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Tag Archives: body painting artist

Body Painting Marketing and PR, Camouflage, My Work Assignments |

March 29, 2018

| Carolyn Roper

Body Painting in London

As I’ve mentioned in an earlier blog I’ve been very lucky to work in some beautiful locations around the world. Some very memorable body painting assignments have taken me to Hong Kong, Cape Town, Mumbai, New York, Las Vegas and the Caribbean, as well as numerous other lovely locations. But being based in London it’s always a pleasure to work in our beautiful capital city.

So, I was delighted to work on a body painting project in London with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) for their 2017 ‘Wear it. Beat it.’ campaign. The charity wanted 4 models camouflaged into iconic red backgrounds around the city using only body paint to encourage people to wear red and raise money for the campaign. Each fantastic model was chosen because they have been affected by heart disease and are all heart surgery survivors. These individuals show the breadth of heart conditions that devastate the lives of millions each year. They are alive today largely thanks to the research the BHF have funded. The images bring to light how more than one in four people (26%) die from heart and circulatory disease in the UK each year.

London bus body painting

Camouflage body painting in London for British Heart Foundation

Vintage Red London Bus

The first photoshoot was at the Ensign Bus Company in Essex. Our volunteer was 55 year old Mark Ellis who was born with a form of congenital heart disease called pulmonary stenosis and had open heart surgery just days before his sixth birthday. He’s now celebrating more than 50 years since surviving open heart surgery. I had to body paint Mark and camouflage him into the front of a vintage red London bus. Mark was very patient and great fun to work with and he was really interesting to chat to whilst the painting was taking place. Photographer Anthony Upton TNR.

Body Painting in Playhouse Theatre, London

Camouflage body painting for British Heart Foundation

The Playhouse Theatre

The second photoshoot was at Playhouse Theatre where I had to body paint 34 year old Laura  Fordham from South East London. Laura was diagnosed with a rare heart condition just days before her wedding and has lived with a pacemaker since 2013 to prevent her from going into a cardiac arrest. Laura was absolutely lovely to work with and I painted her whilst she was sitting in the seating area at the theatre and camouflaged her into the background of the theatre’s seats. Photographer David Parry.

Camouflage body painting in library

Camouflage body painting for BHF in Royal Society of Medicine Library

The Royal Society of Medicine Library

The third camouflage painting was at the Royal Society of Medicine library where I painted Rachel McCauley from Sussex. Rachel contracted a viral infection which affected her heart muscle and the lining of her heart early in 2017. I camouflaged Rachel against two bookcases of red books in the library. Rachel was a brilliant model to work with and the body painting went very smoothly. Photographer David Parry.

Telephone box camouflage body painting

Iconic red telephone box camouflage body painting for BHF

Iconic Red Telephone Box

The final image involved painting Karen Jackson in front of an iconic red telephone box. We had a tremendously early start for this shoot and I left home at 3.30 am to get to the location and set up ready for the arrival of Karen at 5.15 am. Despite the early hour Karen, who underwent a heart transplant 11 years ago was up for the challenge of the body painting and again very good fun and interesting to work with. Photographer David Parry.

Camouflage body painting cancer research

Camouflage body painting for Cancer Research UK

Victoria Station – Human Billboard for Cancer Research UK

Back in 2013 I was very pleased to be commissioned to paint 4 models at Victoria Station in London. I had to camouflage them against a backdrop which was a billboard from the ‘Beat Cancer Sooner’ TV advertisement, encouraging the nation to come up with a million actions to fight cancer over a 6 week period. All of our amazing models were cancer survivors. Adam, Anna, Parminder and Linda were brilliant to work with, standing very still for several hours whilst me and my team completed the painting. This was a great campaign to be involved in. It generated a huge amount of interest at the station and was also featured on the ITV news.

I’ve body painted literally hundreds of models during my career and worked on numerous high profile camouflage body painting assignments. Some of these jobs have involved painting members of the public, not professional models. Camouflage body painting can be very tiring. The painting can take several hours and the model has to remain perfectly still during the process, although there are breaks in the painting process for the models to move around etc. But I’m always blown away by the enthusiasm and commitment that my non- professional models show. They’re always very interested in the whole body painting process. It’s usually their first experience with this type of art and they always do their utmost to make the painting go smoothly. These four wonderful volunteers for the British Heart Foundation campaign and the CRUK campaign were no exception and an absolute delight to work with.

Game of Thrones PR

Game of Thrones PR campaign Tower Bridge, London

Body Painting  in London for ‘Game of Thrones’ Launch

Last July I was commissioned by Taylor Herring PR to work on the Sky Atlantic launch of the eagerly awaited seventh season of the hugely popular ‘Game of Thrones’. This entailed fitting the prosthetics and body painting the 5 actors who would be replicating the characters from the cult TV show. Once we had completed the transformation the actors looked absolutely awesome. They made several scary appearances during the week-long promotion starting at Hadrian’s Wall, where at first light the Night King was seen on horseback making his way south. We then moved on to Sheffield and Glasgow and finished at iconic landmarks in London including, Oxford Circus, Tower Bridge, The Tower of London and Buckingham Palace. The White Walkers and Night King even popped up at tube stations to give the commuters a fright! It really was great fun, most of my team, myself included, are huge ‘Game of Thrones’ fans, so it was brilliant to work with the prosthetics and such realistic characters.  Their unusual appearance around the streets of London, particularly at Buckingham Palace certainly turned a few heads.

