Costume Contest 101: Tips & tricks for begginers
O.k lets talk about entering contests shall we. The reason why I am doing this tutorial is because I have notice so many begginers ask question about contest and they feel kinda lost when it comes to entering. They don;t know if they have to make %50 percent of their costume, what genre the contest is for example (anime or sci-fi/history), what to bring with them, how to fill out a form, and how to present themselves before judges. Over the years I have entered contest since I first stared cosplaying and it was'nt so scary for me until I realized that I wanted to start getting awards in the future.
The only thing I knew at the time is to fill out a form, show up for my pre-judging, and bring a reference image. Now mind you I would enter Anime Weekend Atlanta's contest back in the day (oh let's say 2003) and you all know those horrendous waiting times. Now the contest has improved on that which is good cuz I can tell ya I would wait for almost 5 hours to be judged and my cosutume was'nt even on point. Yeah it took this contest for me to realize my mistakes. I would ask myself :"Why am I not winning"?
So oneday I sat down and researched convention sites that showcased the winners of their costume contest. I wanted to see what the Judges wanted in a winning costume and what I had to do get to that level. Then it hit me all right: I realized that I was doing costumes out of my skill level, my fabric choices was fine, but my construction lacked the Professional look, I had to get better tools and learn better techniques. Now mind you I had to teach myself how to sew because I did'nt have help. No one I knew could teach me so that was another problem. So I sat down and studied out of my sewing books and practiced. I chose simple garments that suited my skill level and stayed away from elaborrate costumes since I made some that were o.k, but not contest worthy. Then in 2006 I got my first anime craftsmanship convention award ( I only got 1 hall award at dragoncon "04" " and 1 award in "03" at Dragon con first anime costume contest, but I was'nt pre-judge)for my Lemina Ausa. I was happy cuz even though it was a "Judges Award" I got someone to closly look at my work and truly see it up clsoe. So yeah you can imagine how accomplshed I felt for the first time. Now I want to share some tips and tricks to those who want to ventrue into this and know that if you don;t win just have fun and never give up. One day you will get an award on your wall or shelf so keep trying. O.k lets get started!!!!
Conventions
O.k lets say you want to attend a con and you have a costume or you want to make one. Either way you want to show it off, but what kind of costume and what kind of con is up to you. Lets talk about anime costumes for an example shall we. Some anime cons have been around for over 10 years some even longer. The older the con the higher the attendance. Larger cons like Anime expo and Otakon are the largest and are very popluar. If you want to attend their contest then know that the competion is gonna be firece. We'll get into that later, in the meantime lets talk about smaller to medium cons. Cons that have been around for under 10 years are gonna be medium size and first year cons will be smaller. I suggest a first timer should choose either one just know what to expect..
Contest Rules: What to expect and how to prepare.
http://www.costume.org/documents/fairness-26-05-2006.html
The Guild rules is the bible for most contest and I highly recommend begginers to print this out and keep it for future use. These rules are what started it all and is basicly a good exaplme of what and how to enter a contest.
Some cons run their contests differently, but they are within the Guild rules. Knowing your skill division will help you in the long run and Novices get to compete with each other. I notice a lot of begginers confidance fade when they see a ten foot mecha Gundam entering and they get discourage. Nine times out of ten that entry may be a Journeyman or a Master, if not don't give up you never know how you will do. Also to make it more fair to entrants there is the infamous rule of "not competing a costume that has won a previous award". This makes if fair to some because some cons have this rule like Middle Tennesee Anime Convention ( MTAC) and Momocon for Example. Anime Weekend Atlanta does'nt have this rule and some cons as well. Your gonna see "Best of Show go against one another and that is really a good show. So beaware if that Gundam enters again after getting an award at the last con and is ready to rack up on more or wants to get a "Best in show so that they can retire it ( hopefully). Knowing this will help you better along the way. Bedsides there are other categories you can enter. Lets talk about those.
