'You never feel alone': Oz Comic-Con crowd finds community in fandom

"You never feel alone in the cosplay community," Amelia Torresan said.

The Sydneysider, dressed as a bright and sparkling Fairy Godmother from Shrek 2, would know, having travelled down to Canberra to attend the weekend's Oz Comic-Con by herself.

Between explaining her eye-catching costume, Ms Torresan, who's "been in the game 11 years", posed for photos with other keen pop culture fans filling the crowded Exhibition Park hall.

She was among hundreds of attendees, young and old, dressed as Spider-Man, elves, Neo from the Matrix, anime characters, Avengers, stormtroopers, X-Men, animals and fantasy novel characters.

For fans of the recent Alien: Romulus sequel, some in one cheerful group donned terrifying facehuggers around their necks while a baby Xenomorph broke out of another's chest.

Ms Torresan, already a self-described introvert, felt even more comfortable while donning her outfit.

"I love her flair," she said, of the character.

"Whether it's performing as her or it's just walking around, I just really want to be like the Fairy Godmother because she knows what she wants."

Sydneysider Amelia Torresan as Fairy Godmother. Picture by Elesa Kurtz

Michael Bourke, of Flynn, Lexie Turvey, of Chifley, and Tammy McNeill, of Hughes. Picture by Elesa Kurtz

Miranda Young, of Aranda, as Daisy, and Anastasia Riley, of Lyneham, as Pauline. Picture by Elesa Kurtz

Alex Deery, of Macgregor, as a tree spirit, and Caelyn Duffey, of Scullin, as Loona from Helluva Boss. Picture by Elesa Kurtz

Matt Mulcahy, of Queanbeyan, Snow Rowley, of Griffith, and Paul Bailey, of Pambula, as the 501st Legion. Picture by Elesa Kurtz

Sydneysider Amelia Torresan as Fairy Godmother. Picture by Elesa Kurtz

Isabella Fuz Buckley, of O’Connor, as Cult of the Lamb, and Maheen Mainuddin, of Franklin, as Katara from Avatar. Picture by Elesa Kurtz

Fumeng Hao as Salty milk tea Squirrel and Ellie Yi, of China. Picture by Elesa Kurtz

But Ms Torresan wasn't putting her hat, or wig, in the ring for one of the key reasons some attended the weekend - an opportunity to enter the Australian Championships of Cosplay.

That is, because only self-made outfits were eligible for the competition final in Sydney.

Tammy McNeill, of Hughes, could have entered after spending more than two years working on her Critical Role outfit.

"This is all hand-embroidered. I've made literally everything I'm wearing except for the shoes and the wig," she said.

But the cosplayer wasn't yet ready for competitions, with improvements still to be done and more skills in the beloved craft of costume-making to be learned.

Friend Lexie Turvey, of Chifley, recalled her very first cosplay outfit from years ago. Her Helen Blackthorn from the Shadowhunter series came from a regular singlet, pants, a dressed-up $2 plastic sword and some elf ears.

"I thought, 'I'll just try. I don't really know what I'm doing, and I can't make anything, but I'll just throw it on'," she said.

"People still recognised the character, and people still loved it. Then I just got more and more into it."

The pair and Michael Bourke, also a Canberra local, know each other through cosplay.

Despite the initial group they met in breaking up, the trio remained friends through a passion shared with the wider community - fandom.

The event continues on Sunday.