Cosplay, or "costume play" is the art of dressing up as Japanese animation, video game, or manga (comic book) characters. Though this previously unheard of hobby is slowly becoming a household name as TV networks like MTV, G4TV, and various print media have recently featured cosplayers. This sudden media frenzy has many in the modeling industry scrambling to hire what many have come to consider anime and video game characters in the flesh.
Cosplayers are now being pursued by many companies, like ADV Films, for promotional and print opportunities that were previously filled by agency models. Their ability to re-create fantastical costumes and portray their chosen characters with accuracy is what's fueling the switch from the standard promotional models of the past that were merely 2-D reflections of the characters they were hired to exude. This recent trend has even become apparent in such venues as E3, that were once dominated by "booth babes", but have now become a mix of both agency girls and cosplayers.
This trend has gone even beyond just the promotional portion of the modeling industry. Cosplayers have been embraced by professional and semi-professional photographers and other modeling industry professionals as they seek cosplayers to expand their portfolio. Many photographers seeing the rising popularity of this art are now in works to produce coffee-table style books featuring cosplayers. Numerous semi-professional photographers are also offering photographs of cosplayers as prints for both anime and art collectors alike.
Japan's burgeoning anime industry has long been home to the "professional cosplayer" since the rise of Comiket, Tokyo Game Show, and other such powerhouse conventions. The interest necessary to develop such a profession here has long been desired, but unfulfilled until recent years. It's entirely possible in the near future that we shall see cosplayers that call their art a career, as opposed to just a hobby.