Categories: Some cons have a certain number of caterogories to make the contest different from other cons and make it a challege to entrants. Less categories means the competion will be a tough one especialy for the judges. More categories means more awards will be given out plus its up to the con. Some cons have yearly themes and have a special category for an entrant that wish to compete for it. If the Theme is "Mecha" then that Gundam you saw is going for that if they entered that category. "Best in Show" Goes to the costume the judges felt was the best over all. Anyone even a Novice can get this.
Costumes: Simple to Elabroate
O.k so you have chosen your costume that you want to enter into the contest, but ask yourself this: "Is it Simple or Elaborate. Some say Elaborate costumes take a lot of time to make and have a better advantage over simple. Sometimes this is not the case. Simple costumes take up just as much time as well if a prop is present. Its all in the design. Judges like either one, but you will never know who's entering what so don't be discourage if you want to enter something simple. Remember your goal is to show off your work and as long as the construction is neat and clean and the costume is accurate then you should have nothing to worry about. This will put you in the run for an award, but no garuntee that you will win.
Construction & Reference Tips:
O.k so you have your costume now lets get some reference images. Now I have seen so many begginners not bring a reference image or have a decent one. Well we'er gonna solve that problem with some links I hope that will help. If not go to your World Wide Web and type in the character's name. Also obtain an artbook online and get the images scanned on a scanner. Here are some examples of how to give the judges really good reference images vs regular reference images:
Lets say you are gonna enter Yulie Atredie From Wild arms 4. That's great so you have this image. Now this is a good angle. The game is not old and the images are plenty. So why would you give the Judges this when you can really show them that you paid attention to detail with these images...
A good Front, Back,& Side angle pic oh and another good one....
A good hair images for styling the wig or your real hair. Now that will give you good points.
Lets look at an image that would'nt be good and will have you trying your best to prove to the judges why the characters shoes are and not have any proof.
Wow Ryuna an awesome cosplay, but uhhh where's the rest. Yulie is more detailed, but is Ryuna?
Oh my she is and look she has an awesome staff. Now this is what you should bring with you.
Now I know it's hard to get images like this for your character, but just look for multiple ones of the character at different angles on different sites and using your photoshop just put them together on your computer so that way you won;t have to bring in a book of images. Also please for the love of all that is sacared do not bring in a Black and white photo. That is why Corporate America invented "Kinko"s and other print shops for boys and girls.
Here are some links to pages containing images that will defintly help you on your cosplay journey.
www.animecubed.com
www.creativeuncut.com
www.animegalleries.net
www.rpggamefans.com
www.fightersgenerations.com
www.animelab.com
www.advancedanime.com
www.artbooks.com
www.animestock.com
www.theanimegallery.com
Realistic Look vs. Cosutume look.
Now if you entering a contest then you want you costume to look Realistic more than the cosutme look. Choose the proper fabric choice for your character. Ryuna and Yulie's outfits are not showing any shine and you can tell by the style that they are wearing cotton based materials. So why would you use satin? A lot of begginers have trouble with this. That is the ""Costumey" Look" which is fine, but if your entering and want to improve on your skill knowing the right fabric choice will help. Plus winning costumes have the Realistic look because when you cosplay you are brining the character to life. Think of it as a "live Action " kinda deal. The realistic it looks the more professional you become. If you are having trouble with fabric choice then look up others who have done the cosplay you want to do, go online and go to forums, or ask at your local fabric store and you will get advice from there.
Consturction tips
Make sure your seams are pressed, and finished. Your costume is ironed, no threads are hanging especialy on the hems (roll hemming helps tremendouly for first time sewers) and your costume is accurate to that of the image. If you want to add original aspects like adding ruffles to a blouse that is not present then let the judges know why. Also chosing a costumr in your skill level will show because I have seen some awesome costume onstage, but when I looked up close I saw unfinshed seams, threads hanging and seams puckering. My advice is to not enter costumes that are showing these flaws cuz these can defiantly cost you points and not award. My costumes were like these when I first started so I can relate. Hemming one time will garuntee hanging threads so roll hemming will stop this as well as other hemming techniques. Here's a link to help you on your sewing journey.
http://www.sewingsupport.com/seam-finishes.html
This concludes the tutorial I hope this helps you and good luck and I will leave with this advice that I perssonly use. You don't lose you learn. I learned alot when I did'nt win and it taught me to have fun in the end.
