cosplay contest Question

By Victorian Couture. 05/11/11, 03:57 pm

hi peeps
not sure if this the right place for this question but anyway :think:

i know in the rules it says

"This contest is open to all amateur and hobby costumers"

and

"Open division: open to all non-professionals."

so i was wondering what defines a professional costumer?

is it some who has a full time job as a costumer,
or
a person who has taken a costuming course? eg toi whakaari's two year costume dip?
if someone is a pro corsetier, does that mean they can't enter or just can't do any corset work?

just wondering cause depending on the answer/s it may heavly change my cosplaying (group with friend) plans for the next yearish sweatdrop

By flash. 06/11/11, 02:39 am

I'm not sure what it is for the costume contest you intend to enter, but internationally recognized cosplay contest awards define professionals as so; "A professional is defined as making 50% or more of their income in the costuming-related business."

So just completing a school course doesn't count, but if you teach said school course then yes.

Making a corset isn't the easiest but it does not mean that a pro corsetier will have the ability to make a tailored suit. It'd be to the discretion of the person to decide whether they have higher skills in other areas to classify them as proficient.

By neimhaille. 06/11/11, 02:16 pm

If you have just finished a course, take a breath and try to find work in the industry first. I beg you. Stable income comes first over the contest, as does health :)

If you are making a living from costuming or prop making then you have access to materials and workshops the average person doesn't. As well as wholesale prices which really can make a big difference.

Let's see... I know people at First Scene. Those who are shop staff, on the floor doing occasional repairs, would be fine. But once they start work regularly in the back room that would be the time to say they have an unfair advantage.

I've tried to be as even handed as a I can so as to not punish those with lots of experience but to also not leave those with less experience stranded. It doesn't always work perfectly.

So give it a few months, keep working on the projects you want to and see how the work situation goes. When it gets closer to the event you'll be in a better position to know what your work requirements are :) And you'll have a project that you enjoy and think of the contest as a bonus just in case :)

By Mischa. 07/11/11, 08:51 am

I think it's a self governing rule - part of the fun of competing is being challenged. If the entrant is lightyears ahead of all the other contestants I imagine it would be sort of boring.

I liked Flash's point - costume is so varied in scope- If your day job is making wedding gowns, or bedazzed burlesque lingerie then churning out some grungy weathered Space Marine Armour totally legit.

I can totally foresee the day when the contest has a "MASTERS" class though and that would be wicked!

*note: neimhaille is the authority on this topic, I'm just musing*

By neimhaille. 07/11/11, 12:06 pm

Yep :) I cannot wait for that myself XD

Part of the system of the rules though is to make the judging process easier for the audience and contestants to understand.

Once commissions and bought costumes were allowed, then the contest got extremely unwieldy and was in fact making it really confusing for all involved as to why awards were given. To address this the skit and tech awards were created (in my last year of competing) and then they were eliminated as the contest outgrew even that.

When it became clear that new contestants were missing out on any opportunity at all (and there is still no guarantee in novice or open for an award) there was a split in that regard too.

So the rules are not about creating a glass ceiling, in fact my hope is that the contest is a safe haven for people on the road to working in the industry :) I'd love to see contestants use the techniques learnt in their contest entries and go on to compete in WoW for instance ;) (regos for next year should open soon. Just saying'.)

The contest cannot be all things at all times, much as I would love it to be (and a regular costume con would help with that... also just sayin' ;) )

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