Cosplay or costume play came about from Asian origins (Japan to be exact) but for the past decade or so, it is making headlines everywhere in the West particularly as we see more RPGs taking over the entertainment industry.

The growth in cosplay is seeing a massive boom, brought about by the usual culprit: social media itself. Rather than just play as the character, these no.1 fans want to be the character: dress like them, act and move like them, and pose like them in particular. Add a bit of photography skills, strategic lighting, Photoshop and you would have brought your favorite anime character, superhero, movie villain or game character to life!

(Image Source: EnvisageU)

Today, we showcase the level of enthusiasm and spirit of these cosplayers who put so much effort into the costume details, as well as their photographers who put all their skills to the test to pull these characters out of their realm into ours. Marvel at the following 40 professional cosplayers who can turn you into a cosplay junkie in a heartbeat.

300 – Spartan

I will never realize that this is actually cosplay if nobody told me so. Even then, I believe it is probably the highest level of cosplay. (Image Source: MrSeanRogers)

Assassin Creed – Ezio Auditore da Firenze

Every move of this professional cosplayer is destined to be kickass! (Image Source: Forcebewitya)

Atlantica Online – Oracle

The costume is perfect, but the vibrant lighting is what impressed me! It feels a bit like Diablo III’s in-game lighting effect. (Image Source: hellsign)

Batman The Dark Knight – Joker

Why so serious? You’re so serious that your cosplay looks exactly like the real deal! That’s what we called ‘bloody genius’. (Image Source: Lucius-Ferguson)

Bayonetta

Though Bayonetta possesses a more playful personality, the portrayed emotion fits perfectly in this cosplay. And full marks for the clothing. (Image Source: yuegene)

Bayonetta – Rodin

He’s coming, and there’s nowhere you can run. This cosplay is the definition of the term, “bad-ass”. (Image Source: EnvisageU)

Bioshock – Big Daddy

I know, this looks like a screenshot from the game. Then, I suggest you check this out: the behind-the-scene production post. (Image Source: Volpin)

Bleach

Though the Bleach’s character could be easily cosplayed, not many cosplay photographers have achieved the cool atmospheric effect like this. (Image Source: abbottw)

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Now this is what I call 3D gameplay. Oh wait, this is a cosplay. Not only did they recreate the character, they also recreated the scene! (Image Source: SupraMK86)

Diablo III – Demon Hunter

Seriously guys, why is there no Diablo movie in production? We’ve got the suit and the model prepared! (Image Source: Spiral Cats)

Diablo III – Demon Hunter

This is even more epic than any movie poster. The cosplay industry has evidently evolved into something more than just a hobby. (Image Source: Spiral Cats)

Diablo III – Mistress of Pain

Spoiler alert!

My heart is full of pain because this is actually a spoiler (I haven’t met this boss in the game!). But hey, this cosplay is painstakingly awesome. (Image Source: Michele Albrigo)

Devil May Cry – Lady

The perspective is kickass, ’nuff said. (Image Source: EnvisageU)

Final Fantasy Dissidia – Garland

I could not believe my eyes that someone could ever cosplay the Garland and actually replicate the complexity of his armor, but I forgot that the cosplay world has endless possibilities. (Image Source: hellsign)

Final Fantasy VII – Aerith

A memorable scene in Final Fantasy VII, rebuilt perfectly with a top-notch cosplayer and photographer. If there’s something for me to complain about this cosplay, I will say it is too perfect. (Image Source: Arwenphoto)

Final Fantasy VII AC – Cloud

This is probably the most realistic portrait of Cloud I’ve ever seen within the sea of cosplay photos. (Image Source: Hexlord)

Final Fantasy VII – Vincent

Giulia did a really good job portraying the Vincent Valentine. You could even sense the original character’s personality by just looking at this strongly accurate cosplay. (Image Source: Michele Albrigo)

Final Fantasy VIII – Edea

Final boss of Final Fantasy VIII, who always comes and leaves mysteriously, as captured by this cosplayer. The portrayed emotion of the cosplayer is deadly vital to the cosplay’s success. (Image Source: TotallyToasty)

Final Fantasy XIII – Lightning

Not sure about the eyes, but the details of the suit and the equipments freaked me, a FFXIII fan, out! (Image Source: Yuuri-C)

Gears of War 3 – Anya

“Meagan’s Anya Stroud cosplay took her 6 months to make. Long used her photos and the contest assets to create this gritty scene.” (Image Source: VirtualGirl6654)

Halo

Love the detail on the armor, it looks like it has been through several fights with aliens before! (Image Source: Hexlord)

Halo – Spartan Sniper

Another decent version of the Halo suit, the colors look nice! (Image Source: paradoxdj)

Iron Man

A detailed and accurate Iron Man suit with a load of effort involved! Kudos to the suit maker Masterle247. (Image Source: Masterle247)

Iron Man – Mark 1

Even the rusty Mark 1 suit could look super impressive if the cosplayer and the photographer got it right. (Image Source: Dan Almasy)

Mass Effect – Garrus

The costume looks so real that this creation should not exist in mere mortal’s world. It’s photoshopped a bit, but the armor is completely hand-crafted! (Image Source: ammnra)

Mass Effect – Mass O’Lights

That’s why I love cosplay, you got the chance to wear the coolest suit in the universe! (Image Source: ammnra)

Metroid – Samus Aran

How do you make an old school hero look insanely cool even after 25 years? It’s all about the skills. (Image Source: Tifa_Lockhart_X)

