Animazement

Are you a costume creator?

Animazement’s Craftsmanship Hall Play Contest is a chance to show off your costume and a chance to win great prizes! Contestants will present their costumes to our panel of professional judges and will be scored by the quality, appearance, and skill of their work depending on entry level. During the event, judges will ask questions regarding the construction and detail of each costume. Read on to learn how to participate in the contest!
**SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT** We are now accepting entries from: World of Warcraft, Heroes of the Storm, League of Legends, and Overwatch.

When: Hall costume judging will be held on Friday and Saturday afternoons. Awards will be presented at the end of the Masquerade, Saturday night in MAIN EVENTS.

Where: COSPLAY HQ is located in the Alumni Room at the Marriott.

Enter the Animazement Craftsmanship Hall Play Contest where judging is solely based on the artistry and technical merit of the costume. Hard work and precision is involved in creating the amazing costumes that range from impressive mechas and armor to intricate sewing work.

Pre-Registration for The 2025 Craftsmanship Contest will open on TBD.

Novice is 0-3 Major awards.
Journeyman is 4 to 6 Major awards won.
Craftsman is 7 or more Major awards.

*Major awards are First, Second, Third, Best of or Best… Honorable Mentions and Judge’s Awards not do count as a Major Award.

Youth Awards are for those 12 and younger.

• Arrive ten minutes prior to your entry time to fill out paperwork so it does not cut into your judging time.
• If you are only entering the Hall Play Contest, separate from the Masquerade, then you do not need to attend the Cosplay Orientation Meeting on Saturday Morning.
• There is a costume feedback panel on Sunday where you can ask for advice to improve your costumes or understand the criteria on which you were evaluated. All the judges have competed before and understand the pressure and stress that goes into a costume.
• If you have never competed before then you are a Novice.
• If you feel that you would like to compete at a higher level, you are welcome to enter as such. “Competing down” (i.e. Craftsman competing as a Novice), is not permitted and will be disqualified.
• If you need any clarification or have any questions, please stop by the Cosplay HQ room and we will see if we can assist you.
• After Pre-registration, there will be at-con signups Friday and Saturday Morning.

Due to the growth of Animazement, we no longer can take multiple costume slots (One on Friday, One of Saturday) for the same individual until at-Con registration on Saturday. This allows everyone to have a fair shot at entering the contest.

1. No nudity is allowed. No costume is no costume.
2. Your costume must be at least 85% made or altered by the entrant.
3. All costumes must be relevant to Anime, Manga, Video Games, and Theater all derived from Asian Culture. As a new addition, we are now accepting entries from the following series: Heroes of the Storm, League of Legends, World of Warcraft, and Overwatch.
4. All entrants must be registered Animazement Convention Attendees and may be asked to present their badge.
5. You may wear your costume in the Masquerade and Hall Play, as the Masquerade is judged entirely on performance.
6. No live steel. The Animazement Weapons and Props policy must be followed at all times.
7. You must have made the costume or have the person present who did. No Ebay or bought costumes permitted.
8. Original or alternative take on designs (for example: Halloween Town Riku or Steakpunk Link) are acceptable, but must have strong or obvious references from the series that you must have documentation to back up.
9. Documentation is very much appreciated. From swatches to notes to construction detail that you think the judges might have missed… How you made your costume, progress photos, and drawings are all very helpful to the judges and they appreciate the time you took to provide them.
10. You may not compete with a costume that has previously won major awards unless significant changes to update and improve the costume have been performed and documented.
11. Prizes are awarded at the end of the Saturday night Masquerade, before Masquerade awards.
12. Falsification in creating a costume or lying to the judges (purchasing a costume and passing it off as your own work) will result in your entry being pulled, awards revoked, and being banned from future Animazement Hall Costume Craftsmanship contests.
13. If you have scheduled an appointment time and are a no-show without a courtesy E-mail before or after the convention, you will not be eligible for pre-registration and must signup at convention for any overflow slots for the following years.