Neytiri from Avatar Costume with Body Paint

 

Apparently blue is my color!

This year’s costume was Neytiri from Avatar.  I decided to use body paint instead of liquid latex like my Mystique costume last year.   I did the majority of painting myself, though I needed help with my back.  Here is the final result, but keep scrolling down if you’d like to see more photos of the process.  The professional photos are courtesy of T.J. Hall Photography.

Breanna Cooke as Neytiri from Avatar with full body paint. Photo by TJ Hall
Photo by TJ Hall Photography
Full body paint costume for Neytiri from Avatar. Photo from T.J. Hall Photography | www.tjhallphotography.com
Neytiri from Avatar with body paint
Backside of body paint.

Body Paint

I purchased a “Pandora Kit” from SillyFarm.com.  The kit included all the blues I needed, and it worked perfectly for painting a full body.  I also purchased some glow-in-the-dark body paint so that the white dots would glow.

1. Apply the light blue all over your body with a sponge. 

Starting out the painting

2. Use the 2-blue combo cake (it should be shimmery) for the stripes. Start by painting stripes with the dark blue, then add a highlight with the light blue right on top of the dark one.

Painting Progress

3. Use white is for adding the dots, then go over them again with glow paint (optional).

Closeup of arm details.

UPDATE 10/10/2012: Check out my tips on how to seal water-based body paint.  This will help prevent your paint from rubbing off on everything.

Costume

I made the beaded arm bands by painting Mardi Gras beads and sewing them onto  elastic bands.

Painting Mardi Gras beads with acrylic paint
Closeup of arm bands.

I purchased the wig online.  If you search for “Deluxe Neytiri wig with ears” you’ll find the same wig from various vendors.  I also glued some feathers into the braids to make it fuller and match Neytiri.

Feathers added to the braids of the wig.

I made the outfit from scraps of fabric and a bikini bra top from the fabric store.  I made the straps by braiding fabric and I stitched fabric on to the front of the bra cups by hand.  The loincloth (not pictured) was  two rectangles of fabric sewn on to a pair of black underwear.

Bra top from fabric store.
Straps made of braided fabric.
Top with fabric attached.

 

36 comments

  1. Regina says:

    So I was an avatar too for halloween! I used liquid latex like you did with your mystique costume. I have a questions for you though. When you painted your face with the latex did it lift arond your mouth after a while? I had this problem and it made my mouth look like an old lady because it started to lift and wrinkled when I talked. Did this happen to you? I did paint over my lips, which was probably a bad idea, but I feel like even if I go around my lips it will still lift. I tend to smile and talk alot, so my face is always moving 🙂 Any suggestions? And BTW I did refer to your mystique blog when I did my avatar last Halloween!

    • Breanna says:

      Hi Regina!
      Yea, I found the liquid latex was peeling away from my mouth towards the end of the evening too. That’s why I used body paint for my Avatar costume…it was a little easier to apply and did peel away in strange ways 🙂

  2. sonja says:

    I would like to know if 1 kit is enough for the entire body?And did u purchase the glow in dark white through this company also.

    • Breanna says:

      I believe they sell 2 different kits; one enough for face, one enough for full body. The kit I purchased worked for one full body. And yes, I bought the glow in the dark paint from Silly Farm also. I think it was Ben Nye brand, but not sure.

  3. Britt says:

    Hi Breanna~
    LOVE your costumes…you do fabulous work!
    I’m thinking of tackling Mystique for Halloween this yr. Can you tell me which product you preferred when it came to the blue latex vs body paint? Application time? Cost? Did you find that either product rubbed off or faded as the the evening went on? Also, it sounds like the latex isn’t the greatest in the facial region (peeling at lips, and keep away from eyes, etc)… would it look ‘odd’ to paint my face, and latex my body? Any other comments to latex vs paint??
    Thanks so much! Britt

    • Breanna says:

      Britt,
      Sorry for such a delay. I definitely preferred body paint over the latex. It’s faster and doesn’t smell (liquid latex uses ammonia as a preservative, so it’s a smelly process). The body paint will rub off more easily than latex though, but you can put it around your eyes and lips. Doing paint on your face and latex on your body might work well, but you might run into some color matching issues. And when people take a photo of you with a flash, the latex will have a sheen different from the body paint.
      Hope your costume goes well!!

  4. MZRED says:

    hey, IM INTERESTED IN BEING NEYTIRI THIS YEAR AND IS SOOO EXCITED!.I LOVE YOUR COSTUME AND IS CURIOUS OF WHAT WERE YOUR TECHNIQUES OF MAKING THE STRIPES THEY LOOK SOOOO PERFECT

    • Breanna says:

      The trick is to NOT worry about making them perfect. Take a close look at the images from the movie and you’ll see that the stripes are rough and not perfectly symmetrical. Hope it works for you!

  5. Hi, I’m doing the avatar look this Halloween. I already bought the pandora kit from silly farm. I was wondering if you could explain the process. They sent like 4 different colors. Two blues, white, black and some pinkish color. I don’t know where to start. Help please..

