We are starting to get a very large number of cosplay submissions (relative to other artisan crafts). While this is not unexpected, given the popularity of cosplay, we would like to remind members to consider the objectives of Valvecrafts when selecting which photographs to submit.

Valvecrafts places a stronger technical focus on cosplay submissions than most cosplay-specific groups. We would like photographs that are clear and display the fine details and workmanship of a cosplay, rather than character poses, the cosplayer's attractiveness, or skillfull photography/photomanipulation. Of course, these things are not always mutually exclusive in a submission, but when multiple photographs of the same cosplay are submitted, from now on we may vote to accept only the ones with the strongest focus on handmade detail to reduce inbox flooding.

For example, if someone submits the following four images of the same Chell cosplay:

1. A full bodied photo of her posing outdoors in the day with a convention hall and several Naruto cosplayers behind her milling about casually
2. A photo of her with a Companion Cube prop under neutral lighting
3. A heavily photoshopped image of herself cut and pasted into a Gmod image of GLADOS's chamber
4. A rose-tinted photo of just her chest with her 42DD+ bust on the verge of spilling out of her tank top...

...we'd probably accept the first two and reject the last two. Its an extreme example, but you get the drift :)

As before, crossovers, tutorials and works in progress go into their appropriate folders too; and photographs of cosplays not created by the submitter are acceptable as long as you do not calim it as your own.
Edit (Greenzaku): I'm wondering if anyone is following the progress of DotA 2, which is slated for full release end this year or start of next year. There are ample trailers, gameplay vids, wallpapers etc to guide artisans and cosplayers so I am expecting more DotA 2 related work to show up on DA soon. Being a real-time strategy game, its very different from other Valve projects and would probably have a different fanbase demographic at this stage. I would like Valvecrafts admin to keep an eye out for their work.

There is also the matter that some characters and items have been carried over from the first DotA; at this stage I'm unsure if we would need to differentiate between Valve and non-Valve versions or if there would be enough submissions to make this a consideration anyway. But it would be an issue if DotA 2 submissions flood DA.   
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ok, we have a lot of pictures of the Otakon shoots in our galleries, but theres only so many pictures of the same thing we can accept.

we have all the shoots well and truly covered now, so in the future we wont be accepting any more of the shoots.

you can still submit photos from Otakon, but we just wont be accepting the group shots
EDIT: I have requested a number of submissions into the Group which have expired due to not garnering enough votes, unfortunately as these were submitted prior to the appointment of new admin,  Uzaru, MistressK, Zyanith and stewie have not been able to view and vote for them.

If you are one of those who has submitted such a deviation, I would like to apologise for the delay. You will need to approve their inclusion in Valvecrafts through Messages -> Correspondence messages.
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All those who have expressed their interest in group admin positions have been notified. If anyone has any questions on the technical side of running a group, don't hesistate to contact us.
As you may have noticed, angel--of--music has stepped down as a Co-Founder due to other commitments and Valvecrafts needs a replacement. We wish her the best in her further endeavors and  would like to invite interested members to post in the comments below if they would like to step up.

Ideally, a Co-Founder should have good knowledge of multiple Valve games, has Valve-related artisan crafts in their gallery, and can commit a little time to vote in new submissions as well as move them into appropriate folders when needed. An extra bonus would be someone who can think up and implement interesting ideas for the direction of this group. Existing Contributors are more than welcome to apply for this position; in this scenario I would want to get new Contributors too.

I emphasise that I am not looking for someone who necessarily agrees with everything I or the other mods do - if so then why would we need to have a voting system? :P
With the influx of photographs from mid-year conventions and Portal 2, we'd like to remind submitters that though we DO allow humanoid/anthro versions of nonhumanoid characters (eg. Wheatley, sentry gun, etc), yes, even OCs; we do need to be able to tell that it is a Valve creation clearly from the image.

More importantly, although cosplay counts as an artisan craft, cosplay *photography* is not. Try to keep the focus in submissions to the technical aspects of a cosplay, such as clearly-lit costumes, props, wigs, and makeup, rather than cool poses, vast backgrounds, tinted lighting, motion blurs etc. Otherwise your submission may be refused.