(Photo: Rebel Image Photography)
This is Cori Main, a cosplayer in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. She's dressed in a costume that makes her look like the Predator. While attending the University of Hartford in Connecticut, she created and then completed a bachelor's degree in cosplay.
It's called a "contract major." Main created a modified art major that focused on cosplay, then got the approval of the dean. As a result, Main turned her passion into a highly specific degree. NJ reports:
As an artist, Main is very inventive when constructing props for her costumes.
"Everything on the Machiko costume is foam mats like the ones you put on the floor," she explained. "I baked it and molded it for the chest plate. I find different materials and experiment."
She said there is a lot of trial and error involved, but for every time an idea fails, another idea works perfect.
Main is gearing up for the many conventions happening this spring and summer, and hopes to even attend an iconic event on the West Coast.
"I may go to San Diego this year," she said of the San Diego Comic Con International. "How many I go to depends on if I can make it with scheduling and financially."
-via Cosplay America