Novice:

Technical:

• Maddi- Eidan from Homestuck
• Brianna-Eureka
• Hannah- Angewoman
• Kendra-  Game of Thrones
• Geena- CEil Phantomhive
• Niko- Adrian, Castlevania

Group:

• Dragon Age Ladieez, Merril, Abeline, Fem!Hawke

Solo:

• Rhiannon- Sakura, Tsubasa Chronicles

Open:

Tech:

• Abby- Alice
• Diana- Kakushi
• Tash- Gwendolyn
• Anita- Ohurua
• Paul-Gold

Group:

• Streaking and Flashing (Hetaher and Fiona)- Marudashi and Morudashi

Solo:

• Sylive- Rogue Trader Warhammer 40K

Best in Show:

• Kathy, Elf Mage, Dragon Age Origins.

But I’d also love to give a huge shout out to all those who competed! The standard and range of costumes as outstanding this year. I’ll try another thumbnail post with some more from Fraser’s photo series of the contestants :)

Sorry for the lack of photspamming, I promise I have bookmarks to go through and will post soon :)

Very soon will be some gifs/jpegs of some registration forms contestants have kindly allowed to be shared with the public :)  Please just use these as a start point to launch your own  ideas.

Also I will post the volunteer form as I think it explains a bit more why there are certain time rules in place and why the registration form is so very important.

Also a photo essay and follow up text from the Wellington Masterclass thanks to Fraser and Sylvie for being photographer and model respectively :) 

And there will be a general explanation of other rules as there is a bit of a misunderstanding of “making your own” costume and the shades of meaning people have inferred :0

Okay I keep forgetting I have a phone with a camera, but I did manage to grab two photos when I remembered.

If you were at the parade you’d have seen the gangsta Mario Borthers. Love seeing cosplay mashups. For the contest it would make it near impossible to judge without getting subjective (I try and keep it as objective as possible as I know how much can be and is invested in cosplaying) but I really do appreciate and admire folks who are willing to mix it up a little :) Nice to see it develop in NZ as I have seen it a lot in overseas convention photos.

Tomorrow is a quiet day for the contest, I totally understand why, but I encourage people to think about entering next year as the venue is lovely and spread out. As well as there being a dedicated cosplay judging room and lots of natural light in the upstairs area.

Well off to sleep and reread the entries again :) Looking forward to being able to really chat with the contestants tomorrow.

Whatever you prefer we are here :) Lovely judging room! It is upstairs it’s down a corridor with two animaion rooms (thay are all named “Thingy” 1,2,3- I am sorry it’s been One of Those Days (tm) ) but basically we are the third room of the three.

The masterclass is on stage two, it’s at the top of the area leading to the animation and cosplay rooms. It’s a wider ratehr than deep seating arrangement which is great as I don’t need to shout or maybe even not have to use the mic…. I do not have a camera so I don’t know if it will be recorded. Anyone free?

I have big and little guns, armour, a big axe. And it did all fit in my luggage, and is in total under 23 kg so all of it would fit on a plane :) So I feel happy that I was able to test my theory so readily :)

I will be on the shop floor in my Shae Vizla costume (medical droid, Girl Jango, Girl Fett….. ) tomorrow and rattling a can with the 501st to raise funds for Ronald MacDonald House near Starship. If you happen to be by, please make my trip home easier and donate notes ;) Shh that was not a cunning plan to get more money for them at all ;)

If you have any queries we will be available and the info booth is the place to leave the forms if you haven’t emailed them. No forms will be available on site, sorry otherwise there is a madder rush to trck down images that need to be provided in order to judge fairly. My memory, don’t rely on it for an obscure character from 10 years ago!

Forms will be collected at 4pm. Please do get them in :) They don’t need to be works of art the basics will do :)

So the forms should still be online to look at on the official Armageddon website so by now many contestants or portential contestants are working on their progects and their registration forms, including the documentation.

I thought a post dealing specifically with this would help as I know there is often a rush to get that information done at the last minute!

Yes there have been some magnificently detailed registrations forms (Paul I am looking at you, Team Rocket Fuel likewise, and the team of Half of CNZ!) however please be assured you do not *have* to provide quite as much information each time. If every contestant did so it’d be like me reading War and Peace in a day. 

So  quick guide on what you absolutely must have, what would be a help and what you don’t need to worry about :)

Must haves:

A list of all the materials you used. This is easier if you have a notebook or phone app so you can take notes as you collect them. A camera actually is about the best friend in the documentation process. I take photos of price tags and data sheets for in case I forget to write anything down.

A list of toolsused. You know what you used because you actually used it ;) Don’t try to take a photo of you working unles you have a tripod- safety first ;)

Reference images. These do help me of course but it is more important to know that you used these references. Sometimes references from a series of books (manga, graphic novel) show variations over time. I want to know what you used, not what I might have used.

