Cosplay contests have different categories to compete in for skill level and types of cosplays. It’s important to be aware of these before choosing to participate so you can best understand where your costume fits in. If you’ve been wondering what are the divisions in cosplay contests, the following should help guide you to compete in the category that best fits you.
Cosplay Contest Skill Level Divisions
The skill level of a cosplayer is important to note since it’ll help ensure you compete against someone you’re well matched to. Otherwise you’d have beginners to the contest circuit going up against veteran competitors.
- Youth: Contests that allow children under the age 13 to compete get their own categories. Minors don’t compete against adults and thus they have their own youth division.
- Novice: If you’re new to cosplay competitions, then this division is for you. Cosplayers that fit this class typically haven’t competed much if at all and may even still be new to craftmanship as well. Novice competitors haven’t won previous awards yet either.
- Journeyman or advanced: These are for slightly more seasoned cosplayers who have competed a few times already and have more background in crafting. They may have won a few awards by this point as well.
- Master or craftsman: This division is for more veteran cosplayers. They’re much more advanced with crafting cosplays and have done quite a bit of competing already. They also might have a collection of awards won too.
Cosplay Contest Categories
Depending on how big a contest is they may also have categories you can specifically compete in. This focuses on how you went about crafting cosplays like sewing or foam armors. The following are just a few examples of the categories a cosplay contest might have.
- Needlework: This category will focus on sewing cosplays. It’s often without foamsmithing but can have embroidery and embellishing involved.
- Armor: Now we’re in the foam category. If you make cosplays from EVA foam or other common materials for armor creation then you will fall into this category. You probably kept sewing to a minimum if you participate here.
- FX: If you’re all about unique mediums and pioneering new techniques, you fall under this category. Typically FX encompasses something not so typical of cosplay crafting with special effects such as smoke or lights, but it isn’t just limited to that. The only limit on this division is your imagination.
- Larger than life: Cosplays that are considered “larger than life” typically means it extends a certain amount past limbs and body to make your costume quite massive. Competing in this category can be seen as very epic but quite difficult since you want your massive cosplay to still be able to move around with your body and traveling for this category can get quite expensive.