Your cosplay, printed on a trading card and pulled from sealed packs
Cosplay TCG is a trading card game of real cosplayers, each shot by a photographer who is credited on the card. Season 01 goes to Kickstarter in spring 2027 with about 24 cosplayers, and applications are open now.
Apply for Season 01 How pay works
Collecting? Join the launch list and we will email you when the Kickstarter opens.
Sample card, halftone design, with the teal duotone behind it. Dolphycos as Mima Kirigoe, photo by Chris Pang.
What Cosplay TCG is
Every card shows one cosplayer as one character, in a photo by a named photographer. Collectors buy blind packs of 5: three base cards, one halftone and one rarer hit. People who back the Kickstarter get the First Edition, and a QR code on each card sends collectors to your page and your photographer's. We follow the model of Kento, an art card Kickstarter (more under comparable project), with two changes that matter to you: we publish the pay formula, and every cosplayer gets the same set of rarities.
What your card looks like
Cards are 63 x 88 mm, the size of any trading card. Your name runs up the side where the sample says DOLPHYCOS. The character's name stays at the bottom, and no official logos, artwork or screenshots appear anywhere on the card.
- Your name printed vertically in the side strip, as you want it to appear.
- The character in English, plus the original script when there is one.
- Your photographer credited on every card, with a camera mark.
- A card number such as PB-01. Two cosplayers playing the same character get PB-01 and PB-02.
The same set for every cosplayer
You get a base card and three variants, so nobody ends up as only a common. Foil and signed versions are made on top of these.
- Foil duotone
- Ultra rare. A foil version of your duotones, in about 1 pack in 5.
- Signed
- Your base card signed by hand and serial-numbered. Signing is a favor we will ask you for later. It is not part of the terms and nothing extra is paid for it.
The backs come in navy, red and teal and carry the Animori mark.
What collectors will tear open
Each foil pack holds 5 cards: three base cards, one halftone and one rarer hit, with foil and signed cards turning up in some packs. People who back the Kickstarter get the First Edition, marked on every card. A QR code on each card leads to the cosplayer's page and the photographer's, so a collector who pulls your card can find you.
Pack mockups in navy, red and teal, sized for 63 x 88 mm cards. The final print may change.
Comparable project
Kento asked Kickstarter backers for €4,680 and raised €190,154.
Kento is a set of art cards from objkt AG, the Zurich team behind the objkt marketplace. Its campaign ran from September 1 to October 1, 2026, reached its goal in 10 minutes and finished with about US$220,000 from 951 backers. Collectors bought blind packs of 5 cards drawn from 117 cards by 40 artists, and every artist was paid a share of every pack sold.
Kento is the closest project to ours: blind packs, rarities and paying the people on the cards. Cosplay TCG is not affiliated with Kento or objkt.
How the Kickstarter will work
Every date, price and goal on this ticket is proposed in our plan and can change before launch. The Kickstarter page will have the final numbers.
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Feb 2027
proposedThe pre-launch list
A Kickstarter pre-launch page goes up alongside the email list on this page. We plan to give everyone who joins before launch a VIP promo card and a VIP price, sent through a private reward link just before the campaign opens. Cosplayers post weekly card reveals, one cosplayer at a time.
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Mar to Apr 2027
proposed, exact dates not setLaunch day
The campaign runs for 30 days. Each tier has three prices: the VIP price, a limited early-bird price, then the regular Kickstarter price. The proposed Collector tier, 10 packs and 1 promo card, is $79 VIP, $89 early bird and $99 on Kickstarter.
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Goal $20,000
proposed default, not finalThe funding goal
Kickstarter is all-or-nothing. If the campaign does not reach its goal by the deadline, backers are not charged, no cards are printed and nobody is paid.
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When the campaign closes
What backers get
Sealed packs of 5 cards from the First Edition, marked on every card. Proposed tiers run from the Pack Sampler (5 packs, $54 on Kickstarter) to the Patron (60 packs with every promo card, a binder, a poster, a signed card of the backer's choice and an uncut sheet), plus a 240-pack tier for card shops. A pledge manager opens 1 to 2 weeks after the campaign closes, where backers pay shipping and tax and can add extras.
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About 4 months after the campaign closes
estimatePrinting and shipping
Cards are printed, packed and shipped to backers. Estimates like this can slip, and Kento's did. Comp packs for cosplayers and photographers ship after the print run.
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After rewards ship
proposed termsHow cosplayers and photographers get paid
Nobody is paid when the agreement is signed. Pay comes out of campaign funds after the campaign closes: 12% of net pack revenue shared equally across the season's cosplayers (75% to the cosplayer, 25% to the photographer), with the first payment within 30 days after Kickstarter rewards ship and a statement every quarter for 3 years, later Unlimited Edition sales included. 5% of pledges through your referral link comes on top. Full pay details.
Stretch goals are options in the plan, not decisions: four more cosplayers in the season, foil on every duotone card, more signed cards, a free binder for the Display tier and up, or an art book with each cosplayer's and photographer's story. Any of them could carry a bonus for talent, paid from campaign funds.
Get an email when the Kickstarter goes live
Collectors, friends and followers can join the launch list. We email you when the pre-launch page goes up and again on launch day, and we use the list only for Cosplay TCG news.
