Have you spent hours upon hours building the perfect and most accurate costume possible? Do you possess an incredible attention to detail and apply that to each and every costume? Then the Craftsmanship Contest is for you; this is a chance for you to show off your amazing costume creating skills! Costumes will be judged on criteria such as accuracy, choice of materials used, and quality of construction. This is a contest specifically for costumes; you will have the option of doing a walk-on presentation of your costume on the big stage before Death Match, but it is not required.
For any questions please contact cosplay@connecticon.org

REGISTRATION & CHECKING IN

Please check-in at the Craftsmanship Judging Desk when you arrive at the convention to confirm that you are present and are still planning to participate. You will receive a reminder card with your judging time on it.

Craftsmanship Judging Hours

Friday: 11:30am-5:30pm
Saturday: 9:30am-7pm

PLEASE NOTE: if you are being judged Saturday morning, please get in line early so you will be able to get into the convention center building on time.

If there are issues with arrival times, please notify the Craftsmanship Coordinator beforehand. All requests to change your judging time will be considered but we may not be able to accommodate you if you are late.

• Arrive at the Craftsmanship Judging Desk at least 15 minutes before your assigned judging time. Please do not be late. We keep judging periods to a strict schedule.
• Be aware that no-shows will be kept track of for subsequent years; please make sure you give notice if you are withdrawing from the contest.
• Judging is held over a 2 day period. You may only submit one entry. Even though judging is held on two different days, it is for the same contest.

DIVISIONS

Masters - has received 5 or more major cosplay awards at this or any other convention
Adult Advanced - has received 3 or more major cosplay awards at this or any other convention
Adult Novice - has received 2 or fewer major cosplay awards at this or any other convention

Note: We do not have a separate Youth division for Craftsmanship, but youths are welcome to compete at the Novice level or higher if they qualify.

• Any costumes that have won major awards (excluding Judge’s Awards/Honorable Mention awards) at larger conventions are ineligible to compete in the Craftsmanship Contest. If you have won awards at smaller convention(s), you may still be eligible. If you won an award and don’t know if you can compete again, please contact the Event Coordinator.
• This is based on an honor system. You may enter a division above what you qualify for, but not below. If it is discovered that you have entered a category below what you should be in, then you will be disqualified and potentially banned from future competitions. For groups, you must enter at the highest division that any of the group members qualifies for. In example: A Novice cosplayer and a Master cosplayer competing together must compete at the Master level.
• Participants may be moved to a higher or lower category at the judge’s discretion. This may or may not happen, but be aware that we reserve the right to do so if the Coordinator or Judges believe you do not qualify for the division you applied to be in.

CRAFTSMANSHIP RULES & GUIDELINES

The Cosplay Craftsmanship competition is a competition of your overall skill in creating accurate and impressive costumes. The judges are looking for a cosplay that truly depicts the source character and costume without any missing components. Some criteria to consider include: Uses or replicates character-appropriate fabrics, has secure and neat stitching, is tailored well, uses advanced techniques such as sculpting or casting, and contains impressive finish work and creative details such as perfectly smooth or weathered paint, complex embroidery, detail work like custom jewelry or prosthetics, and a wig that was styled to the specific character.

During your judging session, the Craftsmanship judges will ask you for details about how to make certain components and will inspect your costume from a close distance. Judges may ask to touch a part of the costume, hold your prop, lift a seam to check for finished edges, or to see inside a component.

• Minors (those under 18 years of age) may not participate in the Craftsmanship Contest unless given written permission by a legal guardian. Forms will be available both at the convention and are online. If you are a minor, please email a signed copy to Cosplay@connecticon.org ahead of time or bring it with you to the Craftsmanship check-in desk.
• Craftsmanship awards will be announced to the audience during the Death Match Pre-Show on the big stage Saturday night. If you are entering a costume in the Craftsmanship competition, you have the option of doing a walk-on exhibition of your costume during the Death Match Pre-Show before the awards ceremony.
  • This is a chance to show your costume off in front of the audience and receive your trophy if you placed in the competition, but is not mandatory.
  • Craftsmanship walk-on participants are asked to arrive during the set-up time for the Death Match and will be given a reserved seat for the Death Match event.
  • Parents are allowed (and encouraged) to be backstage with any participants under the age of 14, especially for participants under the age of 12.
• Reference Pictures: In order to participate in the Cosplay Craftsmanship Competition you MUST bring at least two reference photos of the original costume and one photo of you working on that costume. If you would like to bring a build book to show the more complicated steps of your cosplay creation, please include your reference photos in the book.
• Reference materials must be printed in color and are left with the judges until the competition is over. This is for your and the judges’ benefit as they may not know all the details of your chosen costume and character and will reference the details of your costume in the case of a close tie between competitors.
  • If you do not provide a reference photo, your costume will be disqualified.
  • Please have at least one full length shot of the character and costume. A picture of both the front and back of the costume is preferred.
  • A “build book” consists of your reference photos as well as photos of the costume in progress and descriptions of the details (such as a full lining on a jacket or a custom corset pattern) that may not be visible when wearing the final costume. This is often a huge benefit when competing at higher divisions because you can really show off all your hard work!
  • If you would like your reference photos and build books returned to you, they may be picked up at the Cosplay HQ Desk (not the Craftsmanship Desk) on Sunday between 11a-1p.
  • If you have trouble finding a reference image, e-mail the Craftsmanship Coordinator. We will try to help you in any way possible.
• All cosplay characters must come from published content in the following genres: Fantasy, sci-fi, webcomic, anime, cartoon, comic, movie, and video game. If there are any questions, please contact the Event Coordinator.
  • Original Characters (fan-created/generic/parody) may be permitted on a case by case basis if there is a formal source to reference. Email the Event Coordinator.
  • Fanart versions of established characters are allowed as long as permission is secured from the artist.
  • Reasonable allowances are made for design changes, adding details, or creating components of the costume with no reference materials.
• If your costume was created by a friend or family member (parent, aunt, grandparent, etc.), THEY MUST COME TO THE COMPETITION WITH YOU to answer any questions the judges may have.
• No commissioned or purchased costumes are allowed, including purchased components. If you purchased an entire costume from another cosplayer who competed or won an award with that costume, you may not enter it in the competition even with modifications.
• Lying about commissioned or purchased costumes will result in consequences as determined by ConnectiCon Staff. This can include loss of membership and/or bans from the Craftsmanship contest or the entire convention in the future.
• If you have made substantial changes or alterations to a purchased piece of clothing, it may be eligible to enter into the Craftsmanship Contest.
  • Please note: Altering just a small part of the clothing such as a pant leg or a collar does not constitute substantial.
  • If you have any questions about whether your modifications qualify, please contact the Craftsmanship Coordinator.
• Please note: When cosplaying characters with different skin tones, using a technique such as blackface will instantly disqualify you. While it may be character-appropriate in certain cases, it is not acceptable for this competition. Please use your discretion, the judges will not deduct any points from your cosplay for socially-ethical conduct and choices.
• Cosplay Repair Center: Cosplay Rest and Repair Center is located in Marriott hotel, which you are free to use to patch up/repair issues that arise with your costume. Should you make use of this, please make sure you keep it neat for those using it later.
• Please do not wear any messy substance that can fall off you during judging. Any body make-up, paint, glitter, fake blood, feathers, or sequins should not come off your costume with casual contact.
• The weapons policy and convention rules also apply to costumes worn for your Craftsmanship judging session. This is for your and others’ safety.
• Any questions/issues can be sent to the Craftsmanship Coordinator.
• Last but not least – HAVE FUN!!