Body Art: What’s Right For Me?

Ask anyone what “Body Art” is and you are likely to receive a variety of answers. The truth is that it means many things to many people. It could be an intricately designed tribal tattoo, a long trail of piercings to form a corset or a temporary body painting. Because of the large variety of artists and methods to create this unique art form, it is important to carefully consider all aspects of the what you are considering having done and researching everything that is available to you.

Things to keep in mind about body art:

1. Many methods of body art are permanent including tattoos, piercings and body modifications. Be absolutely sure you will be happy with this procedure 40 years down the road.

2. Do you have a job that will tolerate your form of body modification? Many companies now require a professional appearance including the removal of piercings and tattoos that can be covered. Don’t risk losing your job for a modification that your company won’t allow.

3. If the procedure you decide on requires healing, including piercings and tattoos, be sure to follow the advice of the person who performed the procedure. This typically includes minimal touching of the area, keeping the area clean and not wearing clothing that will rub up against it or irritate it. Keep an eye out for signs of infections including oozing, bleeding, pus or if the area feels hot to the touch.

4. Whatever form of body art you decide on, be sure that the studio performing it is reputable and trustworthy. When visiting the studio, the work areas should be clean and have good lighting for the artist to work with. All equipment used should be sterilized after each use and needles should be used once and then thrown away.

5. When choosing the artist to create your art, look for certifications from Alliance for Professional Tattooists (APT) or the Association of Professional Piercers (APP) and of course always request to view previous work by the artist.

6. Consider forms of body art that are temporary such as henna tattoos. Since these are painted on, you also get to skip the pain involved with a tattoo.

American Flag Women Body Painting

Very creative body painting design. This is a american flag body painting.

Body painting - Flower

Full body painting of flowers on a nude women with her breasts used as flower petals.

Cool And Fun Face Painting With Kids

Kids will surely love to do face painting and even body painting. There are a lot of people who find this activity as exciting. Kids look forward to this in parties and events that they attend to. Birthdays and other special events sometimes include face painting to add more color and fun to the celebration. There are some things that you have to keep in mind if you are doing this with kids like safety measures. You need to remember some things.

PLAN THE DESIGNS

It is very important that you plan for the designs that you will make for the kids. Keep in mind that some kids like their face paints to be perfect or to be the same as they see in the sketch. You may prepare simple designs that you can do or they may also describe or draw their desired outcome.

USE APPROPRIATE PAINTS

Make sure that you will buy the correct paint for the activity. You have to realize that you can never use ordinary paints for this activity. A special paint that is compatible with the skin must be used. Kids have sensitive skin so you need to be sure about the paint that you will buy.

USE SPONGES

If possible, try to use sponges in this activity. Keep in mind that some brushes can cause abrasions and damage to the skin. You need to look at other options that you can have like sponges. These have soft surfaces and can be more convenient than brushes.

CLEAN UP

It is very important that you include cleanup activities in your plans. This activity can be very messy. You need to prepare the things that you need for clean up. Water, soft cloth and tissue paper must be with you.

You have to realize that face painting is indeed fun and cool. You just need to make sure that you take the safety precautions all the time. The tips mentioned will surely help you a lot. Try to remember them all the time.

Christmas Face Painting Tips and Animal Painting Techniques

As Christmas is approaching faster than Santa can harness the reindeer to his sledge, many of you will be already creating and practising your very own fabulous Christmas face painting creation. There will be those among you that would love to follow suit, but have yet to apply their first brushstroke.

FIRST STEPS: Take things easy at first with simple to do designs. Cheek art is a perfect starting point with basic little patterns featuring holly, berries, snowflakes, stars, Christmas crackers, Christmas trees with a little bauble at the end of the branches, and even little faces. Remember that the theme is Christmas so red, white, green, silver and gold are essential colours. Painting animal markings on the cheeks, eyes and forehead can also look very effective, and because animal markings like tigers aren’t straight you will get away with so much whilst perfecting your creation.

