Your costume will be judged on the following five criteria:
Colour: The colours of your costume should be as close to the reference as possible. Colours can appear different in different lighting, so feel free to send in more references, explaining your thought process & choice. If you’re uncertain, choosing between 2 colours fabrics for example, you can always ask us for advice!
Material: The material should be the same, or look the same as the reference. For example; If someone wears a leather belt, the belt on your costume should also be leather. It can be real or fake leather, or another material painted to look like leather (ex. foam). For 2D animated characters the material criteria is more “loose”, since you usually don’t see the texture of the fabric. One thing you can look for is sharp reflections that are usually drawn on metallic or leather parts. But if your reference is flat-shaded, almost any basic fabric will be approved as long the colour is correct. You can always ask in advance if you want!
Proportions: The costume should follow your own body proportions in comparison to the character. This means, if the character wears a skirt that ends by the knees, the skirt should end by your knees. This means adapting the costume to fit your body. You might have to make a shorter top or longer pants in order to make the design work on you. Many animated characters have non-realistic proportions, so using your creativity to solve problems is key here! Judges also look at size here. For example, the character has a giant sword, the sword you create should have the approximate same size in comparison to you.
Hair/Makeup: You should be wearing the same hair & makeup as the character you’re portraying. You can use your natural hair if it matches the character, or you can use a wig if needed. The wig should be of high quality & styled the same way as the character. Remember that your brows should also match the character. You can use matte eyeshadow to change the colour of your brows. If the character wears makeup, you should match the look. Ex. a red lip would be required for Snow White. If the character has visible tattoos, these should be matched either by temporary tattoos or painted on. If you have tattoos of your own that are visible, that the character doesn’t have, these need to be covered up. Any type of facial hair should also match the character. (For characters whose face is covered with a full mask, this isn’t required, unless you plan to also take the mask off. Ex. For Iron Man you should match Tony’s facial hair & hair if you open your mask. If it’s closed, this isn’t required.)
Recognizability: This is how well your costume overall resembles the character you’re trying to portray. All the criterias above play into this, but it’s the overall first impression that your costume gives. Here we’re looking for someone that’s instantly recognized when being spotted at a con. There should be no doubt who you’re portraying!
Note: Your costume can be approved even if it’s not 100% screen accurate. Costumes can be approved with suggestions of improvements, which are not requirements from the judges but something that would take your costume to the next level. If there is something you need to fix on your costume for approval, the judges will give feedback and suggestions of how to solve it. If your costume meets most of the criterias, but not all, they still have a high chance of approval. Judges look at the costume as a whole before looking at details. Note that this is judged case by case.
Examples:
– The colour is a little off on something.
– You changed some of the proportions a bit. Ex. low waisted pants/skirts are made a little higher (but still showing stomach if the character does) or Skirt/shorts are slightly longer to not show too much of the butt.
– Shoes aren’t identical, but still close