Authentic FNAF Cosplay Ideas

Authentic FNAF Cosplay Ideas

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When it comes to cosplay, the Five Nights at Freddy’s franchise has inspired some incredible, impressive, and absolutely mind-boggling looks and designs from every corner of the fanbase. From TikToks and social media to convention halls and Halloween parties, FNAF cosplays are a great way to really bring Fazbear’s special brand of fantasy and fun to life through fashion, crafting, and lots of hot glue.

FNAF’s massive cast of animatronics, security guards, and dubiously purple people gives you plenty of options for characters and designs to choose as the inspiration for your cosplay. There are also tons of different canon versions of each character as they appear and reappear throughout various parts of the FNAF timeline.

If that’s not broad enough of a selection, you can always create your own designs, redesigns, recolors, and reinterpretations of whichever character you like. There are near-infinite ways to make an authentic FNAF cosplay that’s truly unique to you.

FNAF Cosplay – The Bottom Line

There’s no right way to make a FNAF cosplay—which fortunately means there’s no wrong way, either. Whether you’re making clothes by hand, purchasing pieces in-store or online, or pulling a look together from your own closet and makeup bag, the best way to make an authentic FNAF cosplay is to have fun doing it.

Start with the resources and skills you’ve already packed into your cosplay toolbelt, and you’ll be surprised at what you can come up with, even with minimal experience. Let your love of FNAF’s creepy cast of characters be your guide, and you really can’t go wrong!

Selection Criteria – Keeping It Super Simple

There are three main things I typically consider when creating a cosplay:

  • Difficulty
  • Affordability
  • Comfort

As such, most of the ideas and recommendations here are basic clothes from sites like Amazon and Aliexpress, which offer affordable essentials that ship relatively quickly so you can make those impending con dates—even if you’re a bit of a procrastinator like me.

Basic wardrobe pieces from department stores or your own closet can also give you lots of flexibility when trying out different designs.

Of course, there’s always the option of hand-making cosplay pieces yourself, or shopping for handmade items from a variety of artists and vendors. You can always start with basics, then work your way up to creating more custom pieces as you build your cosplay—and add more cosplay skills to your arsenal.

Creating Your Character – A Quick Checklist For Getting Started

If you’re just sitting down to start searching for inspiration, or if you’re stuck on a particular part of your costume, here are some quick questions that can put you on the right track:

  • What’s the purpose of your cosplay? Are you wearing it to an in-person event like a convention or party, or are you cosplaying for social media like TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube?
  • What aspects of your character are most important to your design? Are you drawing inspiration from their character model(s), in-game behavior, written description, narrative arc, or fanon interpretation?
  • What technical skills will your cosplay require? Do you need to sew, paint, or do makeup?
  • Does your cosplay involve any special effects or moving parts? Are you dancing or performing? What movements will you need to make while wearing it?
  • How long will you be wearing the cosplay? How comfortable do you want to be? Are there any parts that may require maintenance throughout your wear?
  • What’s your overall budget for your cosplay? Do you have any deadlines for its creation?

5 Easy FNAF Cosplay Ideas – Essentials & Extras For Human Characters

While FNAF’s amazing animatronics may be among the first characters you imagine when thinking about your FNAF cosplay, there are plenty of human characters in the franchise that shouldn’t be overlooked.

Not only are human characters often easier to cosplay than animatronics, but these looks can often be created using clothes and makeup you already own if you’re on a tight budget. Most human characters in FNAF also come with plenty of lore, so there’s lots of narrative inspiration to work with when it comes to creating a unique look.

William Afton

william afton cosplay

As the FNAF series’ biggest baddie of all, William Afton is a great option for villainous looks and horrific Halloween cosplays.

William Afton by Chaosmos on Amino

There are plenty of aspects of William’s character that you can use as the basis for your cosplay. He was an animatronic engineer, a murderous mascot performer, a dayshift security guard (also murderous), and world’s absolute worst dad for at least 30 years running.

