But, scratch the surface, and - under the intricate costumes and layers of facepaint - there's a vibrant, close-knit community which is about much more than a game of dress-up for its fans.

This weekend, crowds of these cosplayers - short for costume players - will converge on Wollongong for the third annual comic convention, Comic Gong, which is expected to attract thousands to the city.

Among them will be Oak Flats star Eve Beauregard, who has attracted more than 300,000 Facebook admirers from around the world thanks to her ability to embody their favourite characters.

After being bullied in high school, the 21-year-old struck it big when she started a Facebook page to share her love of dressing up, and has used her new found fame to encourage other kids who might be experiencing the same thing.

And, despite her bombshell looks, Beauregard is a self-proclaimed nerd who goes out of her way to make herself approachable to her legions of fans.

"I love it because I get to send out the message that being different is cool," she told the Mercury ahead of last year's Comic Gong. Beauregard will be joined at the Comic Gong cosplay competition by Sydney roller derby player Chloe Lyttle.

The 30-year-old likes to be known by the tough-sounding pseudonym Feisty Cuffs, but - when talking about her 10-year involvement in the world of cosplay - speaks most highly of the support and collaboration within the subculture.

"I was always encouraged by my parents to be quite creative, and discovered cosplay when I went to a fancy dress party and someone asked me if my costume was cosplay," Lyttle says.

"Now I go to comic book conventions, and all of us converge and it's so nice to catch up with your friends - if someone sees you wearing a character that they like, it's kind of like wearing a band T-shirt and you can lock eyes and know you have that in common."

Talented Bomaderry costume maker, Melissa Moore, 31, discovered cosplay in recent years, and says it has helped her shake off any remnants of an unhappy past relationship and embrace a much more creative life with her new husband and baby daughter, Abby.

"I wasn't encouraged to do anything out of the normal in my past relationship, so now I've rediscovered my creative side and built up a pretty good credibility for my skills in making costumes," Moore says.

"I don't want my daughter to grow up and think she can't do anything, so this is really about trying to teach her to use her creative side too.

"She loves it when I put a costume on."

Moore has stepped back from dressing up for conventions since having Abby 16 months ago and has focused on the behind-the-scenes work creating costumes.

She has built up a good following on social media for her costume design enterprise, Something a Little Unique by Mel (or SLUM) Cosplay, and has been hosting workshops for kids and teenagers in the lead up to Comic Gong to help them create their own costumes.

Moore says getting vulnerable young people involved in crafting costumes and embracing a different identity can help them overcome mental illness.

"Personally I think its really good for suicide prevention, because if you ask lots of people about cosplay, they'll tell you how it has brought them back," she says.

"It gives them something to be passionate about, and having something grow from their own two hands is enough to make them think differently about the world when they're down. Cosplay makes you feel good about yourself and it brings people out of their shells."

Backing Moore's comments, new research at the University of Adelaide found cosplay is helping people develop social and creative skills, find friends and become socially acceptable.

Anthropology PhD student Claire Langsford says cosplay is almost always a shared activity, with devotees interacting with others through social and digital media or through conventions.

"There is a stereotype that cosplayers are socially isolated but it's very difficult to cosplay on your own," Ms Langsford says.

"Being involved in such activities can help people to find friends, feel socially accepted, and express their imagination and creativity with people they consider to be their peers."

The strength of this virtual and real life community was recently made visible after the tragic killing of Melbourne teenager Masa Vukotic, who was stabbed to death while walking in a reserve in March.

Seventeen-year-old Masa was a well-regarded cosplayer, known as Princess Marci, or Sparklehime to her followers, and her murder reverberated through the community with many fans and supporters taking to social media to draw images of her or post photos of themselves wearing pink - her favourite colour.

Dapto refrigeration mechanic and cosplayer, Cameron Oppio, 22, has also felt the strength of the community and says it has helped many of his friends to recover from a tough time at school.

"It's always good to be with people who have been through the same circumstances and have the same interests and hobbies as you," he says.

"Everyone kind of rode the geek train, they've been picked on in school or what not, but now that it's mainstream and lots of people want a part of it, so it's a strong little - or not so little - community," he says.

■ Comic Gong will be held on Saturday at Wollongong Town Hall, the city library and art gallery.

Details: wollongong.nsw.gov.au.