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, quality of construction, and techniques used. Craftsmanship is a contest specifically for cosplay creation.
For any questions please contact programming@connecticon.org

CRAFTSMANSHIP RULES & GUIDELINES

• All cosplay characters for this event must come from published content in the following genres: webcomic, anime, cartoon, comic, TV/movie, and video game. If there are any questions, please contact the Craftsmanship 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.
  • Group applications for cosplays from the same media will be considered on a case by case basis. (ex: Zelda and Link from the Legend of Zelda)
• 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.
• Utilizing a model to wear your craftsmanship piece is allowed, as long as the creator of the cosplay is present.
• 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.
• A purchased component of clothing may only be used for this competition if you have made substantial changes or structural alterations to it (>50% altered), it may be eligible to enter into the Craftsmanship Contest.
  • Please note: Altering just a small part of the clothing such as hemming a pant leg or painting a design 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. Fantasy skin tones such as blue or green are acceptable. Please use your discretion; the judges will not deduct any points from your cosplay for socially-ethical conduct and choices. Any questions or concerns should be directed to programming@connecticon.org
• 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.
• All times are subject to change as we finalize the schedule. Communications will go out once the schedule is finalized if times changed.
• Applications must be submitted by May 15th

Divisions

Masters - has received 4 or more major cosplay awards at this or any other convention
Advanced - has received 2 or more major cosplay awards at this or any other convention
Novice - has received 1 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 at larger conventions are ineligible to compete in the Craftsmanship Contest. Major awards include “best in division”, “best in show”, “1st place”, and any equivalent awards. 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.

Build Books

When applying to be in the Craftsmanship competition, you must submit a digital build book with information and photos of your cosplay creation to be accepted for an at-convention judging session. You may submit a work-in-progress (WIP) build book, but we do not have enough judging slots for all applicants to be accepted so cosplay that are closest to completion at the time applications close will be selected over cosplay that are still mostly in progress.

A “build book” consists of reference photos of the character, photos of the cosplay being made, and descriptions and close-up photos 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. Build books must include at least two reference photos of the original costume and one photo of you working on that costume with your face visible. This is to prevent cheating by cosplayers who bought/borrowed a cosplay and entered it in the competition.

A copy of your completed build book must be printed in color, brought to your judging session, and 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. The printed build book may include swatches of fabric, lacing, or other physical samples of components used in the cosplay construction.

• If you do not provide a build book with the required photos, your application will be disqualified.
• Reasonable allowances are made for design changes, adding details, or creating components of the costume that have no reference materials.
• Please have at least one full length shot of the character and costume in your reference photos. A picture of both the front and back of the costume is preferred.
• 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.

Judging

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.

Each accepted competitor will receive an email with an assigned judging session. Sessions are 5 minutes long and you will be assigned a judging slot on either Friday or Saturday. You can expect a few minutes to talk about how you made your cosplay and the Craftsmanship Judges will ask you for details on how you made certain components. Judges will inspect your costume from a close distance and 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.

Staff will take a photo of your finished cosplay for the judges during your judging session to reference later as they finish scoring all the divisions.

If your costume was created by a friend or family member (parent, aunt, grandparent, etc.), they must be listed in your application and attend the judging with you to answer any questions the judges may have.

Craftsmanship Judging Hours

TBA

Awards

Craftsmanship winners and 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 to show off your cosplay to the audience 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 at 6:30 PM prior to the Death Match Pre-Show. Participants can meet the Craftsmanship Coordinator at the right side of the stage and will be given a reserved seat for the Death Match Pre-Show event. We can only guarantee a reserved seat for the participant, not the rest of their party so please plan accordingly. We also cannot guarantee a seat for the main Death Match event after the Pre-Show as those seats will be used for the death match participants.
• Parents are allowed (and encouraged) to be backstage with any participants under the age of 14, especially for participants under the age of 12.

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.
PLEASE NOTE: if you are being judged Saturday morning and purchased a Saturday only badge, please get in line early so you will be able to get into the convention center building on time. You risk being disqualified if you are late to your judging slot.

If there are issues with arrival times, please notify the Craftsmanship Event 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.