    • Breanna says:

      1. Use the light blue all over your body.
      2. Use the 2-blue combo cake (it should be kinda shimmery) for the stripes. I first put the stripes on with the dark blue, then added a highlight with the light blue (right on top of the dark one).
      3. Use white is for adding the dots (that glow in the movie).
      I don’t remember using black, maybe around your eyes. The pink is for the nostrils, but i’d recommend just using blue. I found the pink looked like the paint had rubbed off.

      Hope that helps!! Happy Halloween!

  6. Anna Reyna says:

    Hey So im trying to do this look saturday just in time for a costume contest. Does that kit from silly farm Cover the whole body or would i need a couple of them kits?

  7. ursmiling says:

    OMGosh!!! I am LOVING your pics! I like to “go all out” at Hallowe’en also! (Well, maybe not for myself anymore, but for my kids! haha) I stumbled across your site when looking for “Mystique” costumes/body paint for one of my 9yr old twins. (Her real name is Raven, so it is quite fitting 😉 lol) And I have been struggling with “make-up” ideas, and trying to find the black outfit from the comic. (Looks like I will have to make it somehow 😛 sigh) But as for the “blue body” that would be showing, what would you recommend? I’ve spent DAYS on the computer looking for stuff! (Really, my but is starting to hurt…and so is my head! lol) I’ve seen so many places “claiming” to have the best no-smudge body make-up, etc. But until you try them all, you never do know. I seen you use “Silly Farm”, which is one place I searched today (hoping they ship to Canada!), but which brand do you prefer from there? (Kryolan, Wolfe, Ben Nye?) And have you tried the liquid versus the stuff you get wet with the brush/sponge? (And what shade of blue would you suggest for Mystique?) I’m not an avid comic book person, and can only go by what I see on the web. (But yet, somehow my kids names are Storm (19yrs old), Raven (twin girl,9yrs) and Phoenix (twin boy,9yrs)! haha I HAD NO IDEA about the X-Men when I had my oldest daughter, then was oblivious there was a Raven and Phoenix in the X-Men when I named the twins 10yrs later! haha VERY strange, but cool in the end 😉 lol) So now, I am trying to make the 19yr old look like Storm from the X-man, along with Raven as Mystique. (My son unfortunately refuses to go as his named Character “Phoenix”, due to it’s a girl! haha But hey, maybe one day 😉 lol So he wants to go as Wolverine… of course!)

    Sorry for that, I tend to get off track at times 😉 lol I hope you can help with some info, advice, preferences, etc. I want a product that will stay on somewhat well (especially since it won’t be summer, it’ll be early spring, and she’ll need a sweater/jacket to get from points A-B) and is easy to work with. (I didn’t want to have to buy a spray gun etc.) And all of your stuff looks awesome, and I think it’s done by sponge and brush… correct?

    I hope to hear from you soon! I am starting to get excited for next year too now! (The twins were going to go as the Avatar Characters! haha And I think if I show this to the older teenager, she may go for it too!) How awesome that I came across your site as your Neytiri costume is sooo amazing!!!

    Thanks soo much for posting all this!
    Linda

    • Breanna says:

      Hi Linda,
      To answer some of your questions:
      Type of paint: I prefer the paint cakes that require brush and sponge. I get more mileage out of them over liquid, plus they’re more like using watercolor paints (I had a lot of watercolor experience prior to getting into body painting).
      Brand: I like Kryolan (also has a baby powder scent to it) and Paradise by Mehron. I tend to use Paradise since I can also buy it locally when needed. The Wolfe black and white are the best for doing detail work.
      Color of blue: I’m not too sure for Mystique. When I did Mystique, I was using liquid latex, so the color options aren’t the same.

      Hope the costumes turn out well! Sorry for the delayed response!
      Breanna

  8. ursmiling says:

    Thanks for the reply Breanna!

    I ended up buying the Wolfe ones, as they seemed to be the ones that had a lot of positive feedback when I was searching around. (It was before I received your reply, but the other two you mentioned were ones that I looked at also… mind you the Paradise didn’t get a lot of feedback, I think it may be newer than the others though.)

    I’m hoping it stays on well. I just purchased a barrier spray, to see if it will help. (Today is the day I experiment, one arm with and one without! haha) It’s cutting it pretty close, as this weekend is the event.

    Thanks for all your feedback though, I really appreciate it!!! (And I’m still hoping to get my twins to do the Avatar one year, as I think your costume looks fantastic!) AND, boy/girl twins are a heck of a lot of fun when dressing in a pair! haha (I think my fav’s were Raggedy Ann and Andy, Danny and Sandy from Greece, and then when I had all 3 of them dressed as the Incredibles! haha It’s the best to have kids that LOVE to do this stuff! lol)

    Thanks again Breanna!

    Linda

  9. Katie Sands says:

    Hi Very early i knwo but we have a fancy dress new years eve party and i wanted to go as something with a big impact, think i have found the perfect thing. I have heard alot of body paints come off on chairs etc and with going to a house party im concerned it may rub off. Can you advise how best to keep the colour without rubbing off on furniture. Thanks in advance! Katie

  10. Linda Miller says:

    Hi Breanna!!!