However, if there’s one absolutely essential aspect of William’s character design, it’s his sprite’s iconic purple hue that earned him the nickname “Purple Guy” way back before his name was revealed in the first FNAF novel. Incorporating purple into your William Afton cosplay is perhaps the best way to make it instantly recognizable.

William Afton Essentials

William Afton Extras

Estimated Cost: $40 – $90

Michael Afton

michael afton

If you’ve made a William Afton cosplay—congratulations! You’ve canonically made yourself most of a Michael Afton cosplay as well.

Michael Afton is William Afton’s son, as well as the protagonist/player character of the majority of the FNAF series. There’s a striking family resemblance between them, and Michael was even mistaken for William during his brief employment at Circus Baby’s Entertainment & Rentals.

Michael Afton is also associated with the color purple after his in-game sprite changed to its iconic, sickly hue at the end of FNAF Sister Location, causing many fans to mistake him for William as well.

Michael’s in-game sprite has brown hair and blue eyes, and his employment as a security guard at various Fazbear Entertainment locations makes it easy to cosplay him with either basic clothes or a Halloween guard costume. Of course, if you want to enhance your look, you can always use makeup to portray his purple-toned undeath with special effects that suit your skill level.

Michael Afton by u/nonbinate on Reddit

Michael Afton Cosplay Picks

In addition to the guard uniform pieces listed above for William Afton, I’d recommend a brown wig (like this one – $19 from Amazon) for Michael.

Estimated Cost: $50 – $100

The Puppet

the puppet cosplay
Image from Pinterest

The Puppet is, in my opinion, one of the most terrifying animatronics introduced in FNAF 2. Something about its gangly design combined with the way it hovers through the halls on its non-stop trajectory towards your office gives me chills every time.

Fortunately, that creepy design is very easy to cosplay. The Puppet has a pretty simple look overall, sporting a black body with black-and-white striped arms and legs, three white buttons on its torso, and, of course, the iconic tear-stained mask with red cheeks and lips.

Puppet Essentials

Puppet Extras

Estimated Cost: $60 – $90

Elizabeth Afton / Circus Baby

Circus Baby

While Circus Baby didn’t quite succeed at becoming the new face of children’s entertainment after Freddy Fazbear’s closed down, she’s still one of the most well-known, interesting, and downright menacing animatronics in the franchise.

Circus Baby by u/nonbinate on Reddit

Circus Baby is possessed by the spirit of Elizabeth Afton, William Afton’s only daughter. Since Baby was apparently designed for Elizabeth, it makes sense that they share certain design characteristics—most notably their red hair.

While not much is known about Circus Baby’s actual backstory in-game, in the FNAF novels, Elizabeth often tried to make herself look more like Baby to earn her father’s love and attention. As such, cosplaying Elizabeth allows you to incorporate aspects of Baby’s design to keep your cosplay simple while still making it extremely recognizable as an iconic FNAF look.

Circus Baby Essentials

Elizabeth Afton Essentials

Estimated Cost: $35 – $80

FNAF Animatronic Cosplay Ideas – Tips, Tricks, & Inspiration

FNAF’s animatronics are some of the most iconic, instantly-recognizable characters in the franchise, which makes them fantastic candidates for cosplay. Fortunately, most of FNAF’s animatronics have notable color schemes and costume details that make it easy to create a costume with surprisingly few pieces.

The FNAF series also has a habit of introducing a new “set” of animatronics with each game, such as the Toy Animatronics, Phantoms, Nightmares, Funtimes, Glamrocks, etc. Each set has a unique aesthetic, giving you plenty of options for cosplays inspired by canon characters or your own redesigns of animatronics who were left out of a certain set.

It’s worth mentioning that, unless your cosplay is an authentic recreation of an animatronic suit (pro tip: don’t include spring locks in your authentic recreation of an animatronic suit), your look will require some degree of humanization. Determining how human or animalistic you want your cosplay to look ahead of time can help you figure out what costume pieces, makeup, props, or effects you’ll need to create your design.

