Cosplay Contest

Get out your sewing kits, ward your spears, and call your local henna tattooist, because it’s summer, the weather is gorgeous, and it’s time for another contest!

This one is a doozy; months in the planning. I meant to start it last week, but found out at the literal last minute that Red Sonja: Blue was coming out two weeks ahead of schedule, and needed to scramble to make sure it had my full support.

It’s been a rough couple of weeks. I had fairly major surgery on my shoulder to correct a whole mess of problems, and while it went well, I have been in a sling/harness for weeks, with no release in sight. Starting physical therapy soon.

But you know what would cheer me up? A contest.

Ever since receiving cosplay entries in the Warding Contest, as well as people sending in Halloween costume shots and real live tattoos, I have wanted to do a Demon Cycle cosplay contest. check out some of the amazing things people have done:

Like the Homemade Hero Contest, this one has the potential to be a fair amount of effort, so I didn’t want to do it without a kickass grand prize, and some awesome runner up prizes. Signed books are nice, but if you really want one of those, there are other online options to buy one, or you can just order a signed bookplate or got to one of my signings.

Not so here. The grand prize is one of a kind, and even the first and second prizes are custom-made limited edition exclusives not available elsewhere. We’ll get to that in a bit.

Contest rules:

1) Dress up as your favorite character from the Demon Cycle books (or the one you most look like).

a) All characters great and small accepted, including demons and animals like Twilight Dancer.

b) Photos of multiple characters accepted (three maximum), but they must be extra awesome if you are going for the grand prize, as it will increase the expense and difficulty (more on that in a moment).

c) Red Sonja entries also accepted, but only in blue fur! (Not that I have anything against chainmail bikinis… lord no).

2) Take lots of digital pictures striking dynamic poses. Make sure they have decent resolution and lighting to show off your work to best effect.

3) Pick the best pictures and send to contest@www.petervbrett.com by August 1, 2011, six weeks from today. You will retain rights to all pictures, with the understanding that I will be posting them on here on the blog and twitterface.

a) It is not required, but you are encouraged to submit a note about what you envision your characters are doing in your cosplay/photoshoot.  This can be a fan-created scenario or a reenactment from the novels to help give context for the grand prize.

Speaking of which…

Grand Prize:

A print & digital file of an original custom digital painting by Lauren K. Cannon (AKA Navate) inspired by the character(s) in the winning entry, WITH THE WINNER’S FACE(S) PAINTED IN.

So lets say you dress up as Abban the khaffit, and win the grand prize. Based on your winning photo, Lauren will paint a custom commission of Abban, using photos of your face to put you in the picture, possibly surrounded by demons lurking in the shadows…

Same goes if you want to pose with your friend or lovah as Arlen and Leesha rolling around in the mud, like Zaboo did for Codex and Fawkes that time on The Guild.

You probably already know who Lauren K. Cannon is, but in case you’ve been living in Antarctica for the last few years, she is not only the designer of the wards you see plastered all over my work. She did the cover/interior art for The Great Bazaar and Brayan’s Gold, as well as the homepage art for this site. You can see more of Lauren’s work on her website, her Deviant Art Page, and her sketch blog. Some samples of Lauren’s awesomeness:

First Prize

Winners will get custom warded silver necklaces from Fotini Designs:

You may recall the fabulous Fotini as the maker of these gorgeous items:

Second Prize

Winners will get warded dice to play Succor, the game Arlen, Renna and Beni play in the hayloft of Harl’s farm in the beginning of The Warded Man.

Samples of these limited edition, custom items will be posted when they are ready.

Third Prize

Winners will get signed books and bookplates.

Go forth and cosplay!

Posted on June 19, 2011 at 1:53 pm by PeatB
Filed under Australia, Bookplate, Brayan's Gold, Contests, Craft, Czech, Daylight War, Desert Spear, Events, Fan Art, Fans, France, Germany, Great Bazaar, Poland, Portugal, Red Sonja, Warded Art, Warded Man
19 Comments »

19 responses to “Cosplay Contest”

  1. WOW! I was telling to Jonathan that I was going to enter just for fun, having already all my books signed, but the prizes are just AWESOME!

