Behind the Curtain: I make costumes for characters that don’t have any reference photos. Do I have any hope of ever winning a major award?

‘Behind the Curtain’ is a bi-weekly advice column written by masquerade judges answering anonymous questions from the community. These columns are written with the perspective of how Guild run competitions are, and may not apply to non-Guild run contests. Our column is built on your questions, there is a form to submit your question anonymously at the footer of every column!

Sometimes the character we want to cosplay doesn’t have any visual references. This might be the case if the character originates from a book or results from a unique mashup of two characters. It could also occur when cosplaying an original character, such as a D&D character from a campaign or one from your own imaginative world. Regardless of the cause, sometimes a visual reference just doesn’t exist.

Creativity is a huge aspect of Cosplay, and goes hand in hand with craftsmanship. Many competitions judge craftsmanship based awards with accuracy as one of the elements, which can leave one wondering how they can score points in accuracy without a reference for judges to compare to. Some competitions though, like Guild of Nerds ran ones, judge a cosplay on accuracy or creativity.

In either case though, you can still win points in accuracy or creativity even with an original design or character if you can show what inspired you and how you worked off that inspiration.

What sets Cosplay apart?

Before we get much deeper, I think we should establish what makes cosplay different from simple fashion design. Cosplay Competitions are not fashion shows even if they sometimes resemble one, so lets make sure your original design is still cosplay!

What sets Cosplay apart from the realm of fashion design and simple costume creation is the character behind the costume. While cosplay involves crafting costumes, at its core, cosplay is about much more than simply making garments.

One of the defining characteristics of cosplay is the commitment to bringing a fictional character to life. It goes beyond fashioning an outfit, and is about embodying a character and understanding their persona, quirks and story, and conveying this on a visual and emotional level. The character is at the center of cosplay.

By comparison, fashion design typically focuses on creating clothing or accessories for their aesthetic appeal. General costumeing work is closer to cosplay, but often based around replicating a certain look based on culture, region or other such factors. When you cosplay, you’re not simply donning a piece of clothing, you’re stepping into the shoes of a character.

This is what makes it a compelling and deeply creative pursuit. It’s not about making outfits; it’s about making character connections. When you create and wear an original character cosplay, you’re designing and crafting the physical representation of a character who lives solely in your imagination.

While crafting a cosplay for a character without reference photos may present its own challenges, it’s also an opportunity to showcase the essence of the character, the depth of your creativity and your ability to bring them to life in a way that is uniquely cosplay. Winning major awards with original characters is not only possible, but it’s a celebration of the limitless boundaries of your imagination and craft.

The Concept and Progress Book

Before you start crafting, you should make sure you have a clear concept in mind. Sketches and inspiration boards are your friend, and can be brought into the progress book or build book. If it’s a mashup of two characters then include some reference images that show what elements you took of each design.

For characters that are from written media, take a look at fan art. You should confirm it the artist is okay with their work being used as inspiration for cosplay, and if they are okay with it, you can use those images as references.

If you’re creating an entirely original character, try to create a mini board of some inspiration images. I’ve included my mini board for a project that definitely isn’t cosplay, but is the inspiration for an original costume I’m planning.

This could be what your references page looks like in your build or progress book. A collage of images that inspired your cosplay.

Another option is the inspiration images you used as the basis for individual elements of the cosplay.

Once again, this isn’t a cosplay, but here is an example of the image that I used as inspiration for this split riding skirt I made for a Wild West LARP. I could include this image in my references for the trousers of this look if I were creating a build or progress photo.

Written text in your progress or build book can also be valuable for showing accuracy to the character you are cosplaying in your costuming choices.

This cosplay wouldn’t qualify for a Craftsmanship contest, as I didn’t make it, just bought elements for the cosplay, but it is a character that doesn’t have an official reference as it’s based on a book character.

An example of what I might write about this cosplay in a progress book is:

“Silena Beauregard is a character from the Percy Jackson books. She is a demigod daughter of Aphrodite. In the books she has an affinity for Pegasuses, so I included a pegasus pendant necklace. Within the books she has a plot relevant charm bracelet, so I included that element along with an assortment of friendship bracelets to blend with the charm bracelet.”

photo is by @hahex.arw

More information about individual choices would be good- and as always, pictures with minimal text tend to be the best choice for build books for readability sake.

Setting yourself up for success

When deciding on where to enter your original character or design, read the contest rules carefully. Some contests do not allow original characters to be entered. Try and find out how the scoring is weighted and if accuracy is a part of judging. This will either be in the contest info, or you can ask the contest organiser.

Guild Tip: Guild ran competitions, like the MegaCon Live Masquerades allow original characters to be entered, and our craftsmanship categories judge on accuracy or creativity. Our judges are trying to award as many points as they can, and will judge on either accuracy, creativity or a mix of the two depending on which is more beneficial for the cosplay.

Make sure you put thought into the stage presentation of your cosplay. Judges don’t always know the source material, even for cosplays with references, so the key thing they are looking for is that you are representing a character. Think about how your performance relates narratively to the character you are cosplaying. If you are doing a walk on and pose performance or choreographed walk on, think about what poses or movements you’ll make to represent the character.

Final thoughts-

Cosplaying an original character won’t hold you back from winning a major award. Select competitions that allow original characters to be entered. Competitions that judge on creativity or a mixed model of creativity/accuracy is going to suit original characters better.

Don’t skip the references portion of your build book, but adapt it to highlight the creativity side of your cosplay. Include concept sketches, inspiration photos, or written information about your crafting decisions that are based in the character you are cosplaying.

Make sure you are thinking about how you are going to portray a distinct character on stage. Judges should be able to tell that you are representing a character. Presentation is big aspect of competitions.

Crafting an original character cosplay without references can be a challenge, but this journey isn’t just about creating costumes; it’s about weaving stories and breathing life into characters who exist solely in your imagination. It’s about presenting your creations with unmatched creativity and dedication. And it’s about stepping onto that stage with the power to mesmerize the audience and judges with your storytelling and character embodiment.

Winning major awards with original character cosplays is not a distant dream; it’s a testament to your ingenuity, perseverance, and your remarkable ability to turn a blank canvas into a masterpiece. So, embrace the challenge, treasure the process, and believe in your power to bring your characters to life, because in the world of cosplay, anything is possible.