Cosplay Costumes eligible for judging in the Western Influence Craftsmanship category are based on characters that are not associated with Asian culture. This includes animation, comics, films, and video games (e.g. Avatar, DC and Marvel Comics, Halo, etc.). cosplay must be at least 75% original creation. Please see the Craftsmanship Competition Regulations for details.

cosplay

Original Design

Costumes eligible in Original Design category are of the cosplayer’s original design. Costumes can be based on either Asian culture, such as an original Gothic Lolita outfit, or be of Western influence, such as a custom World of Warcraft character. Costumes must be at least 75% original creation. Please see the Craftsmanship Competition Regulations for details.

Found-Item

A costume is eligible for judging in the Found-Item category if less than 75% of the costume is original creation. Please see the Craftsmanship Competition Regulations for details. Note: Cosplay outfits which have been commissioned are prohibited.

Budget Cosplay

A costume is eligible for judging in the Budget Cosplay category if the creator was able to put together the entire anime cosplay for $20 or less. Original creation restrictions do not apply, though outfits which have been commissioned are prohibited.

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•Created from scratch using fabric

•Generic in nature

•Modified from pre-existing materials

Cosplay costumes are not considered to be an “original creation” if more than 25% of the outfit’s articles fit the following criteria:

•Personally commissioned specifically for cosplay purposes,

•Purchased specifically as a cosplay sale or replica item

•Purchased items with no modifications

Wigs are considered an article of your cosplay. A wig which requires modifications in the form of styling, cutting, dying, etc. is considered an “original creation”. Short, unaltered wigs of natural colors are items not specifically designed for cosplay use and fit under the “original creation” rules.

Final Fantasy XII received universally high scores, and earned numerous awards in various categories from noted video game publications. Selling more than two million copies in Japan, it became the fourth best-selling PlayStation 2 game of 2006 worldwide. As of March 2007, the game has shipped over 5.2 million copies worldwide. A sequel, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, was released for the Nintendo DS in 2007.

zodiac-spear

If you’ve been playing Final Fantasy cosplay series on your PS2 for a while, you must have had the urge of upgrading your characters’ weapons as soon as possible. Having the ultimate weapons is a dream for every Final Fantasy player. Although it is not crucial in winning the game, it just feels great to have the best weapon for every character so that killing every enemy will be a breeze. In Final Fantasy 12, the last installment of the series on PS2, the strongest weapon happens to be a spear named the Zodiac Spear.

There are two ways to obtain this cosplay weapon. One method can be used to obtain it at quite an early stage of the game, while the other requires you to wait a bit longer.

For the first method of obtaining the Zodiac Spear cosplay costumes, there is a rule that you have to follow or else you this method will not work. You must not open four specific chests from the beginning of the game until reaching the Necrohol of Nabudis where the spear is located. The four chests are:

1. The chest in front of Old Dalan’s place at the southern end of Rabanastre Lowtown.

2. The chest in the Rabanastre Palace Cellar. Do not open the one at the southeast corner of the map. There will be either one or two chests that may appear there. To be safe, don’t open any of them.

3. The chest in the room at Nalbina Dungeons where you regain all your equipment back. There are more than one chest in the room so to be safe, just don’t open any of them.

4. The chest at the eastern-most section of the Phon Coast. There are 16 chests there arranged neatly near the shore. Don’t open any of them.

After you’ve resisted the urge to open these chests, the next is finding the Zodiac Spear which is located in the Necrohol of Nabudis. At the early stage of the game, do not fight any of the enemy here or you’ll die instantly. The strategy is to run as fast as you can while evading any of the attacks.

Once you enter the Necrohol of Nabudis, run for your life until you reach the Cloister of the Highborn. You can check the map to know where you are. From where you come in, take a right turn and then the next left. Run along a corridor heading north then take the first left. There should be 16 chests in this room, one of which contains the Zodiac Spear. The Zodiac Spear chest is the second chest from the left in the first row. If the spear is not there, you must have opened any of the forbidden chest mentioned earlier.

Remember, this is a one time opportunity only. If you have opened any of the chest mentioned before, you will never get the Zodiac Spear this way.

