cosplay contest question

[veraca]

So for those who've never done a cosplay contest before... What is expected of them while at the convention?

Other than that they abide by the contest's rules itself... What else is expected of them? Do they have to attend general meetings, or meet-up outside the contest's scheduled time?

(In specific, for walk-ons.)

[nekovamp13]

Yes. There is a meeting that you have to go to on Day 1, usually in the evening or so, basicly to check in and know mainly what's going on and stuff like that. You don't have to be in your costume. Then there is the judging time and green room and practice time on Day 2 before the actual contest. You are assigned a time, or you ask for a slot and you just have to show up during that slot to practice, and tell tech what you want.

[bunny_jean]

Yes, as nekovamp said, there is a premeeting on day one, usually in the evening. Then day two morning (usually stuck with the 8am slot) is the on stage run throughs. Neither of these require costumes, unless you have a complicated costume and want to practice on stage with it. Then afternoon on day two is costume judging. If you are only being judged on skit, not costume, then you don't need a costume judging slot. Then there's pre contest meeting in the green room, and you're basically stuck there until after you go on stage. Then technically you can leave, but mostly everyone stays to hear the judging, and last year we had a green room dance off. lol

[Runa]

Cosplay Manager her: Yep, exactly what they said...
Pre-meeting the night before where we explain the schedule and how tech rehearsal works. Then early Sunday morning is tech rehearsal (everyone must attend, but we schedule you so that most likely you'll only be there no more than a half hour then you can go enjoy the convention...think of the benefits: you do the rehearsal at 8 AM hit breakfast at 8:30 (or run off to church) and not miss anything that you wanted to attend (remember: sleep is OPTIONAL at convention; shower is NOT optional...). Sunday early afternoon is costume judging for workmanship entries - again, you are given a time slot so likely you'll only be hanging out for no more than a half hour then you're free to prepare your costume or find a secret place to rehearse with friends until it's time to go to the Green room just prior to the start of the competition (it's about a half hour prior to curtain time - it ensures that everyone is present and knows when they're going on stage...).
Although you are allowed to leave after you've performed, since the awards are given at the end of the competition, you'd surely want to stay until you hear who won because it could be YOU. 

[veraca]

I have an extended question that my friend -who never cosplayed before a month ago- asked me to bring up here..

For a walk-on, that is costume-only entry, what do we need to showcase the costume later during the judging? It's obviously being shown on stage and I know there's somehow a showcase that's done behind the scenes for the judges to get a closer look and see refs and all that.

What do we need for that? Like a PVC pipe construction to hold our costume up on hangers and wires if we can't bring in a dress form or something?

Also, I believe SakuraCon asks for progress pictures of the costume (which I do have), but do we need them with us for kumori?

I know this is in the rules, but what's the % that can be not-made by the cosplayer that's included in the costume? Like say, for example, SakuraCon has a 60% has to be made by novices. (I don't know if that's their real %, I'm just trying to think).


I'm seriously thinking about entering this year, but I live 3 hours outside of Portland and have no idea what the logistics really entail AFTER doing the initial "fill out the form to enter". So any kind of light that could be shed, would be awsoooome~

[Runa]

I have an extended question that my friend -who never cosplayed before a month ago- asked me to bring up here..
For a walk-on, that is costume-only entry, what do we need to showcase the costume later during the judging? It's obviously being shown on stage and I know there's somehow a showcase that's done behind the scenes for the judges to get a closer look and see refs and all that.
What do we need for that? Like a PVC pipe construction to hold our costume up on hangers and wires if we can't bring in a dress form or something?
Also, I believe SakuraCon asks for progress pictures of the costume (which I do have), but do we need them with us for kumori?
I know this is in the rules, but what's the % that can be not-made by the cosplayer that's included in the costume? Like say, for example, SakuraCon has a 60% has to be made by novices. (I don't know if that's their real %, I'm just trying to think).
I'm seriously thinking about entering this year, but I live 3 hours outside of Portland and have no idea what the logistics really entail AFTER doing the initial "fill out the form to enter". So any kind of light that could be shed, would be awsoooome~

For the judging, you will wear the costume - part of the judging includes assessing the fit and we can't do that if you aren't wearing it (besides, some costumes require extensive makeup which can only be viewed when the person is wearing it. The Costume judging actually happens BEFORE the cosplay contest / walking on stage bit. We don't have a "costume display hall" if that's what you were thinking of (neat idea, but I don't think we've got the space to do that in...well, if the art show has space in its display area, you may ask them if you can display your costume - but usually items added to art show are put in on first day and not removed until the last day, so they may not let you take it out of art show for cosplay contest....). 

Progress pictures would be nice - especially if you used some interesting techniques.  The main bit of documentation that we ask you bring is photos of the character you are portraying so that we can compare your rendition against the original.

I believe I stated that at least 50% should be made by the entrant. However, keep in mind that the creator of the costume has to be present for the judging. The Creator of the costume does NOT have to be the one wearing it, however. For example, if your Grandmother is an amazing costume-maker, she could make you a costume and enter it with you wearing it... however, Grandmother would also have to attend Kumoricon & be at the judging panel (because the judges will be asking the costume-maker questions about the construction), and you would enter as a Master (because Grandma has been sewing since 1935). 

[veraca]

Oooh awsome! That makes good sense.
It'd be nice if we could have a showcase thing, that'd be cool. But I understand the idea of the fit being correct and all

If I happen to be making the majority of the costume, like everything but the wig (styled the wig) and the shoes... Does that mean I have to enter into a higher block of skill level? Or can I just enter in to the Novice...? ^^;

You're being so helpful! Thank you so much, Runa! <3

[Runa]

Oooh awsome! That makes good sense.
It'd be nice if we could have a showcase thing, that'd be cool. But I understand the idea of the fit being correct and all

If I happen to be making the majority of the costume, like everything but the wig (styled the wig) and the shoes... Does that mean I have to enter into a higher block of skill level? Or can I just enter in to the Novice...? ^^;

You're being so helpful! Thank you so much, Runa! <3

Skill level is not related to the % of the costume which you've made... The same requirement applies to all skill levels. Skill levels are based upon your experience in sewing / competing. See the rules page http://www.kumoricon.org/cosplay-contest  for full details on how to choose an appropriate skill level for your entry.

[lychee-twist]

Also don't plan on entering if you're a non-Japanese character. They won't accept you.

[Jamiche]

Also don't plan on entering if you're a non-Japanese character. They won't accept you.

As our rules state, for the costume judging portion of the Cosplay Contest, entries are restricted to those of Japanese origins.  You can read the rules here and the reason why here.