*Full Body Painting Tips*

Hi!!!

I finally got the opportunity to do a full body painting..and photo shoot! ..the photographer (whom i met at one of my events) contacted me today about a photo shoot and asked if i would be interested in doing some body painting...of course i said hell yeahhh! lol ...hes looking for a sexy feline full body look...truth is..i have NO idea what im going to do! lol the only body paint ive done is a belly bump on my fake plastic girl lol ...but it was a great great great! opportunity i wasnt gonna let go hehe ....hes working on his portfolio... so there will be no pay..and im okay with that..hes giving me everything i needed...a model and professional pictures!
..i want to start working on my design...but i would REALLY LOVE some input from you all..tips, suggestions, what should i take besides my paints duh lol ...if youve done one..how long did you take? did you have any help?? i remember Daniel Lasris did one..amazing! i would love to do something like that..but i know he had help..which freaks me out because i dont want to spend the whole day doing the models back! lol
...ANY ideas, tips, suggestions please drop them in the box below hehe....they are very much welcome and needed!

THANK YOU!!!!!

Go to Shannon Fennel's page and get the 'model info'! This tells the model what she will have to do to prepare for you and gives you a FANTASTIC guide to what you should expect. I had the opportunity at FABAIC to use the good nipple covers and the ProSHIELD IIA Cover (the slang is apparently 'vaj patch') for my body painting but simple cotton thong will be great. Give yourself at least 4 hours and if you can swing an assistant for laying down the base cover that would be great!!

Grab that info and I'm sure all will be answered!!!

If they want a "feline" ... does that mean a tiger or cheetah? Or avatar? Or just sexy cat?

In my experience painting a tiger, or example, is way faster than painting anything else! I'd say 4 hours is probably a "fast" estimate - if it is your FIRST body allow yourself 5-6 hours... really.

The time consuming part is getting a good base over the whole body - use large sponges (or those kabuki brushes - I've been told they are very fast but I haven't tried them yet).

The info Kim's referring to is on my Resources page, click on the "here" in my signature.

This paint, which is torso only, took me 90 minutes to finish (with large sponges working fast to get the base on.)

If you don't have a kabuki brush you can use a 1" "powder" brush. They work exactly the same and cover a large amount of ground with amazing blending so it looks like airbrush and isn't streaky. We were able to lay a good base coat using one of those brushes in half the time it would have taken with sponges.

If the model doesn't have pasties, 3M makes a 3" wide paper tape that is perfect for it (I like it better than pasties actually because the tape is porous and doesn't change the "color" of the paint). Trace a Coke can, cut out and voila! Pasties. If she wants to wear a bathing suit (I've had this happen) avoid cotton at all costs, this applies to thongs as well. Cotton absorbs paint and fades it. You will go through tonnes more paint that you should if you paint over cotton. I've made this mistake once...never again.
Any synthetic in a non-patterened, light color is best to paint over if the shields aren't available.

Have a plan. Draw it out. Have inspiration photos for reference. Winging it is where you will lose precious moments.

Paint the torso, let the model pee.
Paint the bottom and then the face.
This way she can itch her face or sip a drink or eat or whatever, up to the end.

Think about what poses you want. Vargas and Pashur do this and paint their models accordingly. If all you are going to have photographed is the front, don't paint the full back. If it's only going to be torso shots, don't worry about the bottom.

Breathe. It sounds silly but my husband pointed out that I hold my breath when I paint people, and when I started breathing, I started painting faster.

Have fun. Enjoy the process. Put on music and bop while you paint. Joke with the model. Just have fun.

Good luck!!!

Fantastic info Kim, Shannon & Lynnie. I haven't painted a 'body' yet but I will one day & this is all very helpful. Thanks

Thank you!! im finding this very helpful...except..i told my boyfriend..and made a joke about it being "nude" body painting...he TOTALLY freaked out!! ....he asked ALOT of questions which i havent really talk to the person im doing the shoot with...truth is...we are still working and talking details to see if ill be able to do it..but im dying to give him a definite YES! .....he gave me all this blah blah about respect and how was it possible that i was gonna be touching some girls breasts and butt and guys too etc...i never in a million years thought he would give me that reaction...did any of you got something similar from your partners?? did they understand your job..did they at least gave you a chance to try something??....

im sorry if this got a little personal...but to be honest..there are alot of really kind of close minded/conservative people that would definitely think something bad about you because you paint naked people for living....how do you all deal with this???