That being said, don’t be afraid to draw inspiration from incredibly lifelike animatronic cosplays like DaRegularSauce’s Glamrock Freddy or Andiematronic’s Glitchtrap. If you’ve got the time, skill, and determination, you can create pretty much anything. Plus, smaller “animatronic” components like light-up eyes or springy ears can add a whole new layer of authenticity to your look—and give you the chance to practice with some robotic components on a much more manageable scale.

Freddy Fazbear

Freddy Fazbear

He’s the star of the show—the one, the only: Freddy Fazbear! As the face of Fazbear Entertainment since its inception, Freddy is by far one of the most recognizable characters in the entire franchise.

Freddy by @lilybeanpuff on Tiktok

Golden Freddy by FoxyBonnieFreddyFaz on Deviantart

Glamrock Freddy by @artfulrenegade on Instagram

The Classic version of Freddy Fazbear is brown, wears a black top hat and bowtie, and carries a microphone in his hand so he can (safely) entertain patrons—as long as they don’t get too close to the show stage. Of course, you could also cosplay the much more vengeful Golden Freddy or Fredbear, who wears a purple hat and bowtie instead.

Most of Freddy’s redesigns feature similar attire, though Funtime Freddy’s color scheme was updated to pink and white, and Glamrock Freddy sports some vibrant reds and blues in flashy 80s fashion.

Freddy Fazbear Essentials

Freddy Fazbear Extras

Estimated Cost: $25 – $100

Toy Bonnie

toy bonnie

Of all the Toy Animatronics, Toy Bonnie was by far my favorite in terms of design. In general, the Toys look very similar to their Classic counterparts, but they have round cheeks and a smooth, plastic exterior. If you’ve created a cosplay of your favorite Classic Animatronic, chances are you’re at least halfway done with a Toy version as well.

Toy Bonnie by @ButterBatch on TikTok

Toy Bonnie is blue and grayish-white, wears a red bowtie, and carries a red guitar. He also has notable black freckles where whiskers would be, red cheeks, and long black eyelashes.

Toy Bonnie Essentials

Toy Bonnie Extras

Estimated Cost: $10 – $75

Funtime Foxy

Funtime Foxy

Funtime Foxy has been a long-time fan favorite of the franchise since the release of FNAF Sister Location, as well as one of the most-cosplayed. Their white and pink color scheme and tuxedo-like exterior gives them a very strong aesthetic—perfect for creating a wide range of cosplay looks.

Funtime Foxy by @its.michayla.art on TikTok

Funtime Foxy wears a red bowtie, has sharp pink claws, and sports the same round, pink cheeks and lips as Mangle and the Toy Animatronics. They also have distinct face plates with visible seams, as well as mechanical parts showing at their joints.

Funtime Foxy Essentials

Funtime Foxy Extras

Estimated Cost: $50 –  $170

Glamrock Animatronics

glamrock chica

FNAF Security Breach gave FNAF cosplayers one of the biggest gifts of all: the Glamrock Animatronics. Not only are these bots (suspiciously) full of personality, but they each have a unique and vibrant sense of style that makes them tons of fun to cosplay.

Glamrock Chica by @gallykittyrocks on Twitter

Roxanne Wolf by @heirofglee on TikTok

Montgomery Gator by @deannalexus on TikTok

Glamrock Chica’s color scheme is white, pink, and lime green. She has pink, triangular makeup on both cheeks, a pink hair bow, green gloves, a pink leotard with shoulder pads, and green and pink leg warmers with mismatched animal prints. She also has green, triangular earrings and black, spiky bracelets.

Roxanne Wolf is a gray wolf with a streak of green in her bangs. She wears a two-piece red and black leotard with shoulder pads, purple zebra-print arm and leg warmers, purple lipstick and eyeshadow, black spiked bracelets, and several pairs of earrings.