    I wanted to post this earlier, but kept forgetting 😛 My bad.
    The costumes went off awesomely! I am going to try and attach a link to my twins Facebook Fundraising page, it has an album in it that has tons of pics of them! (My 9yr old daughter was Mystique, her twin brother was Wolverine, and my eldest daughter was Storm.) Thanks for teh advice on all the paints etc!!!

    http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.303232166425157.68977.152197441528631&type=3

    Linda
    p.s. If the link doesn’t work, just google “The Twin Hearts Project”. It’ll come up with the link to their page, and then you can view their albums from there 🙂

    • Breanna says:

      Linda! The costumes turned out beautifully! I’m so glad you sent me the link. I’m so impressed with it all, great work. Get ready for Halloween!! Woohoo!

  11. Linda Miller says:

    Thanks Breanna! (I take that as a HUGE compliment when it’s coming from you!!!) I feel badly though, I’m almost too exhausted to go through all this work again for Hallowe’en. They were suppose to go as the X-Men Characters again that they wore for the Comiccon, to get a second wear out of them…. but my son’s hair is getting too long for the Wolverine character (he’s growing to donate it), and it’s so much work for the Mystique costume. lol They may just pull out one of their “dress-up” outfits, and wear those. (I know, I know, I’m horrible. lol) But hey, there is always the next Comiccon that is in May again! haha (And I WILL have to get to making these Avatar ones one year, they will look soooo awesome! haha)

    Thanks again for everything! And for sure keep an eye on their page, it may have some more costumes in soon! (We have a walk-a-thon coming up for The Children’s Wish Foundation, the kids usually like to dress up for that one too! haha This year I think they wanted to go as astronauts… but I’m not sure I’ll have time to fix the costumes before the walk.)

    Linda
    🙂

  12. Olivia says:

    Hi breanna! My boyfriend and I are going to try and re create your avatar costume for halloween. I wanted to know if the paint you used would rub off if you sat down on a couch or if it smeared reall easily. If you could get back with me a soon as you can I would greatly apreciate it! We need to order the paint within the next couple days the party is next weekend!
    Thanks again!
    Olivia

    • Breanna says:

      Hi Olivia! So glad you’re going to try this costume, it’s so fun! In general, the answer is: yes, the paint will rub off. I would not recommend sitting directly on other people’s fabric furniture. Sitting on furniture won’t rub off the paint completely, but you’ll likely leave mark. Even though the paints are water-based, it’s better to be safe than sorry. I use an old sheet to cover things I sit on (like my car). If you sweat a lot, the paint will rub off even faster or if someone touches you with wet hands it will rub off (it’s happened to me, people can’t help themselves sometimes!).

      That said, there are some products you can use to help seal on the paint, all are available at SillyFarm.com:
      Ben Nye LiquiSet – Use it instead of water to activate the paints and it will help seal on the paint. I’ve found this to be slightly sticky/tacky when it’s dry…which I guess is why it helps “stick” the paint on.
      Ben Nye Final Set – Put it in a spritzing bottle and spray yourself when you’re all done painting. Let it dry before you touch it!!
      Kryolan Fixer Spray – Looks like a hairspray bottle and essentially works the same way. Just spray all over the paint when you’re done.

      Hope this helps! I think you’ve just inspired me to write a blog post about this 🙂 Happy Costume-ing!

  13. Olivia says:

    Thanks so much for the feedback!! I really appreciate it! I think we’re going to try it! Last Halloween I painted my boyfriend as the green lantern. It was a big hit at the party. Everyone thought it was a skin suit. We ended up using acrylic paint and we don’t want to do that agian. He ended up breaking out from it and Half way through the night it started to flake off. We’re excited to try something different and that it’s made to use on the skin. Glad to inspire!! Thanks again!!’

    • Breanna says:

      Hi Carolina,
      I made the bottom part with a pair of black underwear that had very thin side straps. I sewed a rectangle of fabric to the front and the back so it looked like a loincloth. Hope that helps!
      Breanna

  14. Alysa says:

    Hey!! Love this! My question the pandora kit from silly farm, is the 59.99 the one that’s enough for full body and did you have any left over?? I’m doing my husband also but just his arms, neck, and face….do I need two kits!?

    • Breanna says:

      Hi Alysa,
      The kit was enough for one full body. I used most of the light blue, but I definitely had a lot of the stripes colors left over.
      Breanna

  15. Indyah says:

    Hi Breanna I’m thinking about being Neytiri but need some tips.I’m more of a heavy chested women but don’t know the best techniques on how to cover enough what’s my best option?

    • Breanna says:

      Hi Indyah!
      What about making a top that incorporates some of the necklaces that Neytiri wears? It might give you more coverage across your chest. You could even make more of a halter top and cover it with necklaces. You could probably find some beaded necklaces at a thrift store and paint them, perhaps add some feathers too. Have fun being Neytiri!

      Breanna

  16. Ireland Jackson says:

    Hi I love love love this costume! I know you said the kit covered your whole body but the kit just seems kind of small and I don’t want to be on the day of Halloween worried about running out of paint? Any way to utilize the amount of paint they give you? How long did it take to apply the whole thing?

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