Cosplayer Brings 2D Pixelated Nintendo Characters to Life

Image via dan_cattell_art/Instagram

Did you ever see 2D cosplay? If not, then you should get familiar with the work of American cosplayer Dan Cattell, who creates intriguing 2D pixelated costumes inspired by Nintendo video games characters.

After seeing a cardboard costume from movie District 9 online, Cattell decided he could do something similar. With the help of animation software, he created a 2D costume of Chorizo from video game series Metroid, transferred it to cardboard and then hand painted it.

His Chorizo costume received positive feedback, so he continued to create similar costumes, showing people that you can be an effective and unique cosplayer without having to spend much money.

If you are eager to find out how 2D costumes look in real life, check out some of Cattell’s creations below.

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Yesterday, @retrogamecon asked me to put together this collage for their announcement. Last week, @thegeekygamergirlcosplay tagged me in her #cosplaychallenge, so I'll get them both in here together! The challenge is to write what you love about three of your costumes. Extraordinarily, my brain keeps trying to spin it into list-everything-wrong-with-everything, but that's not in the spirit of the challenge DAN'S BRAIN, so I'm going to not do that. 1. I've got to start with #SamusAran 's #VariaSuit. That was the first time that I did a costume that looked really solid. It blew up all over the internet, was on the front page of Reddit, and got me interviewed in Nintendo Power. That was a dream come true. It even animates really well if you've seen the dancing music video that I did last autumn. 2. #Ridley was a challenge from editors at Nintendo Power after I mentioned the idea in my interview. I managed to get a research grant while at @rucfinearts for it and then did some challenging research to get 10 ft of dragon to be able to stand, hold together, and hide the cosplayer, all done to-scale with Samus. He managed to make it on NP's final Community feature before it ended. Installing him popping off of the wall at the Stedman Gallery was a bonus that was only made possible during my grad thesis because I had the help of many friends. 3. #minecraftsteve was a new challenge with a too-quick deadline. This was my first time doing an official mascot costume for someone with the license to work with a major game series. He was made at Steve's "actual height," with no compromise to the feet like other MC cosplayers seem to decide to do. I knew that this costume needed to be able be able to safely interact with guests, but when the children would run up and hug me… It melted my cold, cold heart. Challenging: @christinibeani @c4props and @jacquelinegoehner

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