I only compete locally because I'm THE cosplayer in my area. It's weird though, when you go somewhere you've competed, like a gaming cafe, and in normal clothes, and people ask to take your picture for their blog.

I've come second twice... that makes a win, right?

i've won one award, novice category, and it was in the only cosplay contest i've ever entered. most of my outfit was poorly constructed and was hot glued and safety pinned in a lot of places, but i had wings and flashy make-up and jewelry that must have wowed the judges. maybe a friendly personality helped make me memorable, too. this was at a fairly large convention, and only a few years ago.

i have very little interest in competing anymore, even for fun, unless i'm incredibly proud of something i've made. it seems like such bullshit.

I have never entered a single competition and I don't ever plan to.

>>4452291

This. After seeing what gets awarded and knowing that contestants lie and judges are biased, I don't care about winning some dumb award.

>>4452300
I don't lie :(

And the people who judge me actually really hate me irl. i just look different in costume. It's like wearing lolita in public. I just flat out get treated better.

>I won best performance with my partner as Code Geass
>also got runner up best group as FE characters
The rest of the time I don't care. I get up there for fun

>>4452302
>wearing lolita in public
>getting treated better

Won a small novice award, Cosparade Saturday 1st, Hyper Japan 2010. Can't complain, first ever cosplay, nice prize.

But I've only been really cosplaying for a year. I'm not skilled enough to compete yet. Maybe in a couple years.

>>4452307
I'm very butch without make-up and girly clothing. I don't wear extravagant lolita, like OTT sweet. I dress my age, in some simple elegant pieces. High-waisted skirts and nice blouses. You can wear lolita without looking like an idiot.

Because I suck at it. lol

I won a craftsmanship award at a small con, but the only judge's costume was questionable and she was still in high school.

i got a judges award last year for my group when we did the Nordics
so far thats it but im still trying~!

Rather than spend a lot of money on costumes, props and fees, I spent 3 dollars on a trphy that said "BEST IN EVERYTHING" and awarded it to my self.

>>4452327
>You can wear lolita without looking like an idiot.

No you can't.

it's only my third year.

but i really thought i had a chance with the comp. i was so sure i had a chance at winning something that i nearly cried when the announcement was made. i pinned quite a few hopes on it.

>>4452354
yeah, you can?

>>4452358
pic unrelated, I hope.

>>4452363
i hate the fur, but I think it's cute.

I've won one so far. Otherwise, I usually don't bother entering. Too lazy.

>>4452369
lolita morons trying to defend other lolita morons doesn't mean anything to the general public. You go outside wearing that shit be prepared to be laughed at.

>>4452375
no1cuuuuur

>>4452375
So what do you wear?

I've won an award in every cosplay competition I've entered. And I suck.

>>4452405
This. Batting a thousand.

>Judges Award
>2nd Place Formal Ball Costume
>Best Walk On
>Best in Show

I don't win a lot, but I've won a few

Because I'm terrible.

Because I put more emphasis on making sure my costume is decently constructed and it's never flashy enough to be considered for a prize. I don't really care, it's not if you need to win something to get to model your costume on stage.

>>4452420
Yeah, you're construction is pretty shit.

>>4452467

Don't sell yourself short. The first time I entered a costume of mine into the Hall Cosplay Contest I won Best in Novice with a State Alchemist uniform. There's absolutely nothing flashy about it, but I did a lot of specific detail work on it to make it as accurate as possible.

Past few years I've only entered my costumes into a few contests but I've won an award for all of 'em so far. *shrug* Though I might end that streak as I'll be entering a costume into Otakon's this year. Just by sheer numbers I doubt I have much of a chance at winning an award.

>>4452410
Your Renamon is fucking awesome.

>>4452405
Meeeee too. I am a follower of the "throw embellishments at the problem until it doesn't matter" school of thought. And by embellishments I mean fuckhuge wings.

>>4452420
It's okay, I love you anyways

>>4452467
I won my first contest with a really simple but well constructed costume with some nice, but plain embroidery. It beat out a Tsubasa series Sakura and a Ryuk with giant but horrible constructed wings.

Because the two times I entered masquerades it sucked all the fun out of costuming. I'd rather goof off with friends than sit in a cramped, dark room for hours waiting to be judged, then do it all again to go on stage.

I've won thirty or forty awards, but only after losing masquerades for a couple of years while figuring out how to do it right. I always do weird, obscure things that require odd techniques and lots of technical work. Not because I'm a pretentious hipster weaboo, but my tastes just gravitate toward the bizarre, and I'm fat, so why the fuck would I want to destroy people's image of popular and iconic characters?

