• The Lone Ranger is a classic fictional character costume.zorro the avenger 6 image by Paul Moore from Fotolia.com
  
  Kids and adults alike enjoy dressing up as their favorite characters from stories, comic books, video games, movies and TV shows. Create your own costume based on a favorite fictional character. Choose from superheroes and villains, spies, revolutionaries and rebels, and aliens from other planets. Explore costume shops, thrift stores and your own wardrobe to gather the items necessary to craft your fictional character disguise. Choose a less popular character to stand out from the crowd or a more popular character if you want to be more easily recognized.
  
  

V for Vendetta

• Dress up as the revolutionary V from the graphic novel and film "V for Vendetta" by Alan Moore. V is a radical freedom fighter styled after the image of Guy Fawkes, the British revolutionary celebrated in England every year on November 5. Purchase or make a stylized Guy Fawkes mask like the one V wears in the comic book. V wears a black shirt, black pants and tall black boots. You will also need a black cape, black gloves and a set of six fake long daggers hidden in your black belt under the cape. Add a finishing touch by including a black wig that reaches about 4 inches past your shoulders.
  
  

Avatar Costume

• The extremely popular movie "Avatar" by James Cameron has already spawned interest in Na'vi costumes. In the film, the Na'vi are an alien race with blue skin, large eyes and dreadlocks who stand a couple feet taller than the average human Earthling. Study photos of characters from the film to get ideas for how you would like your costume to look. Start with a blue bodysuit, face makeup and body paint you can mix into various shades of blue, along with slightly yellow stripes. You will need some face putty to change the shape of your face slightly to create a realistic Na'vi costume. Create a tail by adorning a coat hanger or small-gauge bendable wire with fabric and stuffing. Choose outfits from the film and create them with finds at thrift stores and costume shops.
  
  

Pac-Man and Ghosts

• French prankster Remi Gaillard and his friends dress up as Pac-Man and the four ghosts that chase him around in the classic video game. Create your own Pac-Man and ghost outfits to be the stars of the next costume party or gaming convention you attend. Use papier mâché or other materials to create a shell around a balloon that measures about 4 feet in diameter. Cut out a hole large enough to fit yourself inside the sphere. Cut small holes in the sphere to see out of and cover them with pieces of screen to make them less obvious. Paint the outside yellow with black eyes and wear yellow tights. For the ghosts, use colored sheets or fabric with a small umbrella underneath to make the fabric fall evenly around your body. Paint, draw or stitch rounded black eyes into the faces of the ghosts, and remember to cut holes so you can see when wearing the costume.