The only thing I knew at the time is to fill out a form, show up for my pre-judging, and bring a reference image. Now mind you I would enter Anime Weekend Atlanta's contest back in the day (oh let's say 2003) and you all know those horrendous waiting times. Now the contest has improved on that which is good cuz I can tell ya I would wait for almost 5 hours to be judged and my cosutume was'nt even on point. Yeah it took this contest for me to realize my mistakes. I would ask myself :"Why am I not winning"?
So oneday I sat down and researched convention sites that showcased the winners of their costume contest. I wanted to see what the Judges wanted in a winning costume and what I had to do get to that level. Then it hit me all right: I realized that I was doing costumes out of my skill level, my fabric choices was fine, but my construction lacked the Professional look, I had to get better tools and learn better techniques. Now mind you I had to teach myself how to sew because I did'nt have help. No one I knew could teach me so that was another problem. So I sat down and studied out of my sewing books and practiced. I chose simple garments that suited my skill level and stayed away from elaborrate costumes since I made some that were o.k, but not contest worthy. Then in 2006 I got my first anime craftsmanship convention award ( I only got 1 hall award at dragoncon "04" " and 1 award in "03" at Dragon con first anime costume contest, but I was'nt pre-judge)for my Lemina Ausa. I was happy cuz even though it was a "Judges Award" I got someone to closly look at my work and truly see it up clsoe. So yeah you can imagine how accomplshed I felt for the first time. Now I want to share some tips and tricks to those who want to ventrue into this and know that if you don;t win just have fun and never give up. One day you will get an award on your wall or shelf so keep trying. O.k lets get started!!!!
Conventions
O.k lets say you want to attend a con and you have a costume or you want to make one. Either way you want to show it off, but what kind of costume and what kind of con is up to you. Lets talk about anime costumes for an example shall we. Some anime cons have been around for over 10 years some even longer. The older the con the higher the attendance. Larger cons like Anime expo and Otakon are the largest and are very popluar. If you want to attend their contest then know that the competion is gonna be firece. We'll get into that later, in the meantime lets talk about smaller to medium cons. Cons that have been around for under 10 years are gonna be medium size and first year cons will be smaller. I suggest a first timer should choose either one just know what to expect..
Contest Rules: What to expect and how to prepare.
http://www.costume.org/documents/fairness-26-05-2006.html
The Guild rules is the bible for most contest and I highly recommend begginers to print this out and keep it for future use. These rules are what started it all and is basicly a good exaplme of what and how to enter a contest.
Some cons run their contests differently, but they are within the Guild rules. Knowing your skill division will help you in the long run and Novices get to compete with each other. I notice a lot of begginers confidance fade when they see a ten foot mecha Gundam entering and they get discourage. Nine times out of ten that entry may be a Journeyman or a Master, if not don't give up you never know how you will do. Also to make it more fair to entrants there is the infamous rule of "not competing a costume that has won a previous award". This makes if fair to some because some cons have this rule like Middle Tennesee Anime Convention ( MTAC) and Momocon for Example. Anime Weekend Atlanta does'nt have this rule and some cons as well. Your gonna see "Best of Show go against one another and that is really a good show. So beaware if that Gundam enters again after getting an award at the last con and is ready to rack up on more or wants to get a "Best in show so that they can retire it ( hopefully). Knowing this will help you better along the way. Bedsides there are other categories you can enter. Lets talk about those.
Categories: Some cons have a certain number of caterogories to make the contest different from other cons and make it a challege to entrants. Less categories means the competion will be a tough one especialy for the judges. More categories means more awards will be given out plus its up to the con. Some cons have yearly themes and have a special category for an entrant that wish to compete for it. If the Theme is "Mecha" then that Gundam you saw is going for that if they entered that category. "Best in Show" Goes to the costume the judges felt was the best over all. Anyone even a Novice can get this.
