Category Archives: Transformation Theory

my philosophy of face and body painting

How-To use UV (Dayglo), Metallic and Interferenze Makeups – FABAIC 2011 Class

Under Blacklight, only the UV makeups show, all the metallic colors underneath the UV dots turn dark

by Christopher Agostino

Class notes from my presentation at the Face & Body Art International Convention FABAIC 2011

Under regular light, this same face design also looks good, with shimmering Metallic and Interferenze colors, and the Kryolan UV colors still look bright, even over a metallic base color.

My intention in this class is to give participants an understanding of how to use Kryolan UV, Metallic, and Interferenze Aquacolor makeups for face and bodypainting. A hands-on and very practical class in how to use specialty makeups from basic application and tricks of technique to design concepts like how to get the most out of your metallics, how to make Dayglo designs look good in regular and UV light and how to get the maximum effect with minimal makeup expense — the primary focus is on how to incorporate specialty makeups into regular face and body designs that look good in a variety of settings. Although these are specialty makeups I use them most often in my regular faces, using the brightness of the UVs to “pop” a design, or the shimmer of the Interferenze to add glamour. Even we I am painting for an event that has Blacklight (such as club or adult party) usually the blacklight is in only part of the space, so the bodypainting needs to look good both ways —under white light and blacklight. This is a very different approach than how one would use these UV makeups for a BlackLight Show.

Kryolan Aquacolors are the only specialty makeups I use. Their UVs create the brightest effect and are the most flexible in application. Wolf Reicherter was also at the convention teaching classes in “Blacklight Magic”, painting full UV body designs for nightclubs and performances.   http://www.wolf-bodymagic.de/

He’s a true master of the medium, and he made the point that Kryolan’s UV Aquacolors (both the cakes and the liquids) are so flexible that they can be applied with any amount of water, from a wash effect to a thick cream, allowing for real control of the amount of light the makeup generates, so you can get subtle shading effects with thin applications and also can go right over other colors with thicker applications and still get the full fluorescence. The UV colors I use most often are Pink, Orange and Green — because these three also look very bright and wonderful under white light so can really add color to any design.

Metallics and Interferenze are two types of Aquacolors that shimmer. The same color can come in both types: there is a Metallic Silver (which looks very much like real silver metal) and an Interferenze Silver (which has a more pearlized appearance), for example. Intereferenze makeups have the pigments ground very fine, so they can sheen in more than one color as the light moves across them, such as the beautifully subtle color “Nacre”, which is a pearlized white that has glimmers of pink and gold as the light changes. I use a variety of metallics and interferenze for special projects like full bodypaintings. The ones I use most often in my regular facepainting kit are the Metallic Silver and several Interferenze colors: Gold, Copper, Bronze, BG (Blue Green), Strauss Wine, and 838G Electric Ocean Blue.

www.kryolan.com

In preparation for the class I painted a model (Jessica), with a variety of techniques to show the range of possibilities, then finished the painting in the class to show application methods and let the participants try the products and paint. Photographing a UV painting is hard, and we had limited time to try before vacating the Blacklight room, but I did manage to get a few reasonable shots. I include here shots of the face and the back, in both regular light and under Blacklight — notice how the face looks completely different under the two different lights, but still works both ways. That is the goal. It has to work both ways because at most events the people you paint will be seen under both types of light, and you want there to be an exciting change as the person you paint moves under Blacklight, because that is part of the fun of Blacklight, the surprise effects.

CLASS NOTES: ( click here for a pdf of these notes, plus a list of Kryolan Aquacolors) Dayglo&InterferenzeClass_Hints

The design on the demonstration model’s back, under Blacklight. See how the UV colors fluoresce, and everything else turns black.

Kryolan Dayglo Makeups (also called UV or Blacklight)

•  UV makeups are special effect makeups — go all UV only if the gig is all blacklight.

•  Most gigs are regular light, so I mostly use UV makeup to add “pop” to regular designs.

Use in combination with regular colors for brighter designs in normal light – makes elements of the design stand out. EX: UV eyes on eyelids can be seen from across the room • UV green stipple on top can make a spooky or alien face “glow”  •  UV orange over reg. red is a powerful background for dragons, etc.  • UV orange tiger image can seem to leap off a regular blue background  •  try UV colors as accents over the same aregular colors, like UV pink dots on a pink butterfly wing

•  Mixed light: the design has to look good both ways. Generally an all UV design doesn’t look as good under normal light – so include other colors too and feature UV elements of design that will pop out under the blacklights. Christopher’s Trick – I mix UV colors with Metallic Silver or Interferenze Gold to get a makeup that still flouresces under blacklight and also looks glittery under regular light.

