March 8, 2018

Camouflage Body Painting

Camouflage body painting is a very popular style of body art and I’ve been very lucky to work on some really interesting projects during my career. I’ve painted on numerous great assignments in some amazing locations including Atlanta, Cape Town, the Dominican Republic and Monaco.

Camouflage body painting is more specialised than a straight forward body paint and it can be quite tricky. The level of difficulty usually depends on the background that the model has to be blended in to. Personally, I prefer a busy background as the details make it easier to ‘lose’ the model. Sometimes it’s important that the model is completely invisible until they reveal themselves. But usually the model is partially camouflaged and can still be seen against the background.

Camouflage Body Painting for Film and TV

My camouflage body painting has been seen on film and in many TV and online advertisements including the Hollywood movie ‘Dumb and Dumber To’ and for clients including The Ford Motor Company, LG Phones, Panasonic Viera, Irish National Lottery, Neckerman Belgian Travel Agency, Opticrom and Royal Caribbean Cruises. I’ve also made guest appearances to demonstrate my camouflage body art on The Alan Titchmarsh Show, Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch and Blue Peter.

Below are a few or my favourite assignments in more detail.

Camouflage body painting for Hollywood movie ‘Dumb & Dumber To’

‘Dumb and Dumber To’ Hollywood Movie

This has got to be one of my all-time favourite camouflage body painting assignments. In 2013 I painted the American actor Rob Riggle as Captain Lippencott for the Hollywood movie ‘Dumb and Dumber To’. For this assignment it was very important that Rob’s character wasn’t seen until he moved out of position so I had to successfully camouflage Rob in 2 locations using only body paint so that he would ‘disappear’ completely. One background for the painting was a brick wall, but the one that I enjoyed the most was painting Rob to blend in with the front of a vending machine. Using a very detailed background can be quite time consuming, but it makes it much easier to really hide the model. It was also important that the camouflage body painting worked very effectively as the producers Peter and Bobby Farrelly didn’t want to use any CGI or post production work to enhance the camouflage effect, so my painting had to be spot on. Everyone on set was really pleased with the finished results and Rob was an absolute delight to work.

Camouflage body painting in the Dominican Republic

Neckerman Belgian Travel Agency TV Advertisement

One of the nicest locations that I’ve worked in had to be a beautiful beach resort in The Dominican Republic. I was commissioned to body paint a number of models into different scenarios all with a beach and sea background. As there were multiple models to be painted I took my team member Emily with me to help to speed up the painting time. It was incredibly hot and for one of the scenarios we were up to our waists in the sea, painting before the sun went down. There was some free time at the end of the filming for sun bathing and shopping which was just wonderful.

Camouflage body painting for Opticrom TV idents

Opticrom TV Idents

This was a lovely assignment. I was commissioned by Caravan Production Company to camouflage the heads and shoulders of 4 models and blend them in with some beautiful floral backgrounds which were painted by the very talented artist Gill Bustamante. We were hoping to get the painting finished in one day, so I took along my friend and team member Laura Scimone to help to speed up the painting time. The original artwork was beautiful and the finished film appeared daily throughout the summer on the ‘Pollen Watch’ segment on ‘Good Morning Britain’ to publicise Opticrom Hayfever Eye Drops.

Behind the scenes body painting for The Alan Titchmarsh Show

Alan Titchmarsh Television Show Guest Appearance

In 2013 I was invited to appear on the Alan Titchmarsh show as a guest artist to demonstrate my camouflage body painting skills. I had to paint a model on a table covered with vegetables and successfully camouflage him against the produce. I took along one of my team Alex, and it should have been quite a relaxed morning before we went ‘live’ at 3 pm. But the weight of the model, plus all the vegetables, made the table collapse and we had to wait for emergency repairs to be made. So it ended up with quite a frantic painting session to get the model finished before the show started. But the overall effect was really good and the assembled live audience didn’t spot the model lying in amongst the vegetables until he moved his arm and leg and revealed himself.

Camouflage Body Painting for PR Campaigns.

Camouflage body painting is also used extensively for PR campaigns and publicity stunts. These assignments are great fun but are usually very tight on the timings, so I usually take along one of my team to help to get the body painting finished as quickly as possible. Many of these campaigns are filmed outside so usually involve the models wearing clothing which is much more difficult and time consuming than painting directly on the body.

