January 15, 2012

Body Painting - Sleeves

We started body painting in place of wigs on a Monday afternoon, and I have to say I'm glad our timetable is filling up with more makeup and less hair! So far we've learned a bit about it by watching a dvd by renowned body painter Carolyn Cowan and getting a tutorial from Mo on how to create a shirt sleeve on our arms.

We were told to choose an aquacolour and take a large brush, and apply a solid block of colour from the elbow to the wrist. I chose yellow because it always turns out really bright, but I liked it even more once I was finished because I accidentally recreated Freddie Mercury's famous yellow jacket!
Awesome.
 

 As you can see from the pictures, we used black and white aquacolour to create the cuffs, seams and buttons, and to create realistic creases - good body painting relies on highlighting and shading, and all kinds of effects can be created if this is done properly and done well.

I found the process quite interesting and fun, but also very difficult - none of us could get our heads around the cuff, so Mo had to roam the halls for a man wearing a long sleeved shirt so we could look at and copy it! He looked confused, but it really helped.
Mo said my creases were very good, but to be honest I wasn't entirely convinced by it. I created the creases with white aquacolour and softly blended them, then smudged the black in to create a 3D effect. Normally I'm quite good at looking at art and getting my head around illusions, but I didn't think my creases looked realistic. Although, a lot of the time when doing a makeup look, it helps to look at it from 6 feet away - I was probably staring at it for too long and too close up!

When taking our pictures, Mo suggested we shake hands with another person to add to the realism, which is what Katrina and I did in this photo:
It really helps to see the effect in this picture, particularly because of the angle. I'm please with what I created, but I definitely need more practice!

Next, we'll be moving on to painting socks on to feet - I'm really not looking forward to this! But hey ho, I'll post a wee update to let you all know how I get on.

Stay tuned!

Gill :) x

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