Anime Music Videos  ◊  Art Show Awards  ◊  Comic Book Quick Sketch  ◊  Cosplay Contest  ◊  Dawn Look-Alike Contest  ◊  Dragon-After-Dark  ◊  Friday Night Costuming Contest  ◊  Dragon*Con Independent Short Film Festival  ◊  Hallway Costume Contest  ◊  Masquerade Costume Contest  ◊  Miss Klingon Empire Beauty Pageant  ◊  Star Wars Costume Contest  ◊  Robot Battles™ 

Anime Music Videos

Director: Michael "Doc" Allgood

Anime Music Videos (abbreviated AMV) are music videos consisting of clips from one or more anime series or movies set to songs; the term usually refers to fan-made unofficial videos. An AMV can also be a set of video game footage put together with music.

Contest rules and information can be found at http://www.dragonconamv.com.

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Art Show Awards

Directors: John and Anne Parise

The Art Show jury determines most of our awards but convention attendees will vote on a portion of the art awards called the Special Awards. Art Awards will be given in the prescribed categories on Saturday of the convention (check the schedule for exact time and place). All attending artists determine the Artist Choice Award winner. The categories are as follows:

• Best in Show
• First Place
• Second Place
• Third Place
• Artist Choice Award
• Student
  • First Place
  • Second Place
  • Third Place
• Best 2-D Piece
• Best 3-D Piece
• Best Jewelry Art
• Best Mixed Media
• Best Photography
• Special Awards
  • Best Alien
  • Best Amazon
  • Best Dragon
  • Best Horror
  • Best Spaceship or Space Scene
  • Best Warrior
  • Most Humorous

For more detailed information on the Art Show, please click here.

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Comic Book Quick Sketch

Director: Marilee Coughlin

So, you think you can draw? Think you can draw quickly? Come on out and we'll see. The Comic Book Quick Sketch is open to all con attendees. Check your program book or check in at the Contest Registration table in front of Centennial Ballroom in the Hyatt for more information about time and locale. It is usually in the Learning Center of the Hyatt on Monday morning, but please verify in your program book.

Contestants will have 30 to 45 minutes to draw, color, and letter a character, a comic book page, or whatever their fevered imaginations can create. Plain 8 ½ x 11 white paper and pencils (both black and colors) will be provided. If your preferred medium is something other than that, please bring it to the contest.

When our Celebrity Artist Proctor says "Pencils down," the creations will be collected and judged. Two winners will be declared in the 18-and-under category and two in the adult category (over 18, not because of content)--one winner for best single drawing and one for best comic book page. What can you win? A plaque proclaiming you are the winner in your category AND . . . while the contestants are doodling, drawing, lettering, and creating, our guest artist(s) will be doing the same - and the original signed artwork becomes prizes for the winners.

We have had Jim Lee, Jeff Smith (Bone), Bob Burden, Georges Jeanty, and Dan Brereton as our artist-judges.

Come on down and try your skills!

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Cosplay Contest

Director: Jake Tarbox and Jessica Merriman

The Anime and Animation tracks at DragonCon are proud to bring back the Cosplay Contest! The Cosplay Contest location and time will be listed at the convention in the pocket program, and please be sure to come by Pre-Judging if you wish to enter the contest! Pre-Judging will be held in the Anime Programming room prior to the contest: you’ll parade your costume in front of our panel of judges and they will rank the winners. Contestants are judged on their costume only, no skits will be allowed. All entrants will then get a chance to show off their handiwork at the Cosplay Contest on the stage! Contest forms will be available on-site at Pre-Judging only.

Note: Dragon*Con hosts a plethora of costume contests. We ask that only costumers with animation, Japanese anime, or video game costumes enter the cosplay contest.

Dragon*Con Cosplay Contest Rules & Guidelines

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Dragon-After-Dark

Director: Cat Mitchell

Our rapidly growing Dragon-After-Dark contest on Saturday spotlights macabre and mature-themed costumes. We see them in the hallways and at the bar, but this provides a chance to display them in a venue that does not compete with the noise or interruptions of the typical social setting!

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Dawn Look-Alike Contest

Director: Cat Mitchell

Grand Prize:$1,000 Prize

Joseph Michael Linsner's Dawn is one of the hottest characters in comics, so in 1998 we hosted the first-ever Dawn Look-alike Contest, with a $1,000 cash First Prize. For 2008, it will be held Saturday evening. If you're a fan of beautiful women, it's an event you won't want to miss. If you look like Dawn - or know someone who does - it's a great way to win $1,000 in cash! The contest is fully authorized by Joseph (who'll be on hand for the contest), and Dawn's publisher, Sirius Comics. There is NO PRE-REGISTRATION for this contest; register at the Contest Registration table in the Hyatt in front of Centennial Ballroom at the con.

Great news for contestants: Though Dawn is usually depicted with red hair, she has occasionally appeared on various covers as everything from blonde to brunette, so hair color will not be a factor in the judging. Instead, contestants will be judged based on how well they capture the image and spirit of Dawn - confident yet mysterious, and sexy without being sexist. Unlike most comics characters, Dawn doesn't have a "standard" costume, so contestants can wear anything from fantasy lingerie to an exotic dress to futuristic armor. Your local comic book store will have images of Dawn (on comics, books, or trading cards) you can use for reference or you can check out any of several Web sites devoted to Linsner's Dawn on the World Wide Web. In addition to the $1,000 first prize, there will also be prizes for second and third place.