Camouflage body painting for RBL ‘Count them in’ campaign

The Royal British Legion

One of the largest PR campaigns that I worked on involved body painting veterans into various locations around the UK for the Royal British Legion’s ‘Count Them In’ campaign. I was commissioned by Taylor Herring to paint the 4 volunteer veterans starting with a library in Manchester, a rugby stadium in Cardiff, a café in Plymouth, finishing in front of the houses of parliament in London. All the models were wearing clothing and my fellow artist and team member Laura Scimone joined me in our dash around the country painting the fantastic volunteers. This proved to be a hugely successful campaign covered by numerous daily newspapers and had a huge online presence.

Vegetable stall camouflage body painting

Camouflage body painting for launch of ‘Covert Affairs’ TV Show

Covert Affairs TV Programme

I also enjoyed working on the launch of Really TV’s CIA drama ‘Covert Affairs’ in 2013. I painted a model at 3 different London locations including a market stall, a London bus and a black cab. At the vegetable stall in Portobello Market the model was lying on the actual stall wearing a body suit and I had to camouflage her into the actual vegetables. All the details in the background made the model blend in very easily and we were all pleased with the end result. This image still pops up regularly all around the world and is the subject of at least 2 meme’s.

Camouflage body painting for ‘Park Mark’ campaign

National Car Parks ‘Park Mark’ campaign

Another large multi-centre campaign which required camouflage body painting was for the British Parking Association. I had to body paint several models who were wearing body suits or clothing and blend them into various backgrounds in different car parks around the UK. We visited Cambridge, Nottingham. Stratford upon Avon and Warwick. This was to highlight the ‘Park Mark® Safer Parking Scheme’ which is a Police Crime Prevention Initiative and is aimed at reducing both crime and the fear of crime in parking facilities. Two of the camouflaged body paintings actually appeared on the back of double decker busses which were seen out and about in Norwich.

Camouflage body painting for Rae Morris ‘Closer’ music video

Camouflage Body Painting for the Music Industry

I’ve done quite a bit of body painting for the music industry over the years. My work has used for CD and book covers and fine art prints. One of the assignments that needed my camouflage body painting skills was the music video for the release of the CD single ‘Closer’ by the very talented Rae Morris. There were numerous models and dancers who would need to ‘disappear’ in the video and one particularly tricky image where I had to camouflage a model into a garden bench. The open slat design of the bench needed really precise painting to successfully hide the model, who would actually be sitting on the bench next to Rae. Due to the size of the shoot and the timings I took along my team and we all painted our socks off to achieve a great end result for the client.

Camouflage, Film & TV |

January 25, 2017

| Carolyn Roper

Body Painting for Blue Peter

Blue Peter presenter Radzi Chinyanganya camouflage body painted on the Show

Several months ago I was contacted by one of the producers for the children’s television show Blue Peter. He was interested in my camouflage body painting and invited me to appear on the show to paint one of the presenters.

I remember watching Blue Peter when I was younger and my parents remember watching it too. So I had a look at Wikipedia to find out a few more facts about this iconic show.

Looking Back

The first programme was shown on the BBC way back in 1958 and there have been more than 4,000 episodes since then, making it the longest running children’s TV show in the world. The show includes various viewer and presenter ‘challenges’ and also the very popular (and my particular favourite) arts and crafts projects that viewers could recreate at home. Blue Peter has always featured a number of pets. My mother said that most people from her generation affectionately remember the presenter John Noakes and his border collie ‘Shep’ from the 1970’s.

The Blue Peter Badge

The badge in the shape of a shield with a white background and blue ship logo was originally introduced in 1963 and was coveted by every child who watched the programme. This version of the badge is what the presenters still wear. Viewers can send in letters or art work to try and win one. There are now also several other badges for various achievements including the Gold badge which is the highest award and given for exceptional achievement. Gold badge holders include David Beckham, JK Rowling Tom Daley and Queen Elizabeth II.

The Presenters

There have been numerous presenters over the years. My parents recall Peter Purves, John Noakes and Valerie Singleton whose highlight on the show was when she very famously accompanied Princess Anne on her first solo trip overseas in a Kenyan Royal Safari in 1971. The current presenters are Barney Harwood, Lindsay Russell and Radzi Chinyanganya – who would be my model for my appearance on the show.

