>>8070472In competitions like LFCC holds then yeah, the judges probably won't even see a reference, they'll just pick whatever looks best (even when half of it's bought).
But in higher tier cosplay competitions including, but not limited to, LSCC, EC, ECG and WCS there tend to be 3 important categories.
Accuracy, Technique and Execution, Stage presence and character
>how conceptually difficult it would be to make?Different people find different things difficult, which is why you're asked to present progress pictures, to show your methods. And so judges who may specialise can appreciate the work behind a skill they may not be able to do themselves.
>for example, the best Sheldon Cooper cosplay ever pales in comparison to a half-decent Nightmare from Soul CaliburThis sort of thing is at the judges discretion but you've cast the net a bit wide.
But it's true if you're going to enter a competition with a mid-tier difficulty (and this is really up to personal judgement as there's no recognised scale for cosplay difficulty) costume where say you're just focusing on the dress making side of things, to stand any chance you have to make it 100% perfect and walk that fine line between interpretive detail (like choosing to embroider details rather than paint them or add a beaded trim where it might just be a flat gold line in the reference) and overkill.
Because there will be people reaching higher doing possibly dress making, armour and weapons and they might still do better than you even if their costume isn't 100% perfect because they used more techniques.
Something that has bothered me as a competitor and as a judge is this idea that if there's an armour costume, it automatically does better than a dress. No one starts their life knowing how to sew and often on full armour suits any fabric elements are either bought or patchily made. So why should a suit full of armour be any better than an equally proficiently executed dress?