The other way of getting the Zodiac Spear is extremely difficult and time consuming as you rely on the chances of the Zodiac Spear appears in a chest in Henne Mines. The chest has a 10 percent chance to spawn, a 10 percent chance to contain an item and 10 percent chance to contain the Zodiac Spear. So theoretically, you’re facing a 1/1000 chance of getting the Zodiac Spear from the chest.

If you’re the unlucky ones to miss the first method, then what you need to do is to defeat 10 espers and complete the Mineflayer hunt. Then speak to the Geomancer in Jahara to have someone open up a secret area in Henne Mines. Get to the Phase 2 Dig area and look for an area not shown on the map. The chest can either be there or not. If it’s there, equip diamond armlet before you open it to be able to get the Zodiac Spear.

The software is intended for professional cosplay musicians as well as light computer music users and has so far sold on the idea that the only limits are the users’ own skills. Japanese musical group Supercell have featured Vocaloid as vocals in their songs, and record labels in Japan also have released compilation albums featuring Vocaloids.

Vocaloid

Miku Hatsune, for example, is one of the most popular Vocaloids to date and is pictured as a young girl with long blue pigtails cosplay costumes. Prior to her release, the software was generally unknown. “Miku” is responsible for sparking the sudden popularity of Vocaloid software and songs. An introductory song and many other story-telling songs were released using the Miku Vocaloid.
After Miku, many other popular characters were released. Rin and Len Kagamine are one example. Sometimes portrayed as twins, and other times presented as unrelated girlfriend and boyfriend, the two characters are actually two parts of the same whole. The two originate from the same voice provider. Their released songs vary from light and humorous to dark and serious, and the harmony created by their shared voice provider has gained many fans for the two.

Vocaloids have their limits, of course, and they certainly won’t be replacing traditional music idols anytime soon. They are, however, an interesting new musical phenomenon with an undeniable following.

Dawn Age: An era 2000 years prior to the start of the game. In this day, scientific research and fontech were highly advanced–even creating entire buildings and cities that self-operate using fon machinery. It’s not clear at exactly which point this age ended, but it seems to coincide with the appearance of the miasma and the creation of the Outer Lands.

Fomicry: A field of science created by Dr. Jade Balfour, or now known better as Jade Curtiss, as a means of cloning people and objects. Originally, fomicry was performed using the first six fonons, but after the results proved unstable, the Seventh Fonon began to be used exclusively. Replicated objects almost always have some sort of inherent flaw that makes them inferior to the original, and, on most occasions, even the “fonon frequency” differs between the original and replica.

Tales of the Abyss

Fonic Hymn: Hymns sang by Seventh Fonists which use the only the chanting portion of Fonic Artes, combined with melody. Because of this, they are generally weak, but there are special hymns which contain power equal to or greater than normal Fonic Artes.

Fonslots: The part of a person’s body that allows Fonons to enter and exit the body–permitting the use of Fonic Artes. It is possible to close them by use of a special seal, thus hindering a Fonist’s abilities. In addition, another special type of fonslot, called a Cursed Slot, can be placed on a victim. This type of fonslot reads the memories of its victim and allows the manipulator to overcome their inhibitions. It then drives the person to act on subconscious feelings, such as murdering someone they have a buried hatred for cosplay costumes.

Hyperresonance: A very powerful ability that is used when two Fonists of the same type use their abilities in tandem. In essence, a hyperresonance allows its user(s) to tear apart the fonons of any matter and then reconstruct them. Normally, it takes two Fonists to cause one, but there are two characters within the story who can cause one on their own.

Key of Lorelei: A mighty weapon created by Lorelei which allows the user to summon Lorelei when used along with the Grand Fonic Hymn. It also allows the user to use Lorelei’s power at will. The complete Key is actually in two parts: A sword, which concentrates Fonons, and the Jewel of Lorelei, which disperses them. Both halves of the Key are almost useless unless combined cosplay sale.

Light of the Sacred Flame: The title given to the “chosen hero” who, upon being born in the year ND 2000, is to inherit Lorelei’s power and lead his country into “prosperity”. Described in the Score as being a royal Kimlascan boy with red hair, it is assumed by most characters to be Luke fon Fabre.

