Teen Cosplay Contest & Mini-Con

12:00 PM -3:00 PM on Saturday, June 15th

Show your stuff as a cosplayer! Both competitors and folks that want to pretend that they're at a real anime convention are welcome at this event. There will be activities, entertainment, photo ops, and snacks for competitors and bystanders!

Cosplay contest rules:

Competitors must be aged 12-17 on the day of the competition.

Registration for the contest starts five minutes before the event (11:45 AM). Registration spots are limited, so please arrive early and wait in line if you are dedicated to competing. 

Costumes must be at least 75% handmade by the contestant.

This means that the costume must be mostly made/heavily modified by the contestant. For example, store-bought off-the-rack Spider-Man costumes are not eligible for this competition. If you start with a plain red bodysuit and do all the Spider-Man designs on it yourself, you will be eligible to compete.

Documentation of the creation process is welcome but not required.

Competitors must self-select into either the Novice or Advanced categories. Novices are best described as people who are making a cosplay and/or competing for the first time. Advanced cosplayers have made multiple cosplays from scratch before or have competed in a cosplay contest before.

Contestants will be judged on construction, finishing, creativity, and presentation.

There will be a costume walk as part of the judging process (no skits). You will be asked to walk out on the stage and strike a pose, but you will not be required to do any public speaking!

Winners must be present at the time that the winners are announced to receive their prizes, otherwise the prize will go to the next present runner-up.

Dangerous props, such as swords or knives with metal blades, will not be allowed.

Cosplays of characters not from video games or anime are also welcome.

The first-place prize for the Novice category is two badges to the Greater Austin Comic Con, and the first prize for the Advanced Category is two badges to DreamCon!

Activities provided by LionHeart Hobby.

Cosplay resources:

New to cosplay? Here's some advice for beginners! 

First of all, you don't have to physically resemble a character to cosplay them. Cosplayers of all sizes, shapes, and ethnicities can choose any character. Second, your main enemy in cosplay is budget. This means you'll have to do a bit of planning and research to figure out what you'll be able to achieve. Third, the most important element of cosplay is creativity! Having a small or nonexistent budget doesn't mean that you can't cosplay. Using items that you already have in the house can go a long way.

If you're nervous about competing, bring some friends to hype you up!

Finally, the library has several books available for checkout on cosplay, sewing, costuming, and more. Search keywords on our catalog.

Please send all questions about this event to jcardenas@cityofkyle.com.