Foam, fabric, passion and competitive cosplay at Emerald City Comic Con

Thousands of people gathered in Seattle this past weekend at Emerald City Comic Con for a weekend of comics, games, celebrity guests, panels, and all things pop culture and nerdy. Among some of these attendees were competitive cosplayers, entering this year’s Cosplay Central Crown Championship.

“Costume play” better known as cosplay, is the activity of dressing up as a character from any kind of media like video games, anime, TV shows, movies and more. For some individuals, this hobby can be more than putting on a store-bought outfit, constructing a whole garment from scratch, including props and small details that might otherwise be left out can unleash a cosplayers creativity and passion.

How competitive cosplay works

Around 30 individuals who entered this year’s Championship partook in prejudging before going on to the mainstage. This prejudging includes five to seven minutes with judges who then have the time to examine, critique and learn more about the contestant’s cosplay.

Cosplayers entered in one of three categories: “FX,” a category designated for individuals whose cosplay may rely on less common techniques of crafting such as optical effects, animatronics, lighting etc., “Needlework,” cosplays that rely heavily on the construction, fabric, and overall look of a garment, and “Armor,” cosplays that include armor elements.

One winner is selected for each of these three categories, along with three winners selected over all the categories

There’s more than just cosplay bragging rights on the table and there can be some fun stakes on the line. The top three cosplayers, along with claiming a medal, win a cash prize of $250, $500, and the grand prize of $1,000.

Winning this grand prize includes a plane ticket and a chance to compete at C2E2 2025 in Chicago where the winner will represent Emerald City Comic Con and will compete against other winners from New York, Florida, and Chicago. At this competition, a finalist will be selected to represent the US and go on to a global championship.

Entering the Cosplay Central Crown Championship is no easy feat, many of these outfits took these cosplayers months, and in some cases, years to construct.

Camry Maughan, who also goes by Jelevi, competed in the armor category. Maughan, who traveled from Utah for the convention this week, constructed the Shara Ishvalda Armor from the video game Monster Hunter World: Iceborne. Maughan spent around 1,200 hours constructing the armor for her cosplay starting back in November 2022. She had previously entered her armor before at the FanX convention in Utah.

“We’ve got a small competition there, I competed, got feedback on how to make it better. Everyone kind of pressured me into coming here and doing Crowns. So, here I am,” Maughan said.

Maughan ended up placing third overall, winning the prize of $250 and a medal for her entry.

Experts weigh in

Husband and wife duo, Sammy, and Chad Van Wye of Hoku Props, hosted a panel on Saturday titled "Crafting Your Competition: Insider Tips for Costume Contest Success.” Sammy and Chad have worked together on cosplays, entering and winning competitions in the past and have experience as judges for competitions such as TwitchCon and AnimeCon in the Netherlands.

The panel they held gave insight into what they look for as judges at cosplay competitions. Some of their tips:

• Know your judges and their background. Does one of the judges specialize in anything such as needlework? If so, make sure your needlework is in tip top shape.
• Have a build book that documents the construction of your cosplays. Not only does this show your progress, it can detail your step by step process and proves the completed work is yours.
• Confidence in your work is key, sell the garment to the judges, don’t point out its flaws or what you would have done differently, be proud of what you have.
• If you’re nervous about showing off your cosplay to a crowd and judges, practice in your cosplay in front of a mirror or your family.

The Van Wyes judge as a pair but both have their own specialty. Sammy focuses on fabric while Chad looks at 3D printed elements along with the silhouette of a costume.

“For me with sewing, it’s you know, having finished hems, having beautiful seams. For me, fabric choice is something that really comes to mind too. When you’re doing sewn aspects of your costume, it’s not how much the fabric costs. It’s how the fabrics play with each other,” Sammy said.

“Mobility plays such a big role, being able to move around in your costume. Being able to present it in a way that allows you to actually deliver a message or showcase what you’ve done is important,” Chad said.

The product of passion

The category with the most competitors ended up being the needlework category with about 19 cosplayers in the group. Trains, ball gowns, cloaks and more graced the mainstage with some costumes covering the whole length of the stage.

Cosplayer Elendriel Alastair entered with their rendition of “the garbage dress” from the 2019 movie Cruella . With a 40-foot train, Alastair posed outside of the prejudging rooms while passersby complimented their cosplay.

“This took me about a year and a half and eight months of hand sewing because the entire train the way it’s gathered had to be hand sewn,” Alastair said.

Like many, Alastair was self-taught, and their cosplay was created out of passion and love for the character they embodied. Something other cosplayers proclaim is important when taking on the task of replicating a character’s costume and entering a competition.

For Ashley Bridges, the Emerald City Crown Championship was their first foray into competitive cosplay. Entered in the FX category, they spent 100 hours making their costume.

“If you love creating anything, I recommend just choosing a character that you feel passionate about so that there’s that passion throughout the project because there’s a lot of frustrating moments and if you’re not very excited about the character that you’re doing or aren’t super passionate about that then it can be hard to stay with the project. Especially when you get down to the little details,” Bridges said.

Passion, hot glue, paint, EVA foam, fabric, and a little patience can go a long way for those looking to compete in the next Cosplay Championship. This year’s competitors and winners do not lack any of these resources or skills and we can all look forward to what they will bring to C2E2 to represent the Pacific Northwest next year.