Kento's campaign ran on its list: of the 945 backers who chose a reward, 904 paid either the price reserved for people who signed up before launch or the limited early-bird price.
You are on the list
We will email you when the pre-launch page goes up. Send this page to a friend who collects.
From your application to cards in collectors' hands
- Nov 2 to Nov 20, 2026This page and the form go live. Talent agreement and photo license drafted.
- Nov 16, 2026 to Jan 15, 2027Invite wave 1 (12 founding cosplayers), then wave 2 (12 more). Contracts, files and proofs.
- Jan 2027Every card designed. Printed samples. You approve your card faces.
- Feb 2027Kickstarter pre-launch page goes up. Weekly card reveals, one cosplayer at a time, posted by that cosplayer.
- Mar to Apr 2027The 30-day Kickstarter campaign. You share your referral link.
- 1 to 2 weeks after the campaignPledge manager opens. Backers pay shipping and tax.
- About 4 months after the campaignCards are printed, packed and shipped to backers. Your comp packs ship too.
- After deliveryFirst pool payment within 30 days after rewards ship. Unlimited Edition sales and quarterly statements follow for the rest of the 3 years.
What happens after you apply
- We review your accounts: photo quality, your posting history and the SFW standard. We follow up with the people we pick through the handles you gave us.
- If it is a fit, we send an offer with the proposed agreement.
- Paperwork: a talent agreement, a photo license signed by your photographer, and a tax form (W-9, or W-8BEN outside the US).
- You send full-resolution files.
- You approve a proof of your cards, with one round of changes.
- You get a launch kit: your referral link, your card images, a posting calendar and your promo card art.
- After the campaign you are paid on the schedule below, with a statement each time.
How you get paid
Proposed terms. The final agreement is signed before launch.
There is no upfront payment and no guaranteed income. You earn when packs sell, so what you make depends on whether the Kickstarter funds and how many packs collectors buy.
| Share of pack sales | 12% of net pack revenue goes into a pool that is split equally between the season's cosplayers. Your share pays 75% to you and 25% to your photographer. It runs for 3 years and covers Kickstarter, pledge manager and later Unlimited Edition sales of the season. |
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| Signed cards | Not paid. Signed cards stay in packs as a rarity. Later we will ask you to sign some as a favor. It is not part of the terms and nothing extra is paid for it. |
| Your referral link | 5% of the Kickstarter pledges that come through your own link, on top of the pool. |
| Cards for you | 10 sealed packs and 5 copies of each of your own cards, shipped after the print run. |
| Cost to you | Nothing. Applying is free, and we never charge cosplayers to be included. |
How the pool math works
For every $10,000 of net pack revenue, $1,200 goes into the pool. Split across 24 cosplayers, that is $50 per cosplayer: $37.50 to the cosplayer and $12.50 to the photographer.
$10,000 is a round number to show the formula. It is not a sales forecast.
How the referral works
If 50 backers pledge $60 each through your link, that is $3,000 in pledges and $150 to you.
When you are paid. Nothing is paid when the agreement is signed. The first pool payment comes within 30 days after Kickstarter rewards ship, then statements arrive every quarter. You can ask to see the Kickstarter reports behind them.
What net pack revenue means. It is pack sales minus Kickstarter's platform and payment fees, as shown in Kickstarter's own reports.
If it does not work out. If the Kickstarter does not reach its goal, no cards are made and nobody is paid. If it funds and few packs sell, the payments are small. Your own posts and your referral link are part of what moves sales.
Photographers are credited on the card, paid from your share of the pool, and sign a photo license before anything prints.
Who can join and what we need from you
You
You are 18 or older. We check ID only if we make you an offer. Big followings are welcome and so are small accounts with a real posting history, as long as you are willing to share your referral link and post your card reveals.
The characters
If we pick you, we agree on the character for your card together. Original characters are welcome. More than one cosplayer can play the same character.
The photos
Sharp focus on your face and clean edges, at least 2,000 px on the short side. No other identifiable people, no official logos, no official art, no screenshots and no watermarks in the frame. We review the photos already on your accounts, and ask for full-resolution files only after an offer.
The SFW standard
Cosplay TCG is all-ages friendly and SFW only. No nudity or implied nudity, no sheer or see-through costumes, no sexualized poses or framing, no lingerie or fetish wear, and no revealing costumes on characters who are minors or look like minors in their source. Swimsuit-type costumes are case by case and default to no.
The rights we ask for
Non-exclusive rights to print your photo on Cosplay TCG cards, packs and promotion, and permission to use your cosplay name and likeness on them.
What you keep
You keep selling your own prints of the same photos, and your photographer keeps the copyright. Either side can stop future printings with written notice. Cards already printed can still be sold.
Your private details
The application asks only for your name, your handles, your country and that you are 18 or older. We use it to review your accounts, and we never print or share it. Payout details, ID and tax forms are requested only after you accept an offer, kept by Animori for payment and tax records, and never posted anywhere.
Apply for Season 01
Takes about a minute. Sending this form gives us no rights to your photos. Nothing is used until we both sign an agreement.
Application received
Thank you. We will review your accounts and follow up with the people we pick through the handles you gave us. If you need to change something, write to henry@animori.com.