We’re looking for the sparkle in your cosplay! Whether you’re a pro crafter or a creative newbie, our theme this year is “Shiny” and we’re interpreting that as openly as possible.

What does “Shiny” mean to us? We don’t want to limit ourselves to expensive materials or complicated technology. “Shiny” is not a price tag, but a feeling and a look! You can participate in completely different ways:

Examples of “Shiny” are:

• The classic shine: Show us your armor, vinyl fabrics or metallic accessories.
• The inner glow: Use lighting effects, LEDs or simply magical posing to make your character shine.
• The rare variant: Show us your favorite character in an alternative “Shiny” color palette (like Pokémon or special game skins).
• Creative effects: Use image editing, glitter or clever photography to create the “shiny effect” – without any expensive materials!
• Treasure/Power Up/Name/…

Important: No one should feel restricted by their budget or materials. Whether you have high-end chrome armor or work with shiny aluminum foil, silk fabrics or just a bright smile and good lighting – your creativity counts!

Conditions of participation

• If you are unable to attend the award ceremony, please report to the information stand and leave your contact details.
• You can also provide the contact details of a representative (full name; the person must be able to identify themselves).
• Prices are NEVER sent abroad!
• By submitting your photo, you agree that it may be displayed on the Gallery Wall at the event venue during AniNite and published on social media channels and the AniNite website.
  You retain all rights to your work.
• Your photo must remain unpublished until the winners are announced. After that, you are welcome to share it on various platforms.

Categories (registration)

Set of rules

Please read the rules carefully!

• Closing date: July 12, 2026, 11:59 pm.
• AI-generated works are excluded.
• Only one picture per participant is allowed in each category.
• The picture must show at least one cosplayer.
• Your image must be at least 2000 x 3000 pixels in size and submitted as a JPG.
• Your image must not contain a logo/watermark.
• The picture must have been created by yourself and explicitly for this competition.
• In addition to the image submitted for the competition, the unedited original (as saved by the camera) must also be sent.
• Protection of minors: Images that contain obviously pornographic content, glorify violence or deal with similar topics will also be disqualified. Please remember that AniNite is also attended by minors.
• Special rule for the “Out of Cam” category: The image generated by the camera may only be adjusted in terms of brightness, contrast, white balance and cropping.

Competition and evaluation procedure

Closing date: Registration for the competition closes on:
12.07.2026, 23:59.

Rating

A jury evaluates the picture according to the following categories:

• Image composition
• Illumination
• Focus/depth of field
• Theme loyalty
• Figure posing
• Idea/creativity

For the Edit Lovers, image editing is also evaluated.

All pictures will be exhibited on the Gallery Wall during AniNite.

Contact

Do you have any questions?
Then don’t hesitate to write to us using the contact form with the subject “Cosplay photo”. We will do our best to answer your questions as quickly as possible.