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Cosplay Contest
for Construction

The Penti-con 2023 Cosplay Contest Rules

The Penti-con 2023 Cosplay Contest Rules

 

You must attend pre judging to be eligible for construction based awards. Pre judging times will be announced closer to the convention and entrants will be emailed.

Sign up will close on October 6th at midnight.  You should hear from us by the 16th with your judging time/location. If we have reached our contestant capacity, we will notify you by email if you did not make it, and see if you wish to be on a waitlist.

If we have not reached our capacity, we will be allowing sign ups at the convention on the day of. We however encourage you to sign up beforehand to secure your spot, as well as ensure your custom audio track will be played.

 

You can enter as either an individual or as a group. The group will be judged as a whole if you wish to enter as a group, and only one award/ trophy will be given.

If you wish to enter individually, but do a group walk on/performance, that's allowed, just let us know and we'll discuss how this can be done and announced at the event. 

 

The maker of the costume must be present at judging time. Paid commissions are not allowed. If the maker is not wearing the costume they made, it will be treated as though the cosplayer is the model of the costume and the maker is the contestant. Both must appear on stage during the walk on portion of the show.

 

You must bring at least one (1) reference image and no more than five (5), of the costume from the source media (Anime, Game, Comic, etc). It must be full body, or as close as you can get. If it's not, please explain to us why during judging. 

 

Photos of the construction process or a build book to be presented at judging time are encouraged, but not required.

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Construction Requirements

You must have made at least 60% of your costume to be able to enter.

Costumes made using primarily already made items will not be permitted unless heavily altered.

The judges can only judge you on what you made and parts you modified.

 

Examples:

  • Finding a shirt or a pair of pants at the thrift store and dyeing it. That would partially count as you altered the item. However the judges can only judge you on the dye job.

  • If you bought a piece of clothing and completely ripped it apart, and made it into something different than it was before, that would also partially count as you used the fabric. If there are any embellishments like patches or embroidery, those cannot be judged as they are not made by you.

  • If you bought a jacket and painted part of it, the judges can only judge you on the paint on that jacket. 

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It does not matter if you're more screen accurate with a bought item. Someone who made more parts of their costume will always score better.

 

If you are unsure, please email our cosplay contest coordinator at cosplay@thepenti-con.org

 

Awards available:

  • Best Wig

  • Best Makeup 

  • Best Prop

  • Best Armour 

  • Best Sewing

  • Best In Show

 

Judges reserve the right to change categories or award as many or as few awards as they wish.

In all categories we will be using your reference images to see how you replicated the design.

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Explanation of Categories

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  • Best Wig:

    • The best styled wig displayed by contestants. This cannot be a pre styled wig and all styling work must be done by the entrant. We'll be looking for cleanliness of the styling and techniques used. Wig does not need to be made by the contestant, only styled.

 

  • Best Makeup:

    • This can be either best FX makeup or best normal makeup, depending on what we see from contestants. We'll be looking for cleanliness of how it's done and techniques used. 

 

  • Best Prop:

    • The best constructed prop or weapon displayed by contestants. We'll be looking for techniques used, cleanliness of finishing, and overall appearance.

 

  • Best Armour:

    • The best armour or non-sewing based costume displayed by contestants. We'll be looking for techniques used, cleanliness of finishing, and overall appearance.

 

  • Best Sewing:

    • The best sewing or fabric work displayed by contestants. We'll be looking for techniques used, cleanliness of finishing, and overall appearance.

 

  • Best In Show:

    • This is the top award that a contestant can win if they have shown excellence in multiple of the above categories. Award may be awarded to an individual or group who already won in one of the other categories.


 

Please note: because of close proximity of judging, we encourage masks to be worn. Please watch our social media for covid policies and event requirements as they may change based on health information available. If judges wish to look closer at your costume and flip seams or see the inside of your armour, we will ask before touching.

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Walk-on Requirements

In addition to pre judging, you will be required to be on stage to show off your costume. 

Walk ons will be limited to 45 seconds or less.

  • Please submit your custom walk on music in MP3 format, to be played while you take the stage when you fill out the sign-up form. If your music is longer than 45 seconds, it will not be played, no exceptions. Audacity is a great free software to mix and cut audio.

 

Your walk on will also be judged and taken into account with the construction judging to factor into awards. Be sure to embody your character and show off your costume when you take to the stage.

 

Please include in your application a small description to be read out at the event during your walk on. This can be about your character or about your costume, whichever you see fit.

 

If you have any questions please feel free to email our cosplay contest coordinator at cosplay@thepenti-con.org and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

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