Judging:

Those planning on entering the craftsmanship competition may submit their entries in person at the MidoriCon Information Desk. Costumes must depict fictional characters (from anime, manga, video games, etc.) or recognizable cultural icons (j-rockers, EGL, etc.). Participants are free to sign up at any time before 1:00 PM on Saturday.

You will be fairly judged on your level of craftsmanship within your talent bracket. The criteria for all prospective brackets are as follows:

  • Youth - Entrants aged 12 or younger are eligible to enter our youth category. To qualify, the child must be responsible for 50% or more of his/her cosplay creation. We strongly encourage parents/guardians to accompany children to their judging appointment to ensure their safety and punctuality. A parent/guardian of any child aged 8 or younger must accompany them onstage at all times.
  • Novice - Competitors who have won 1 or no awards are eligible to compete in the Novice category. You must be responsible for constructing 75% or more of your entire cosplay.
  • Journeyman - Competitors who have won 2-5 awards are eligible to compete in the Journeyman category. You must be responsible for constructing 80% or more of your entire cosplay.
  • Master - Competitors who have won 6 or more awards are eligible to compete in the Master category. You must be responsible for constructing 80% or more of your entire cosplay.

Those planning on submitting their entry within a group of two or more must determine who within the group has the highest bracket level, and enter on that basis. For instance, if your group has one Novice, two Journeymen and one Master, your entire group qualifies in the Master category.

Judging will take place on Saturday directly before the Cosplay Runway Event. Your judging slot should be your first scheduling priority, however, as it’s merely a 5 minute span of time and punctuality is absolutely imperative to us, and to you. Our judges will significantly subtract from your score if you arrive late to your allotted time.

Please present our judges with a detailed photograph of the character in the outfit you are depicting, and be prepared to answer questions about the construction of various aspects of your craftsmanship by some highly experienced judges. They will know very well of the authenticity of your work, and of your experience crafting it. It should be noted that if you are not solely responsible for constructing most, if not all of your costume, you will be disqualified from the Cosplay Runway event.

May your patterns be true and your crafting tools keen! Best of luck!