College girl makes cosplaying a high-paid job

A college student in Qingdao has turned her hobby for dressing up into a well-paid business venture.

"Shiori" is a senior student in Qindao College, Shandong Province, eastern China. This is not her real name, but rather her "cosplay" stage name. Cosplayers wear costumes, accessories and make-up to represent characters from comics or video games.

Shiori has become a well-known cosplayer in Qingdao, but when asked about her real name, she refuses to tell, saying that it is a kind of rule in cosplay circles; except between very close friends, nobody uses real names.

Shiori became a cosplayer for the first time when she was in high school. At that time, she borrowed costumes from the owner of a comic book store. After seeing her fully in costume, Shiori’s parents were shocked by her appearance, saying "why would our sweet baby dress like a monster?"

However, Shiori enjoyed being on stage, saying she felt like a totally different person when on stage, which was pretty cool.

Shiori joined a local comic association in Qingdao in her second year in college. She occasionally published albums of her cosplay photos. She also got part-time jobs in cosplaying shows in her spare time.

Now she has 10 costumes, 20 wigs and contact lenses in a range of colors. She spent almost 20,000 yuan on her "equipment". The money came from part-time jobs and from making savings on her day-to-day spending.

In 2013, Shiori opened her own cosplay shop online, selling accessories. She earned 2,000 yuan in just one month.

Recently Shiori became a professional cosplayer. For each show, she is paid at least 2,000 yuan meaning her income is not less than a white collar worker's if she participated in several shows every month.

Shiori has given herself a limit of five years. If her cosplayer job does not work out, she will give it up and find a nine-to-five job.