Anyhow, mixing good craftsmanship with an interesting, eye-catching design and always adding a technical element to my costumes has helped me.

Ive won one hall award and one Judges award.
Other than that, I really dont care about competing. Im terrified of being on stage and I just couldnt be bothered to enter most hall contests.
That and Im not usually really proud enough of a costume to want to win something for it.

Because I'm still bad at making costumes.

i did once, a few years ago. i just haven't entered masquerades much since then. that, and i'm not that great of a cosplayer.

I simply don't compete. My cosplays aren't even up to my own standards, even if they're getting better. And usually, I rather just keep my con schedule open for panels and hanging with friends rather than devoting time to competing.

I've won one Best of Saturday, and one Best of Weekend. Boo-yah!

I have, with a Naruto skit last Year

>mfw all the looks on the faces of the people who thought we would never win because of Narutard

I've wanted to enter with my friends, but we don't have enough time to practice a skit so we can't ever get idea off the ground, and now we've lost 1 boy and the other guy is broke as fuck so he can't even do a good costume.

I may just do the walk ons come winter.

I have.

Best in Show, Kumoricon 2010.

I've been cosplaying since 2008
Kind of good at it
Never won an award because I'm afraid of being in a skit/scenario/doing something in front of everyone.

>>4452265
I have won best stunt performance two years in a row at anime iowa.

Because cosplay isn't a fucking contest to me.

I've won performance awards at masquerades but never anything for craftsmanship. I don't really care. My craftsmanship won't ever be as good as anyone who competes and wins Best in Show. I'm completely fine with my Best Group Performance and Most Humorous. At least people will actually remember those skits.

Competing keeps it interesting, and I have more motivation to do things right and not cut corners. I barely compete anymore, because I'm tired of people getting pissed off every time I win. At first, they said I only won because cons were small and there was zero competition. Then, when I started winning at large cons, it became a 'I'm tired of seeing the same person win over and over, retire already.'

Shit sucks, man. I love green rooms and contest lines because you really get to hang out and talk shop with cosplayers better than in the halls.

>>4452806
I'm calling bullshit. Post your gallery.

but I have. A shitload of minor performance awards, some other random awards, and two best craftsmanship upper tier awards. I just can't be assed to compete most of the time, because I don't like competing at smaller cons and larger cons take up too much time; not to mention that the masq takes up pretty much an entire day for larger cons, so I'm not doing that unless I have either a costume that I think is interesting enough to entertain the audience without them knowing what it is OR a presentation/skit I think is legitimately entertaining. This happens almost never.

>>4452744
this, represent.

Im so tired of seeing my bitch ass friends cry into my shoulder because they didn't won so and so. OMG SO MUCH EFFORT NOT PAID OFF

NOW I WILL NEVER GET MY ANIMU DVDS

I have. Performance and craftsmanship, and a couple of BiS.

feelsgoodman

I cosplay for fun, I don't participate in any contests. I just don't curr. It's just a trophy, big whoop.

And I've only been cosplaying since 2008.

I don't enter masquerades!

I did win a couple of judge's awards when I first got into cosplay, though.

>>4452959
whoa calm down there little guy. You might hurt yourself.

Because I don't care enough.
Cool, I would get an award for dressing up like a cartoon character. Woo hoo. This will look great on my resume. People who take cosplay really seriously almost ruin it for me.

I don't make my own costumes.

I hate people who think that sewing and making costumes is SO super duper easy and you should be really great at it after doing it for a year or two. It doesn't work that way, you twat. It's an incredibly complex skill that takes YEARS to get good at, depending how much practice you get. For someone like me who makes the odd costume here and there, i.e. one or two per year, to expect me to be so good at it I'm competition-level is.....absurd.

It seems like a waste of time. I spend my all Saturday doing what? I don't get any great pictures. A panel of people probably not in my fandom arbitrarily decide they like my costume more than some others. Great. Their opinion isn't popular opinion and it doesn't really mean anything. I'd rather put my cosplay out there for the people in my fandom to judge and, hopefully, contribute to it in some way. Contests don't do any of that. It's a waste of time. I'd rather be at a photoshoot or even just standing around the hallway.

I'm too nervous to compete. I think I might do it next year, though. I never see the really awesome cosplayers competing at my con and it's usually the mediocre cosplays that get on stage and win.

>>4453082
Implying people who win cosplay awards are life-long seamstresses.

