We’re so excited to be hosting the Cosplay Masquerades at MegaCon Live London in just a few days! Now all of the entrants have submitted their applications, it’s time to announce the judges for the Sunday Cosplay Masquerade. We’ll be introducing one judge a day and you can meet all of them right here.
Announcing the third and final judge for the Sunday Cosplay Masquerade: ShadowBright Cosplay.
ShadowBright has been cosplaying for an astonishing twenty years. With a penchant for electronics, smoke machines, and sound effects, she is mostly known for her larger-than-life builds, including spirit blossom Lillia, and an 11ft-wide St. Celestine!
She has loved watching the community change and grow in the last two decades, and now dedicates a large chunk of her time to passing along her experience. “I got my start in costumes at the recommendation of a therapist,” she explains. “They saw cosplay as a tool to make events and social situations accessible for someone with my particular disabilities – I rolled very low for my constitution stats!”
A self-professed foamsmith at heart, ShadowBright has built an impressive arsenal of skills, and the sheer variety of techniques it takes to make a cosplay has ensured she’s never become bored of the hobby. “Over the two decades I’ve been crafting, I’ve used anything and everything: from papermache and spray foam, to the high-end, cosplay specific materials we have access to now. Over the past year I’ve been mostly working on really improving my wig styling, and making wigs from scratch, which has been a very interesting process.”
She explains that most of her competition experience comes from her home country of the Netherlands, before she moved to the UK. Her favourite and most memorable win was at Elfia. Participating in competitions has taught her to split her cosplay wardrobe into ‘just for fun’ and ‘competition-worthy’ sections. “It’s so easy to be swept up into pressuring yourself to constantly create bigger and better costumes, and I’ve seen some amazing cosplayers burn out of the hobby permanently. Creating balance when building a competition piece, with a fun and silly little side project, is some of the best advice I’ve ever been given.”
The most important piece of her own advice that ShadowBright can give is to practice your pre-judging: “You get mere minutes to tell us about a cosplay you spent months making, so you’ll have to get through a lot of information fast. If I don’t know if you made the corset underneath your ballgown, or if you hand-dyed your fabric, I can’t judge it or give you the credit you deserve for it!”
