Body Painting: Techniques

Anyone who attempts body painting quickly discovers the lack of useful information and dearth of practical materials to accomplish successful body paintings. This situation has improved in recent years. It is becoming easier to find good paints to work with. Most traditional makeup techniques are incredibly messy and time consuming. It's not unusual to hear of a full body painting taking 10 to 12 hours.

Markers

Crayola, along with other companies, makes special markers for kids. These are completely safe, as they are formulated under the assumption that kids will be marking themselves, and moms will need to wash it off. These actually work well at making a translucent effect, similar to tattooing. Once it dries, it stays on till washed off. The biggest drawback is the size of the point. Even the bold markers take an excessive amount of time if a lot of body coverage is needed. The human body averages 1.8 square meters of skin. That's a lot to cover with markers.

As for utility in Bodypainting, these markers have okay staying power. Primary advantage is that they can't peel off as paints can, and also won't pull or wrinkle when the skin stretches. They wash off very easy, but also will smear if they get to moist from water or sweat and are rubbed.

Sakura makes some interesting 1" wide tip markers. These are watercolor, non-toxic markers. They stay on the skin fairly well until washed off. The most interesting colors are a metallic silver and a gold. These look good, and might be very useful for creating stripes and large areas metallic, but probably not practical for total coverage.

Airbrush Make Up

This is probably the best, for safety, flexibility, and speed. Although more expensive than the airbrush acrylics mentioned below, this is a better way to go as airbrush textile acrylics, tend to crack and peel at high flexion points. If you are working for a commercial client, doing a photo shoot, then these are what you want to use.

You may also want to experiment with Kryolan's Brandel color sprays in small cans. Unlike other hair colors, these lay down a solid opaque layer, just like real spray paint. It dries quickly to the touch and is fairly difficult to rub off. But in soap and water it dissolves quickly. It appears to be traditional hair spray loaded up with pigment. It has the same obnoxious fumes as old fashioned air sprays. Their gold and silver sprays are good, because it is possible to lay down a solid shiny layer. Black is incredibly messy though. Over spray is a real problem because of the fine aerosol mist these produce. Use a face mask!

MagicColor Face/Body Paints

MagicColor is from Ben Nye, a Hollywood makeup company. These are opaque, but apply thin with a brush, and dry quick. (The main ingredient is alcohol.) They work well with airbrush. 4 ozs. can do whole body coverage. Price is around US$10 for a 4 oz bottle. Most primary colors are available, along with glitter metallic. Warnings are on the label against using red, pink or orange in eye areas. These are good all around makeup grade paints, not cost prohibitive, and with fairly good staying power. The red stains a little on skin, but cleans off easy. It does stay tacky for awhile, so you may want to apply setting powder.

Airbrush Textile Acrylics

These are a great balance between low cost and utility. And they are marked as non-toxic. They are actually designed for airbrushing on Fabrics. They dry quickly and don't rub off easy. Because they are made for textiles their flexibility is superior to other paints. Yet they still wash off easily in soap and water. They also work well when applied by regular bristle brush.

Most popular two brands are Createx and Jurex. Both work well and run about $5 for a 4 oz bottle. Larger bottles are available, but usually only black and white in most retail outlets. Createx has an iridescent line of colors that come out quite nice, with a shiny look, as opposed to a matte flat finish. The Jurex colors seem to work better than the Createx when using a bristle brush. They are available at any good art store that stocks airbrush supplies.

You can use a Pasche airbrush for fine work and a larger production airbrush for large areas. The key to good airbrush make up is to lay down the thinnest opaque coat you can. Thicker or multiple coats peel and flake more readily. Thin your paint, the concentration in the bottle is usually too thick and will get used up too soon. There are good books at the art stores on air brush techniques for obtaining different effects.

AGPC Makeup

An airbrush makeup that is safe on skin and that comes off with soap and water...yet has fantastic staying power. You just set it with a talc powder and use a damp sponge afterwards to remove the powder. It's called Airbrush Grade Prosthetic Cosmetic or AGPC.

