Cosplay Contest | thepenti-con

The Penti-Con Cosplay Contest

All contestants 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 (DATE TBD) at midnight. You should hear from us by (DATE TBD) 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 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.

You can enter as either an individual or as a group. The group will be judged as a whole. 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 only be allowed in this situation; 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 1 reference image and no more than 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 to be presented at judging time are encouraged but not required.

Construction requirements:

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

For example, a shirt was found at the thrift store and you dyed it. That would partially count as you altered the item. Found items will count toward this percentage if it's altered.

If you bought a piece of clothing and completely ripped it apart, and made it into something new, that would completely count as the only thing you used was the fabric.

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

An Explanation of Award Categories

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 the cleanliness of the styling and techniques used.

Best Makeup:

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

Best Prop:

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

Best Armor:

The best armour or not sewing-based costume is 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.

Please note: because of close proximity of judging, we may require masks to be worn. If this is the case we will notify all contestants prior to the convention by email. Please watch our social media for covid policies and event requirements as they may change based on the 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 it.

Walk-On

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.

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 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.