Friday, May 2, 2014

Penguin nails - freehand nailart - inspired by Stefan Christmann photos


Hello everyone!


Matte version

This was supposed to be shared on Penguin Day (April 25th), but I really struggled making penguin nail art, until I finally made something worth sharing. This is the second design attempt, and it took forever to paint.

I started with a white creme nail polish; IsaDora #603 Tip White. To paint the penguins I used acrylic craft paint and a detail brush. Although the grown up Emperor Penguins have a little yellow on them, I chose black and white only to make them easier to paint. 4 photos are with Seche Vite top coat, and 3 photos are with Gosh Matte top coat.



Matte version

I was inspired by amazing penguin photos taken by Stefan Christmann while he lived in Antarctica. You can see his work on his site: NATURE IN FOCUS or on facebook: Stefan Christmann Photography.





Like last time, I made two types of penguins, Emperor Penguins & Adélie Penguins. Every year around this time, penguins start their northward migration to escape the cold. Only the Emperors stay on the south pole during the coldest "summer" months.

Did you se what I made for Penguin Day in 2012? Click here to see it.



I applied matte top coat before I started painting, as Cutenails tells us in one of her YouTube videos.

Matte version


The detail brush was bought from Fab Ur Nails Shop, and I liked that it has a little resistance to it, if you understand what I mean.



My problem when using acrylic paint on my nails is that I can't wipe it off with water. What do I do wrong? Should I dilute the paint more? If you have any advice, I'll be very happy.


Lani

22 comments:

  1. i like your nail art ! penguins are my lovely and favorite ! i have make several mani with penguins , but like yours ! well done !

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    1. Thank you! It's one of my favourite animals too. Now I'm curious about your penguin nail art. Feel free to add links to your penguin nails here. :-)

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  2. You did an amazing job, this manicure is just stunning and so so so cute!!!

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    1. Thank you! :-) It's not perfect, and I struggled a lot, but it turned out almost ok.

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  3. ah :)) the penguins are so cute and beautifully painted! as for acrylics, I have the same problem usually. so far I've tried several brands and they all dry really fast on my nails making it impossible to correct the design with water..

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    1. Nice to hear that you like my penguins! That's exactly what I mean, and I've also tried a few brands. So I had to go back and forth with black, grey and white instead of being able to erase my mistakes... :-)

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  4. Amazing! It´s so adorable! :)

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  5. This looks great! Penguins are adorable :)

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  6. They look so real! You've painted them so well :D ! I like the matte ones best I think it makes them look really realistic! :)

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    1. That was what I tried to do, so I looked at Christmann's penguin photos while I was painting, and I wish I had better painting skills, but thank you! :-) I agree that the matte ones make them look more realistic.

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  7. Ah this is amazing Lani! I love them!

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    1. Thank you! :-) It took me some days of struggling. LOL!

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  8. Replies
    1. Thank you! :-) I'm glad you appreciate it, because this was difficult.

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  9. Awwww *___* so cute! I couldn't even imagine myself painting this way. I'm barely able to keep a pencil in my hands :D
    This is an artwork *___*

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    1. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I struggled for days! :-) LOL

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  10. you did an awesome job with this manicure <3

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    1. Thank you! I had some awesome photos to try to copy, but it was very difficult. :-)

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