/cgl/ - Cosplay & EGL

>>10299226
I did one, at a tiny one-day convention near my town. Whole thing was a mess, there were no separate categories for experience, groups, ect.

A couple of ghost busters with working backpacks didnt even get an honorable mention, but an obese naruto won second place.
All in all was a fucking disaster.

I hate subjective competitions. I always feel the result is unfair, so I try to avoid them.

I prefer to do my best and complete against myself. That makes me happy.

I’ve won two and competed in three. Both wins were at small events, the loss was at a medium sized convention.
Novice is the hardest class to compete in. You’re going up against the largest entry field where you have people that just started a week ago all the way up to people who have been cosplaying since Naruto was on TV. If you can make it out of novice you can make it to masters.

>>10299367
I love competitions. I enter my local contests all the time and have even won some awards. I want to try to compete at a big prestigious contest one day but it's intimidating because the cosplays that win are so beyond my skill level.

Is it just me or has that quality of cosplays coming out of these huge contests been going through the roof? How can anyone who isn't a pro keep up?

>>10301290
Yeah, I think it was Silhouette Cosplay that wrote a thread on twitter about that. The quality of award-winning costumes nowadays is so good and involves so many skills at such a level that fewer and fewer people can reach it. And I don't think anyone has come up with a solution to this problem.

>>10301290
>>10301380

The big international contests are the cream of the crop, they're going to be at a level the average person can't easily get to. It's like complaining the olympics aren't achievable for the average person. As long as there's a wide range of contests that do have a more amateur focus, I don't see why it's an issue to have a few very prestigious ones.

>>10301380
Some people suggested making awards for effort or recognizing thriftiness if cosplayers can't afford nice materials.

>>10301435
I like this comparison to the olympics. It's probably exciting to be there but if you're not at that level then just don't enter contests like WCS or the crown. I'll never compete at these places but it's insane seeing what cosplayers bring to them.

Pic related, this year's top 3 from the crown championships (sorry couldn't find a better photo where the cosplays aren't hidden)

I've participated 3 times before, both at a local and at an MCM run con.
The UK cosplay contest scene is garbage compared to what I've seen for the US cons.
No cosplayer tiers, no separate awards for skits and walk-ons, no honourable mentions or judges choice awards/mentions either.
They also only give you around 1 -1:30 minutes to talk about your costume during pre-judging which, is actually really difficult to talk about all the things you've done on a costume in that short amount of time, or that's how I find it anyway.
The prizes are also, fucking garbage. A coscraft voucher and maybe some amazon ones? like sure it's FINE but wheres the incentive to enter and provide you a form of free entertainment for your attendees if I dont get the potential to win anything good lmao

>>10301754
Honestly a voucher is better than nothing. Many small and mid-sized cons in the US don’t give you any prize other than a certificate. My local con, which is on the larger end of mid-sized, only just introduced a cash prizes last year and it’s so little money that it barely covers anything ($150 if you win masters, $100 for journeyman, and $50 for novice iirc).

>>10301435
I do think it starts becoming an issue when the same people keep winning the top awards. One key difference with the olympics is that athletes have a somewhat limited window of time where they're at peak physical form, while barring accidents or serious illness crafters keep getting better and better, adding new skills and tools to their roster, and earning more income, prize money and sponsorships from supply stores so their budget for costumes goes up. So winners are more likely to keep winning and new competitors have an increasingly high barrier to entry. And I'm not just making this up or echoing jealous losers, this is criticism I've heard from judges and award winners of those few super high level competitions.

>>10301846
Are you referring to European or Australian contests? What you're talking about isn't really a problem in the USA because there's just so many good cosplayers and so many contests, but in Europe there's a limited pool of both so if you only have ten really excellent cosplayers in your country's small community then yeah, there's going to be some overlap until new people enter the scene.

>>10301859
This is criticism I've heard from Americans but European countries do have that problem as well, especially the smaller and less populated ones, the NCC for example has a lot of repeat winners

I've competed in about 6 now. Never won, but still had fun.

I focus mainly on sewing but it seems our competitions (in the Netherlands) focus more on armor, LEDlights and comedic acts (acting out memes etc.) which bothers me a bit. I wish there were different categories here more often.

>>10301846
>earning more income, prize money and sponsorships from supply stores

This is not always accurate, as someone who runs elbows with cosplayers who compete at these high level contests. Most of the contest prizes barely cover the cost of your cosplay, and big sponsorships are rare - most "sponsorships" involve a company just sending you a one time package or a few dozen bucks in supplies.

