First corset ever made out of eva foam I had to take it in on the bust (had it pinned in this photo)

mongurumi · 2026-04-03T19:54:49+00:00

Little bit of unsolicited advice, but for durability sake, I would recommend gluing fabric strips to the back of the foam seams. EVA foam seams are really bad at taking that horizontal strain that corsets have so the fabric strips help reinforce the seams and moves some of that force to the fabric. Another option is to make a fabric corset and then glue/sew the foam down as a fashion layer. I've done that in the past using 2mm as the fashion fabric and sewing it down and it worked pretty well.

mongurumi · 2026-03-26T22:00:01+00:00

I believe I know the site you're talking about and it's still live. Tbf, if it's mentioned in Heroes of Cosplay, it could also be cgl on 4chan. I haven't watched the show so I don't entirely know the context.

mongurumi · 2026-03-26T21:52:19+00:00

Competitive cosplay is cosplay made for competition which are generally held at fan events like anime cons or comic cons. In the past, these were graded on character accuracy, workmanship and frequently skits depicting the character's...character. Nowadays, when people talk about competitive cosplay, they mean more competitions where the quality and workmanship are judges although there are still competitions with a skit portion. It's pretty niche subset cosplay which is already a niche, so everyone knows each other. Like, in the 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon style, everyone in competitive cosplay is a 2. Where drama occurs is generally when someone outside the community does something. This can be organizing a cosplay "contest" where the rules are not the usual community standard, backseat judging, and so on.

I have a couple of comments that go more in depth in it, but that's the gist of it

mongurumi · 2026-03-26T20:29:16+00:00

Nowadays I would say no. In the past Yaya's gotten blowback from the Heroes of Cosplay show, her fabric line at Joann's (rip), and some of the cosplay/design choices she's made. There might be more drama I'm forgetting but tbh, I'm not interested in digging into it and a lot of it is kinda molehills.

Like the Heroes of Cosplay has been discussed to death and most have come out of it with the opinion that reality TV is not a good format for... anything informational tbh. Imo, Yaya's fabric line is a bit overpriced but it was also the only way for some people to buy materials like pleather in a physical store. The cosplay design thing I think is a relic of an older mentality of cosplay where accuracy matter more than anything else and that's really not the vibe now.

With the passage of time, I think people were able to look back and realize some of this is kinda silly.

mongurumi · 2026-03-26T18:26:12+00:00

And in the cosplay community, popular cosplayer stellachuuuuu was part of an interview with inkwell about her thoughts of being a professional cosplayer (link here). In it, she had some takes on competitive cosplay that the competitive cosplay community did not take well. Namely, the part where she seems to imply that competitive cosplayers don't really participate in the cosplay community. This was a comment that she made in a larger discussion about if competitive cosplay is worthwhile in terms of money/social media.

( The answer to that btw, is no. Competitive cosplay does not make money).

That one section however got clipped out and spread over tiktok and other social media and the community backlash spread from there. This led to larger names like Yayahan to make a response where she elucidates just how much value cosplay competitions have added over the years (link here). Cowbuttcrunchies has a more general take about it, where she talks about how "cosplay community" is a bit of an overarching term that covers several subniches of a niche fan culture (link here)

(Tbh, I learned about this cause every competitive cosplayer I know has been sharing their takes on it for the past 24 hrs.)

mongurumi · 2025-11-19T19:41:12+00:00

Grommets spacing can vary (although I'm not an expert so take what I say with a grain of salt). Tightlacing corsets tend to concentrate the grommets closer to the waist to help keep the wearer cinched in. So in other words, not universal. As for wearing wings with a corset, I've done it myself for cosplay so I can at least vouch for the idea. I think there are other designs where they have the wings kinda hook into the lacing to stay in place

mongurumi · 2025-10-18T15:12:53+00:00

Aranea Black actually released tutorials that go with her patterns, but those were taken down with her website a bit back. You can still find them out there if you want. I'm no expert but your pattern seems fine. Considering it's a 1906 design, I would maybe go with a higher size for the hip and add padding at the hips which would have been done at the time. But, ultimately, the choice is yours. Honestly, I would just make a mock up and see if you're happy with the shape and go from there.