My Body Painting Challenge

So it was with all this history under my belt that I set off from London to the studio in Manchester with my fellow artist Laura Scimone. The show would be broadcast live and I already knew that the painting time was limited so I took Laura along to ensure that we would be finished in time for the show to go live at 5 pm.

I travelled up to Manchester the morning of the live show and we had approximately 4 hours to complete the bodypainting whilst also allowing Radzi enough time to fit in rehearsals.

It’s always a challenge when I see a location for the first time on the day of a shoot and the Blue Peter studio offered up quite a few technical challenges for a body paint. I’d seen photos of the studio space prior to the show day but what couldn’t be seen in the photos was a detailed grid pattern that wraps around the entire studio! I knew that it was going to be a race against time to get all the detail onto Radzi in the amount of hours we had since all the grid squares had to be painted on individually. It might have been difficult, but that’s what I particularly like about doing make up or bodypainting for live TV. The extra pressure of knowing that you have to get it finished and looking perfect always makes it even more exciting!

We also had to run through the script whilst I was painting and I was worried that when it came to the live show that I would somehow mess up one of my answers or forget what to say! Thankfully once to show got going the adrenalin managed to carry me though!

1 a blue peter 5 WP Blog There was also an interactive section that featured 3 children painting various animals onto their hands. This was great fun and the children did very well.

So all in all it was a very enjoyable day. Everyone was really friendly and Radzi was a delight to work with and a very patient model. Plus at the grand old age of 34 I was absolutely thrilled to get my own Blue Peter badge!!

Camouflage, Film & TV, My Work Assignments |

April 16, 2016

| Carolyn Roper

‘Naked and Invisible’ On Channel 4’s All4 Facebook Page goes viral!!

Personal Trainer Ashley Lewis camouflage body painted against shelves of vegetables

The ‘Naked and Invisible’ series of short films for Channel 4 featuring my camouflage body painting has gone viral over the last week. Since its release 10 days ago the brilliant video has received more than 5.7 million views and has been shared an unbelievable 66,000 times all around the world. It’s been seen everywhere from Hong Kong to Buenos Aires and Venezuela to Nepal.

You can watch the trailer clip at the All4 Facebook Page here or if you would like to watch all 4 short films in their entirety, go to the Channel 4 website here

I’ve worked on a lot of camouflage assignments during my career but this has to be up there as one of the most enjoyable jobs that I’ve ever done. So naturally I’m thrilled for everyone who was involved in the making of the series.

Matthew ‘Morgan Fabulous’ camouflage body painted against a clothes stall in a busy market

The background to the series.

As I said in a previous blog, I was approached by Showem Entertainment Ltd several months ago regarding an idea that they were working on for a series of short films for Channel 4. This would involve volunteer models being camouflaged, using body paint, into various backgrounds around London so that they were invisible to the public for a short while.

All the models had a particular reason for wanting to be invisible for a day. I really liked the concept and was very happy work on this project with the team. We started the series back in August last year with the lovely Leyah Shanks who is a body confidence blogger from Edinburgh. It was my job to blend her in to the back of a telephone kiosk in a London street. We then moved on to various locations around London and I painted Body Builder Kate Austin, Personal Trainer Ashley Lewis, Amputee Taylor Crisp, Alternative Model Alison Ward and Librarian and Drag Queen Matthew ‘Morgan Fabulous’ over the course of a week.

You can read the full story with all the images from the series on one of my earlier blogs here

Welsh Body Builder Kate Austin camouflage body painted against supermarket shelving

Definitely one of my favourite assignments to date

Working on the production of the series was a great experience and the whole crew from Showem Entertainment Ltd were just brilliant. The very brave volunteer models who were completely new to the sometimes surreal world of body painting were absolutely marvellous to work with, and we had so much fun with the various scenarios. The reaction of the members of the public when they were ‘surprised’ by the models wearing their camouflage body paint and not a lot else was at times hilarious and so much fun to watch.

And finally I had some lovely testimonials from Simon Goodman the producer of ‘Naked and Invisible’ and also Laura Scimone who is a member of my make-up and body painting team, and who worked incredibly hard alongside me for a week whilst we were filming the series. A big thanks also to Emily Dowdeswell from my team who also assisted on the pilot for the series.

