This information applies to both the Masquerade and Hall Costume Contest

Rules:

Costumes will be judged according to the International Costumers Guild’s skill division system (www.costume.org):

• Youth: All contestants in the group are 12 years of age or younger.
• Novice: All contestants in the group have won fewer than three (3) major awards for craftsmanship in costume competitions at any convention.
• Journeyman: Any contestant in the group has won at least three major awards as a Novice, but fewer than three additional major awards for craftsmanship at the Journeyman (or equivalent) level.
• Craftsman: Any contestant in the group has won three or more major awards ABOVE the Novice level (or equivalent) for craftsmanship at any previous conventions.

Notes on Divisions:

• A major prize is any craftsmanship prize that starts with the words "Best" or "First”. “Best In Show” awards count as a major prize. Honorable Mentions, 2nd Place, or Judge’s Awards do not.
• A Novice entry may opt to register and compete in a higher Division (Journeyman or Craftsman) if they wish. Likewise, a Journeyman may opt to register and compete as Craftsman. Those at Craftsman level, however, must compete as such.
• Also note that, if you have opted to register and compete in a higher skill Division in the past, and won a major prize in that Division, you are obligated to compete in that Division (or opt even higher!) thereafter.
• If you have been making costumes for some time outside of cosplay (ie. Renaissance faires, historical reenactment groups, local theater, etc.), we recommend that you enter as a Journeyman or Craftsman, depending on where you feel your skills lay. The purpose of the divisions is to provide a fairer environment for beginners. If you’re unsure, please feel free to contact the contest coordinator for advice.
• The Cosplay staff has the right to re-place entries into the correct Division according to known prizes won at this and other conventions. Knowingly registering in a lower/easier Division is grounds for disqualification.

Craftsmanship is the assessment of the costumer’s skill at making a costume. Any costume that consists mostly of bought items will not be considered for craftsmanship (e.g. buying regular street clothes that require no alterations). Also, if you were not involved in the making of your costume (e.g. you bought your costume from a seamstress), please do not register for craftsmanship judging. If one person in a group made several or all the costumes for same group, only the costume maker is eligible for a craftsmanship award. For Youth Division contestants, it’s perfectly acceptable for a parent/grandparent/guardian to help the Youth in making their costume, but we’d prefer if they are present at judging.

All costumes will be judged as a Re-Creation costume, which is defined as:
A costume whose design is copied from a film, television show, theatrical presentation, book illustration, comic, work of art, or other medium showing at least one good view of the costume. Re-Creation costumes are duplicates or design adaptations of the published design work of someone other than the entrant.

We strongly recommend the entrant to present (preferably color) printed source material (ie. screen shots, manga scans, etc.) to the judges. Video or 3-D representations are not acceptable. However, the judges would like to see full documentation of your costume construction, including but not limited to: printed source pictures, in-progress photos, notes, sketches, etc., but this is not mandatory.

You may not enter a costume that has won an award in a previous AnimeNEXT or MangaNEXT contest.

Guidelines:

Masquerade Craftsmanship judging will take place by appointment only.
Hall Costume Contest judging is on a first-come, first-served basis.

You may be judged as a group or individually. If you choose to be judged as a group, you will be judged according to the highest Division among your members.

Be prepared to answer many questions about how you made your costume. Be honest and explain as much detail as possible. The judges aren’t going to give away your “secrets”! If you get nervous easily, try writing up an outline of your costume parts beforehand to help you focus. Don’t forget your reference images!

Any documentation you provide will be returned to you.

The judges are VERY scary. They are cosplayers. Just. Like. You. ^_~

Awards Note: We expect to present an award for Best Craftsmanship in each Division. The Masquerade’s Best In Show award will be given to the entry the best overall presentation and craftsmanship. The judges also have the discretion to award as many Honorable Mentions as they wish. This means that if the judges are impressed by even a part of your costume, they are free to give an award just for that part. Excellence deserves recognition – This is the ideal of the International Costumers Guild.