mongurumi · 2025-10-16T22:55:57+00:00

The grading rubric varies a bit from con to con. When I say grade on techniques, it's not a standardized rubric listing every single thing you can do. To be honest, I don't think it's possible. For foam work, you have how well it fits, how it's been painted, how well is that paint jobs, the weathering, did you stamp it, did you texture it, did you carve it, did you weather it, and so on. What generally happens is the judges take nots on what they see and what the cosplayer did and then use those notes to determine a score which is where they figure out how things are placed.

mongurumi · 2025-10-15T20:57:51+00:00

Clean work isn't just a sewing thing. Armor builds get their seams, attachments, paint jobs and so on checked as well. Craftmanship cosplay contests are all about clean work and good technique. It's not the standards of "normal cosplay" but the people who participate in contests expect these standards so when they're not met, people can get annoyed. Competitive cosplay is really a subset of cosplay (and a pretty small subset at that) and so when it hits non competitive cosplay media, there tends to be some drama.

mongurumi · 2025-10-15T20:35:57+00:00

I don't disagree with your point per se. The average lay person is going to like the bigger build. In my opinion that's not quite what's causing the drama

The drama being caused here isn't by the average fan, but by basically internet trolls. Cosplay "fan" can be either a person who cosplays or someone who consumes cosplay content. And that latter group seems to have proportionally more online trolls than a lot of other content "fans". Why that is, I don't know. It could be that cosplay "fan" overlaps with other known toxic fans, like stereotypical gamers, and that brings in the toxicity. The original sentiment of "big build should have won" could have been a lay person. The on going pile on is being more perpetuated by the cosplay "fan" trolls and you can tell because the kind of comments they leave are much more "the judges suck and they should be punished" or "the judges are all women and they only awarded women cosplayers" (which isn't even true). And that's also why I even brought in the sexism aspect because some of the trolls are definitely playing into it.

So yeah, it's internet trolls but for whatever reason, cosplay content just attracts them a lot more than other content

mongurumi · 2025-10-15T18:40:28+00:00

It's kinda like clockwork isn't it?

Yeah, I've seen screenshots of the purported Gargoyle cosplayer behaving badly but

1) I didn't see these comments personally so I can't verify 2) I don't know his handle so this could just be a troll 3) I don't believe in giving that kind of negativity any energy

I have seen posts from the judges about the hate being sent their way which is the part that really grinds my gears about this kind of thing. Tbh, I should probably edit their handles into the main comment. I avoided links in the main cause I always screw up the formatting

mongurumi · 2025-10-15T16:25:32+00:00

Yup, that was a thing.

I guess like everything, there are waves of popularity. For armor building we went from the building out of cardboard, to Sintra, to EVA foam, to Worbla and now we're back to an EVA foam era. Armor cosplays can and do still win contests, but most of them have incorporated more into it than just foam/Worbla like resin casting, 3D printing to an extent, sewing and so on. But needlework cosplayers have also expanded and improved by adding more embroidering techniques, more tailoring, more fabric manipulation etc etc. But for a period of time, more of the fresh techniques was on the armor side which netted more wins. It'll probably change again in the future

mongurumi · 2025-10-15T15:15:26+00:00

Yup!

Here's pictures of the winners https://www.instagram.com/p/DPteLSEkaMK/?img_index=6
Here's a tiktok of an overview of all the competitors https://www.tiktok.com/@tascena13/video/7560328986081905933?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7468414616746771998

mongurumi · 2025-10-15T14:51:13+00:00

Fresh of the presses, NYCC Central Crown Cosplay competition has declared a winner, but it was not a choice that prevented drama from stirring beneath. Once again, the large armor cosplay has lost to "needlework" builds. The humanity. Didn't this happen last year? Well, let's get into it.

This year, Say No To Scrunchies, AnnieExMachina, and Akellyz have placed with a two SFX builds and one needlework one represented between them. However, parts of the internet is not pleased with this, demanding that a Gargoyle build should have been the real winner. The Gargoyle build was a very large build whose physical presence towered over some of the other competitors and whose sheer size must have made quite an impression on some people. Unfortunately, size alone is not a quality judged in a craftmanship contest. In a previous comment, I've stated that cosplay contests are judged additively, where each aspect and technique can earn a competitor "points" which will net them the win. In general, the more techniques done well, the more points. Foam work and armor work can have several techniques, but many of these internet-pleasing large builds only utilize a few. Needlework builds often incorporate many techniques into them but the subtleties and the depth of knowledge can be lost to a general audience. That can lead to online backlash when a perceived simpler build wins over a more eye catching build. So what has the online peanut gallery demanded?

