Body Painting (with Julia Townend)
Class Notes:
- Preparation and Plannning
- Model Selection
- Makeup Kit and Products
- Budgeting
- Research
Buy; lots of g-strings (Primark). Lots of shower gels to aid removal. Wooly Primary socks and wooly hat.
Model selection: A women who is fairly flat chested. Dancers for muscle-tone - someone who is confident with their body.
Kit ad products; ready-mixed pigment paint (poster paint)to mix into latex or fullers earth - not straight on the body.
Research from arts, pop art, the impressionists, modern art..... Brian Froud for fantasy work (the Labyrinth), childs mythical books. From film. Instagram. Pinterest
What are the models going to be doing? Jumping? Running? Sweat will affect the water based paints..... Some people are allergic to water based paints. Will some areas not need to be painted?
For an area of sequins - paint an area of cap plastic and stick things to it then peel off and can apply to the model.
Products; airbrushing kit, body painting brushes, aquacolours (paradise paints and MAC chromacakes are good but they stain), shimmer e/s, kryolan body and face shimmer sticks, MUF creams, airbrushing colours, supra colours, fixier spray to set waterproof, fullers earth, latex, duo adhesive, glitters, House of glam dolls corrective wheel, MAC face and body,
Some of the products Julia Townend uses in her kit:
Can mix hair gel and glitter and then apply directly into the hair.
Research: Jenny Shircore, Phyllis Cohen. Carolyn Roper, Bodypaint London, Carolyn Cowan, Joanne Gair, World Body Painting/Paintopia, Music Promos, Tarzan, Pan, fashion designers (McQueen), Tim Walker, IMATS competitions
, Kabuki
Creating substainability in your carreer; be the best assistant you can be. Be observant, DO NOT go on your phone on set. Do they like their brushes a certain way, how they like their tea..... Be part of the team. Reivention. Keep well informed with products and trends
etc. Kepp your portfolio updated
. Keep a big feature under-wraps or put things on social media....
Competitions
can be a good platform...
DEMONSTRATION: Painting on the arm
- (Cover any tattoos)
-Prep with derma shield
- Downward strokes
- Base with aquacolours (and the airbrush over for finish)
- Then add fullers earth, sponge it on, paint it.... Remove bits with brush end
- Can put gold
leaf on fullers earth before it dries out or can add with glue later.
- Aquarells (like concentrated watercolours) to outline.... use like eyeliner
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My Makeup:
I'd thought vaguely about incoporating a Romanesque style statue effect into one of my makeups, and a statue is quite a common body-painting idea. Today we were only focusing on the face.
- I started with a white aquacolour base built up in layers.
- I then added fullers earth down the side that was to be cracked and a little onto the cheek aswell
- I then added grey contouring around the eyes, temple, cheekbones and down the nose to create a more marble statue look
- I then used a makeup remover wipe to create sharp edges down the cracked side
- I then added shadowing down this side to give a more 3 dimensional effect. I used a taupe e/s first and then outlined it thinly with grey and then again very slightly with a very dark grey
- I then added a few cracked lines down the side and added a small section on the cheek aswell
I think the 3D shading worked really well in making the makeup standout more and giving a slightly more realistic effect. I like the effect the fullers earth gave, although I think it would be more fitting for a crumbley stoney kind of effect, rather than marble, as marble always stays so smooth rather than flaking. I think maybe some slight grey discolouration to break up the white might have given a better marble effect. In future I would also cover the brows with prosaide, so they didn't look to delicate, as a marble statue would have thicker brows. I also had the afterthought that maybe adding some of the Kryolan shimmering foundation may have given the shine that marble would have.
I think this piece has a lot of potential to be carried forward into a full body paint. Also utilising the hair would make the overall effect much more includisive; I quite like the idea of painting half the hair and having it crumble away, like the face.
Further Research
Bodypainting is rarely used in films of theatre. Using paint on the body in conjuncture with prosthetics to create a fluid image isn't really the same as a body paint, because a bodypaint very rarely involves prosthetics. However, Neill Gorton is currently running a "Prosthetics for Bodypainting course", which incorporates subtle prosthetics into the design of the bodypaint.