A much bigger leg up is cosplayers who cosplay full time and can dedicate all of their time and income to crafting, or professionals with studios who make items for movies but enter contests for fun.

>>10301872
If we're talking competitions in general, I know the prizes aren't huge, but with the really high tier competitions they're a bit bigger than that, you can see from the picture higher in the thread that the Crown Championship of Cosplay has prizes between $1,000 and $5,000 which is quite a lot of money. Costumes can definitely cost in that range but that's part of my point, most people can't afford to put $1,000 in one costume. For sponsorships I meant for example (and not to detract from her because her win was well deserved) Cowbutt Crunchies is sponsored by Arda Wigs and they send her the wigs she needs for free. I know it's a pretty rare situation but again, this is about the few highest ranking competitions and the few people who can afford and have the tools and extensive skills to make something that has a chance of winning them.

>>10301892
At the same time though, if you're saying that costume costs $1000, receiving a free $40 wig isn't going to make a very big dent in that, right? Cost is absolutely a hurtle to big time competitions, but unless the entire cosplay is getting sponsored or all the materials are paid for on the regular, sponsorships probably aren't offsetting those cosplayer's costs by very much. Some cons also have a rule prohibiting cosplays that are completely sponsored/commissioned, to prevent someone from entered a cosplay they were paid to make.

>>10301754
At local cons where I live it costs ~20 or so dollars to enter and all the money is collected into a prize pool for the winners. I've never competed but a friend did one year and won ~1000 dollars in the novice tier because there were so many entrants that year. That might be a way to offer prizing in the future?

>>10302064
That's a neat idea, but 50 contestants is so many, especially with skits and pre-judging, it could take hours for everyone to go

>>10302074
It does take a long time, cosplayers here essentially spend all their Saturday in the contest, and finals can even spill into Sunday.

From what I´ve seen European competitions doesn´t seem to have the same problem with "the bigger the better" like American competitions have though. Most bigger European competitions like ECG, Eurocosplay etc requires a performance and not just a runway show, like most American competitions seem to be. So you are not only judged on your craftmanship, and the difficulty of the costume, but on your stage performance as well. Just looking at the top 10 from this years Eurocosplay shows that you don´t need a massive crazy cosplay like you see here >>10301486 , but rather a more simple, but well crafted cosplay can win. I know either last year, or the year before, people we´re complaining so much because a girl cosplaying Roxie Hart from Chicago won and not the big crazy armor, but that cosplay was absolutely flawlessly made.

>>10302094
That Roxie was stunning, I'm happy that small costumes with great craftsmanship can still win over big wow-effect costumes. The problem is that from the audience, you can't see flawless hand-sewing on a dress, but you can see a huge piece of armor that lights up, so there's a disconnect between what the judges are able to see in prejudging and what the audience can see from their seats.

>>10301831
honestly the prizes are far from the worst offender in UK cons, smaller cons run independently can get away with that, because i'd rather the fun con experience than the big price winnings, but larger cons like MCM need to step up. If they want to keep the crappy vouchers then they need to award multiple prizes. Id rather have a separate skit and craftsmanship award so I don't have to see anyone else lose to a terribly performed Newt Scamander pokemon theme skit.

>>10299808
Most cons let people choose above their skill category on paper. You can easily skip Novice and compete in Intermediate/Journeyman without issues if you feel that your skills are up to it.

>>10301290
>>10301846
This so much. I've won up through Journeyman and I look at Masters at larger cons and just give up. I don't want to slave away at an elaborate costume just for a prize or award. I wonder if there's a way for solidly made and simpler/thriftier costumes to be recognized.

>>10303282
But MCM does. Their comps award a best performance and best costume. The prizes and organisation is shit but at least they separate it. Better than the Trainwreck of showmasters

Friends talked me into it and I entered one for the first time. It was one of the biggest cons and complete surprise when I won. There were a lot of other great entries! I think I would have been fine if I lost. I was focusing on doing something cool that I was happy with. But I don't think I'll do another one for a while.

It was a lot of hassle and pressure to finish, rent a van, get it to judging, rehearse and do the masq. The rest of the con was kind of a bust. Fortunately I started an Instagram during that time and made some good friends with early followers.

