Cosplay, the time-intensive hobby of creating costumes based off favorite anime or video game characters, isn't easy. Bringing a character to life in a real-life, three-dimensional form requires skill, ingenuity, and often quite a bit of cash.

Even so, cosplayers delight in becoming their favorite characters for a while, and fans are generally overjoyed to see the real-life interpretations. During the recent San Diego Comic-Con, one cosplayer caught the attention of many in a fantastic rendition of a Destiny playable class.

Paola Alejandra, gamer and cosplayer, wore her rendition of the Warlock class from Destiny at San Diego Comic-Con. A professional photo taken of her in-costume was posted on her Twitter account, allowing those who couldn't attend to enjoy it. The costume was created with impeccable detail, and she took the opportunity to create a cosplay with customized armor and weaponry. Her costume features hand-crafted versions of the Thorn hand cannon, the Robe of the Exile, and she's pictured holding the helmet Light Beyond Nemesis. It's unclear whether the helmet is actually wearable, but holding it allows her to reveal her makeup that gives her the appearance of a member of the Awoken playable race.

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Many cosplayers of extraordinary skill have appeared at prior Comic-Con conventions, including a stunning Mass Effect cosplayer. As far as Paola's Destiny cosplay goes, she really stepped up her game by making her armor completely unique in the same ways that allows individual Destiny players to stand out from one another. Rather than using the base appearance for her robe, she seems to have taken inspiration from Destiny's shaders, and chose to create an all-white variant. The intricate work on the metallic and hard surfaces on her armor and helmet is also extremely impressive, and really convinces the viewer that she's wearing a battle-worthy piece, rather than a costume.

Cosplay takes time, money, and lots of effort, but when it's successful, it's quite a sight to behold. While Paola refers to herself as an 'occasional cosplayer,' her efforts are definitely on-par with the cosplayers who consider cosplaying to be their profession, not just a hobby.

Source: Twitter