Con season is often cause for celebration among fans – but for cosplayers, the anticipation means something else entirely. The weeks leading up to a convention are generally spent feverishly sourcing wigs, sewing outfits, sculpting foam and figuring out new places to hide battery packs.

So what happens to all that hard work when cons – including our own Toronto Comicon – are cancelled due to COVID-19?

To give the cosplay community a well-deserved moment in the spotlight, we teamed up with Toronto Comicon and asked con-goers to show us the cosplays they’d planned to wear on Instagram, using the hashtag #MyTCCosplay.

We received dozens of incredible submissions – here are just 15 of the most detailed, inventive and clever cosplays we saw.

@kittyinthewaycosplay as Boba and Belle Fett

“This photo is about two years in the making … Lots of cardboard, lots of EVA foam and an absurd amount of hot glue. Everything is handmade (including helmets and guns). Cloth parts sourced from local thrift stores. It has been a challenge to find time, even during the pandemic, as we’re considered essential workers (commercial cleaning).

@m3dia.m0nst3er as Pyramid Head

“A lot of time, work, foam, clay, metal and spray paint went into the helmet. The knife (not shown is about 5’9″ long, the blade reaches approximately 18 inches, spine to edge, and is made of foam. The apron was created by me by cutting and sewing old fabric, painting, bleaching and weathering it in spots and burning the edges. The top was also made by me using scraps of fabric, the clasps from a bra, velcro and alot of sewing. Currently I am playing a lot of Red Dead Redemption 2 and watching TV and movies with my housemates.”

@keelyvalentine as K.DA Ahri

“I had fun making my K.DA Ahri costume because it blends my love of music and gaming. I was excited to finally wear it to Toronto Comic Con after months of tweaking. I remade the accessories three times, re-did the base with a shinier fabric, and went with her single tail instead of nine. I’ve been staying busy trying to plan new ways to mix music and cosplay in a world without DJ’s and events. I’m trying to manage without pain clinics and hope to get some recording done and continue to stream on Twitch!”

@sassysirencosplay as Rey

“This is my Rey costume I was hoping to wear to the Toronto Comic Con this year. It’s been upgraded quite a bit since last Fan Expo, and I was so excited to debut it. But I suppose I can wait a little longer. I gathered the materials for my shirt and tabbards and dyed them, with all the sewing done by the wonderful @silverbuttonsm. My pants were purchased off of Amazon which I also had to dye, and my bracer and belt were specially commissioned. I did make my staff all by myself, which was a job and a half. It’s PVC pipe with a bunch of foam pieces attached that I had to individually measure, cut, and paint.”

@baccaricosplay as Hellboy

“Here is my main cosplay that I had planned for what would have been my first Toronto Comicon. I did a big update of my Hellboy cosplay with a new articulating RHOD, platform boots, a foam tail, improved belt/holster, modified toy gun for a Samaritan, improved coat with leather collar, new wig and chops and my first silicone face prosthetic! During COVID-19 I began a complete redo of an old cosplay of the Borg from Star Trek, building a whole body armour suit from EVA foam, mechanical arm and LED lighting! Resistance is futile!”

@trillian_cosplay as Elton John

“This took me about five months to make … although this is only my second real cosplay I am proud of how it turned out! I made the wings from scratch with the help of my dad using PVC pipe and feathers, and I hand sewed all of the red sparkly fabric myself. I also made the flared sleeves, the big collar and the helmet. Unfortunately I was not able to wear it at Toronto Comicon, but hopefully Elton will be out and about at Fan Expo Canada!”

@itscarlyquinn as Pennywise

“This cosplay has to be one of my favourites because i’m so happy about how it turned out, from adding on small parts to make it accurate to creating my own Pennywise boots! During this COVID-19 situation I’ve been working on some future cosplays – for example, Birds of Prey Harley Quinn!”

@mtt_mettaton as Mettaton

“The cosplay took about 2 months to make and it’s made from mainly spandex fabric, shiny wet look vinyl, EVA foam, foam and LEDs. I had attached more LEDs along the top of the wings and small lights on the horns since the last time I wore it. … The horns posed to be the biggest problem in wearing this cosplay because of the weight, but I didn’t get a chance to make new ones, so I would’ve worn these. They were made from EVA foam.

Now that COVID closed a lot of things in my area, I’m just taking the time to continue school work and getting to do more makeup/cosplay and editing videos.”

@trinidadiansuga as Black Panther

“With all this coronavirus quarantine madness running the world red, let us listen to the king of Wakanda and remember to take care of one another. Check on your loved ones, check on your neighbours, give somebody, anybody, a phone call just to see how they’re doing. Isolation can be a killer – please protect your mental health.” (Honourable mention: @trinidadiansuga’s excellent Richard Simmons cosplay.)

@jennesis_cosplay as Draco Malfoy

This is the last cosplay I made before COVID hit hard. It’s all made from EVA foam, resin and fabric. … An original design by me for magical Slytherin armor. Painted with @plaidfx folk art multi surface paint in malachite and brushed metal paint in silver. Gems, filigree and crests molded and casted by me. I’m currently trying to work on my planned costumes but it’s been hard with stores closed and whatnot.”

@meruliant as Hades

“Whaaaat?! Okay, fine, fine, I’m cool, I’m fine! Comic Con may be cancelled but that doesn’t mean the last few months of sewing are going to waste! … I spent a lot of time working on my sewing skills on this project – I made use of a lot of interfacing to ensure clean lines and really push the cartooni-ness of Hades so her blue sashes wouldn’t look wrinkled or buckled as satins often do. The wig is a HUGE @ardawigscanada lace front styled into an updo with tons of braiding and volume to push Hades’ classic flame hairdo.”

@frank_coraci as the Mandalorian

@purgamentoram as Shani

“I am sooo happy with how this costume turned out! I can’t wait to get nice photos of her once the world is a bit more normal. She was supposed to debut at Toronto Comicon but now I’ll wear her at whatever con doesn’t get canceled next. Until then I’ll be spending my time indoors working on my Jaskier costume and re-playing the Witcher 3…”

@cameronbignell as Carnage

“This Carnage cosplay is by far my favourite, people constantly ask to take my picture. The suit is a red morph suit with black puff paint. It took weeks to do because I had to do one limb at a time and let the paint dry.”

@2slytherinscosplay as Ronan the Accuser

“It sucks that TCC was cancelled this year due to COVID-19, but it’s given me more time to work on making it even better for the next convention. This cosplay was my first time working with EVA foam, more complex sewing than I’ve done before, and I also picked up a few makeup tips and tricks. As I continue social distancing for COVID-19, I’m making a brand new cat-cosplay for my fluffy cosplay partner.”

To see everyone’s looks, check out the #MyTCCosplay tag on Instagram!