TIGER MARKINGS: Use a round brush with a pointed end and black paint. Tiger stripes are best done in groups of three. Always think big to small. Lay your brush down flat (for a thicker start) and while doing your stroke give it a very light wiggle and taper it off at the end. Each stroke is going to have a curved effect to it. Do a group of three one under the other. This effect would be ideal for cheeks with the markings starting on the outside working in towards the eyes. Doing a similar stroke on the forehead, a group of three on either side and tapering downwards towards the eyes would give a great look for an animal face painting.

PAINTING WHISKERS: If you’re face painting any animal fancy dress enthusiasts this Christmas try using a small fine pointed brush, working outwards across the cheeks for a whisker effect. For any fine lines you may be painting, you will find that liquid paints will work the best.

FUR EFFECT: When trying to create a fur effect, use a medium-sized brush, working from the centre outwards. That way the edges taper off. Have a go on paper or a face painting practice pad first until you get to grips with the motion needed for your required effect.

ADVANTAGE OF SPONGES: These will play an important part in your face painting kit, being perfect for applying base coats, large areas of paint on the face and body, and great for blending colours. TIP make them go further by cutting them in half

COLOURS: Don’t make the mistake that many learners make and rush out to buy every colour under the rainbow. All you need are your primary colours which are blue, yellow, red and black and white. From these you can mix any colour and shade you want, and it will keep costs down.

GLITTER AND STICK-ON JEWELS: Depending what design you are doing, stick-on jewels, diamante and glitter can be used to stunning effect. However, as with face paint, you need to remember to use only glitter and stick-on jewels that are safe to put on a person’s skin (eg body glitter). NEVER use aluminum glitter – polyester only. Aluminum glitter can really hurt the eyes and skin.

FAMILY AFFAIR: Use your family and friends to practise on, trying out different ideas. If you begin practising now, you’ll be confident enough by Christmas to paint a whole face and there are some quite spectacular and highly popular choices to have a go at. The Ice Queen and animals will always be favourites along with the traditional Santa and Rudolph.

Best Face Painting Ideas For Kids Halloween Costumes

Face painting is a popular activity during parties and during occasions like Halloween. It involves the application of cosmetic paint on the face and making it as creative as possible. When face painting, it is important to know what kind of paint is ideal to use for the face. Take note that acrylic and tempera paints cannot be used on the face as they can cause allergic reactions in some people. They can also damage the skin permanently. Kids and adults alike love face painting but it is perhaps more enjoyable for kids to paint their faces.

Cartoon characters are popular for kids. They love having the face of their favourite cartoon character painted on their faces. This is ideal for Halloween and is a good substitute for a mask. Kids who want to dress up as clowns, normally just paint their faces white with red lipstick as this is usually how clowns are portrayed. Cat faces are one of the most popular face painting ideas for kids as it is easy and fast to make and kids usually love it. Superhero designs are also popular on kids, especially little boys. Perhaps the easiest superhero to copy when face painting is Spiderman as all you need is red, white and black paint. Other designs that are popular are butterflies, dogs, rabbits and other animals.

When painting, especially on kids faces, it would be ideal to just make use of water based make up as it is usually safer. Since make up is designed especially for use on the face, you can be assured that there is little risk of allergic reactions. Remember that the skin on the face is more sensitive that the skin on other parts of the body. Body paint is not even recommended for use on the face. It is also important to note that children have more sensitive skin than adults.

This has been a tradition even during ancient times. It was used for religious and cultural ceremonies and rituals. It is also used in the military for camouflage purposes. Face painting has a lot of uses and using them for fun and costumes is just one among its many uses.

Choosing face painting ideas for kids is easy. You just have to ask them what they want and then look for a pattern on the Internet and copy it. You don’t have to be a professional artist just to paint a face. Face painting makes Halloween extra fun for children. They love that they can draw on their faces as this is something they can’t normally do on regular days.

If you really want your kids to have fun on Halloween, let them paint their faces on their own as this allows them to unleash their creativity. There are a lot of face painting ideas for kids and the options are endless. Sometimes you don’t even have to research, just let your child create the design he or she wants.