplay come across as more cartoonish.
If your character has any notable face paint or markings, you can also incorporate those into your makeup look. The Glamrock Animatronics and Funtime Animatronics, in particular, have very distinguishing facial features, which makes them great candidates for recreating or reimagining their designs through makeup.
If you’re stuck on finding good techniques or ideas for the foundation of your makeup aesthetic, I recommend watching some tutorials on costume, stage, and drag makeup. These types of guides often have great advice for restructuring your face with makeup, using color and texture to draw the eye to different aspects of your look, and incorporating visual storytelling into your look.
FNAF cosplays can come to life through makeup alone, so it’s worth finding the right aesthetic for your design. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different techniques and find a look that works for you.
How To Humanize FNAF Animatronics for Cosplay
Fully-humanized versions of FNAF animatronics are also a great option for cosplays—not just for beginners and budget-conscious creators, but for cosplayers who want to get flexible with reinterpreting their character’s design as well. Imagining how a human version of your character would style themselves is a great way to learn about character and costume design, which can make your cosplay feel more authentic.
Hairstyles and wigs are a great way to convey a character’s personality and add your sense of style to your humanized cosplay. Wigs make it easy to incorporate your character’s primary color palette into your cosplay, which can help make it recognizable at a glance. Cosplay wigs are often brightly colored and pre-styled, so there are many options that can enhance your look.
Of course, if you’d prefer to humanize your character with a more natural hair color and style instead, you also have the option of styling your own hair. This can save you some time and money, and your own hair will most likely be more comfortable than a wig, especially for longer wear.
As far as makeup goes, creating humanized FNAF cosplays doesn’t require makeup, but it’s still an option if you want to add it to your look. Some simple animal makeup can make your cosplay stand out, but if you want to keep it fully human, you can use the character’s other facial features and markings as the basis for a reimagined makeup look instead. You can also wear no makeup at all and work solely with your hair and clothes.
FNAF Humanoid Animatronic Cosplays
Much like the Missing Children, FNAF’s humanoid animatronics like Circus Baby, Ballora, Balloon Boy, and the Puppet are great candidates for interpretive cosplay. Their special place in and relevance to FNAF’s lore gives you near-limitless potential for cosplay concepts.
Depending on which aspects of the character you choose to portray through your design, you can focus on the parts of their appearance or character arc that make them more human, more mechanical, or downright monstrous.
This type of narrative costume design is especially effective for humanoid animatronics like Circus Baby and the Puppet, who are possessed by the daughters of William Afton and Henry Emily, respectively. Combining elements of both the human and robotic aspects of their designs for your cosplay can be a great way to explore their relationships to the lore, their characterizations, and both the horror and tragedy of their narratives.
Human FNAF Cosplay Guide – Tips & Tricks for Authentic Looks
FNAF’s human characters can be very easy to portray through cosplay, but making them recognizable can be a challenge. With the exception of FNAF Security Breach, most human characters don’t have an in-game appearance save for some basic sprites, so a lot of their physical traits are left to fan interpretation.
Fortunately, there are easy and affordable ways to make your FNAF human character cosplay stand out. One option is to choose one of the series’ most iconic main characters, like Michael Afton or Vanessa. Since these characters have a handful of well-established canon traits and several somewhat commonly agreed-on “fanon” aesthetics, there’s no shortage of inspiration to be found for cosplay concepts.
Another human cosplay option would be a more generic or original-character security guard costume, which you can create simply by adding Fazbear-branded pieces like a badge, hat, lanyard, or jacket to a more generic-looking guard uniform—or even basic pieces from your own wardrobe. The simplicity of the security guard cosplay gives you a lot of freedom in terms of design, so you can make this look as basic or complex as you want.
Human FNAF Cosplay Makeup Ideas
While you won’t need to animalize or roboticize your face if you’re cosplaying one of FNAF’s human characters, there are still a ton of ways to enhance your human character cosplay with makeup.
If you’re creating cosplay for TikTok or social media, makeup is a great way to make your human character cosplay come across as more animated and visually impactful. Consider how you want your face to move and emote, what expressions you’ll need to make, and how your makeup and lighting can enhance those motions. YouTube tutorials and blogs can be incredibly helpful for getting started with these production set-ups, so search for something that suits your needs and budget.
FNAF is a horror franchise, so incorporating special effects, horror, and Halloween-style makeup into your look can make your cosplay stand out. Zombie and skeletal looks work especially well for undead characters like William and Michael Afton. Ghostly, black-and-white, or possessed/demonic looks, on the other hand, are great options as well, especially for characters like Charlie Emily, Cassidy, or the Crying Child.
Taking Your FNAF Cosplay to the Next Level
Once you have the design and necessary costume pieces for your FNAF cosplay, you’ll be able to find additional pieces, materials, concepts, techniques, and other elements that can make your costume even better.
Color Coordination
When it comes to FNAF characters, few things are as important to their designs as their color palettes. Color plays a major role in the designs of FNAF animatronics, and it’s often used to represent crucial details about the franchise’s lore and story. As such, creating a cosplay that incorporates your character’s primary color scheme is one of the best ways to make your cosplay easy to recognize at a glance.