• CLOUDY DAY EFFECT – because clouds block some white light, but let UV light through, UV makeups glow a bit on cloudy days at outside events — and also near sunset.

APPLICATION – UV makeup tends to be softer/stickier. Use more water, apply more thickly.

BASIC APPLICATION ADVICE= “It works — make it work for you”

Creating Designs for Full Blacklight — hints

• All UV colors glow bright under blacklight – the individual colors don’t differentiate much – therefor the essence of UV painting is controling the image through the use of black, not the colors. Think of stained glass.

• for brightest effect, paint UV directly on skin or over white base. (but can still work over colors)

• white underwear is a problem, it glows too bright – even if you paint over it.

• Black can make parts of the body disappear.

Under white light, the same UV colors are bright, but not fluorescent. Notice how different the dragon’s fire looks here, because I “hid” the UV orange flames over regular orange, knowing that would be an exciting change in the image as the model goes from white to UV light. The silver on the armor would normally turn fully black under UV light, so I mixed a little UV Blue into it so it would still fluoresce a bit under the blacklight.

Photographing UV Designs  — ain’t easy. On a digital camera, manually set the ASA as high as possible (I shoot at 1600), use a tripod, shoot under full Blacklight (not mixed), No Flash, take lots of shots and then adjust levels on the computer.

•  Will look nice on the computer, but they don’t print well (printers can’t print the colors true)

•  I sometimes add some blacklight during regular foto shoots to get UV accent colors to pop.

Kryolan Interferenze and Metallic Makeup

•  These I think of as “fancy makeups”, not special effects. I use them all the time to help people be excited about their faces.

“Premium Faces” – at our Bronx Zoo concession we get extra $ per face for incorporating Interferenze or UV makeups into our regular designs.

•  I prefer metallics and interferenze makeups over using glitter because I can paint with them in all the same ways I use my regular makeups, both with sponges and brushes. Part of my regular kit.

•  They blend beautifully into, over and under regular makeups.  red/gold blends; purple/gold; blue/silver; green/gold; red/copper; blue/Strauss Wine; etc. Or stipple a little Metallic/Interferenze over regular base to make amore “fantastic” background. APPLICATION is a little trickier than regular bright colors, so may need to use more water than usual, or try dabbing with a sponge rather than swipping or using a brush.

•  Can use a full metallic/Interferenze base with regular colors on top and give all the colors a metallic sheen – can also go the other way: try metallic/Interf. over a solid black or dark base.

See my fine art  Bodypainting Gallery

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Face and Body Art International Convention — FABAIC 2011: Pt. 1 Classes and Bodypainting Preparations

My demonstration model, painted for the Dayglo and Metallics class at FABAIC 2009

Getting set for FABAIC in Orlando this week. I have two classes to teach, sponsored by Kryolan:

Kids always rememberthe day when their paremts got painted

Facepainting Adults – the How and the Why

Looking at the roster of classes, I wanted to offer something that was less of a “how-to” class and more of a “why” class. The twenty year success of my New York company has depended in large part on our development of adults as participants. At our Bronx Zoo concession and all of our events we put a big effort into getting the adults to sit down and get painted along with their kids. Getting adults involved increases your income potential – but more than that, it elevates your act. It’s the adults that book the parties, if you get them involved and give them a fantastic experience they remember you and the bookings come. Painting adults is an opportunity to show off, draw a crowd and generate excitement. This is a workshop in how to get the adults to get painted, what to paint on them and why you want to do it.

painting adults gives you a chance to show off, people will notice their faces more than the kids you paint.

Whenever possible, paint Grandpa, the birthday boy loves it

Metallics, Interferenze and Dayglo  —Specialty Makeups to add instant pop to everyday faces – Hands-on Class

A hands-on and very practical class in how to use specialty makeups from basic application and tricks of technique to design concepts like how to get the most out of your metallics, how to make Dayglo designs look good in regular and UV light and how to get the maximum effect with minimal makeup expense. I’ll demonstrate some real special uses such as Dayglo bodyart design for club events – though the primary focus will be on how to incorporate specialty makeups into regular face and body designs and everyone will get a chance to paint and try products. For this class I will be painting a model beforehand as a menu of techniques and effects, then I’ll use that model in the class to describe application methods, demonstrate some of those ideas live and then let everyone get their hands on some product and try it on each other. Bring your painting tools.

