From Concept to Creation: The Power of a Cosplay Build Book
 A book filled with progress photos, descriptions and references will not only impress judges but also highlight the hard work you put into cosplay creation. Enhance your cosplay making process in a visual and written way using a cosplay build book. Elevate your cosplay competition experience by presenting a detailed behind-the-scenes look at your craftsmanship.
What is a Build Book or Progress Book?
A Build Book (or Progress Book) is a book that showcases the process of creating your cosplay costume. Typically, this book contains photographs and a brief description of the steps involved in the cosplay creation. The book is handed to the cosplay competition judges so they can get a deeper understanding of the cosplay building process. While not mandatory in many competitions, a progress book is always a valuable bonus, especially if your costume is self-made. Some large competitions require a progress book as an essential part of your costume presentation at prejudge.
This information helps judges better understand your costume, its construction, and unique features. Judges can refer to your book both during your presentation of the costume to them and later when making decisions about the competition results. Also a build-book will definitely come in handy at pre-judging. Usually due to a big number of participants, pre-judge time for one person is limited to 2-5 minutes. In that case having a progress book with you will support you while describing the process of making the costume.Â
This kind of book has many benefits for cosplayers on a personal level as well. Costume overview in this way serves as a reflection tool, helping you identify areas for improvement in the future. Additionally, a book is an excellent aid when preparing to present your costume to the judges, as it details everything you want to convey during the prejudge.
What Should Be Included in the Book?
Photos of the Costume Creation Process:
Include photos from each stage of your costume-making journey, from initial concept to the final result. Highlight important moments, showcasing how you worked on individual details. When compiling the book, it’s best to adhere to the principle of “brevity is the soul of wit.”Â
Since there are often many participants in a competition, judges don’t have the time to thoroughly read through the text in your book. Therefore, the process should be illustrated with photos, with text complementing the images rather than the other way around. This way, the information in the book will be easily grasped by readers.
Brief description:
Write a short description of your costume, including the concept, character, sources of inspiration, and so on. Describe what you want to emphasize in this costume — perhaps the complexity of the construction, special materials, unique details and what was new for you in building that costume.
Details not visible externally but essential to the costume:
Describe elements of the costume that are hidden but are a crucial part of the construction: internal framework, fastening methods, lighting, movement mechanisms, etc.
Planning the creation process:
Describe your work plan, starting from the development of the idea to its execution. Include key stages as well as approaches to solving potential problems. Mention the tools, techniques and materials you used.
Drafts and references:
Include rough sketches, drawings, as well as references from the costume’s source that you used. Share references — these could be images from movies, games, or other sources that inspired you. When choosing what references to add into the book keep in mind that judges might know nothing about your characters, maybe even seeing them for the first time in their lives. Considering this is better to have detailed references from many angles and with close-ups. A brief character description can be added as well.Â
Materials:
List the materials you used to create the costume. Share information on why you chose these materials and how they impacted the creation process.
In summary, a Build Book is an essential tool for both cosplayers and judges, providing a clear and concise overview of the costume creation process. It enhances the judging experience by offering insight into the craftsmanship and thought behind each costume while serving as a valuable resource for cosplayers to reflect on their work and prepare for presentations. Including detailed photos, descriptions, and references ensures the book effectively communicates the effort and creativity involved in bringing a cosplay to life.
Arina Sigida, cosplayer, Instagram
AI Disclaimer: This text writing was assisted and translated by OpenAI’s ChatGPT
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