Focusing your cosplay around a central color or color palette will also make it easier to find and make components of your costume, including wigs, makeup, accessories, clothes, shoes, and props. You’ll be surprised how many great pieces you find simply by having an idea of your color palette in mind as you design, create, and shop for your cosplay.
Suppose you want your cosplay to draw heavily from your character’s color palette. In that case, I’d recommend choosing a color-coordinated wig, eye or lip color, and at least one or two articles of clothing that match your desired color scheme.
Suppose you’re going for a redesign, reinterpretation, or generally more subtle aesthetic for your cosplay. In that case, you can incorporate your character’s primary colors through small details in your makeup, accessories, and other accents.
You can also change your character’s color scheme entirely to create a new look or redesign. If you commit to a recolor, however, it’s important to pick a strong, visually striking palette that will complement the other aspects of your design.
Masks, Props, & Merchandise
Fortunately, the FNAF franchise has plenty of options regarding masks, merch, and other props that you can use to make your cosplay more authentic. While merchandise and other officially-licensed products aren’t necessary for making an authentic FNAF cosplay by any means, they’re certainly an easy, accessible, and often affordable option for making your FNAF cosplay instantly recognizable.
Masks are a great way to enhance your FNAF cosplay, especially since masks are portrayed in-universe and are used by several characters throughout the story—most notably Michael, William, and Vanessa. Adding a Foxy mask to your teenage-Michael cosplay, a Springtrap or yellow Bonnie mask to your William, or a Vanny mask to your Vanessa is a quick, comfortable way to distinguish your character.
Masks also make it particularly easy to create cosplays with “moving parts,” allowing you to either partially or fully cover your face to reveal additional makeup or costume elements underneath. These concepts work great for TikToks and videos, but wearing masks to in-person events and conventions can be a great way to make your cosplay more interactive or performative.
FNAF plushes also make excellent props for cosplay. You can hold a plush version of your character to clarify or complement your costume design, or you could carry a plush associated with your character in-game.
There are tons of FNAF plushes available in a myriad of sizes and styles, so you’ll have plenty of options when searching for the perfect companion plush for your cosplay. If you’d prefer not to carry an additional prop, there are FNAF plush backpacks that will let you keep your hands free—and even give you a place to store your other belongings while cosplaying at a convention or party.
Of course, pretty much any FNAF merchandise you already have can also be incorporated into your cosplay. The great thing about Fazbear Entertainment canonically becoming a mega-corporation is that the plethora of FNAF merch produced over the years can be easily incorporated into an authentic cosplay. FNAF shirts, bags, pins, phone cases, lanyards, and other merch add depth and detail to your cosplay, so if you have any FNAF merch laying around, don’t hesitate to use it in your design.
FAQ
Question: Are Amazon and Aliexpress good places to buy FNAF cosplay items?
Answer: In my experience, Amazon and Aliexpress have been great sources for FNAF cosplay items and merch. The quality of the items is often noticeably cheaper than merch you would buy at retail price, but the items themselves are good enough to work for cosplay. Some of my favorite FNAF plushes have come from Aliexpress, too. The review section is your friend—look for reviews that discuss the quality of the product and its accuracy to the photos and description, and you’ll find some great stuff while saving some money.
Question: How long does it take to make a FNAF cosplay?
Answer: The amount of time you invest in your cosplay is entirely up to you. Depending on your level of experience and the availability of your materials and costume pieces, your cosplay may only take a few hours to put together, or it may take months to fully construct. Cosplays requiring complex parts or difficult techniques will take more time, but you may be able to build something recognizable in an hour or less with pieces from your closet and some creative makeup application.
Question: How can I make my FNAF cosplay more horrific?
Answer: If you want to increase the scare factor of your FNAF cosplay, there are many ways to evoke the horror at the core of the FNAF series through costume design. Incorporating elements of body horror and gore through fake blood, wounds, and FNAF’s special brand of fantasy-fun nightmare fuel works wonders for cosplay. These looks are often easy to create with materials you can find at Halloween or party stores and the help of some good tutorials.
Many FNAF characters end up injured, withered, or otherwise horror-fied at some point in the series. You can draw inspiration from their narrative arc and express your own interpretation of it through your cosplay. You can also play with other horror tropes that appear in FNAF, such as the mechanical monster, soulless killer, vengeful spirit, and more. Incorporating horror into cosplay is all about creating an emotional impact, so think about the aspects of your character that are truly terrifying—either to them or to the person they’re attacking.
Conclusion
Five Nights at Freddy’s cosplay is a fantastic way to get creative and express the things you love most about the franchise. Bringing your favorite characters to life through craft and fashion makes for an excellent hobby, and there’s a great community of FNAF cosplayers out there to help you get inspired. As you establish your cosplay’s unique aesthetic and find pieces you enjoy wearing, your look will come to life as it begins to feel more and more like “yours.” The secret to creating a really authentic FNAF cosplay is to have fun with it!