I didn't have that reaction at all. My husband is very supportive and also used to my "eccentricities" (I've been in a bellydance troupe, ran a burlesque troupe and perform circus and sideshow arts at Ren, Pirate and Victorian festivals). He is very secure with all that I do, and with himself, and knows at the end of it all I'm coming home to him.

I did have one huge body painting fashion show where I had to paint a total of 14 models in about 10 hours, and he helped me loads with base coats. That helped him realize fully that what I do is completely non-sexual and when we're in that "zone", sex is the last thing we are thinking about at all. Perhaps asking him to join you to see/experience it will help?

My husband's family are VERY conservative, religious and tend to have firmly shut minds. We simply showed them photos and they saw the art, not the nudity. Once that hit them, they've been very enthusiastic, supportive and wonderful. All the emphasis has to be taken off the nude aspect and put on the art.
And honestly, you aren't "handling" anything. Your brush or sponge is touch their skin. Any other body part manipulation, I have them do. I don't lift their boobs or manly-bits. They have to do that for me.

If anyone else has an issue with it, I've not heard it and frankly, I don't care.

Good luck to you! I truly hope you can work this through with him and help him understand.

I've encountered people who've had closed reactions, but on the most part it's been positive. Once people see the art, they understand. I've still not done a full body painting... yet....
I understand you don't touch much(except a guiding pinky) & if anything needs lifting or shifting, the model can do that for you. If you have to paint in the "Ehem" area, you have the model put their hand over their "Hoohas" inside the thong, so you're only painting the cloth & hand. Personally I'm thinking of trying to prepaint the thong if that's possible.

Honestly, body painting is the least sexy thing I know... it is pure business. I don't even think about what I'm painting part wise, it is just part of the task at hand.

I've not run into any issues around here and it is a pretty conservative (both little and big "C") area. And everyone in my family is generally pretty impressed.

"Ehem" and "Hoohas"

OMG Linda you made me snarf my water!!! roflol

I've been joking with my DH that when i get my first body painting gig with hot models he can be my base coat man - there has to be some perks to losing me to FPF every other evening and chasing a cranky toddler around every fair and festival in the region!

My hubs is a photographer, so no issues there. We're both around nudes, and we're both pretty comfortable with our relationship to know it's not about sex. But, one of my co-workers asked if we were swingers! Wierdo. And we've had some negativity from his family members, but nothing we can't handle.

We can joke about getting to paint beautiful nekkid people, but I figure it's like OBGYN... yes, they are nekkid, but you're working. So totally not sexy.

Got to say aside from the occasional 'perve' trying to book a paint , as Shannon, said, its all business. I rarely paint nudes tho, generally thongs at minimum.

Which is a tip - find and TEST underwear that takes paint well and keep a supply of it in asstd sizes, as some resist paint, some go saggy, some the stitching/ elastic changes colour.....
On guys if it suits the design a cricket box under the undies can make the whole painting that area easier; I have also let guys paint their own areas if they were nervous and the design was 1 colour/ easy.

I try to paint with them sitting/ lying down as much as poss, reduces their tension/ stress/ likelihood of fainting but watch out as if they have brests they may move and change the design when they stand up.

And don't take it to seriously. I have been disgusted by the way some painters treated models, at shoots, competitions and even bookings. Making someone get hungry/ thirsty/ need the loo/ faint just to make your srt look perfect is not what is should be about!

Cat x

I was just recently approached by someone wanting a full body painting and when I first broached the subject with my husband he kind of reacted the same way! "Is it a girl?" was the first thing out of his mouth. After explaining a little bit more about it and how we don't really handle anything ourselves and that they can wear a thong etc....he's over it! People get nervous about stuff they don't really understand! The more they know the better they'll feel!