The Score: A form of prophecy that is given by “scorers”. Though there are many different types of Scores, the most pivotal is the one written by Yulia. Yulia’s Score was developed as a last-ditch effort in order to save the world from being swallowed up by poisonous miasma. It dictated the next 2000 years of human history and, in the end, promised to bring prosperity to the world. Because of this, the world at large has begun following the Score religiously, even forming a church to regular read the Score to the masses.

Lolita was influenced and popularized by the imagery of more feminine Visual Kei bands. Visual Kei is a Japanese form of rock music defined by bands featuring performers in elaborate costumes but whose musical style varies. Mana, the cross-dressing former leader and guitarist of the Visual Kei band Malice Mizer is widely credited for having helped popularize Gothic Lolita. He coined the terms “Elegant Gothic Lolita” (EGL) and “Elegant Gothic Aristocrat” (EGA) to describe the style of his own fashion label Moi-même-Moitié, which was founded in 1999 and quickly established itself as one of the most coveted brands of the Lolita scene.

Perfect Lolita Cosplay

Cosplay Lolita is sported by those desirous to dress up in a Lolita costume, often for an anime or game convention. The outfit is usually put together crudely and is created from a type of satin, decorated with loads of scratchy lace, and not befitting for the Lolita fashion as a whole. Many of these dresses are often too short and flaunt too much of skin, or possess an uncanny resemblance to a maid or a nurse. The latter is due to the common misconception that associates the Lolita style with maid or nurse cosplay sale characters in anime.

A perfect Lolita outfit is an extremely tough quest undertaken by many girls.  Often, the actual outfit worn is a far cry from the attempted or the desired one. Many girls, especially the new-comers in Lolita fashion, confuse the term ‘cosplay Lolita’ with Lolita. There are numerous clear-cut differences between the two.

Elegance-Sophistication is a must, so in case, your neckline is too revealing, one must wear a blouse beneath, or in case the skirt is too short, make another or wear bloomers.

Poise- Cosplay Lolita’s usually overdo the lace, and this is a ‘must avoid’ in order to provide a classy look. Instead a judicious balance between lace and open space has to be made, or else avoid lace completely!

Material-Cosplay Lolita is known for its fabric made of satin, therefore, any kind of shine on the material must be avoided. Instead, lightweight cotton of superior quality must be preferred.

Undergarments- A anime cosplay Lolita usually wears no petticoat, a hoop skirt, or a square dance petticoat. The latter gives an unwanted outward flare shape, where as the hoop skirt is rarely worn well. Generally, proper Lolita’s wear a petticoat style called a pannier, which enhances the skirt portion and creates a cupcake-like shape. They are created from two or three layers of crinoline netting. To identify a pannier, wear it under a skirt, it should provide a cup-cake like appearance to the outfit. Bloomers, if worn, must be above the knee and hidden from plain sight.

Hair- As such, there is no specific style of hair for an elegant Lolita, though a ponytail is usually avoided. Pigtails, straight, curly, puffy, buns, or with bangs are usually the preferred alternatives.

Footwear- A fashionable Lolita will normally be found sporting a low heel or platform mary-janes, or maybe even a cute pair of sandals. Sneakers and stiletto platforms are strict no-no’s.

Research- One of the most underrated steps in obtaining the Lolita look is scanning through magazines or internet sites for examples of the styles to be replicated.

In Japan, despite still being a subculture and fringe fashion, Lolita fashion is mass-marketed and has wide visibility particularly in the streets of Tokyo and Osaka, on television, in manga and computer games. Outside of Japan it is still a widely unknown fringe fashion although it has slowly begun to spread to other countries. Lolita fashion, along with cosplay and other Japanese cultural phenomena, can sometimes be seen at concerts and anime conventions throughout Europe and the United States. The style has not yet been mass marketed outside of Japan, although increasingly Japanese brands are available for purchase abroad directly from the brands. However, there are plenty of dedicated fans filling the still-remaining gap. Lolita fashion magazines are widely available for purchase on the Internet and at Japanese bookstores which also deal in anime and manga. Adherents often sew their own homemade Lolita outfits, sometimes offering them for sale to make up for the difficulty of acquiring them from Japan. Apart from most Western fashions, Lolita tends to hold higher expectations to those that dress it. Higher quality clothes are favored over “cheap” lace and cosplay-esque designs. Many adherents also purchase Lolita outfits and accessories online from Japanese brands such as Baby, The Stars Shine Bright or other fellow Lolitas.