student work in my 2009 class

student work in my 2009 class

Bodypainting at FABAIC

Between classes, demonstrations and the jam sessions, FABAIC presents opportunities to do fully realized body paint designs and also to experiment. I bring sketches and images for more designs than I need, so I can adjust to the models I will be working with and to the time constraints. And I have learned over the years to be open to improvisation. There is less control in the painting process, and especially the photography, than I have in studio sessions at home, so I can paint more for the joy of the art than for the expectation of producing a specific fine art image. There is also an encouraging sense of camaraderie and mutual appreciation of everyone’s work. I might have felt the need to be competitive about what I painted in earlier years, but given the level of world class, award winning talent at these events I’ve come to see there is no point to that and gotten much more comfortable painting to my own artistic goals. If you are attending, I recommend that you paint someone there — paint as often as you can and don’t worry about whether or not you are “good enough”, I have found that painting in that exhilarating atmosphere is a great way to accelerate my development as a body painter.

From a fine art bodypainting I did last week, a section of design based on Mangbetu and Massai body art gave me an idea to combine it with Modern Art pictographs

a painting using pictographs by Paul Klee

At a party this past weekend I took the opportunity afforded by a girl in a blue outfit to do some color experiment with the Paul Klee and African images

I am also bringing some images from the Japanese print maker Kuniyoshi

http://www.fabaic.com/    http://www.agostinoarts.com

NY Makeup Show Body Painting – Animal Body – Pt.1 animal silhouettes

From my book "Transformations! The Story Behind the Painted Faces"

by Christopher Agostino

How to use Animal Silhouttes for Face & Body Painting

photograph by Rich Johnson

At the New York Makeup Show this weekend I’ll be painting a body as a demonstration for Kryolan Professional Makeup. With the opportunity of full day for the painting and an excellent model to paint I’ve decided to re-visit a design I’ve never yet quite realized as intended, the “Animal Body”.  In 2006, I painted the design above for my book as a reference image for the pages about using silhouettes —  really more of a cheat sheet than a body design. At the Face and Body Art International Convention (FABAIC) a few weeks later I tried wrapping the animals around the body when an unexpected opportunity to paint a model came up — a more effective design, but we didn’t have enough time to complete it. I did get some nice foots of the torso, including one from Rich Johnson we’ve used as a logo image. Since then, I’ve done pieces  of it and some variations, and for the Makeup Show I’ve got a plan for the full body.

http://www.themakeupshow.com/makeupshow/NY/index.html

www.kryolan.com    http://www.fabaic.com/

Where does an idea come from? I’d done a parade of realistic animals on someone at the St. Francis Day Fair to capture the march of the animals into the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan for the annual blessing of the animals.

I also used them in black silhouettes on the side of a bowl I made to commemorate my wedding with Lorraine in 1991. Later they walked around Lorraine’s belly to celebrate the coming birth of our son. Putting the animal silhouettes against a sunset came afterwards.   I’d seen a wonderful painted face with a black pterodactyl against a red sky, sent to me on a greeting card from England, and also an image of shadowy giraffes in an African sunset. So my animal parade became silhouettes against the sunset , the first time I painted it was on myself in the foto from 1992 that’s in the banner at the top of this webpage.

For a facepainter, these simplified pictures, or icons, can be used to add an animal to a scenic design. You can find source images in pictographs, pottery and painted decorations on all sorts of traditional art objects —or you can invent your own icons.

Click here for a pdf cheat sheet of animal pictographs:  AnimalSilhouettes_facepainting_agostinoarts

To simplify an animal down to an iconic symbol, use a design incorporating or exaggerating a significant feature of the animal or use a silhouette of the full animal’s shape. Most animals can be recognized by their shape: for example, a snake can be drawn as a simple S-curve line with a forked tongue, and pretty much any four legged animal shape with a long neck reads as a giraffe.

You can paint the shape of an animal in one solid color. It’s an easier, faster and often more effective way to represent an animal for a face design than a full-color, detailed approach. Most often I place animal silhouettes in black against a brightly colored background, but you can also use white animals on dark backgrounds (like dolphins in a blue ocean) or make your animal shapes in colors (like sky blue geese flying across a sunset). The body at the top of this post, the “Iconography Body” done for my book, was intended to show many of these ways I’ve been using for silhouettes on faces.

Once you can paint the silhouette you can add selected details to emphasize the significant features of an animal (like the teeth of a dinosaur), or add elements for more purely decorative effects (like putting yellow spots on a black gecko). Remember that an image doesn’t need to be realistic to communicate meaning,  you can adjust it or distort it to better fit the features and make a better design.

http://www.agostinoarts.com

From FABAIC 2006. Bodies painted by (from left to right) Nathalie Simrad, Raphaelle Fieldhouse, me and Jinny.

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