Basic Principles of Body Painting

Bodypainting is probably one of the oldest forms of makeup; it has existed for thousands of years. Bodypainting was done for various reasons, ranging from ceremonial use, camouflage, intimidating enemies, and more.

Bodypainting can be used for a number of different effects. If you want to dress up as a character with, for example, blue or green skin, you can use bodypaint to give yourself that skin color. You can also use bodypaint to paint patterns on your natural skin, so it resembles ceremonial or warrior bodypaint. Or you can use your body as a canvas for a full painting with lots of detail.

Here we cover the basics of bodypainting.

-Mild soap

-Setting spray

-Bodypaint

-Water

-Sponges

-Brushes

Step 1:

Before applying the paint to your skin, it is important to prepare the skin first. Otherwise, the paint will not adhere well to the skin or will not last as long as you would like.

Start by showering and washing your skin with a mild soap. You don't need to exfoliate or scrub excessively, just wash away the dirt and oil.

Step 2:

Begin by applying a thin layer of setting spray to the areas of your skin where you want to apply the body paint. This will ensure that the body paint lasts longer.

Step 3:

You can start applying the body paint.

Depending on the type of body paint you want to do, you can proceed in different ways now.

If you plan to have a simple body paint, with mostly just a different skin tone, you can start building up the base color. You will need some water to moisten your sponge or brush, it doesn't need to be soaking wet. Rub the moist applicator over your paint until there is a good amount of paint on it. You can now apply the paint to your skin and build up the layers until you have an even coverage. You can also use a body paint spray to build up the basic, and smooth out the colour with regular body paint and sponges/brushes.

If you do not want to paint your entire skin but only want to paint some patterns, you can paint your design using the same techniques. It might be a good idea to sketch your design on paper first, so you have a guideline to follow.

Step 4:

Once your basic is nicely even, you can begin adding shadows, highlights, and other details. By applying a darker shade to the parts of your skin that naturally have shadows, you can create more depth in your body paint and make it look more realistic. For example, to add shadow, place it in the hollows of your cheeks, under your jawline, and along the folds of your muscles.

With a lighter shade, you can add highlights to the parts of your skin that catch more light, such as the apples of your cheeks, the bridge of your nose, and the more protruding parts of your muscles and body.

If your character needs other details, such as freckles, certain textures, or patterns, you can apply those last. Use smaller brushes for these details so they look subtle and natural.

Step 5:

When you are done with the body painting, apply another thin layer of setting spray to protect the paint. Setting spray helps prevent sweat and water from ruining your hard work.

Step 6:

To remove the body paint, simply jump back in the shower and wash off the paint with warm water and soap. Depending on the paint and sometimes even the colour, you may need to scrub a little to get it off.