A Body Painted (and Glowing!) Cortana

Doug Appel is a gamer who is particularly passionate about Halo, and his girlfriend is a model who enjoys moonlighting at a haunted house. When they heard about Ohio’s Midwest Haunters Convention and its annual Body Art Fashion Show, only one thing came to both of their minds: Cortana. Grateful for the opportunity to bring everybody’s favorite holographic construct to life, they first had to decide which adaptation of the AI they wanted to recreate in this rather unconventional art form. Opting to go with the purple Halo: CE and 2 version, they grabbed talented artists Jackie Steinert and Jason McCollum and immediately went to work.

Because the contest had a black light theme, they started by covering the model with a base coat of UV reactive paint. Once that layer had been airbrushed on her, they carefully sketched out the detailed parts of the data with a non-UV violet (which gave a brilliant and intense contrast effect under the electromagnetic radiation-emitting lights). Seven hours and several tired limbs later, their body painted Cortana was finally complete. Full nude paintings were not allowed due to the rules, but ultimately the entire four-person team was pleased with the results they achieved, especially considering the suboptimal presence of both pasties and a thong.

There are a plethora of pictures, including some of the painting process, awaiting your presence after the jump, but be warned they contain an almost nude model wearing little beyond liquid color. That’s a bad thing if you’re at work, but it’s a good thing for the rest of us. Quit your job, close your door, or put a protective barrier around your monitor, then get to checking out the beautiful, purple Cortana. She’s worth more than a few minutes of your time. Trust me on that.

click images to enlarge

*Images posted with permission