Category: body painting

July 27, 2015

NYC Bodypainting Day 2015

Photo by Leif Atman

Bodypainting Day 2015 was a spectacular celebration of art! What better way to bring art to life than to paint it on a human body.

We started out the day at Daj Hammerskjold Plaza at noon.

A photo posted by breannacooke (@breannacooke) on Jul 18, 2015 at 8:28am PDT

We spent the afternoon painting our models, meeting other artists, and answering questions from spectators. The theme of this year’s event was “What the world needs now…”. It was intentionally vague to give the artists lots of room for expression. My interpretation of the theme is: “What the world needs now is…clean water.”

What the world needs now is…clean water! #NYC #Bodypaintingday! #bodypaintingday2015 #nybpd #nycbpd #breannacooke #fish #cleanwater A photo posted by breannacooke (@breannacooke) on Jul 18, 2015 at 12:41pm PDT

A photo posted by breannacooke (@breannacooke) on Jul 18, 2015 at 9:29pm PDT

After painting, we paraded to the United Nations, boarded double-decker buses, and drove around New York City, sharing our art. We stopped at a few locations for group photos and had an incredible response from people on the street.

A photo posted by breannacooke (@breannacooke) on Jul 19, 2015 at 5:21am PDT

For more photos, check out these articles and links:

Bodypainting Day website: http://bodypaintingday.org/

Photos by Leif Atman: https://flic.kr/s/aHskgzmBSD

Photos by Dez Santana: http://www.dezsantana.com/bpd

Gothamist – NSFW Photos: 100 Fully Naked People Get Bodies Painted, Then Head Over To The U.N.- http://gothamist.com/2015/07/19/nsfw_photos_100_fully_naked_people.php#photo-7

NY Observer – Naked in NY: Why more of us are taking it all off http://observer.com/2015/07/naked-in-new-york-why-more-of-us-are-taking-it-all-off/

NY Post – See everyone who ‘hung out’ at national nude bodypainting day http://nypost.com/video/see-everyone-who-hung-out-at-national-nude-bodypainting-day/

Mashable – Bodypainting Day used naked people to expose New Yorkers to art http://mashable.com/2015/07/22/bodypainting-day-2015/

Newsweek – Get to Know the Naked Models of NYC Bodypainting Day

http://www.newsweek.com/get-know-naked-models-nyc-bodypainting-day-nsfw-355359

NY Daily News – Naked models in New York City serve as the canvas for artists on National Bodypainting Day http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/naked-models-nyc-painted-national-bodypainting-day-article-1.2296858

TimeOut NY – See stunning photos from NYC Bodypainting Day http://www.timeout.com/newyork/things-to-do/see-stunning-photos-from-nyc-bodypainting-day

Village Voice – BODYPAINTING DAY TRANSFORMS NUDE FORMS INTO ART (NSFW) http://www.villagevoice.com/slideshow/bodypainting-day-transforms-nude-forms-into-art-nsfw-7393283?utm_content=buffer8e149

The Co-Ed Topless Pulp Fiction Appreciation Society blog – Painted Ladies (And Gentlemen) https://coedtoplesspulpfiction.wordpress.com/2015/07/19/painted-ladies-and-gentlemen/

Der Tagesspiegel (in German): http://video.tagesspiegel.de/nackte-kunst-body-painting-day-in-new-york.html

March 28, 2015

Art Leggings are Ready to Order!

My costume, bodypainting, and graphic design worlds are colliding! I’ve created designs based on my past work and they’re now available printed on leggings. Check them out in my Shop. All orders are processed, manufactured, and shipped through Redbubble.com so they’re only made when you order them. Don’t forget to sign up for the RedBubble mailing list and you’ll save 10% on your first order.

If you’re familiar with my costumes, you may recognize the art from my Fiery Phoenix costume, my Green Dragon costume inspired by Ysera, and my Tribute to Voyager at the 2014 North American Bodypainting Championships. I’m working on more designs too, so stay tuned to Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter OR sign up for my email updates.

P.S. Send me photos of your leggings in action or tag them on social media with #breannacooke!

March 12, 2015

Art Leggings Coming Soon!

My costume, bodypainting, and graphic design worlds are colliding. I’ve been creating designs based on my past costumes and those designs will soon be available printed on leggings! I also have some new ideas in the works too! You may recognize the design in my test pair (pictured above) from my Fiery Phoenix costume from a few years ago. Now that I’ve seen a test pair I just need to finish a few minor tweaks to the artwork and we’ll be rollin’!

If you’re interested in ordering a pair, stay tuned to Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, or Twitter OR sign up for my email updates .

I’ll be sharing the ordering links for these leggings (and some other designs) very soon!