Costumes: Simple to Elabroate
O.k so you have chosen your costume that you want to enter into the contest, but ask yourself this: "Is it Simple or Elaborate. Some say Elaborate costumes take a lot of time to make and have a better advantage over simple. Sometimes this is not the case. Simple costumes take up just as much time as well if a prop is present. Its all in the design. Judges like either one, but you will never know who's entering what so don't be discourage if you want to enter something simple. Remember your goal is to show off your work and as long as the construction is neat and clean and the costume is accurate then you should have nothing to worry about. This will put you in the run for an award, but no garuntee that you will win.
Construction & Reference Tips:
O.k so you have your costume now lets get some reference images. Now I have seen so many begginners not bring a reference image or have a decent one. Well we'er gonna solve that problem with some links I hope that will help. If not go to your World Wide Web and type in the character's name. Also obtain an artbook online and get the images scanned on a scanner. Here are some examples of how to give the judges really good reference images vs regular reference images:
Lets say you are gonna enter Yulie Atredie From Wild arms 4. That's great so you have this image. Now this is a good angle. The game is not old and the images are plenty. So why would you give the Judges this when you can really show them that you paid attention to detail with these images...
A good Front, Back,& Side angle pic oh and another good one....
A good hair images for styling the wig or your real hair. Now that will give you good points.
Lets look at an image that would'nt be good and will have you trying your best to prove to the judges why the characters shoes are and not have any proof.
Wow Ryuna an awesome cosplay, but uhhh where's the rest. Yulie is more detailed, but is Ryuna?
Oh my she is and look she has an awesome staff. Now this is what you should bring with you.
Now I know it's hard to get images like this for your character, but just look for multiple ones of the character at different angles on different sites and using your photoshop just put them together on your computer so that way you won;t have to bring in a book of images. Also please for the love of all that is sacared do not bring in a Black and white photo. That is why Corporate America invented "Kinko"s and other print shops for boys and girls.
Here are some links to pages containing images that will defintly help you on your cosplay journey.
www.animecubed.com
www.creativeuncut.com
www.animegalleries.net
www.rpggamefans.com
www.fightersgenerations.com
www.animelab.com
www.advancedanime.com
www.artbooks.com
www.animestock.com
www.theanimegallery.com
Realistic Look vs. Cosutume look.
Now if you entering a contest then you want you costume to look Realistic more than the cosutme look. Choose the proper fabric choice for your character. Ryuna and Yulie's outfits are not showing any shine and you can tell by the style that they are wearing cotton based materials. So why would you use satin? A lot of begginers have trouble with this. That is the ""Costumey" Look" which is fine, but if your entering and want to improve on your skill knowing the right fabric choice will help. Plus winning costumes have the Realistic look because when you cosplay you are brining the character to life. Think of it as a "live Action " kinda deal. The realistic it looks the more professional you become. If you are having trouble with fabric choice then look up others who have done the cosplay you want to do, go online and go to forums, or ask at your local fabric store and you will get advice from there.
Consturction tips
Make sure your seams are pressed, and finished. Your costume is ironed, no threads are hanging especialy on the hems (roll hemming helps tremendouly for first time sewers) and your costume is accurate to that of the image. If you want to add original aspects like adding ruffles to a blouse that is not present then let the judges know why. Also chosing a costumr in your skill level will show because I have seen some awesome costume onstage, but when I looked up close I saw unfinshed seams, threads hanging and seams puckering. My advice is to not enter costumes that are showing these flaws cuz these can defiantly cost you points and not award. My costumes were like these when I first started so I can relate. Hemming one time will garuntee hanging threads so roll hemming will stop this as well as other hemming techniques. Here's a link to help you on your sewing journey.
http://www.sewingsupport.com/seam-finishes.html
This concludes the tutorial I hope this helps you and good luck and I will leave with this advice that I perssonly use. You don't lose you learn. I learned alot when I did'nt win and it taught me to have fun in the end.