I’m not sure which section I fit into for the contest. How do I know which category is for me? The categories for the cosplay contest are as follows:
- Novice – Has not won or placed in a contest yet. Has entered no more than 3 contests.
- Intermediate – Entered more than 3 contests OR has won/placed in a contest before
- Masters – Is described as but not limited to Cosplay craft is close to or at a professional level. Takes on cosplay/prop commissions for other cosplayers. Makes some kind of income cosplaying or creating cosplays. Has entered, won, and/or placed in multiple contests
- Group – Consisting of 2 or more cosplayers wanting to enter together. Groups will be judged based on the highest skill-level cosplayer in the group. Example: If you have a group of mostly intermediates and one Master level cosplayer, then all will be judged as Masters
If I’m not in the group category, could I still bring a partner to act on stage with me? Yes, you may have someone else with you on stage to help with the performance, as long as they are not dressed in a costume. Dressing in black or dark colors for the performance is preferred, to keep the attention of the cosplayer.
Can I enter multiple cosplays? During the online submission, you can enter as many cosplays as you want BUT only one cosplay per contestant is allowed to move past the online submission phase and you can only participate in a single category. In the event both of your entries are accepted, you will be contacted for a decision on which category you want to participate in.
Will the judges move me into another category? No, if you fit the criteria for your category then that is where you will stay.
Are some contestants going to be cut after being seen in person by the judging panel? No. All contestants that make it past the online submission phase will be able to be seen in person by the judging panel as well as being able to showcase their cosplay onstage as part of the contest.
How many cuts will be made? We will only be making one cut of contestants for the contest which is during the online submission process.
What if I do not create an online photo gallery? If we do NOT have a link to a photo/video gallery in your registration account by the deadline we will consider your registration incomplete and will, unfortunately, have to pass on your registration into the contest. The judges need to see what you are submitting and they cannot do so without the gallery
When will we be contacted to know if we have moved past the online submission part of the contest? Our judging panel works super hard to give each and every submission the proper attention it deserves. With that being said, we are unable to give a concrete date and time when all contestants will be notified, BUT the latest that everyone will be contacted is during the a week before the actual event.
Do I have to be present to win? Yes, you must be present at the contest to win.
Commissioned cosplays and cosplay models:
- Commissions – You are able to have up to 30% of your cosplay commissioned, the rest must be made by the registered contestant
- Models – The creator of the cosplay must be present for “In-Person” judging and they must be present in the ballroom with their model for the “Onstage” portion as well
Can I enter into the contest if I live out of state or country? Yes! The way our contest is set up you don’t have to be present for the “Online Submission” portion. If you advance in the contest, our judging panel will need to see you in person the morning of the contest and you will be able to take to the stage later that night during the “Onstage” portion of the contest as well. Please take note of the weapon’s policy for the convention and how it relates to your cosplay.
When will the online submissions be looked at and scored? Our judging panel will start looking over all submissions after our registration for the contest closes on AUGUST 31st at 11:59pm
What criteria are the judges using to score the cosplays?
- During the “In-Person” phase our judging panel will score off on the following:
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- Craftsmanship – Clean and straight seams, no glue marks, rough or mirror-smooth, basically how well your cosplay is made.
- Originality/Accuracy – If the cosplay is original or a mashup you’ll be judged on originality. If you are recreating a character we will look at how close you recreated the character.
- Level of Difficulty – This is based on the number of and difficulty of techniques used to create the cosplay
- During the “Onstage” portion of the contest we will be judging based on
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- On stage Performance – How does the cosplay look onstage? How does the cosplayer show off their cosplay? Does the cosplayer look confident showcasing their creation? (unless of course the character they are portraying is a nervous mess and that’s how the cosplayer should seem).
- We feel that a large portion of the art form of cosplay is embracing the essence of the character/personality that you are cosplaying. Every contestant that qualifies for the “Onstage” portion of the contest will have up to 1 min to showcase this part of their cosplay talent in our Grand Ballroom, which you can use this time as you wish. For example, you can show your cosplay by striking different poses to show off all of the parts of your cosplay, or you can partake in pre-planned choreography.
- We expect to notify all qualified contestants with at least a week of anticipation before the contest so that they can have something prepared in time, though it is a good idea to have that presentation already in mind throughout the application process and well ahead of the competition. Remember that you have up to 1 min on stage, so please use as much of that time as possible.
- Stage Appearance – How does the cosplay look onstage? How does the cosplayer show off their cosplay? Does the cosplayer look confident showcasing their creation? (unless of course the character they are portraying is a nervous mess and that’s how the cosplayer should seem)
When will we be contacted to know if we have moved past the “Online Submission” portion of the contest? Our judging panel works super hard to give each and every submission the proper attention it deserves. With that being said, we are unable to give a concrete date and time when all contestants will be notified. We will notify EVERYONE who registered when the online portion is complete.
Why can’t everyone move past the online submission process in the contest? We are super fortunate and excited to have hundreds of entries each year but because we are only given a certain amount of time in the Grand Ballroom during the event we need to make sure that we stay within a certain time frame.
Are some music tracks not accepted in the cosplay contest? Yes. Music or Audio tracks submitted cannot have explicit lyrics. If it does contain explicit lyrics, your audio track will not be used. We will do our best to give you an advanced warning but cannot guarantee it. FanX is a family-friendly event and we want all ages to be able to attend.
I have a question about the cosplay contest that I don’t see an answer for here, who do I contact? If you have an additional question regarding the cosplay contest which is not listed in the FAQs, please email [email protected]