February 15, 2015

Making a Maleficent Collar and Cloak

Photo by Alan Tijerina Photography

Last Friday I won the Saturday ticket giveaway from the Irving Convention Center for Dallas Comic Con Fan Days! I was so excited, but I didn’t have a new costume finished…and how could I go to Fan Days without dressing up?! I already had Maleficent horns from a previous project, so I took on the challenge of making a Maleficent collar and cloak in one night. Below are some of my behind-the-scenes photos of my late night crafting.

The winner of our Instagram @fanexpohq ticket giveaway brought her A-game to #FanDays. Wicked costume @breannacooke. #irvingtxcc @thezombiekiki

A photo posted by Irving Convention Center (@irvingtxcc) on Feb 7, 2015 at 5:24pm PST

Collar

I got some great ideas from this DIY Maleficent tutorial by Pins and Things . She used cardboard and wire to hold the collar upright. I opted for craft foam, hot glue and wire as the core for my collar. I sandwiched the wire between a layer of craft foam. Then I sewed fabric sleeves for each section, pulled it over the craft foam, and sewed up the open end.

Attaching the Collar

The robe for my costume wasn’t going to support the weight of the collar, so I made a base from EVA foam (you can use those interlocking anti-fatigue floor mats, visit my Resources page for where to buy it). Now the whole collar would be a solid, removable piece from the robe. I shaped the EVA foam with a heat gun and made a fabric sleeve for it in the same way I made the collar sleeves. I hot glued and sewed the individual collar pieces to this foam/fabric base, then loosely stitched it to the robe.

Enhancing the Collar

In the recent Maleficent movie, she has a cloak with the iconic pointy collar and a cloak with a feather collar. I took the best of both and added the feathers to mine. I used a section of black hackle feather trim (check Michael’s or Hobby Lobby) and glued it to the collar base with hot glue.

Cloak

I never thought I’d find a use for my graduation gown, but tada! It provided a great base for the Maleficent robe. I purchased 4 yards of black polyester, cut a hole in the middle, and draped it over the robe like a poncho. I sewed the sides of the fabric “poncho” and left room for armholes, then cut open the front and stitched the fabric to the collar of the gown. If I’d had more time, I would have loved to make a really elegant cloak from scratch. Maybe next time!

Horns

And don’t forget the horns! Check out my other post with details about how I made my Maleficent horns. They’re made with reticulated foam, craft foam and electrical tape!

Face

I used a variety of products to create the Maleficent face. I love the purple accents in the cartoon version of Maleficent, so my makeup was a mashup of both Maleficent looks.

Eyes: light and dark purple eye shadow (shown on my hand in the photo)
Eyebrows: Wolfe FX Hydrocolor cake in black
Face: Airbrushed with European Body Art Endura airbrush paint in white and black. Contours with grey eye shadow.
Lips: Vincent Longo lipstick in “Lust” (not shown)

February 10, 2015

Dragon Costume Photoshoot with Ken Pearson

Last year, I did a photoshoot in my green dragon costume with Ken Pearson Photography. Needless to say, he made me look amazing! Below are some of the photos from the shoot.

Connect with Ken and see more of his work here:
http://kenpearson.zenfolio.com/
https://www.facebook.com/kenpearsonphotography
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kenpearson/

Interested in seeing how this costume was created? Check out my blog post: Green Dragon Costume

February 2, 2015

The Wicked Witch and Flying Monkey Team Up

When I made my Flying Monkey costume, I never dreamed that I would meet a Wicked Witch of the West! Chelphie Cosplay is the creator and wearer of this fantastic witch costume and she has a pretty spectacular cackle too — just ask! Our dynamic duo has been spotted at a few events and we even placed 2nd in the 2013 Dallas SciFi Expo Costume Contest. Check out some of the photos:

Photo by Ken Pearson Photography

Photo by Vodka Photos

Photo by Last Ryghtz

Photo by Alan Tijerina

Read my Flying Monkey Costume blog post to see more behind-the-scenes photos for my monkey costume.

December 9, 2014

Flying Monkey Costume from Wizard of Oz

When the Dallas Museum of Art hosted a Wizard of Oz-themed Late Night event, I couldn’t resist making a Flying Monkey costume with my own twist! I already had the black feathered wings, so I just needed to make the outfit. Below are some behind-the-scenes photos of how I put it all together:

1. Hat

The hat is made from a Laughing Cow Cheese container, craft foam, and cotton fabric. Unfortunately I didn’t document it well while I was working on it. The side of the hat is craft foam covered in fabric. I used spray glue (Super 77) to glue the fabric to the craft foam. I drew the zigzag design on paper, then traced it on the red, white, and black fabric, and made each one slightly larger than the last. The zigzag pieces of fabric were also glued with spray glue. I also added a chin strap with thin elastic, like the elastic on party hats.