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Friday Night Costuming Contest

Director: Cat Mitchell

This Costume Contest focuses solely on Costuming and will be held Friday night. Judges will be looking at the costume itself, the workmanship, design, and inspiration. This will be open to groups and individuals, experts and novices, and costumes from mainstream or self-creative. Although there will be one “celebrity” judge, the panel will mostly be people with extreme costume backgrounds.

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Dragon*Con Independent Short Film Festival

Director: Matthew M. Foster

We focus each year on showcasing the finest independent short films from around the world!

Films will be judged in specific categories, which will be determined by the festival director, based on the genres of the submissions. For example, in the past, awards were presented in the following areas: Animation, Gothic Horror, Extreme Horror, Horror Comedy, General Comedy, Documentary, Fantasy, Magic Realism, Science Fiction, and Spoof.

For more detailed information on the Dragon*Con Independent Film Festival, including submission rules and schedules (when they are available), please click here.

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Hallway Costume Contest

Director: Marilee Coughlin

Contest staff will be roaming the halls of all venues with digital cameras, taking pictures of those folks who are too shy to get up on stage in the Masquerade, but who have great costumes. We will also take pictures at the Contest Registration table in front of the Centennial Ballroom in the Hyatt. We will need your correct name and badge number in order to enter the contest. The pictures will be displayed at the Contest Registration table in the Hyatt in front of Centennial Ballroom. You may purchase a copy of your official entry picture for $10–with the proceeds going to the Dragon*Con charity of the year.

All con-goers (including children) will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite. Contestant photos will be posted on the boards near the Contest registration table in the Hyatt in front of Centennial Ballroom by Sunday morning–the voting takes place Sunday until 5:00 PM. This is the only event decided by POPULAR vote at the con. Winners will be announced at the Masquerade.

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Masquerade Costume Contest

Director: Marilee Coughlin

In the grand tradition of convention costuming, dating back nearly five decades in SF fandom, Dragon*Con is proud to present the largest Masquerade Costume Contest in the Southeast and one of the largest in the world!

The Dragon*Con 2008 Masquerade Costume Contest will be held in the Hyatt Centennial Ballroom. Registration for the Masquerade will be available during the con at the Contest Registration Desk located outside the Centennial Ballroom in the Hyatt. We'll be open Friday and Saturday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and Sunday, from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. There is no pre-registration. Simply drop by the Contest Registration Desk during the con and register.

NOTE: New time limits for contestant performance–individuals are limited to 90 seconds (a minute and a half) and groups to three minutes.

For more detailed information on the Masquerade Costume Contest, including location, time, deadlines, and rules, please click here.

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Miss Klingon Empire Beauty Pageant

Director: Eric L. Watts

Recognized by America Online as one of the "Top 11 Offbeat Beauty Pageants Across America" two years in a row, as featured in Discover, Spin and Shock magazines, and as seen on FoxNews.com and HowStuffWorks.com! The Tenth Annual Miss Klingon Empire Beauty Pageant is open to any qualified attending female member of the 2008 Dragon*Con who is at least 21 years of age, except for members and relatives of the TrekTrak Staff, TrekTrak Programming Committee and/or Dragon*Con General Staff, and who agrees to abide by the rules of the contest as posted on the TrekTrak web site, now and in the future. There is NO registration fee nor any additional cost to participate. Membership in or affiliation with any Klingon-oriented organization (i.e., KAG, KLAW, etc.) is not required. For more information about the MKE Beauty Pageant, including rules and prizes, to see video clips from previous pageants and to register as a contestant, please visit www.trektrak.com/2008/08pageant.htm.

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Star Wars Costume Contest

Director: Cathy Bowden

Dedicated to all things Star Wars, our annual Star Wars Costume Contest is open to all! Pre-registration is required.

For more information on the Star Wars Costume Contest, please visit their information page at www.mattersoftheforce.org.

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Robot Battles ™

Director: Michael 'Shaggy' Macht

Hosted by: Kelly Lockhart

When Battlebots debuted on Comedy Central, the heretofore "underground" sport became a national obsession. Robot Battles ™, which had already been around for several years before that time, responded by adding weight categories and reaching out to schools and universities to bring in new contestants, especially younger ones. The result was incredibly positive, and continues to this day.

There are more teenage and younger contestants participating in Robot Battles™ than any other robotic combat event in the country, and they are competing quite well. In fact, the current record for youngest winner is nine years old, and he just barely broke the old record of ten years old. That's not to say the older, most experience builders and engineers are being left out. There are still some "old lions" making a lot of noise and winning a lot of awards.

Come join the entire Robot Battles™ crew at Dragon*Con, lead by founder and host Kelly Lockhart along with Blade Robotics' Stephen Chapman, Team Desade's Terry Talton and fan favorite Jason Brown from Evil Robots, Inc. Sunday features the "Microbattles" where the one and three pound robots face off in a full arena, while Monday the main event takes place with the ever-popular twelve and thirty pound bots taking the open stage in single combat.

For more detailed information, including the complete list of rules, please visit their website at: www.robotbattles.com

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