Cosplayer: Lexxamex

Character: Nia

Photographer: Tofu Snow Photography

Description: Hello! I'm Lexxamex and I'm entering Noivce. I'm a Colorado native and only started cosplaying within the last 5 yrs. I made the entire costume (jumpsuit, hood, armor, boots, ears, etc). This was my first Armor set. The armor is made out of EVA foam and my tears but the rest was made from fabric.

Cosplayer: Suvi Couture

Character: Aurora and Prince Phillip

Description: The Aurora costume was made with over 50 yards of organza - it was painstakingly sewn and incorporated several strings of LED's to allow for the dress to change color. Every part of the dress was made from scratch - the crown was made from worbla and the wig was styled as well. There is embroidery that was hand sewn onto the fabric at both the base and the midsection. The Prince Phillip costume was made without a pattern and actually had to be pieced together based on a historical book since the patterns for the jacket and undershirt did not exist. This required multiple muslin mock ups in order for the jacket, pants, and undershirt all to be hand made with historical accuracy. Along with both of these costumes the three good faeries were also by Suvi Couture during the production of the dress.

Cosplayer: YensidCosplays

Character: Genderbend Evil Queen

Photographer:

Description: Used 7 different fabrics to create and sew the pants, vest, cape, sleeves and collar. Used and modified 4 different patterns to make the right pieces work for my vision. Every part of this cosplay was either made from scratch and sewn or modified in some aspect. Created the poison on the apple from air dry clay, rolled it out laid it on the apple and carved out all the details, then painted it green to match the poison. Also made the crown from a base layer of craft foam then traced onto black art worbla and used the two pieces of worbla to sandwich the base layer of the craft foam to give it a sturdier feel and look to it, then painted gold and embellished with Swarovski crystals and other charms/jewels.

Cosplayer: Dark Blade Armory

Character: Strelitzia

Photographer: Jeff Hoffman

Description: 90% of the patterns were created by me, the chest armor pattern I modified from Evil Ted's Vampire Slayer armor. I used mostly TNT Cosplay foam and foam mats from Harbor Freight. I sealed it with qwik seal and mod podge, I usually use plasti dip but I skipped it this time. I used rustoleum spray paint for the chest piece. Everything else was hand painted with folk art acrylic paint. For the helmet I dismantled a PS4 cooling stand to make a ventilation system in the helmet.

Cosplayer: xRenascent

Character: Magilou

Photographer: Evan Chen Photography

Description: Everything but the Bienfu plushie and the belt that holds up the books have been made by me. The hat, top, shorts, stockings, boot covers, and gloves have all been self-drafted as well. I used a mix of cotton fabric and stretchy fabric for these pieces of clothing. I'm also using some buckram inside the hat to give it some structure, and it can be easily removed and placed back in for travel/storage purposes. The books are made of insulation foam (the pages), a mix of flour, Mod Podge, and Gesso (the page texture), varying craft foam sizes (covers/buckles), and vinyl (straps), and are incredibly lightweight. They're also held up with nylon webbing loops on the back, threaded through the belt.

Cosplayer: C Squared Cosplay

Character: Hawkman and Hawk Girl

Photographer:

Description: Our cosplays of Hawkman and Hawkgirl were made over the course of a year. We used EVA and craft foam for our armor and helmets and were shaped using a Dremel, heat gun, and knives. Our maces are a PVC shaft with a hamster ball filled with LED lights and craft foam spikes. Hawkman has two additional weapons, an axe made from cardboard and EVA foam and a boomerang made from EVA foam. The wings are PVC shaped with a heat gun, draped with a mesh fabric and covered with foam pipe insulator. Each feather was individually cut and painted using acrylic and airbrush paints. The claws on our maces and boots were made with thibra. Hawkgirl's belt custom designed and handmade out of leather. The box that holds the wings is custom designed and made from wood wrapped in leather. Hawkman's pauldron is made from EVA and craft foam. The bracers are made from craft foam and strapped on with leather and velcro. Mostly held together with velcro, barge cement, and hot glue.

Cosplayer: JMK's Cosplay

Character: Iron Man

Photographer: Love Your Everyday Life

Description: I've been exploring this genre of art for a little less than a year, and this Iron Man is my first full build with re-creating some pieces with my own ideas from the foundation of the templates I've worked with. I've honed my skills while working a full time job and balancing family and life, so while this build took a bit longer than I hoped, my skill is improving daily and I am able to work more quickly. I began exploring this type of art because I was feeling creatively dead and needed an outlet again. Doing this work has awakened a new joy for art, and I'm excited about the possibilities for this adventure. I have learned along the way that practice is important, and creating this Iron Man build has taught me to lean into patience. First drafts are to be embraced and learned from. This is my first contest entry.