“Carolyn is a true artist and a brilliant collaborator. Her technical ability in bringing her camouflage body art illusions to life so realistically is almost superhuman. It was a real pleasure to work with her on Naked and Invisible.”
Simon Goodman, Producer/Director.

“Working with Carolyn Roper is one of the most inspiring experiences I’ve ever had. She is professional, precise and with the most amazing calm funny personality. She is the most “Speedy Gonzales Body painter” that I’ve ever seen – incredibly fast. I’ve learned a lot from her and I always do, working next to her. Thank you Carolyn for sharing your amazing talent with me.”
Laura Sicmone, Make-up Artist/Body Artist.

Camouflage, Film & TV, My Work Assignments |

February 7, 2016

| Carolyn Roper

Body painting ‘Naked and Invisible’ people in London for Channel 4

Around 6 months ago I was approached by Showem Entertainment Ltd regarding an idea that they were working on for a series of short films for Channel 4. In the shorts, models would be body painted into various backgrounds around London so that they were camouflaged and invisible to the public.

I really enjoy camouflage body art so was definitely up for the challenge. The people that I painted had volunteered because they all had a particular reason for wanting to find out what it would be like to be invisible and it was fascinating to meet them and hear their stories. They were all marvellous to work with and very patient during the whole body painting process which can take several hours. I’ve painted literally hundreds of models during my career in numerous locations around the world, but it’s always very important that I put first-time models at ease and find a comfortable pose that they’re happy with.

The series has just been released and can be seen on 4OD

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/naked-invisible

Leyah Shanks

Leyah Shanks

We started the series back in August last year with the lovely Leyah Shanks who is a body confidence blogger from Edinburgh. It was my job to blend her in to the back of a telephone kiosk in a London street. Leyah disappeared into the phone box and undressed. She emerged in her pants and I arranged her in a pose that she would be able to hold for the duration of the painting. I was working with the talented Emily Dowdeswell and once the camouflage effect was finished we cleared away the painting equipment and left Leyah to surprise the public.

Leyah was a brilliant model and absolutely loved the whole process and said ‘it was incredibly freeing to rid myself of all my clothes and underwear in a public place’.

You can watch Leyah’s unique and unusual experience here

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/naked-invisible/on-demand/62181-003

You can also read her account of the day on her interesting blog here.

http://iamleyahshanks.com/2016/02/06/naked-invisible-channel-4-short/

Ashley Lewis

Ashley Lewis

I also painted personal trainer Ashley Lewis from London. Ashley has an amazing physique so can stand out from the crowd and sometimes his physique attracts negative comments. He wanted to know what it would feel like to be invisible and NOT have people staring at him. I had to camouflage him into a fruit and veg market stall and had the lovely Laura Scimone helping me with the painting. Unfortunately, as we were working outside, we were beaten by the weather on our first attempt, so we had to relocate to an indoor shop with hilarious results once the painting was finished.

Ashely’s experience can be seen here.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/naked-invisible/on-demand

Carolyn Roper camouflage bodypainting Matthew Morgan

Matthew ‘Morgan Fabulous’

Matthew… ‘Morgan Fabulous’

Another fantastic model was drag queen and librarian Matthew whose alter ego is ‘Morgan Fabulous’ and he was definitely fabulous to work with. He gets mixed reactions from his clothes and make-up and would love to give other people the confidence to wear what they want to. Laura and I had to camouflage him into a coat stall in busy Spitalfields market.

Listen to his story and watch is transformation here.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/naked-invisible/on-demand/62181-006

Alison Ward

Alison Ward

Alison is a fully tattooed model from Bath. She was tired of being treated differently because of her tattoos and wondered what it would be like to be invisible for a day. So Laura and I camouflaged her into a stack of suitcases in a market. The main challenge was covering all of Alison’s beautiful tattoos and completing the body painting in such a busy market place.

