Cosplay Competition
What is the Cosplay Competition?
Do you love bringing characters to life? Do you want to show off your creative interpretation of your favorite fantasy character? Then you’ll want to sign up for our Cosplay Competition! This competition will be the first of its kind, as we will be judging cosplay solely in literary works, most of which do not have official art. This allows freedom of interpretation giving the cosplayer room to flex their skillsets and crafting techniques. Without the restrictions of cannonical artwork, the judges can focus on innovative crafting abilities and specialized skillsets regardless of the character being cosplayed.
What do I need to bring to the competition?
You will need to make a build book, which will be handed off to the judges during your assessment on Saturday of the Convention. At least 80% of your cosplay must be made by you. A build book is essentially a catalogue of your process from start to finish, documenting how you built your cosplay. We will be creating resources for you on how to create a build book by end of 2024.
What will I be judged on?
You will be judged on craftsmanship and your use of textiles, materials, armor, props and hair/wig styling. An overview of questions you’ll need to answer in your build book is listed below the cosplay judges.
What skill levels are there to enter?
Youth, Novice, Journeyman and Master
*Note: the judges reserve the right to change the skill level for which you are registered if they feel that your previous experience warrants bumping your registration to a lower or higher skill level.
Youth
Intended for entrants age 12 and under and promotes the developing talents of our young attendees. Youth category does not require a build book but the judges would like the person who is entering to be able to spend at least 30 seconds to a minute telling them what parts they created in conjunction with whoever helped them.
Novice
For attendees age 13 and up that are new to costuming or have never won an award for costuming at a major convention that promotes or focuses on costuming. This level is for newbies: the ones that have talents, want to learn more and be judged on their designs and efforts.
Journeyman
Intended for those that have been working at the art of costuming for a few years and have entered any number of costuming contests in the past. Even if they have been away from making costumes or entering contests for years, they are still considered a Journeyman (or higher) based on past skills and efforts.
Master
Intended for costumers that have repeatedly worked on, entered numerous costume contests at conventions that place focus on costuming either in panels or contests. At this level, we are looking at construction skills, design effort, documentation, and presentation of the costume itself. These costumes are judged at the highest of standards.
How do I sign up?
The signup for the first ever fantasy book cosplay competition will go live June 1st, 2025. Time slots will then be assigned after sign ups for the competition, which will take place on our website.
When will the Cosplay Competition be held?
Saturday of the Convention.
*Note: the judges reserve the right to change the skill level for which you are registered if they feel that your previous experience warrants bumping your registration to a lower or higher skill level.
Meet the Judges
@dames_a_la_mode
Taylor Shelby, known online as Dames a la Mode, has been costuming for nigh on 25 years. With a particular passion for 18th Century fashions, she loves combining elements of historical and fantasy together. Taylor owns a historical jewelry business based in Washington DC and creates YouTube videos of her costuming adventures. See more at www.damesalamode.com
@sewcialist_revolution
Natasha (@sewcialist_revolution) is an award winning costumer from Southeastern Pennsylvania, They have been cosplaying for 22 years and have focused on book characters and original designs in the past few years. Their current favorite fandoms to cosplay from are the Folk of the Air, ACOTAR, and The Witcher. Their personal motto when it comes to costuming is “MORE is MORE”, because they live for fiddly little details, textures, and personal touches when it comes to bringing characters to life.
@scificheergirl
ScifiCheerGirl (she/her) is a hobby costumer with over 30 years of sewing experience, enhanced by prop & armor building, hair & makeup artistry, and performance. Her specialty is quick builds with a focus on functionality and wearability. She is an all-purpose fangirl with a soft spot for harried heroines who…ahem…accept their demon overlords with a whole lot of sass.
Cosplay Competition Judging Questions
In order to be judged, you will need to make a build book, which will be handed off to the judges during your assessment on Saturday of the Convention. There will be four levels of skillsets for you to choose which you would like to enter: Novice, Beginner, Advanced and Master Class. At least 80% of your cosplay must be made by you. A build book is essentially a catalogue of your process from start to finish, documenting how you built your cosplay. Your build book will include the questions below to be answered by you, and assessed by our cosplay judges. We will be creating resources for you on how to create a build book by end of 2024.
Estimated Build Time in Hours
Let us know how long your cosplay took to create.
About the Character
Please provide some history behind your character and how it inspired you to create this work. If there are multiple versions of this character in the media, please tell us specifically about the version you have created.
The Foundation
Tell us where you purchased your pattern(s) and/or how you crafted your own original pattern.
Props
Tell us how you crafted your props and/or accessories (if applicable) that are part of your completed look.
Hair/Makeup
If hair or wig styling and/or special makeup are part of your costume, please provide details about those.
Making Your Design
Now tell us how you built your costume. Please include any special sewing techniques, fabrication, sculpting, gluing, welding, etc. Were there any techniques or materials that you tried for the first time during the construction of this character? Include details.
Assisting Helpers
Did someone assist you with the patterning or building of this costume? If yes, who and what parts?
Any Extras?
If components were purchased, from where or whom? Were they modified to fit the overall look or were they perfect at the time of purchase?
