Need advice - body painting opportunity

Hi everybody! I'm totally a newbie to this, I've been looking over the forum recently, but I haven't ever really posted much. I've had about 10 face painting gigs in my short career so far, so I have a website with a few pictures on it and I'm trying to get started. But I got a call tonight from a local high school. I have never body painted before, even thought I would really like to, so I didn't know or couldn't think of all the right questions to ask at the time of the call. But the contact said that it is a high school program, it is kind of cirque du soleil type of a thing, very abstract. It is 25 girls, and I thought he said basically full body, they will be in a leotard type costume - so I'm thinking painting big swirls and things down the arms and legs and something on the face.

My issue is it is next saturday, I don't have any pictures to send since I haven't done anything like this, but I think I could maybe do it, since it is an abstract theme, if it were birds on everyone or something specific like that, I would probably have passed on it already. I hate to pass up an opportunity like this, but at the same time, I don't REALLY know what I'm doing.

So I need some advice - am I just completely over my head and should pass on it, or should I try to wing it. I'm thinking I could come up with at least a design on my daughter in the next 24 hours to give him some kind of example - but then I have no idea how much paint I would need, how much to charge, etc.

Help! Any suggestions/advice would be so appreciated! :-)

I haven't done any body painting either, but I would start downloading pictures of cirque du soliel makeup and start trying stuff.... lots of blending.

your face paints will take you a long way, but if I recall some of the other posts about body painting by others I think they preferred using liquid fardels over regular face paints??

I'm really new to body painting... but 25 full bodies sounds pretty daunting. My last job took me 3 hours, and I didn't get as detailed as I would have liked to. My painter friend said it always takes twice as long as you think.

Is it possible to paint the leotard before hand?

Well, the body painters will be along shortly to advise. I have only ever painted one body, a month ago at a Body Painting Festival. It took me about five hours to do just from the waist up (from hip-hugger jeans), including the face.

I don't know how long they are allowing you for each body, but I think I'd run a mile at the thought of 25 bodies to paint. One person would need several days.

It will take a LOT of paint - allow for that in your quote, and a lot of hours.

If I were going to do bodies for a first time, I'd try to get a gig with one, two or three at most to do.

What about these leotards? You don't really want to be painting them. Cloth soaks up a heck of a lot of paint. Skin is best - a very skimpy bikini would be good.

My two cents worth, anyway.

Kat

Hi guys, thanks for your advice so far! Yeah, I guess I didn't really mean FULL body painting, I won't have to paint the leotard - it will be abstract designs on the arms, legs and probably on the face as well. Like I'm thinking swirls and maybe tribal things cascading down the leg or arm. Maybe random, like a leg on one person, the arm and shoulder on another. But I think I will have a tough time with the creativity needed to do 25 people. I did some more research online and it is a color guard group at a high school - they are doing some kind of program for a regional contest and them name of it is "Bloodline". He said that blood was the theme, so it will be a lot of red - the vibe I get is mysterious, dramatic, abstract.

25 is A LOT of skin to cover, even if it is only simple designs.. It would take hours. Probably like 4 or 5.

Look up Jinny's work.. she designs the makeup for Cirque performances.

I would make some large split cakes and use those to make large, pre-blended swirls and stuff...

Here's a pic of a body that I painted in 2 hours, I used a few split cakes on it:

https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?pid=34125371&id=33601855
https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?pid=34125372&id=33601855&fbid=583038913517

Just as well - painting leotards with face or body paint does NOT work well and takes ages too. Even painting underwear on bodies is a pain and you need to have the right type of fabric..

OK, if its just face/ arms etc I would suggest making some giant split cakes, as in a full paradise pot size but with only 3 colours in etc.

That way with a big brush or sponge you can pretty much do your big sweeps of cirque-style colour in 1 stroke, and just need to go back to add dots and black lines. The real Cirque style stuff actually takes ages, lots of blending, stumping etc. Make sure to look at Olivier and Clelia's work too, they are the masters of that style- also a lot of Fantasy World Wide artists work that way as those 2 trained them so try that paint's www.

It doesn't sound like they have thought this through well though; what colour are the leotards? And what sort of dance etc will they be doing in them? As if they have to touch each other or parts of themselves, the paint will transfer especially if they are sweaty.

Bear in mind if its to be on show there is no point fussing around with small details and small brushes. I tell my girls to get rid of anything below a size 8 brush for stage type paints and THAT is only to be used on the face - bigger bolder brushes for the body parts or it just won't be seen from a distance. Also subtle colours will not be seen from afar/ under bright stage light so choose contrasts like purple, red then white, etc

Also if you think about it, you need to quote for your usual time per face PLUS the arms/ legs so for me I'd say at least 15 mins per person to be safe and I am FAST and used to this.

Think of asymetric designs - also faster as no need to do symmtry. Like a swipe of colour up from one eye, down from the other, down shoulder to above elbow and down opposite leg. Avoid all joints, creases, and the neck as thats where most movement is so will smudge/ distort paint fastest. No need to do both arms and legs if you do the opposite 1 of each there will always be something for the audience to see whatever side is visible to them.

Cat x