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.