You dont need to be Betsy Ross to make a good cosplay. Just be knowledgeable in construction, have the tenacity for detail, and look good wearing it.

Those women who dryhump their sewing machine and spew sewing elitism are usually just ugly fat women trying to compensate anyway.

>>4453084
I agree.

I didn't feel that way till after I couldn't remember all of the awards I'd won. I'm in master/journeyman wherever I go now. Seems silly to keep getting judged when I already have three best master awards.

>>4453117
Nice lie.

>>4453112
> knowledgeable

key word there. I didn't specify lifelong seamstress, dumbass, I'm saying it's a skill you don't just pick up overnight. You CAN make something look good without a whole lot of prior knowledge, IF you put a great deal of time into it and the actual construction isn't complicated, but I fucking hate people who are like "why aren't you good at sewing LOL? it's sooo easy you can learn it in like a day." Learn to run the damn machine in a day, sure. But making a complex costume that actually fits and looks good is a REAL SKILL. that's my only point, you don't have to start spewing about elitism. Don't kid yourself into thinking that anyone with a sewing machine can be a great cosplayer if they "just put their mind to it".

I've won about six awards. They're very fancy paperweights.

Never bother with entering contests, the aftermath is always one big bashfest filled with vendetas and dramaqueens.

>>4453123
Whatever man.

I just judge occasionally now, and even then it's a hassle because people get SO ASSPAINED about it.

I've won a few awards, mostly presentation. Working on craftsmanship now that I've started making things entirely on my own now. A couple best in shows, best in division, performance, and judges awards. It's been a blast every time~

>>4452845
Except our performance >:D

>>4453129
Sewing is only a small part of cosplay. Most of what looks impressive is wigs, craft and how good you look.

how do cosplay contests even work?
i've never considered entering one before, but i do have a costume that i've been working on for like 3 years and i've put a lot of effort into it.
it'd be nice to win something for it

>>4452822
Oh yeah, sure. Lemme post up my personal info to an anonymous source who wants to tear into me, that makes sense. I removed my trip for a reason.But yes, I've won four or five BiS awards, and numerous other awards from small 3k gatherings to 15k-attendee cons.

I grew up playing sports, so the idea of competition has never been a dirty, evil thing to me. Chance I can recoup monetary losses on a costume with prize money? Receive crappy merchandise I can sell for beer money? I get to present my work to a panel of respected peers? I get to walk across stage while the eight people who know what video game I'm from whoop and cheer? Sure, I'll hang out with a bunch of other cosplayers backstage and talk shop for a few hours during my weekend for that.

Competition isn't for everyone, that's cool. But fuck you for thinking no one else can genuinely enjoy the experience.

>>4455398
>IM A MASTER COSPLAYER BUT I WONT TELL YOU WHO I AM

lol yeah right. You're just another nobody that wants people on 4chan to think they're a big shot. Don't bother with your lame stories because no one is buying it.

>>4452265
I only started last year, and I've only been to one convention, andthe costume me and my friends made were both based on original characters from fan fiction, which doesn't count, for whatever stuipid reason.

Ironically, the only cosplay award I've ever won was actually for one of my terribad handsewn costumes. My newer, machine-made ones haven't won- but then again, I've only entered in a cosplay contest once since then, and it was at AX, which had pretty stiff competition. I should really consider entering something more local...

My 12th year cosplaying. Couple years back I didn't make anything new for a couple years, just pulling out old cosplays or wearing out the last couple cosplays I had made.

Which shows I'm lazy. And not THAT skilled. I just don't compete. Tried it a couple times, realized I need to REALLY up my game if I want to win stuff at the same time I realized I have enough fun just hanging out with my friends and others at a con without the competition angle.

But I totally compare my stuff with others doing the same characters, which gives me an ego boost everytime I perceive my cosplay as better in one aspect or another.

Oh wait, I have one some contests. But Suncoast Anime days don't count around here. First it was with my Edward cosplay, probably because of my automail. Another time in my older Ino cosplay (my hair REALLY being that long didn't hurt there). Yet another time I was asked to help judge. The final time I showed up late, but decided to wear my crappy Haruhi from Ouran cosplay anyways, and thus I won by default for even coming at all. Yeah, not alot of people tend to show up to these things here.

Because while I'm sitting around for hours for the masq I could be running around the con enjoying myself. Also Cosplay awards are really only good for internet dick waggling and I'm not very active in the community outside of /cgl/.

I don't win because I don't have the guts to enter a masc/costume contest.