Editing Cosplay (section)

===Cosplay models===
{{See also|Promotional model}}
Cosplay has influenced the advertising industry, in which cosplayers are often used for event work previously assigned to agency models.<ref name=entertainmentscene360>{{cite web|url=http://www.entertainmentscene360.com/index.php/cosplay-models-real-life-japanime-characters-38228/ |title=Cosplay Models Real Life Japanime Characters by Cynthia Leigh |publisher=Entertainment Scene 360 |date=11 March 2007 |access-date=16 May 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517122218/http://www.entertainmentscene360.com/index.php/cosplay-models-real-life-japanime-characters-38228/ |archive-date=17 May 2014 }}</ref> Some cosplayers have thus transformed their hobby into profitable, professional careers.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cosplaynewsnetwork.com/fox-news-report-sexy-cosplayers-can-make-200000-a-year/|title=Fox News Report: Sexy Cosplayers Can Make $200,000 A Year|date=1 August 2017|work=Cosplay News Network|access-date=10 October 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=2 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230502123652/https://cosplaynewsnetwork.com/fox-news-report-sexy-cosplayers-can-make-200000-a-year/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="BollingSmith2014"/><ref>{{cite web |last=Lingle |first=Samuel |url=http://www.dailydot.com/entertainment/cosplay-crystal-graziano-costumes-red-5-studios/ |title=Costume designer turns play into work with cosplay |publisher=Dailydot.com |date=1 February 2012 |access-date=16 May 2014 |archive-date=3 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603173151/http://www.dailydot.com/entertainment/cosplay-crystal-graziano-costumes-red-5-studios/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Japan's entertainment industry has been home to the professional cosplayers since the rise of Comiket and [[Tokyo Game Show]].<ref name=entertainmentscene360/> The phenomenon is most apparent in Japan but exists to some degree in other countries as well. Professional cosplayers who profit from their art may experience problems related to [[copyright infringement]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comicsandcosplay/columns/cosplaydossier/14500-What-Does-A-Professional-Cosplayer-Do |title=What Does A Professional Cosplayer Do &#124; Cosplay Dossier &#124; The Escapist |website=Escapistmagazine.com |date=25 August 2015 |access-date=6 February 2016 |archive-date=6 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160206233752/http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comicsandcosplay/columns/cosplaydossier/14500-What-Does-A-Professional-Cosplayer-Do |url-status=dead }}</ref>

A cosplay model, also known as a cosplay idol, cosplays costumes for anime and manga or video game companies. Good cosplayers are viewed as fictional characters in the flesh, in much the same way that film actors come to be identified in the public mind with specific roles. Cosplayers have modeled for print magazines like ''Cosmode'' and a successful cosplay model can become the [[brand ambassador]] for companies like [[Cospa]]. Some cosplay models can achieve significant recognition. While there are many significant cosplay models, [[Yaya Han]] was described as having emerged "as a well-recognized figure both within and outside cosplay circuits".<ref name="BollingSmith2014">{{cite book|author1=Ben Bolling|author2=Matthew J. Smith|title=It Happens at Comic-Con: Ethnographic Essays on a Pop Culture Phenomenon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u7jPAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA36|date=12 February 2014|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-7694-7|page=36}}</ref> [[Jessica Nigri]], used her recognition in cosplay to gain other opportunities such as voice acting and her own documentary on [[Rooster Teeth]]. [[Liz Katz]] used her fanbase to take her cosplay from a hobby to a successful business venture, sparking debate through the cosplay community whether cosplayers should be allowed to fund and profit from their work.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nerdreactor.com/2013/05/30/is-fundraising-a-cosplay-outfit-wrong/ |title=Is fundraising a cosplay outfit wrong; Nerd Reactor |website=nerdreactor.com |date=30 May 2013 |access-date=8 May 2022 |archive-date=5 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205112041/https://nerdreactor.com/2013/05/30/is-fundraising-a-cosplay-outfit-wrong/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://nerdreactor.com/2015/05/11/cosplayer-ani-mia-cosplay-crowdfund/ |title=Cosplayer Ani-Mia sheds light on the dark side of cosplay crowdfunding |website=nerdreactor.com |date=11 May 2015 |access-date=8 May 2022 |archive-date=5 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205112151/https://nerdreactor.com/2015/05/11/cosplayer-ani-mia-cosplay-crowdfund/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In the 2000s, cosplayers started to push the boundaries of cosplay into eroticism paving the way to "erocosplay".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://kotaku.com/how-japanese-cosplay-is-moving-closer-to-porn-5844981 |title=How Japanese Cosplay Is Moving Closer to Porn |last=Ashcraft |first=Brian |date=2011-09-29 |website=[[Kotaku]] |publisher= |access-date=2023-01-20 |quote=During the late 1990s and around the turn of the century, with cosplay cafes popping up in Akihabara and with "image clubs" (places of prostitution where the girls dress up in outfits to create an "image") increasingly popular, erotic cosplayers began to take their initial steps. By around 2003 or 2004, cosplayers were wearing increasingly sexy outfits. The increase of skin seems to directly relate to both the explosion of the internet and the increase in quality of digital photography. |archive-date=13 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813014633/https://kotaku.com/how-japanese-cosplay-is-moving-closer-to-porn-5844981 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2022/06/29/cosplay-onlyfans/ |title=51 Sexiest Cosplay Onlyfans Models You Need To See |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2022-06-29 |website=[[The Village Voice]] |publisher= |access-date=2023-01-20 |quote=Apparently there’s a term for what these sexy full nude and explicit cosplayers are doing, and it’s called ‘erocosplay’, a fusion between the words Erotic and Cosplay we’re assuming. |archive-date=7 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230607053706/https://www.villagevoice.com/2022/06/29/cosplay-onlyfans/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The advent of social media coupled with crowdfuding platforms like [[Patreon]] and [[OnlyFans]] have allowed cosplay models to turn cosplay into profitable full-time careers.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.insider.com/cosplayers-reaping-thousands-from-onlyfans-content-twitch-streams-and-merchandise-2021-9 |title=Cosplayers — once relegated to the niche world of comic conventions — have transformed themselves into brand influencers, and are raking in thousands, and sometimes millions, in the process |last=Teh |first=Cheryl |date=2021-10-01 |website=[[Business Insider]] |publisher= |access-date=2023-01-20 |quote= |archive-date=20 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240220054013/https://www.businessinsider.com/cosplayers-reaping-thousands-from-onlyfans-content-twitch-streams-and-merchandise-2021-9 |url-status=live }}</ref>