Monster Hunter: Giant Bone Sword

Finally a monstrous weapon that could slay an entire dragon! Again, a salute to the photographer, brucer007, for his wicked sense of perspective. (Image Source: brucer007)

Mortal Kombat – The Demon Within

Fiery cosplay, photography and Photoshop skills; you wouldn’t want to deal with them if they were real. (Image Source: EnvisageU)

Pokémon – Rocket Team

My mom lied to me, she said Pokémon was just a game! Now I have proof! (Image Source: Ryoko-demon)

Resident Evil 3 – Jill Valentine

“This is my last chance to escape… but before that, I need to take a photo.” Enough joking, a realistic shot! (Image Source: Tifa_Lockhart_X)

Spartacus: Blood and Sand

“I’ve started photographing cosplayers, it’s a perfect mixture of performance and portrait photography, where you can both experiment new ideas and concepts, and refine your technique in many ways.” (Image Source: Michele Albrigo)

StarCraft II – Terran Marine.

“You want a piece of me, boy?” Gorgeous piece, baby! (Image Source: Atelier Fantastic Art)

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StarCraft II – Tychus Findlay

Not really a cosplay, but a Photoshop masterpiece. And yes, his Photoshop skill is beyond awesome. (Image Source: Ziyan Zhang)

Star Ocean – Reimi

Fantastic shot of a fantastic cosplayer cosplaying a fantasy game character. (Image Source: Arwenphoto)

Street Fighter II – Dhalsim

I thought he was just a fictional character in the game, this photo can convince me otherwise. (Image Source: brucer007)

Team Fortress 2 – Soldier

Meet the soldier from the Team Fortress! It may look simple, compared to what you have seen so far, but you will only know how cool this cosplay is by looking at the precise similarities it shares with the real one in the game. (Image Source: The Cauldron of Doom)

The Knight of Shadow – Skullman

Excellent is the only word that could be used to describe this cosplay. (Image Source: CIN "NEWTYPE" Art.O.Graphy)

V for Vendetta

This looks as realistic as the movie character! That’s the professional spirit of cosplay. (Image Source: KinslayeR)

Vocaloid – Hatsune Miku

Not only is the cosplayer gorgeous, this work also essentially proves that westerners can do very cute cosplay too! (Image Source: Kirana)

Reflection

Having witnessed so many cosplays throughout these years, I always think about a famous question: what makes a good cosplay?

Many people agree that the cosplayer and costume are certainly vital to the cosplay’s success, while some believe that the cosplay photographer could either make or break the cosplay. What do you think is the most important aspect of a successful cosplay? Have you ever cosplayed before? Or do you know of other cool cosplay works elsewhere in the web?

Be proud to showcase the photos, or maybe share your precious cosplay experience in your comments. We are prepared to be impressed!

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The latest operating system to grace Apple devices is the Mountain Lion and one of the most exciting features in Mac OS X Mountain Lion is Messages. Messages brings your chatting experience to a whole new level by allowing you to have cross-device conversations with anyone on a Mac (with Mountain Lion), iPod touch, iPhone or iPad (carrying iOS 5 and above).

With Messages, you can sync documents, photos, videos, and contacts among all your devices. You can even have a group conference and use Facetime (video calls) across any and all devices. Communicating with your fellow Mac peers has never been easier.

Read Also: How To Setup Messages + Facebook Chat

We noticed that the fastest way to navigate around Messages is via shortcut keys. Therefore in today’s post, we’re putting together these shortcuts in a list to speed up your Mac OS X Mountain Lion Messages experience. If we had missed any, just add your shortcut to the comments section.

Shortcuts	Description
Command + ,	Preferences…
Control + Command + O	My Status – Offline
Control + Command + A	My Status – Available
Control + Command + W	My Status – Away
Command + H	Hide Messages
Option + Command + H	Hide Others
Command + Q	Quit Messages
Option + Command + Q	Quit and Keep Windows
Command + N	New Message
Command + O	Open…
Shift + Command + W	Close Window
Option + Shift + Command + W	Close All
Command + W	Close Conversation
Option + Command + W	Close All Conversation
Command + P	Print…
Command + R	Go to Chat Room
Command + V	Paste
Option + ⎋	Complete
Command + A	Select All
Option + Command + C	Copy Style
Option + Command + V	Paste Style
Command + F	Find…
Command + G	Find Next
Shift + Command + G	Find Previous
Command + E	Use Selection for Find
Command + J	Jump to Selection
Command + :	Show Spelling and Grammar
Command + ;	Check Document Now
Shift + Command + K	Mark Transcript
Option + Command + K	Clear Transcript
Option + Command + T	Special Characters…
Command + +	Increase Text Size
Command + -	Decrease Text Size
Control + Command + F	Enter Full Screen
Shift + Command + I	Show Info
Option + Command + B	Show Contact Card
Option + Command + E	Send Email…
Option + Command + F	Send File…
Command + T	Show Fonts
Command + B	Bold
Command + I	Italic
Command + U	Underline
Shift + Command + C	Show Colors
Command + M	Minimize
Option + Command + M	Minimize All
Command + 0	Messages
Option + Command + L	File Transfers
Shift + Command + E	Show Video Effects
Shift + Command + R	Reset Video Effects
Shift + Command + S	Take Snapshot

For more shortcuts on OS X Lion, try 10 More New Features + Shortcuts You Should Know and for shortcuts in general, click here.

Related posts:

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3. How to Setup Messages + Facebook Chat in OS X Lion [Quicktip]
4. Mountain Lion: 18 Subtle and Hidden New Features