Should haves

An easy to read format. pdf is perfect as it is cross platform and looks the same anywhere. Docs can be cpnverted to pdfs in one of my programs so if that is all you can do do not fear! It just means another five minutes or so and there will be more than one other to process at the same time ;)

Actual page layout and presentation is up to you. Some have used a diary format, some a recipe, some a University (science) paper. Just make sure your information is easy to find.

Lots of white space around important notes is good- please be aware of the sheer volume of test there is to read for each contest, anything to make the act of reading easier helps.

In progress photos go a long way to helping explain how you made your costume and props. Don’t be afraid of using them. 

Please go into some detail. “And then I sewed the sleeves and the skirt” is not really descriptive. If it is a sewn garment then that is a given. 

When in the judging room I’m looking at the end result of the techniques, it takes up precious time to try and identify those basic construction techniques when I’m looking at fit and finish as well. Let me know if the sewing was tricky because of corners or the fabric frayed etc etc.

Resources! Please explain if you used a website or book or video for a technique or inspiration.

Don’t worry about

If you are new to a technique or borrowed a tool from a friend/parent or found a mystery fabric don’t worry abpout not knowing what it is! Please do try to find out but as in the professional world sometimes you use something that is a one off and no one knows exactly what it is.

You should though be able to describe where you got it and what the properties are.

For example the material I used for my Sith Togruta skirt is a total mystery. It was dark warm green with a fine but rich texture that looks like a birds eye repeat. It crinkles very easily in the hand and dyed very easily so it appears to be a cotton/linen blend. I can’t name the material in terms of a specific weave nor can I know what the manufacturer called it as it was a remnants sale. I could get a ruler our and describe the weave in terms of threads per inch in both directions and number of threads over others…. but that is overkill for the contest! It’s what you need to be able to do to describe historic garments for a museum but not here ;)

Mistakes are part and parcel of the learning process! Being able to identify them shows a great understanding already. Put them in the registration form.

Humour is great, but don’t feel pressured to make your form an enjoyable read :) The form is a way of getting all that information sorted so you can gush about what you did in the judging room. 

And finally don’t stress about every little detail!!! Yes the judging room is where I get up close but it is always with an eye for appreciation. There are no marks taken off for a missing button or line of trim. Marks are only deducted for breaking rules. 

I think many judges around the world in professional and amateur contests see entries this way: outside in. Meaning fit and balance and over all scale are the first things we see, and then we can look at the details. The details fill in the over all picture. 

Also there is no one way to line or otherwise tidy the inside of a garment ;) I highly recommend reading a good book on the techniques you are using. Don’t use a dressmaking book for making uniforms and vice versa ;)

Find a couture technique book as you’ll find a lot of the little “cheats” you do are in there! 

If you are looking at doing electronics or casting or armour making please also read about what the professionals do. Combined with what you will find on forums etc you’ll have a better toolkit of ideas on how to get a project finished to what you specifically need. Conventions are a very different beast to a photoshoot or theatre or film.

So it’s the last few hours of 2011 and I just wanted to give a big thank you to all the contestants, all the volunteers and organisers and the adudiences both at the shows and online.

And I’ll leave you with the lyrics I did not get to at Auckland ;)

It well may be that we will never meet again in this lifetime,

So let me say before we part-

So much of me is made of what I’ve learned from you

You’ll be with me like a handprint on my heart.

— For Good, Wicked the musical.

I will be back for next year! And the masterclasses have been given approval by Bill, not sure if we will do them in Melbourne but if there is interest then yes.

So we have had confirmation for what events we will be involved in next year and so that will very soon be up on the website.

In the meantime we can share a quick summary:

Australia: Melbourne

New Zealand: Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch, Auckland

The parade and contest are of course going ahead but we also have been confirmed to be able to offer the masterclasses as an ongoing series XD This is awesome as we will have more time to prepare and time to ask what people want to see. I’m thinking we can tailor each panel to what the local community needs.

Please email armageddon.cosplay@gmail.com if you would like to help out with any or all of the above.

I’m also sorry for the lack of photospam. If you have links to galleries to share please do submit them. I am struggling with dial up speeds (two weekends of game betatesting might have something to do with lack of bandwidth….)

http://gallery.little-noise.com/main.php?g2_itemId=34464

So many, so pretty. Go look and fave them all now. Tumblr spam in 3…2….

http://cosplaynewzealand.forumotion.com/t11591-special-children-s-christmas-parties-nation-wide-do-good-deeds#457593

I thought I’d boost the signal :) If anyone does cosplay or costuming and would like to help out please let us know.

Best to reply at the forums but if you don’t have a login please try the facebook account or even here, or dm on twitter :) This is not official Armageddon Cosplay business however I think it is a good chance to give back.

The children are amazing and so appreciative of people coming along to make this day a bright and festive one. For some it will be the only bright day for quite a while.

All kinds of child friendly costumes are appreciated everything from sci-fi (The 501st and Rebel Legion will be making appearances) to historic (we had the SCA in non fancy pants gear and they were loved) to anime.

Sparkly princesses are in short supply especially.