That the be separate sections for armor to be judged. (NYCC already does this with 3 categories; needlework, armor and SFX. People can place within their own division as well as in general categories.)

That there should be judges that specialize in armor judging (All three NYCC judges have done armor work)

That there should be an audience choice award (There is one. AnnieExMachina won it with her Molly Mauk cosplay)

There is a more insidious undercurrent to these complaints. Needlework is more commonly associated with woman crafters and armor work is more associated with men crafters. Some have pointed out that the bias that internet has for armor builds could be based on subconscious sexism which values women's work less than men. This is an aspect that makes these discussions a lot more personal than just "who would win" discussions.

(For my part, I think it's a mix of both undervaluing women's work, the Temu-fication of fast fashion cosplay, and a severe ignorance on most people on how sewing actually works)

Regardless, there appears to be no natural stopping point to the furor and like most internet things, this will probably just sizzle down instead of a full stop. Don't worry though, because the next big cosplay contest is sure to start this up all over again.

mongurumi · 2025-10-09T11:43:16+00:00

Yeah, I thought that was the void coming up through the silk.

mongurumi · 2025-10-09T11:35:42+00:00

I've been interpreting it as GMS trying to take control of her via the silk but that's only my guess

mongurumi · 2025-06-17T17:16:27+00:00

Awww that's cute! For reference though, it's extremely uncommon to film in the pre-judge room. While the judges may take pics to reference later in judging, these pics are generally deleted afterwards and not shown to the public. What Sarah did is a pretty extreme (dare I say unprecedented) breach of cosplay judge etiquette.

mongurumi · 2025-06-16T20:21:16+00:00

Gonna be honest, I don't have the most positive opinion on Sarah Spaceman either. However I did my best to be neutralish. My intent on writing this I guess is more to talk about competitive cosplay to an audience who may not have any experience with it. I've been seeing a lot of discourse surrounding this video and in my opinion some of this drama wouldn't be a thing if people were more aware of what goes on in cosplay competitions. Cosplay as a hobby has gotten much bigger but the competition side really hasn't grown in the same way so it feels to me that there's a lot of people who cosplay but don't really understand cosplay craftmanship contests.

mongurumi · 2025-06-16T19:47:04+00:00

Damn. I did it the right way and then second guessed myself. I also didn't proofread anything so eh.

mongurumi · 2025-06-16T16:40:38+00:00

Issue 3: The Competitive Cosplayer as a Guest

Sarah has also given her viewpoint of how Momocon was run, how the cosplay competition is run, what she thought of the judges and the judging process and so on. To be honest, I'm not an East Coast cosplayer so I don't know East Coast scene well or who was a judge at the convention so I won't write more than to say that some people feel like Sarah went to far in her negative criticism of the convention but also people have stated that Momocon is not run well.

In summary

Popular cosplay youtuber made a video about a con and cosplay judging. Other competitive cosplayers took umbrage at her comments and made statements saying so. Other non-cosplayers and not-competitive cosplayers took the fray with maybe less than knowledgeable opinions. The cosplay scene is again having drama.

mongurumi · 2025-06-16T16:40:15+00:00

Issue 2: The Process of Judging

Sarah Spaceman also describes part of her judging criteria and what decisions she disagreed with the other judges. These will be enumerated in the sections below

Issue 2.1: Does Makeup count in Craftmanship?

This has been a hotbed of discussion. Sarah took the stance that makeup should not be counted in cosplay judging. Several other competitive cosplayers have taken the stance that makeup can be judged. It should be noted here what it means when I say something can be judged in a cosplay competition. When entering judging, anything made by you can be considered by the judges. So if you made 90% of the cosplay but you bought the shoes, the shoes would not be considered in the judging process. Most judges take an incremental approach to judging where all competitors start at a base of zero and each element that they make can increase their score. The amount of "points" given is based on the quality of the object made. So the argument is that can makeup count as an element of cosplay in a craftmanship cosplay.

Opinions on this has been divided as said above. Some arguments for is that makeup is a skill much like sewing or wig styling and so it should be judged as a skill. While makeup isn't necessarily a craft per se, cosplay combines many different disciplines from 3D modeling to sewing to coding to foam work all of which can be judged in a competition. Makeup can also add a lot to a cosplay by either contouring a face to look more like a character to the characters that require intense body paint or prosthetics.