Bodypaints are commonly done for photoshoot purposes to create a one-off image, as the bodies are usually contorted in a specific pose that is immovable.
In bodypaints, the body is typically disguised as something else; the aim is almost to make the body seem invisible, such as blending it into a pattern or a background, or painting the body as an animal.
Bodypaint Prosthetics Neil Gorton (2015) [online] Available from:https://www.facebook.com/Gortonstudio/photos/pcb.757389820996571/757383534330533/?type=1&theater [Accessed: February 14th 2015]
Artist Profile
Johannes is a 35 year old bodypainter from Italy. He did his first bodypainting experiment in 2000, and took part in the world bodypainting championships for the first time in 2009, finishing 5th. From then, he started bodypainting full time and came 1st in the 2012 championships. His pieces can take up to five months to plan and then 8 hours to paint, using special breathable paint.
"In bodypainting you create unity between an image and a person.
'A lot of my inspiration comes from nature.
'I think I observe the world, nature, colours and shapes with very clear eyes and an open heart.
'And painting is my big passion. I think the secret of good work is to always have a love for it. "
(2013) A fine body of work. Mail Online. [online] 2nd July. Available from:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2356721/Johannes-Stoetter-turns-humans-animals-fruit-landscapes-amazing-paintings.html [Accessed: January 3rd 2015]
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Madeyewlook
Madeyewlook (Lex), is a youtuber I've been following for some time. Her work wouldn't exactly be classed as bodypainting, but her approach to makeup is certainly similar to that of a bodypainter and a lot of the time she doesn't just include the face in her makeups, i.e. she'll bring it down onto the neck and chest. I guess i'd class her style as creative/realistic face painting. I've found her videos to be very creative and helpful and include a lot of skills and techniques that i'd consider helpful when trying to bodypaint, such as creating a 3D look or working certain ideas or shapes around bodyparts.
I thought this clown tutorial was particularly impressive, because upon watching it for the first time, I though the neck ruffles were clothing and not painted on. I think that its important to have accurate reference images when creating something like this so that you can reproduce it in paint as accurately as possible. The products that Lex uses in her videos are Mehron Paradise paints and also ProPaint (typically for her bases). Nearly all the paints she uses are aquacolours and water activated so they don't smudge or need powdering, although ProPaint says it can be set with a setting spray which will also make the product more water resistant. They are also relatively smudge proof.
Madeyewlook (2014) Reptile | Lizard Makeup Tutorial [online] Available from:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_qtyp_5kPw{accessed: January 3rd 2015]
Madeyewlook (2013) Clown Makeup Tutorial (Madeyewlook) [online] Available from:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2NM59vaWFA{accessed: January 3rd 2015]
Madeyewlook (2014) Spiderman: Venom Makeup Tutorial 2014. [online] Available from:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9mdF_NBgig{accessed: January 3rd 2015]
Madeyewlook (2013) Red Riding Hood/Wolf Tutorial (Madeyewlook). [online] Available from:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSXx234P_Io {accessed: January 3rd 2015]
Painting with PAX paint notes:
- no-tack pros-aide is better for body painting as its made specifically for it
- Get some pros-aide remover, as its very difficult to remove
- Brushes will get ruined so use cheap brushes
- Its seat proof and waterproof
- Mix a lot of the colour into a bottle so you don't have to re-mix the colour and try and get the same shade later
- It usually require 2-3 layers to cover streakyness and build up colour
- Apply talc with a brush when the layers are done
As an alternative to aquacolours, I thought this could work really well for my Fujin character. I need him makeup to last really well and be really vibrant and not smudge and this seems like the best way to do that.
Mika Nicole (2013) PAX body paint tutorial [online] Available from:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luRlloxyn3I [Accessed: April 11th 2015]
Day 2 of Bodypainting
This was the second day of bodypainting. I created a tree-based design with a vine running along it. I build up the vine first with tissue and latex. I let this dry and then painted on a dark brown colour arounf the tissue. I then painted over this with fullers earth to create a bark-like texture with the dark paint showing through underneath to giv eit more realistic dimension. I then painted the vine green. I don't think its bad for an initial idea, and with more refining and practising, could definately be further developed into a full body look.
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