Materials:

Laughing Cow Cheese container (empty)
Craft foam
Cotton Fabric: light blue, red, white, black
Spray Glue (Super 77)

2. Wig

The wig started out as a weird Moses/Zeus wig from Party City. I didn’t have enough time to order anything online, so I used what I could buy locally. Armed with scissors, I slowly cut away at it to give it the signature widow’s peak of the monkeys (and most simians) in the 1939 edition of Wizard of Oz. I had my doubts at first but I’m really pleased with how it turned out.

Materials:

Grey wig
Scissors
Head form

3. Jacket

I created a paper pattern for the jacket based on reference photos and an existing fleece vest I own. Using plain cotton fabric in light blue, red, white, and black, I cut out all the layers to create the zigzag pattern and jacket base. I glued the zigzag layers together with spray glue (Super 77), attached it to the blue part of the jacket, and added interfacing to give the whole jacket the structured shape. I also added slits in the back of the jacket (not shown) for my wings to poke out.

Materials:

Cotton Fabric: Light blue, red, white, black – measure the amount you need based on your paper patterns and don’t forget about the hat!
Interfacing

4. Bodysuit

This costume, like my dragon costume, features a hand-dyed and painted bodysuit. I first tested the dye on a scrap of Lycra (1st image). I used Jacquard’s Dye-na-flow black, watered it down, added a few drops of Jacquard’s AirFix, and brushed the dye onto the bodysuit. Once it was dry, I painted on the fur with Jacquard’s Neopaque and Lumiere fabric paints.

Materials:

1 white Bal Togs body suit
1 bottle Jacquard Dye-na-flow black
1 bottle Jacquard AirFix
Jacquard Fabric Paints: Black and White (Neopaque), Pewter and Pearlescent Blue (Lumiere)
Paint brushes

5. Feet

I wanted to look like I was barefoot without actually being barefoot! Using some white socks (synthetic fabric), I stuffed them with polyfill, then dyed and painted them with fabric paints (same as used on bodysuit). I applied Zombie Skin (a creamy latex) to the toes to reinforce the toe area. I pulled the stuffing out of the socks, added some foam insoles, then cut out holes for each my toes. When I wear the costume, I paint my toes with same blue bodypaint I use for the face (see #7).

Materials:

White Socks (synthetic fabric, like liner socks)
Zombie Skin (latex)
Polyfill (or rags to stuff inside)
Fabric paints and dyes (see #4 Bodysuit)

6. Wings

I made these wings a few years ago for my Harpy costume but they worked well for my monkey costume too. The frame was commissioned from Danielle Hurley and she does amazing work! I used chicken wire as the frame for the wings and hot-glued it to black canvas. I hot-glued approximately 350 black turkey feathers for the wings and used down from a black feather boa for the top. Needless to say, these wings are a tad heavy but they are definitely sturdy!

Materials (for the wings, not the frame):

Black canvas fabric
Chicken wire
Gloves and wire cutters
Black turkey feathers
Black feather boa

7. Face

I followed reference photos from the movie so I could capture the big smirk of the monkeys. Since I wasn’t using any prosthetics, I also needed to give the illusion of monkey features with makeup. I painted my nostrils black to make them look wider and added accent lines to widen my nose and mouth. I used professional water-based bodypaint to paint my face, hands, and toes and red lipstick on my lips.

Bodypaints (all water-activated cakes):

I’ve created an Amazon list with most of these products.

Need more guidance on how to choose body paint for your costume? Check out my post “How to choose body paint and makeup for DIY Halloween costumes.”

And there you have it!

Photo by Ken Pearson Photography

I’ve also been known to hang around with a certain Wicked Witch of the West (Chelphie Cosplay) at various events. Have a look at photos of our dynamic Oz duo.

October 27, 2014

How To Make Maleficent Horns

Need Maleficent horns ASAP for Halloween? Here’s how I made a headpiece, inspired by the 2014 movie version of Maleficent. I made these pretty quickly so the process isn’t documented as well as I would have liked, but hopefully you’ll find some useful tidbits!

You will need:

Craft foam
Electrical tape
Reticulated foam (upholstery foam or styrofoam could work too)
Black faux snakeskin or pleather fabric
Tin foil and duct tape (for the helmet template)
Utility knife
X-acto knife
Scissors
Contact cement
Paper and sharpie (for the helmet and horn template)

1. Make a helmet with craft foam.

I learned out to make this helmet from Evil Ted Smith’s Youtube tutorial. Watch his video to learn how to make a helmet template that fits your head. Instead of using thick EVA foam, I used craft foam for a more flexible headpiece. I was a bit rushed so the seams aren’t as smooth and rounded as they could be.

2. Draw a horn template, trace it onto reticulated foam, and carve it out.

Draw a horn shape on paper. If you need a template, check out my Maleficent Horn Printable Template digital download. Cut the paper template out, then trace it onto a block of reticulated foam or upholstery foam. Remember to trace out the horn twice.