I've done other cosplay since that, and people say I should have entered again. But I didn't want the extra layer of stress and to deal with the hassle. Maybe in the future for Twitch Con since they have bigger prizes.

Admittedly, I am a professional artist with disposable income. But I'm kind of a late bloomer in my 30's. It took a while to get a lifestyle that was able to facilitate the cosplay I wanted to do.

>>10299226
I enter from time to time. Generally I'm not bothered if I don't win. I enter to test my skill level, but I like to wear the costume more than anything, and seeing the other contestants' entries is fun. I make new friends and learn stuff!

The one time I broke down and cried about it despite wanting for everything not to, was when I was mis-announced as a win by a guest who was being translated for, and made an excited sound because I understood what he'd said, embarrassing the shit out of myself. The translators did not interpret right so someone else got the award, and afterward it was corrected and handed to me in private, but that roller coaster of emotion was probably the worst I've felt over cosplay in a long time.

No real anger at the con for it though, translating is rough. Apparently so are nerves.

I don't think it should matter if people have more money than you. I've done costumes that barely cost anything and won, and done costumes that cost $300+ and lost. Sometimes the expensive ones win because the techniques involved are what wow the judges. But I have a real, deep appreciation for anyone who can make things on a thrifty budget that still look good. That shit takes talent and hard work.

I miss the competition of skits. And I don't mean just dance and musical numbers. Those used to be the ones people would groan over. A well written skit is also hard to come by, but I wish more people tried.

>>10301290
Nowadays there are a lot of tutorials online with youtube and patreon, but a lot of people competing have been at it for 10+ years and didn't start winning until recently, too. So don't quit. Compete for the long haul, and work against your own skill level to be better than you were the year before. You won't be so disappointed then, because you'll always have something to be proud of.

>>10299226 (OP)
I enter from time to time. Generally I'm not bothered if I don't win. I enter to test my skill level, but I like to wear the costume more than anything, and seeing the other contestants' entries is fun. I make new friends and learn stuff!

The one time I broke down and cried about was when I was announced as a win by a guest who was being translated for. I understood what he'd said, but the translators did not interpret right so someone else got the award. In the meantime, I had let out a sound of excitement just as the mixup happened, and almost started for the stage. It was moritfying and I just tried to disappear from view for the rest of the show. Afterward it was corrected and handed to me in private, which I really wasn't expecting and I'm grateful to the con for seeking me out. Translating is hard, and I have no hard feelings over it... but it's very easy to get wrapped up in excitement and the disappointment that hits if you're wrong is rough.

I don't think it should matter if people have more money than you. I've done costumes that barely cost anything and won, and done costumes that cost $300+ and lost. Sometimes the expensive ones win because the techniques involved are what wow the judges. But I have a real, deep appreciation for anyone who can make things on a thrifty budget that still look good. That shit takes talent and hard work.

I miss the competition of skits. And I don't mean just dance and musical numbers. Those used to be the ones people would groan over. A well written skit is also hard to come by, but I wish more people tried.

>>10301290
Nowadays there are a lot of tutorials online with youtube and patreon, but a lot of people competing have been at it for 10+ years and didn't start winning until recently, too. So don't quit. Compete for the long haul, and work against your own skill level to be better than you were the year before. You won't be so disappointed then, because you'll always have something to be proud of.

Random question to those who have experience with competitions. I have a costume I wanna enter in one soon (have never before), and it's 100% handmade. The only thing I'm worried about is that I got a lot of advice from someone I know online who had already made the costume while making it. Like a lot of the methods are mine, but also this cosplayer helped me out a lot and gave me ideas into their own process and I couldn't have done it without that insight. Is it still okay to enter? Or is it kind of looked down or inappropriate seeing as I did get help when making some parts? Whenever I've posted the costume on social media I always mention a thanks to the cosplayer for all their advice. Just want to know what your thoughts are on this, or if I do, if theres anything I should mention to the judges in that regard.

>>10304159
The only way you learn is by watching others, so yeah, that should be fine.

>>10304159
Of course it's okay, advice isn't making it for you. Everyone is working off of advice and tutorials to some extent, it would be ridiculous to expect contestants not to. A lot of people also get some help from friends and family, or use commercial patterns as a base, etc. so as long as you made most of your costume yourself and didn't follow every instruction step by step from someone else you have nothing to worry about.