    Posted by Jess, on June 20th, 2011 at 12:00 am
  2. This is so cool!!!!!
    I was about to do something like this for fun with my friends, now I even get the chance to be rewarded for it!
    Cheerio! Here we come!!!!!!! 😀

    Posted by Flying_Phoenix, on June 20th, 2011 at 6:19 am
  3. Haha! Lucky me, I started sewing againg just recently! I’ll probably dress up as Wonda, because she’s kickass, or maybe Bruna :D!

    Posted by Iris, on June 20th, 2011 at 7:53 am
  4. Wow, Peat… This is pretty amazing! I’m looking forward to seeing all the entries! 😀

    Posted by Kit, on June 20th, 2011 at 10:17 am
  5. MUST LEARN TO SEW!!!
    Thank The Deliverer for YouTube ‘How To’ videos.

    Posted by Margherita, on June 20th, 2011 at 8:40 pm
  6. Posted by Peter V. Brett Cosplay contest | Voyager Books, on June 21st, 2011 at 5:41 am
  7. […] of very talented entries, so you’d better bring your “A” game if you hope to win! For more information, including rules and details on the prizes, drop by his site! contest, cosplay, demon cycle, peter v. brett, the desert spear, the warded […]

  8. Damn! I went to Supanova (Australia’s answer to Comicon) on the weekend and I was thinking of what to cosplay _next_ year. I’d shortlisted Renna but now it will be on people’s radar 🙁 Dammit Pete! I was looking forward to covering myself in wards!

    Posted by obsidiantears83, on June 21st, 2011 at 8:11 pm
  9. This contest sounds really awesome! I can’t wait to see how awesome the entries look! I won’t be able to enter this time around, but when you bring this one in again in two or three years – y’all better watch out!

    Best of luck everyone!

    Posted by Elicius, on June 23rd, 2011 at 8:12 am
  10. ….I say ‘awesome’ wayyyyy too much.

    Posted by Elicius, on June 23rd, 2011 at 8:16 am
  11. Did it! I just send my pictures! Looking forward to what Peat says about them 😀

    Posted by Flying_Phoenix, on June 23rd, 2011 at 1:21 pm
  12. […] Cosplay Contest […]

    Posted by Peter V Brett :: Peephole In My Skull, on June 24th, 2011 at 12:31 am
  13. I’m finally back from Lurking through Peats pages unposting and I’m stuck I don’t know who to cosplay as, who my “Shade/Complextion” will favour well enough for a photoshoot. Hmm

    Posted by Dwayne, on July 3rd, 2011 at 9:54 pm
  14. Complexion is not a factor. You will be a great Leesha!

    Posted by Peat, on July 3rd, 2011 at 10:11 pm
  15. Just for that Peat, I might do a Leesha 😀

    Posted by Dwayne, on July 4th, 2011 at 2:24 pm
  16. Dwayne, I double-dog dare you.

    Do they have double-dog dares in the UK? They are serious business here.

    Posted by Peat, on July 6th, 2011 at 9:14 am
  17. […] Comments Flying_Phoenix on Cosplay Awesomeness: Take 2Peat on Warded WristPeat on Cosplay ContestGresha on Warded WristDwayne on Cosplay […]

    Posted by Peter V Brett :: Peephole In My Skull, on July 7th, 2011 at 7:26 am
  18. Damn it, stuck on a rig for the duration of the contest, will get home the day it finishes. I wonder what I could get together from the stores, and I think we might have a tattoo artist on board………watch this space…..may have the strangest entry from me!!

    Posted by Rich, on July 14th, 2011 at 8:46 pm
  19. […] may well remember, Fotini Designs has done some beautiful and impressive work. For the most recent Cosplay Contest, prizes included some beautifully warded silver necklaces and gold and brass metal […]

    Posted by Peter V Brett :: Peephole In My Skull, on December 21st, 2011 at 8:01 am