STILL TO ADD: Pumpkin on Chels, and stylized butterflies on Mandy
Belly painting tips & instructions
These are only suggestions. I've seen lots of other photos of really amazing belly art, but this is how I do it!
Tools:
- I use facepaints I purchased locally. They are in crayon form and are water-soluble. I've seen facepaints that are like old-school kids' watercolours that seem to have lots of pigment too and would work well.
- Makeup sponges (try and get one for each colour you are using)
- Paintbrushes. I use a range from very small to medium sized. I prefer flat or filbert with an acrylic bristle (soft on Momma's belly)
- Paper towel/clean cloths for drying brushes and correcting mistakes (I also keep a couple of Q-tips on hand for micro-oopses)
**these are not technically tools, but make sure you have lots of clean water for brushes. As well, have your reference photos/material nearby**
The Painting:
- Get Momma to pretty herself up because chances are, there will be some photos taken after the belly has been painted.
- Try to have as much ready in advance as possible. Reference material (pic up on laptop, or photo, unless you are doing painting from memory/or just being creative). And even if you think you only will need certain colours/tools, take them all out, b/c you never know!
- A belly is like an unprimed canvas, you need to make sure your paints have lots of pigment or there will be skin poking through and it will show in photos. What I do is use a makeup sponge and do a coat all over the area that is being painted. Try and use the most dominant colour for that coat and proceed to paint belly painting on the now 'primed' canvas!
- There is only so long you want a pregnant woman to sit, so try and keep it around two hours max. Even then, there will likely be a few pee-breaks ;)
- For technique, I generally use the sponge for blending and use a brush for detail
- If you are painting your own belly, make sure you have access to a mirror for the underneath part that you can't see!
Have fun!