Then carve the horn out of the foam with a utility knife or with scissors. Make sure the blade is sharp. Compare your horns with each other to be sure you’re getting the right shape. You can find upholstery foam at most fabric stores. Reticulated foam is often used as padding in packaging so you might need to hunt around for some.

If your foam is not thick enough, glue two sheets together with rubber cement or liquid latex.

Use scissors or a box cutter to shape the horns, as if you are whittling a piece of wood. As you work on the second horn, compare it to the first one to be sure they are the same shape.

3. Cover the horns with electrical tape.

I used electrical tape to create the horn ridges. Instead of wrapping the electrical tape around in a spiral, I cut each piece individually. Fold over the top edge of the tape to achieve the ridged effect. For a more realistic-looking horn, you can make the ridges with paper towels and liquid latex. Check out my demon horn tutorial over at Make Magazine that outlines those steps in detail.

4. Glue snakeskin fabric on the front of the headpiece.

Use contact cement to apply the fabric to the front and fold it under the front edge.

5. Glue horns on and cover the helmet with electrical tape.

Glue the horns on with contact cement. To cover the rest of the helmet with tape, start at the base of the horns and weave your pieces of electrical tape around the helmet. I cut shorter pieces instead of trying to wrap long pieces all the way around. Continue to fold the top edge of the tape over to achieve ridges all the way down.

6. Go be fierce!

Need a Maleficent cloak and collar?

Check out my (very hastily made) cloak using a graduation gown as the base and craft foam with wire to make the collar. I’ve outlined the materials and steps here in this blog post.

Need makeup product ideas?

Visit my Amazon Storefront for some makeup and body paint product recommendations.

Shop Makeup Supplies on Amazon

October 10, 2014

Living Art America 2014

Photography: Atlanta Event Photography

I’m so thrilled and honored to have taken part in Living Art America’s North American Bodypainting Championships in Atlanta, GA. My presentation took 1st place in the Emerging Artist category!

About the art:

Event Theme: Future Vision
This piece is a tribute to Voyager 1 — the first human-made object to travel outside our solar system. Contained on Voyager is a golden record with music and images of life on Earth (DNA, human figures, trees, plants) to hopefully be discovered by beings somewhere in the universe. The headpiece takes inspiration from H.R. Giger’s biomechanical female aliens and hints at the idea of an alien discovering the record and incorporating into her body. Voyager 1 and 2 also gave us the first hi-res images of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and beyond. So order to gain a clear vision of our future, we must reach forward through the solar system and light years, but also look back at the past, to see where Voyager is taking us.

About the event:

Artists have 6.5 hours to paint a model (with the help of an assistant if you have one). Then we each have 1.5 minutes to present our creations to a panel of judges. After the judging, there is opportunity for photos and then an evening runway show. Artists can select music and prepare a statement to be read by the MC while their model walks/dances/twirls down the runway for 2 minutes. It’s the most amazing spectacle of art!

About the paint and props:

All the paint is professional grade body paint and artists can do a combo of brush/sponge or airbrush. I only used brush and sponge for my piece. Models must also wear some sort of thong and pasties. I created the headpiece ahead of time with EVA foam (anti-fatigue mats), craft foam, and pipe insulation. The record was a real record (Barry Manilow to be exact) and was painted gold. The shoes were also created ahead of time and are heel-less shoes with craft foam vines/plants built on top.

Photography: David Leo Photography

Photography: Atlanta Event Photography

Photography: David Leo Photography

Photography: Atlanta Event Photography

Photography: Walt Weiss

Photography: Atlanta Event Photography

September 30, 2014

Get Your Tickets – Living Art America’s Bodypainting Events in Atlanta Oct 2-4

If you live in Atlanta, you’ve got 3 amazing opportunities to see beautiful body painting this week!! Be sure to buy your tickets in advance, tickets will not be sold at the door.

Thursday, October 2nd
Fluoro Show – UV/blacklight body painting feat. performers from Atlanta Ballet
INFO: http://www.livingartamerica.com/flouro-show
TICKETS: http://living-art-america.ticketleap.com/ultra-violet-fluoro-bodypainting-show-in-3d/

Friday, October 3rd
Body Art Ball – A vaudeville style art exhibition of entertainers and circus performers that will act as living canvases.
INFO: https://www.facebook.com/events/550736555048907/
TICKETS: http://living-art-america.ticketleap.com/body-art-ball/

Saturday, October 4th
North American Bodypainting Championships – Bodies As Works of Art (This is when I’ll be painting!) – Come for a fantastical runway show and see the final works of art by the competitors.
INFO: http://www.livingartamerica.com/
TICKETS: http://living-art-america.ticketleap.com/bodies-as-a-work-of-art-the-north-american-bodypainting-champio/

See you there!