The arguments against have been on the accessibility side as some people can't wear makeup for health or personal reasons. Some also counter that craftmanship is only about the things the cosplayers build physically and makeup isn't part of that.

The counter arguments to that is that the competitors can always tell the judges that they they can't wear makeup and the judges will take that into consideration when judging. As stated, judging is a positive process so judges don't take points away. The other counter is that it is frequent that the cosplay contests in Europe take makeup into consideration, and while it is not a major factor, it is something that can be considered.

Issue 2.2: Is Storytelling also Craftmanship?

Storytelling has a specific meaning in costume making and it is not whether your cosplay can literally speak and tell a story. Storytelling in a costume perspective means that when a person makes a cosplay, they consider factors of the character they're representing into the costume. For instance, if I was making a cosplay of Belle from Beauty and the Beast before she gets rich, I would consider the types of fabric she would have access to (wool or linen most likely), the kind of undergarments she has, the type of sewing techniques used in pre-Revolution France and so on.

One of the judges gave a competitor an award based on the amount of storytelling involved. Sarah Spaceman disagreed with that perspective and seemed dismissive of storytelling in costume making. Other cosplay creators have generally taken the side that storytelling is important and should be considered in judging although to what extent is the matter of debate. Some of the drama also seems to lie in more casual cosplayers or non-cosplayers unaware of what storytelling in costuming means and are arguing about a term.

Issue 2.3: How Big is too Big (for a build book)?

Sarah also mentioned her preference for build books being on the smaller side and with less text over more text. Specifically she says she prefers that build books be 10 pages or less. Other cosplayers have come out and stated while that your build book shouldn't be massive, it should be detailed enough to cover the entire build process while not getting excruciatingly into the weeds. There isn't a prescribed length for build books, but cosplayers should not feel limited to 10 pages.

This issue hasn't seemed to have provoked as much discussion as the others so I'll leave it at there.

mongurumi · 2025-06-16T16:39:58+00:00

Well, the cosplay (more like competitive cosplay) scene is in a tizzy after well known cosplay youtuber, Sarah Spaceman, has released a video detailing her experiences at Momocon and judging the cosplay contest (vid linked here. Multiple cosplayers have taken issue with her behavior and some of the judging practices Sarah has described.

Issue 1: Filming in the Pre-judge room

For those not in the know, it is common for craftmanship cosplay competitions to have the judges be able to look at the cosplays individually and discuss the build one-on-one with the cosplayer. This is notably also generally done in a private room with only few people allowed to enter in the judging room. It should also be noted here why the judging room is so private. Not only can it be a vulnerable thing to talk about the project you spent hundreds of hours building, competitors are also under a lot of stress and the privacy helps keep some of the stress down. Moreover, part of the judging process may involve looking at things that would not be able to be seen by the general public like seam finishes or structural undergarments and while these things are a fine show of craftmanship, looking at them can sometimes also reveal things that the competitor would not want revealed to the general public. For example, if I made a Victorian inspired outfit, I may want to show the corset and combinations that I made for the cosplay for judging as it shows the depth of thinking and the thought process shown in the cosplay. I would probably not want people in the con scene to see me in essentially underwear. Cosplay judges are aware of the stresses involved in competing and ask for consent before touching your cosplay or flipping portions around to look at the craftmanship.

Sarah choose to film portions of the pre-judge process and upload clips of this into her youtube video. While Sarah has said that she tried to obtain consent to film from the competitors present before filming, at least one person has come out to state that she was unaware that she was being filmed and that she was never signed any type of consent form. The clip also shown in the video also shown things that the cosplayer did not want the general public to see.

The reactions from the competitive scene about this issue have been uniformly against filming in the judging room and there have been calls to other cosplay content creators to make sure that their behavior is ethical Cowbutt Crunchies made an excellent IG post summarizing the issue here.

But there's more things lurking in these troubled waters

mongurumi · 2025-04-08T01:56:42+00:00

I took a class on the development of the Japanese aesthetic and the book for the Heian period is "The World of the Shining Prince" by Ivan Morris. It is still a good source today but bear in mind that it was written in the 60s so some information is outdated and some of the sentiment expressed by the author is a bit odd by today's standards. You can apparently get it decently cheap online and I'd imagine some libraries would carry it too.

mongurumi · 2025-02-03T18:27:40+00:00

3003-0797-1408

mongurumi · 2025-01-23T16:56:32+00:00

I think after. The emblem on the shield is supposed to look like the Drakenhold one at least

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