Montgomery Gator’s most iconic fashion item are his star-shaped yellow sunglasses, which stylishly protect him from the effects of the Faz Cam and Fazerblaster in-game. He also wears purple shoulder pads and gloves, a spiky black belt and bracelets, and a red mohawk.

Our Top Glamrock Cosplay Picks

The Daycare Attendant

Sundrop 

Along with the Glamrock Animatronic band who stars on the Mega Pizzaplex’s main stage, FNAF Security Breach also introduced the Daycare Attendant. This two-in-one “Sun” and “Moon” animatronic is teeming with cosplay potential—just remember to keep the lights… on.

Sundrop by crunchchute on Reddit

Moondrop by ghostu_uu on Instagram

While both Sun and Moon sport jester’s pants, jester’s shoes, and ribbons with jingle bells around their wrists, Sun has sun-shaped triangles around his mask, and Moon wears a starry nightcap. Sun’s pants have red and yellow stripes, whereas Moon’s pants are dark blue with yellow stars.

Our Top Picks for Sun & Moon Cosplays

While I typically shop for cosplay items on Amazon and Aliexpress, EraCostumes on Etsy has some great items listed for Sun & Moon cosplays, including their pants and ruffle collars.

FAQS

Question: What is Elizabeth Afton’s eye/hair color?

Elizabeth Afton’s in-game sprite has ginger red hair and green eyes. Originally, the Baby animatronic had blue eyes, but her eyes became green once Elizabeth’s spirit possessed her. In the FNAF graphic novels, however, Elizabeth Afton is portrayed as having both blonde and brown hair. As such, some fans and cosplayers will portray Elizabeth with different hair colors depending on their interpretation of her character.

Personally, I purchased the long red wig recommended in this article for my own Elizabeth Afton cosplay, but red hair isn’t required to make her recognizable—especially if you incorporate things like Baby’s red cheeks or Elizabeth’s iconic red bow into your look.

Question: Why did Michael Afton turn purple?

Spoiler Warning: Michael Afton turned purple at the end of FNAF Sister Location after Baby tricked him into being killed by the “Scooper,” allowing her and the other animatronics in Circus Baby’s Entertainment & Rentals to climb into his newly-scooped body and escape the facility as a single animatronic named Ennard.

Michael’s body decayed while Ennard piloted it for several weeks, but he was unable to die due to the Remnant injected into his body by the Scooper. This was represented in-game through a series of 8-bit cutscenes that showed Michael’s sprite turning purple over time.

As far as cosplay goes, there are a ton of ways you can incorporate this part of Michael’s story into your look. Not only are zombie/undead makeup looks and effects a great option for making your Michael Afton cosplay more horrific, but any purple makeup or body paint can give you the right hue for your look, too.

Question: How do you make a FNAF cosplay mask?

There are a ton of different ways to make your own FNAF cosplay masks, so the best (and most generic) answer is—use the materials and techniques you’re most comfortable with.

That said, I’ve noticed that a lot of FNAF cosplayers and tutorial-makers that make lifelike looks favor foam over other materials. Foam is relatively cheap, easy to mold and carve, and light enough to wear without sacrificing your mask’s structural integrity or aesthetic. However, paper, plastic, and even the right types of wood can work well for creating the perfect mask.

I love Andiematronic’s tutorials for foam heads and bodysuits, but remember: the more lifelike you want your cosplay to be, the more time, effort, and hot glue you’ll need to put into it!

Authentic FNAF Cosplay Ideas: Conclusion

No matter which Five Nights at Freddy’s character you choose to cosplay, or what skills you use to bring them to life (pro tip: don’t use Remnant to bring characters to life), you can’t go wrong as long as you have fun.

I don’t say that to be corny, either—letting your creativity and personal sense of style guide your cosplay is one of the best ways to nail an authentic look that’s as fun to wear as it is to make. With well over 150 canon characters and endless potential for new interpretations and redesigns, the wonderful world of FNAF cosplay always has room for one more!

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