We’re so excited to be hosting the Cosplay Masquerades at MegaCon Live London in just a few short weeks! Now all of the entrants have submitted their applications, it’s time to announce the judges for the weekend. We’ll be introducing one judge a day and you can meet all of them right here.
Announcing the first judge for the Saturday Cosplay Masquerade: Kerberos Cosplay.
“It really feels like cosplay has been with me for my whole life, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!”
Caelan, known as Kerberos, started cosplaying when he was just twelve years old, starting with altering clothes before venturing into prop making, and finally sewing costumes from scratch. “Every time I wear something I’ve made I still get that moment of ‘Wow, I made this?‘”, he says. “There’s a certain thrill in knowing that without you, that prop or garment wouldn’t exist in the world, and it’s only by your hands and mind that it came to be.”
One of the things Caelan loves most about cosplay is the wide variety of skills it develops, and the ability to work on a project where every creative decision is your own: “I can’t choose whether I prefer prop-making or sewing! I almost always have one of each kind of project running at the same time, so I can swap between textiles and 3D media when I feel like it.”
Caelan has been trying to re-wear costume pieces and use more sustainable materials in his costumes over the past few years. “As much as I love EVA foam and Worbla, they are really not good for the planet. Last year, I made Edmund’s crown from the Chronicles of Narnia entirely out of old coffee boxes and it was really fun to transform something I would have thrown away into something fit for a king.”
“I love to cosplay characters that make me feel more like myself; cosplay is my way of exploring different parts of who I am. I might be a pirate, a knight and a wizard all in one weekend, but through all of it, it’s still me!”
Since 2021, Caelan has entered six competitions, winning multiple awards including a Judges’ Choice (Laudna, Critical Role) and Best Costume (Orym, Critical Role) at MCM, but the award he is most proud of is 2nd place at the 2023 UK Qualifier for the Crown Championships of Cosplay with his Percival de Rolo costume, which was entirely based on 18th century men’s clothing.
Looking back at his first competition in 2021, Caelan remembers exactly how he felt: “I was so nervous I’m sure the audience could see my lip trembling! I think I might have chickened out if it wasn’t for the incredible group of people I met backstage.” The camaraderie of the backstage experience was infectious, and now one of Caelan’s favourite parts of competitions is hyping everyone up to ensure they have just as good a time as he did at his first show. “I have met my closest friends through cosplay and competing,” he says fondly, “and that has pushed me to become a better maker and a better person.”
Competing in cosplay has developed his confidence, and pushed him to become a better craftsman than he ever thought himself capable, explaining that he uses the goal of entering a competition as his reason to ensure he sees a cosplay through to the end, without cutting any corners, and making it as good as it possibly can be. Now he’s looking forward to his first experience of sitting on the other side of the table as a judge. His key piece of advice to entrants? “Your best is all you need to do.”