Tsubasacon is a family event; while we understand that some cosplay characters wear more revealing cosplay costumes than others, you may be asked to “cover up” or modify your outfit in some way that is more modest in public areas.

Some of the hallways of the convention center, especially near Artist Alley and during busy periods, are narrow and extremely congested. If your cosplay entails accessories which may hinder hallway traffic , please design your cosplay so that the wings may easily be removed in case you are asked to remove them.

cosplay

While Tsubasacon may ask participants to modify their costume for various reasons in the public areas of the convention center, we realize that a lot of work has been put into the outfit. During cosplay events, such as the masquerade or cosplay sale  judging, cosplayers are permitted to wear their cosplay in its original, unaltered form.

Click the “Categories” button near the top of the eBay home page and a menu will pop out with all of the different categories eBay supports. Click on “Collectibles.”

cosplay

Scroll down until you find the heading “Animation Art & Characters.” From here, select the subheading “Japanese, Anime.” You will be brought to a new screen that has all of the anime items up for sale.

Look to the left of the screen and you will see a list labeled “Categories.” This list contains all of the available anime items on eBay. Select the anime you want to cosplay from. This will bring you to a new screen with all of the items associated with that anime.

Select “Cosplay, Costumes” from the left side of the screen. This may not be available depending on the anime and if sellers are selling any cosplay sale for the particular anime you are looking for. Click on the item you want to bid on or buy.

Type in a bid amount to bid on the item. If you want to buy the item immediately select “Buy It Now.” Not all items can be bought immediately, as it depends on the seller to use that feature.

Pay for the item using Paypal. When the auction is over, or if you used the “Buy It Now” option, the seller will send you a Paypal invoice. Log into Paypal and pay the specified amount. The seller will then ship you the cosplay costumes.

The parties are the perfect place for such a celebration and the choice of the right anime cosplay costume is very essential to get the desired impact. Basically, the cosplay costume should be selected keeping in mind the physical stature of the person, his physical features and age. It is better to pick up anime characters that have a lot of similarities between the wearer and the character. Then, it needs a little bit of research to find the perfect cosplay costume.

cosplay-costume

The internet offers a lot of ideas and there are many forums through which you can discuss the success of various cosplay costumes through other’s experience. The choice of cosplay costume also depends upon the personality of the person. For a soft hearted, mild character, naruto costume would fit and for action- fascinated people, costumes of final fantasy characters would be suitable and for the fashion trendy, Raye Hio of sailor moon would be a great match.

Cosplay costumes can be worn as an individual or in groups to enhance the experience. Apart from the basic costume, accessories are there to add great effect, wigs, shoes, weapons are all necessary to complete the full costume. Depending upon the budget, this can be expanded to any extent. To get the perfect costume, you can even purchase some old clothing and design it yourself.

If the professional is not aware of the characters, you can show a model of the anime and stitch the costume, accordingly. Cosplay costumes help a lot to get break away from the monotonous routine and enjoy the vacation or party, better. The site offers lot of cosplay costumes that can be purchased online and discounts are also offered.

Will cosplay costumes conquer the Earth? Japan’s biggest community site for cosplayers, “Cure”, has grown to a very respectable 300,000 registered users. With English localization now in effect, the number of Cure users who are not Japanese is expected to grow substantially.

Cosplay is still a mystery to many non-Japanese. Literally “costume play”, fans of the culture  enjoy dressing up to resemble a favorite anime cosplay character – or just dressing up in general. Of course, once they’ve done that, then it’s natural to want to show off your cool, unique look. What better way then to post pics on the Internet, or even your cellphone? That’s where sites like Cure come in, and they’re coming in like mad if one can believe the “42,382 Cosplayers are in activity!” banner displayed at the Cure site.

cure-cosplayer

Opened in 2001 by major Japanese online portal Livedoor, Cure records a staggering 50 million page views each month and a significant number come from foreign sources. With this in mind, Livedoor has rolled out English localization for Cure effective June 12, 2008.

Once registered, Cure members can upload photos and flesh out a personal profile with information including their province, blood type, vital stats and their hobbies. Privacy is optional – somewhat surprisingly, many of the photos and listed information are accessible by non-registered users.