>>10304159
That's absolutely fine, especially since it's online and advice. Like >>10304174 said most people learn by watching or reading tutorials so it would be ridiculous to require that everything be 100% your own original ideas. Now if there is something really unique about a part of your cosplay and that cosplayer invented the technique for it, it can't hurt to mention that you followed so and so's tutorial to make that piece by doing x y and z. The judges will still be impressed with your work but won't assume you invented some process on your own.

The exception to this rule is when cosplayers fail to mention that they've been delegated to helping hands for their own project. I know someone who entered a cosplay with a very impressive molded prosthetic that required a lot of expertise to make. She's not a prosthetic maker herself but had a friend "help" her out by essentially making it for her while she watched and provided a second set of hands. If you take credit for something, you should be the one touching it.

>>10304168
>>10304174
>>10304284
Thank you all so much for your insight! Okay awesome, I feel a lot better about entering it now. I made the whole thing without any helping hands, or even commercial patters, so I guess the amount of help I got evens out to be a normal amount. I will probably mention them in judging, when referencing a couple unique methods they taught me to do things, but I’m very excited now!

Two times craftsmanship winner here, I enjoy it a lot but if you're new your goal going in should be not to win anything as you're likely setting yourself up to hate the experience.

The things I enjoy the most are talking to other cosplayers about the craft, what they did, etc. talking to the judges about the work that was put into the project and I'm starting to actually enjoy performing on stage more each time.

people get all "it's not about competing but having fun!" not realizing that there is fun to really trying to make a costume polished and talking to others about the extra work that goes into it all.

The only loss that hurt was WonderCon this past year not because we thought we deserved a win, but there was a snafu with scheduling and not everyone got to be seen for more than a brief moment by the judges. Hopefully, if we try again next year it won't be a shit show because up till that point it was fantastic

I like contests but it's always the sore losers who ruin it for me. More and more I see people complain that they should have won because of how much effort they put into their cosplay, like everyone else didn't work hard too. It's disappointing to see people post this stuff publicly and even more disappointing to see people agree that they should have won, especially if they're popular cosplayers.

I know Sarah Spaceman has been hitting the drama bong lately, but I'll always remember her for the crying fit she threw when her Madoka cosplay didn't win best in show last year.

>>10306479
She got best in show at Holmat this weekend so hopefully that shuts her up

>>10306500
She won best in show at a con before she lost in Madoka, this post comes after she couldn't replicate that win. So no, probably not if she ever loses again.

I don't understand how people can publicly post stuff like this. Do they not realize how bad it makes them look?

>>10306541
Sometimes the need for attention overpowers people's dignity. Some people make themselves look bad on purpose just to make people talk.

>>10306479
Hahahahahaha womp womp

>>10306479
box pleats are so ugly for what she used them for...

>>10306916
Yeah, it's a really strange choice for a design where fluffy CLAMP style flounces are a main feature. Between that, some fit issues, less than ideal finishes and odd fabric choices, I can see clearly why she didn't place. She also put box pleats instead of flounces on her new costume so she probably doesn't see an issue with it? Or she just can't be assed to make them actual flounces.

>>10306479
>>10306541

She has a lot of followers so I can see how it can be overwhelming for someone's dms to be flooded with "are you okay" and other sentiments after a loss. I really don't think this was a cry for attention but just to get people to STFU.
I really don't think she was caring how people would view her, she was upset at her loss and didn't want to have the same convo over and over.

>>10307066
But nobody would ask "are you okay?" If she hadn't posted a story of her crying her makeup off in the first place. Not even a close friends post either, just public to her 90k followers. The only reason anyone posts shit like that is for attention.

>>10307085
As someone who follows her (yes I do understand how this can be construed a white knighting) people were in her dms (who were at the con/watching on twitch) before she even posted anything. She's explained this already but that doesn't fit the narrative so no one talks about it.
I know I only have my word, but she didn't want attention. She just wanted quiet.

>>10307088
She still could've gone with just text explanation..
the ugly ''look how much I've been crying you guys'' pic is 100% done for the emo attention craving, said as a follower too

>>10307088
I just don't understand why she would post a photo of her ugly crying if she just "wanted quiet?" That doesn't track at all because it just shows that she's distraught about losing and also shows something is wrong to people who werent watching the contest. Why not just post "I lost. I'm sad. Please don't dm me right now."

