Henrik Pilerud is our first judge on this year’s cosplay contest. Cosplayer, photographer, graphic designer and filmmaker, he was attracted to visual arts and costume-making since he was young. Although in the beginning his costumes were simple and lacked finish, he persevered and honed his craft, building ever more complex costumes that required mastery of several disciplines. A couple of recent examples include the xenomorph from “Alien” and a fully-functional Space Marine power armor.

Henrik is accompanied by Arty Anna, together with whom they form an impressive cosplay duo. Since both wish to contribute as much as they can to the cosplay community, they hold presentations and workshops to share their knowledge.

At Nijikon 2015 they will host a Cosplay Planning workshop, where you can bring a photo of your next costume and receive guidance, tips and tricks, to help you with your build. Also, Pilerud and Anna will hold a panel about what cosplay means to them and how they evolved their craft along the years. Questions from the public are welcome.

Both the workshop and the panel will take place on Sunday, the second day of the event.