Watch the story unfold here.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/naked-invisible/on-demand/62181-002

Taylor Crisp

Taylor Crisp

Taylor was born with a shortened femur and had her leg amputated as a child. She wanted to overcome her fear of having her scars on show in a public place. She was camouflaged into a busy café and once she removed her prosthetic leg she couldn’t stand for too long, so Laura and I had to make sure she was comfortable with her pose on a stool before we began the painting. Taylor was very apprehensive about the process before we began, but ended up enjoying the day and hoped that her experience might help others in a similar situation.

See her story here.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/naked-invisible/on-demand/62181-005

Kate Austin

Kate Austin

I also had the pleasure of working with Welsh body builder Kate Austin. She has an amazing physique but it can leave her feeling self-conscious.

Kate wanted to see what it was like to be ignored so she was painted to blend in with some shelves in a supermarket.

Kate was a pleasure to paint and I think she enjoyed the experience. The reaction from the shoppers was very funny!

Watch Kate surprise the shoppers here.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/naked-invisible/on-demand/62181-004

I’ve worked on a lot of camouflage assignments during my career but this has to be up there as one of the most enjoyable jobs that I’ve ever done. It was a great experience. Everyone from Showem Entertainment Ltd and all the brave volunteer models were absolutely marvellous to work with. We had a lot of fun with the various scenarios and the reaction of the members of the public when they were ‘surprised’ by the models wearing their camouflage body paint and not a lot else. It was all very funny!

Film & TV, My Work Assignments |

December 19, 2015

| Carolyn Roper

Festive make-up, twinkling body painting and the X Factor finale.

Kylie’s dancers made up for her Royal Albert Hall Christmas Concert

A Kylie Christmas at The Royal Albert Hall

On Friday the 11^th of December I was delighted to be working with my colleague and Getmadeup team member Emily Dowdeswell at The Royal Albert Hall for ‘A Kylie Christmas’. This was Kylie’s first ever headline appearance at the venue to celebrate the release of her new album. Emily and I were responsible for the red sparkling hair and make up for Kylie’s dancers, and also her backing singers. It was great fun with wonderful backstage catering and a real party atmosphere to the whole evening. Every seat had a Santa hat on it, so the whole audience could join in with the festive fun. It was very hectic, but very enjoyable. Everyone was a delight to work with. On Saturday morning, whilst I set off for Wembley for the X Factor final weekend, Emily dashed over to ‘The Strictly Come Dancing’ studios to repeat the hair and make-up on Kylie’s dancers for that show.

Shona McGarty made up for EastEnders Christmas photo-shoot in Inside Soap Magazine. Photo: Dan Goldsmith

Inside Soap Magazine

I had the pleasure of working on the Eastenders Christmas shoot for ‘Inside Soap’. I was responsible for the hair and make-up for the lovely Shona McGarty, whose character is Whitney Dean in the soap. There’s a very colourful and festive 4 page article in the magazine. I used Mehron Pro Celebre HD foundation to give Shona’s complexion a lovely radiant finish.

Gold body painted models for ZEEN oil promotion at Fortnum and Masons, London.

Glittering Gold Body Painting for ZEEN Oil

We recently had a booking for a team job for ZEEN Oil which is a Moroccan oil handmade by local Berber women in rural villages. The event was very early on a Monday morning where 5 models would be painted gold to promote the product at Fortnum and Mason’s. The taxis for models and artists were booked for 3 am. I wouldn’t get home from Sunday night’s X Factor until around 1 am, so there was no way I would be awake enough for the painting. Our very talented Getmadeup girls from my team, Emily and Alison, did an amazing job on our gorgeous models with some stunning make up and sparkling gold body painting using Mehron Gold Metallic powder. If this reminds anyone of the James Bond film Goldfinger and the urban myth surrounding gold paint….specialist metallic body paint that is cosmetic grade and FDA approved is actually completely safe to use on the whole body.

Backstage at the X Factor with Chief Make-up Designer Julia Carta and Paul Merchant, Head of Make-up at Charles Fox – Kryolan UK.

X Factor Final weekend

The 12^th and 13^th of December saw the final shows of this year’s X Factor. I’ve been a part of the make-up team for the contestants for the last 4 years, working under the X Factor Chief Make-up Designer, the celebrity make-up artist Julia Carta. It’s always exciting being involved in such a huge live show, there’s a lot of running around backstage with last minute touch up’s etc. We get to know the contestants really well in the make-up room and we’re sorry when they leave the show. This season was more condensed than previous years because of the Rugby World Cup and just flew by. It’s quite sad when it’s over and it’s time for our little team to disband once again. But it’s also a sign that Christmas and 2016 are just around the corner.