Also I'm gonna also point out that crying at all because you lost a contest isn't a good or healthy look, even if you don't post your tears online. If you can't emotionally handle a loss you shouldn't be competing.

>>10307088
Yeah just like she wanted people to just enjoy that spolieriffic Steven universe post... That she could have deleted and reposted, for the fans who liked it, but then it wouldn't be at the top of the explore tag anymore. But then posted a crying story about how everybody asking for a spoiler tag was omg so mean.

She's a shitty attention whore, face it.

>>10307123
>>10307088
I get the impression she posts these paper thin explications to justify why she "had" to upload these drama posts. There are much more sensible, obvious solutions to these problems, but those won't bring in the attention and asspats.

I don't think it's ever appropriate to post things like >>10306479 even the second post. It's probably very awkward for the other contest participants and makes it very clear she only cares about winning.

I've entered 3 masquerades and won 2 judges award so I'm still a baby learning. I'll never forget first masq because me and my sibling entered with some friends and we had agreed we probably wouldnt win anything. Our performance was awful and we didnt even make our costumes and afterwards one of our friends was telling us we were going to get an award and getting all our hopes up. Suprise, we didn't. Afterwards everyone was really depressed about it, which never would have happened if she kept her mouth shut.

So far I've participated in 3 comps, and been awarded in all three - one best performance (a transforming CCS dress), and two best in shows. I compete because not only is it an avenue for me to put my best effort into a costume and potentially be officially rewarded for it, but cons are Super boring where I live, so after almost 10 years I've had enough of just going to a con to stand around and chat with friends.

I haven't lost a comp yet, but I feel that if I did, I wouldnt be too fussed over it. I enjoy the sportsmanship and love meeting new people and talking about crafting techniques with them! 99% of the time the people who win deserve the award they've been given.

I think it's important to enter a comp with the right mindset, as well. If you enter thinking there's no way you'll win, you won't put as much effort into your costume and stage presence. If you enter telling yourself you Will win no matter what, laziness through narcissism will kick in and the same thing will happen, and/or you'll pull a Sarahspaceman Godoka and throw a fit because you didn't win. It's always a good idea to make your costume and to step on stage thinking, I am happy with my costume, I would like to win, but if I don't thats alright.

At the end of the day comps are just a great way to push yourself to further improve your skills, while meeting others who hold the same values of craftmanship that you do.

It's like any other competition. Evolve with it and get better skills or admit defeat. Git gud as the kids say. With enough skill you can rise to the top, but it takes work and practice. If you want your mediocre work recognized go to small, or new cons. You can pretty much slum lord it there with minimal effort.

I love competitions, it gives me something to do and I usually enter with friends, so we have pretty strict expectations for ourselves, which is always a good challenge. I haven't really had the opportunity to bond with a lot of contestants, though, my local cosplay comm is pretty standoffish and I'm not a huge extrovert in the first place so it's mainly focused on a good-hearted "good to see you again" or "good luck" from me.

I don't really understand the obsession with winning though? Maybe I was raised differently or have different expectations but half of the people I know who compete will wear the same cosplay until they place in it. My most recent competition had four different people who I've seen at every local con this year wearing the same cosplays they've worn for every entry. One of them was complaining backstage about how she wasnt planning on wearing the costume again unless she placed and she finally won BiS. I'm happy for her but if it's getting to the point where something obviously isn't in the league of winning and you're getting tired of it? Just quit? Try something else? I enter for the opportunity to go on stage and I love doing prejudging, but I've never worn something to the point of being like "well I guess I HAVE to put this shit on again." Competing should be fun.

>>10310155
Exactly this. Like I said, something's obviously wrong if you keep entering with the same thing and have nothing to show for it. I was able to get up to masters by entering small contests until I had enough awards under my belt (granted with still improving my skills, ofc). People make it so much more difficult than it needs to be.

So, its 2020 now. What competitions are you gulls preparing for this year? I think I'm finally going to attempt the crown championship.

>>10314848
Is the crown championship a good/fair/difficult contest? I usually enter at acen but want to step up my game and get better recognition.

>>10315007
Depends on the qualifier. I'm not American so it's an international one, our competition doesn't get many entries but usually most of them are really high quality, with one or two entrants that you're like, why the fuck did you bother

>>10308076
>we didnt even make our costumes
I'm surprised you didn't get flat out disqualified. Masqs require you to make your own costumes.

>>10316300
eh, it varies, if it was a small con they may not have had that rule