Brooke is building a career out of something most only know as a hobby. This is how

Like millions of people around the world, Brooke Littler is obsessed with the Marvel cinematic universe.

She can't remember when it started, all she knows is that she's "always" loved the films.

But it wasn't until 2016 that she began to realise that her passion for the franchise could potentially be turned into a career.

Littler first started going to ComicCon conventions when she was in her early 20s, and it was there that she discovered the world of cosplay.

"I think it probably took me a year or so to decide to start investing in it," she tells nine.com.au.

"The first cosplay I decided to buy was Black Widow Avengers cosplay."

She recalls being "nervous" in the lead-up to the day she would wear it, but all her nerves disappeared when she arrived at the event, and she immediately felt "safe" walking around everyone else in costume, too.

"People would come up to me and compliment my costume, and people would say how good I looked, and it would really just increase my confidence," she said.

"It was so much fun. And then after that, I just wanted to keep doing it more with more characters, and I've been doing it ever since."

Littler soon bought some more Marvel costumes, and in 2019, she decided to start an Instagram account to post photos of her cosplays.

Her account is what allowed her to grow her cosplay from a hobby into something that has now begun to afford her professional opportunities.

"I've been lucky enough to be invited to a lot of big movie premieres and events as a cosplayer," she says.

"I went to the Fantastic Four premiere dressed as Sue Storm from the 2005 version of the movie.

"And I've done Glinda from Wicked, who I love so much. And I got to go to the Wicked premiere because of that as well."

While Littler doesn't do cosplay full-time yet, her following is growing, and she says it would "be a dream" to turn it into her full-time career.

"I've always worked in creative industries, so being able to be a full-time content creator, pop culture cosplay content creator would be such an incredible thing," she says.

"I think it's just become a big creative outlet for me. I really love having the ability to just completely change my appearance and transform into so many different characters."

While Littler and the rest of the community understand that cosplay is a creative outlet that lets fans explore their own creativity within the worlds they love so much, there's a lot of misunderstanding among the public.

Some find the hobby odd or unnerving, whereas others think there are certain qualifications or barriers to entry. Littler says none of that is true.

"If people are considering trying cosplay, maybe they think there's a specific age limit or that you have a certain way to portray certain characters, but it's really such a diverse creative hobby that literally anyone can participate in regardless of skill level," she says.

"Because some people make them completely from scratch, and some people buy them pre-made, like me.

"I just greatly admire all the people who can make their own cosplays and props themselves from scratch, it's incredible."

Produced in partnership with CareerOne.