It's from Michael Davy Film & TV Make Up, in Orlando FL. The only drawback is it's expense. Even a four oz bottle is $35. But if you are painting for a long event, or other profesional job or commercial film or video shoot, this is the best. And prices drop if you order large containers. Many colors are available.

The color selection is large, not as large as Createx though, with it's cool iridescent and pearlescent colors that look slick and shiny after drying. But you may be able to get the same effect by mixing silver or gold makeup powders into the paint. They also have UltraViolet reactive Day Glo colors.

Liquid Latex

Liquid Latex has become quite popular in the last couple of years. It has been available as a make-up material for a long time, but now some companies are making it available in several colors, including black and clear, beyond the traditional flesh tone.

Initially it has been promoted as a way of making instant latex clothing. But it has real potential as body paint. Once it sets, it is much less messy than any other paint. And the setting time is quite quick, ten minutes or so. It also cleans off well, if applied to shaved skin! There is even the possibility of creating a reusable painting, but this requires multiple coats and some experimentation. Some very interesting effects, textures and colors may be achieved. For example, you can mix in metallic powder or sprinkles. Or you can create dimensional textures with beads or sand. A reptilian texture can be achieved this way, and is quite convincing! Or one can try embedding larger objects, or fabrics.

Another advantage to latex is that it can serve as a protective barrier between the skin and paints or materials that are not as safe as make-up.

REMEMBER! It is possible for someone to have a latex allergy! Test the individual model first before covering large areas!

Tempera

Tempera has long been popular as a body paint, because it is very cheap, and very safe. Unfortunately, it looks great wet, but as soon as it dries, it becomes powdery, and flakes off rapidly. Makes a terrible mess. Not Recommended.

Models (and how to find them!)

All the paint in the world doesn't help much if you don't have a canvas. So how do you find people who will let you do this to them?

The easiest way is to just ask them. A good place to start is friends and relatives, people who (we hope) trust you. Girl/Boyfriends, spouses, best friends and so on. You'd be surprised at who will say yes. Show them some pictures of other body paintings to give them an idea of what you want to paint on them. Also, engage and involve them in the design and process.

A model source that has worked well for me is the personals in the local alternative/entertainment weekly. These are usually named something like "YourCity Weekly" or "AnyTown Reader". Usually there is a general category for people seeking hiking partners, music jams, and yes, models. If you're not paying them, which you probably aren't, then they are doing it because they think it might be fun. Make sure it is fun for them. Try not to do a design that takes 12 hours. Have lots of snacks. Play music. Keep it warm for them! Many of the people who model, and are amateurs, like the fact that they can pose nude anonymously when you are also painting their faces. It is very hard to recognize people when fully painted.

If you are a male painting a female you don't already know, it is good to have another woman on hand, either a friend of yours or the model's to put her at ease. Usually this isn't necessary for female artists, or a man painting a man, but, if they seem nervous, don't hesitate to offer a "chaperone". Don't forget to give the model copies of the photographs you make. Also, if you ever think you might do something else with the pictures, exhibit or publish them, get a Model Release. (Most pro photography stores have model releases.)

Processing those pictures is another matter. Your local one hour photo will print just about anything.

But if you think you might have trouble, go to a professional photo lab. They are familiar with art photography, and have probably seen much more exotic pictures than the ones you are giving them. If you're unsure, ask if they process nude art photos. Others report that the big automated labs are best, because the pictures just go through the machines with no one looking at them. Employees at one hour labs and custom labs report that you can almost count on employees making their own pictures for themselves.

For models who are young, under 21, but look younger, under 18, be prepared to document their age. You may want to see the model's ID. I would not do any nude work with anyone under 18, the current social climate (in America) is too repressed. Even your own children might be risky as subjects.

Safety First!

Before you start a painting with a new model, you should always test the product you are using first on that model. Try a small area, and wait several minutes, to see if there is any type of reaction. This is true even for supposedly safe make-up products. Every person is different, with varying sensitivities. You are covering a lot, if not all of a person's skin with the makeup - so a small reaction could be very severe.

It's recommended to be near a shower or hose to quickly wash someone off if they start to have a reaction.