Cosplayer: Altered Shadows Cosplay

Character: Diablo Lord of Terror

Photographer: Lindsey Heilmann

Description: This 2018 Diablo Lord of Terror is a complete rebuild of my 2017 blocky version, recreated to make a more organic look, provide more custom comfort, and also be a more "handler-friendly" costume. There are numerous materials within: It is primarily EVA foam, bits of Worbla, upholstery foam, PVC pipe, wood and metal hardware on the stilts, magnets, all handpainted with liquid latex mixed with acrylic paint, a pool noodle tail, gel lighting and packing material to help disburse, flickering EL wire in the belly, laser lights into the eyes, and yarn to make the blood veins on legs and arms. The entire process started in July of 2017, but I pushed hard on from mid-June 2018 to first week of September to complete it. I had a lot of fun making this project and I'm proud of it! I think I hit the mark with how I wanted it to look. Organic and yet intimidating.

Cosplayer: CATZMONEY Cosplay

Character: Inky Bendy

Photographer: Lucasoar Films

Description: The base of the head was crafted out of upholstery foam using a common fursuit technique called the "bucket" head. Lower density foam was layered on the sides of the head, and topped with a layer of high density to finish out a basic shape. The teeth were made with a fabric called buckram to give visibility, and the head was covered with both white twill and black cotton. The body was created out of a modified Body suit. Foam padding was carved to fit over the natural hip line, and create more dramatic ribs, giving my body a “skeletal” look. The spine was carved out of foam, attached to a strip of cotton, and glued over the side of the zipper to be able to get in and out of the suit. The feet were carved from foam as well and covered with the same cotton from the head. All the bodysuit was altered to fit tighter, and the feet were attached to create one full piece. The entire body and head were textured by hand with hot glue, and coated with a special effect paint called “perma-grime” that dries with a glossy effect. The last accessories were the bowtie and glove, which were patterned by me, and created out of the same twill as the face. After both were stuffed, they were airbrushed along with the yellow part of the face, and detailed with sephia markers as well as acrylic paint.

Cosplayer: Crazy Lady Cosplay

Character: Shiny Delphox

Photographer: Hideyo Mochimo

Description: This cosplay was my first time working with new materials such as fur, penne velvet, silky fabric, tulle, and organza. I made an underskirt for the purpose of having the dress poof out more like the Pokemon Delphox. The underskirt was made of the silky fabric and nylon tulle that was gathered before sewing it down. I used a older dress pattern belonging to my grandmother because it matched how I wanted it to look. I modified the dress by making the sleeves a little longer and making the dress length longer to match my tall stature. I heat and bonded the red flames on the dress. The fur vest was made from a slightly modified vest pattern. The white fur belly piece is made from a pattern I made myself. Both the vest and the belly piece are lined and secured together with Velcro. The headdress is made out the the same fur and is underlined with cotton fabric for breathing room. I used a hat pattern that I modified by adding the pattern I made for the ears. Inside the hat, is a headband with jewelry wire hot glued to it that I used for the base to support and keep the ears in place. Inside the ears, I used plastic I cut out from plastic orange juice container that I shaped like my ears. I hot glued wire to the plastic to reinforce the ears and connected the ears and hat together with wire. The ears are hand sewn to the hat, and so are the flames on the ears. The flames are made of organza that was gently heat and bonded together. The wand is a branch from my lilac bush in my patio and I made the gloves I'm wearing.

Cosplayer: Caylee Ann Cosplay

Character: Valkyrie Mercy

Photographer: RnM Photography

Description: This was my first cosplay that I really got to work with eva foam for a majority of the costume. The breastplate, wings, helmet, swords, armor pieces, and parts of the staff were all made with it. And each piece was glued together using contact cement, sanded down, plasti dipped, hand painted, and then sealed. The gems were all handmade as well and for my first time using resin, I think they turned out really well! The blue parts of the wings were actually made out of acrylic which were cut, sanded, and spray painted. The biggest hurdle with this cosplay was that I had to make the wings and staff light up along with making the staff tip spin. I used LED lights and (with the help of my dad) dissect a screwdriver and used that to make the top spin. Overall this costume was an awesome project for me and really helped me grow in my foam skills.