Original costume

[X-Chan 0]

15. Skits and costumes must predominantly pertain in some way to anime, manga, anime-style video games or some facet of East Asian culture. Original costumes may be worn but are ineligible for craftsmanship judging as it is impossible to determine the accuracy of the costume.

[Aidan2 0]

i would have to wait for edwin to chime in to make a positive id for this, however.

only the orginal character would be ineligible for craftsmanship, not the either group.

but that is my opinion, so YMMV

[X-Chan 0]

I read somewhere that if you don't participate for craftsmanship judging, it affects your overall score in the final judging.

So, if i don't participate in craftsmanship but the rest of my group does, will this affect our score at all?

Thanks!

ps. whats YMMV? can't keep up with internet abbreviations.

[The INfamous MC 24]

YMMV = Your mileage may vary.

~Topic

[Babbit 9]

Originals costumes, whether or not within theme, cannot be judged for costume craftsmanship.

The difficulty in judging original costumes is that the accuracy of the costume, unlike costumes from a series, game, etc., is dictated by the participant themself. It creates an unfair advantage in that respect... you're always going to be 100% accurate to your own creation. It's almost like taking an exam that you wrote.

To be fair with very diverse groups, we simply leave out those individuals during craftsmanship judging. It generally won't affect your score, especially if it's just a small fraction of your group... like 2 people out of a group of 12. For example, if you have an on-stage narrator for your skit who just wore a suit, it wouldn't be fair if you lost points for that.

On the other hand, if you have a group with 1 awesome costume and 12 other people in t-shirts, that may have effects on your score more so than 1 awesome costume that can be judged and 12 other people in original costumes that cannot be judged, but still actually enhance the skit.

With that said, not participating in craftsmanship judging will definately have an adverse effect on your score, since overall awards are determined by a combination of performance and craftsmanship scores.