OK, what the heck is cosplay?

The other day I came across an unfamiliar word -- cosplay.  Wikipedia defines it as

short for "costume play", is a type of performance art in which participants wear costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea from a work of fiction. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture centered on role play. A broader use of the term cosplay applies to any costumed role play in venues apart from the stage, regardless of the cultural context.

There is a wide array of websites dedicated to cosplay, as well as Google+ communities.  Many photos can be found by searching on "cosplay."  Here are a couple that I particularly like.

Here's one posted by +Antony Jackson:

And this one was posted by +Laura Manach:

Since cosplay appears to be strongly related to anime and manga, here are examples of each.  Although the two appear to be alike, you can see some differences, such as subject matter, tone and drawing techniques.

An anime video posted by GMV AMV:

MANGAentertainment posted this trailer for Redline:

Off topic, while I was poking about YouTube I came across this CGI short film -- "Rising" by Mikros Siggraph Computer Animation Festival 2012 (not exactly sure whether Mikros is the creator or the venue).  It was posted by TheCGBros, a well-done channel with lots of 3D content.

-- Marge