The Christmas Market at Colmar, Alsace.

Seasons Greetings from everyone at Getmadeup

It’s been a great year here at Getmadeup. I’ve worked on so many diverse projects with rugby players, actors, celebrities, live body art installations and also TV shows. And my marvellous team of make-up and body artists who support me on larger assignments have been brilliant as always and great fun to work with. There’s lots more in the pipeline for 2016 and I’ll be sharing plenty of interesting, and hopefully useful information, about the sometimes surreal world of freelance make-up and body painting.

Merry Christmas from Lois, my furry companion, pictured here in the Black Forest, Germany.

I’m spending the holidays in Europe and looking forward to visiting some of the beautiful Christmas markets in the Black Forest and The Alsace. So I would just like to wish all my Getmadeup girls and boys, clients, colleagues, family and friends a wonderful Christmas and a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year.

Camouflage, Film & TV, My Work Assignments |

November 22, 2015

| Carolyn Roper

My body painting role in the Hollywood Movie ‘Dumb and Dumber To’

My invitation to attend the Hollywood Premiere of ‘Dumb & Dumber To’.

In 2013 I was the body painting artist for the camouflage scenes in the Hollywood movie ‘Dumb and Dumber To’ starring Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels. So this time last year I had just got back from a truly memorable trip to Los Angeles for the World Premiere of the film.

The vending machine camouflage body painting scene featuring Rob Riggle.

The body painting challenge on set

I had to camouflage the American actor Rob Riggle into two different backgrounds for the film. One scene was set against a wall in a garden and the other one was the infamous ‘vending machine.’ The directors of the film Peter and Bobby Farrelly didn’t want to use any CGI, or any post production work. They wanted to film the scene exactly as had I painted it, so I knew the body painting had to be perfect. The vending machine design in particular was very intricate and Rob was incredibly patient whilst I took several hours to blend him into it seamlessly. When I had finished everyone was very pleased with the end results and when “wrap” was called at the end of the scene I was given a round of applause. It was a brilliant experience being on set for 3 weeks and meeting the cast and the crew and Rob was an absolute delight to work with. So I was thrilled when I was sent an invitation to the Premiere in November 2014.

The World Premiere Los Angeles November 2014

I flew to Los Angeles and stayed at the beautiful Beverly Hilton which is an iconic hotel where numerous major movie stars have stayed over the years. The walls were lined with black and white photos of famous past guests. The pool area was also reminiscent of a 1950’s film set. The weather was amazing with temperatures in the 80’s.

On the Red Carpet for the Hollywood Premiere of ‘Dumb & Dumber To’.

The Premiere was held at Westwood Village Theatre in Hollywood. It was very exciting arriving at the theatre with barriers on all the pavements and lots of security guys around. I definitely had to do the obligatory photos on the red carpet!! We made our way into the theatre and everyone was given tubs of popcorn and cola in the foyer before we sat down to wait for the film to begin.

It was quite a surreal experience watching the film and seeing my work on the big screen. Watching the scenes where Rob was camouflaged was amazing. Seeing him hidden before most of the audience had realised and then hearing their reaction when he moved out from the background was great. When the film finished and the credits rolled my name was on the screen as the Make-Up Consultant. It was certainly my most unique cinema experience ever!

Posing with Rob Riggle at the ‘After Party’.

Joining in the ‘After Party’

Once the film had finished we all set off for the ‘After Party’ with the cast and crew. It was great fun and there must have been hundreds of people there spilling out of the venue onto the lawn. There was a lot of delicious food and it was great to meet up with some of the people that I had worked with on the film, including the lovely Rob Riggle.

I would have loved to stay for longer, but all too soon it was time to leave the sunshine and return to London as I was busy working as a make-up artist on the X FACTOR as one of ‘Head Make-up Artist’ Julia Carta’s team for the contestants. I’m sure I bored them all to tears with tales of my travels. But I have to say it was an amazing experience and definitely the highlight of my body painting career so far!

Westwood Village Theatre Hollywood blog WP

Westwood Village Theatre, Hollywood – the venue for the Premiere.