This was an incredibly successful campaign for Taylor Herring and generated more than 100 pieces of media coverage and an unbelievable 20 million video views.

body painting, body painting artist, body painting for PR, body painting London, bodypainting, camouflage body painting, Carolyn Roper, getmadeup
Body Painting Marketing and PR, Camouflage, Film & TV |

March 8, 2018

| Carolyn Roper

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 Rob Riggle

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.

Body painting for Neckermann Travel

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.

Opticrom camouflage body painting

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.

Body painting Alan Titchmarsh Show

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.

Body painting Houses of Parliament

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.

Park Mark body painting

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.

Rae Morris video body painting

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.

body painting, body painting artist, body painting for advertising, body painting for marketing, body painting for PR, body painting London, bodypainting, camouflage body painting, camouflage body painting artist, Carolyn Roper, getmadeup
My Work Assignments |

March 6, 2018

| Carolyn Roper

Body Painting and Make-up Review for 2017

Yes, I know I’m very late with a round-up of 2017 in my strange world of body painting and make-up. But it’s been a bit of a crazy year what with a busy working life and a major house move in the mix.  We moved into our new house last June and are still up to our eyes with updating and redecorating our new abode. I’ve put together a few of the highlights from 2017 and I’m looking forward to more body painting fun in 2018.

X Factor artists 2017 Tour

X Factor Live Tour 2017

X Factor Live Tour 2017

I started 2017 with a trip around the UK as the make-up artist for the X Factor Arena Tour. I’ve been involved with the tour since 2014 so I’m very familiar with the routine of the exciting live shows and the coach travel and hotel stop-overs in between the venues. Last year the tour visited 15 venues including Glasgow, Belfast, Bournemouth and Brighton. Getting to know the different set of performers every year is really interesting and we always have lots of fun combined with the hard work of getting everyone looking their best for their live performances. The atmosphere backstage is electric and the response from the huge audiences is amazing. When the tour finishes I always miss the faces of the friends that I’ve made over the weeks and the giggles that we’ve had travelling around on our tour coach.

Heroes and Villians body painting

Heroes and Villians body painted for Globestar Management in Rome

Body Painting in Rome

In April I was booked by Globestar Management to body paint for a prestigious event at a fabulous venue in Rome. The party had a ‘Heroes and Villains’ theme and there were numerous models that had to be transformed into various characters along with some body painted human statues who would pose gracefully around the venue. As there were multiple models to paint I took along my friend and fellow artist Emily Dowdeswell to speed up the painting time and also join me on my sight  seeing and pasta eating outing! Any booking with Globestar is always good fun and this trip was no exception. The models were great fun to work with and the body painting went very smoothly. We managed to dash around this amazing city and eat our own body weight in pasta and gelato.

Tuk tuk in New Delhi

Tuk tuk in New Delhi

An Exciting Trip to New Delhi

In May we had a whistle stop tour to India to make-up and body paint the performers at an after party for a fabulous Indian wedding. I put together a team of 2 body artists, 2 make-up artists and 2 male models who would be painted as Greek Gods. The organisation by Acrobat Productions was superb as usual and we all met up at Heathrow airport for the flight to New Delhi. I’ve been lucky to work in India once before when we were body painting for an exclusive event in Mumbai. This was my first time in New Delhi and as we stepped off the plane I’m sure the temperature was hotter than the sun! Thankfully we were in a lovely hotel with a beautiful pool to cool off in, in between the rehearsals and the actual event. On the day of the show we had to keep the make-up and body paint in the fridge as everything was melting in the heat, including us! We managed to get out and about to see some local sites and visit the markets so that we could fill our suitcases with the obligatory souvenirs.

Isle St Marguerite, South of France

Isle St Marguerite, South of France

Body Painting in the South of France

I was no sooner back from India when I was booked to work with a team of artists to body paint for an exclusive private event on Isle St Marguerite, which is little island off the South coast of France. We flew into Nice and then had to get a boat over to the island. We painted several robotic characters for the party and then had to bounce back across the waves in a small boat in the dark to the mainland. Definitely not recommended for those without good sea legs!

Characters from Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones promotion in London

Body Painting for The Game of Thrones Promotion

In July I was commissioned by Taylor Herring PR to work on the Sky Atlantic launch of the new series of ‘Game of Thrones’. This entailed fitting the prosthetics and body painting the actors and models who would be replicating the characters from the cult TV show. They made several scary appearances during the week-long promotion starting at Hadrian’s Wall. We then moved on to Sheffield and Glasgow and finished at iconic landmarks in London. The White Walkers and Night King even popped up at tube stations to give the commuters a fright! It was really great fun, most of my team are huge ‘Game of Thrones’ fan so it was brilliant to work with the prosthetics and such realistic characters. Their appearance in London, particularly at Buckingham Palace certainly turned a few heads.

Barcelona architecture

Iconic building in Barcelona

Barcelona

In November I had another booking from Globestar Management with a make-up job for an event in Barcelona.  There were several characters to transform into walk about acts for the event, so I packed my wig glue, coloured hair spray and gems along with my body paints and flew off to the sun. Again, everyone was brilliant to work with, the models looked great and we managed to get a quick look around this beautiful city before the flight home.

More interesting assignments to end the year

Other highlights from 2017 include the body painting for the new ‘Dermalex’ TV advertisement. This involved painting lettering onto the bodies of several models. This was much harder than it sounds as the words had to be completely straight on the curves of the body.

Dermalex body painting

Body painted model for Dermalex TV advert

I also worked on a really fun assignment for Channel 4 for a ‘Wickes’ promotion where households were chosen to have their room fantasies brought to life. One of the designs involved recreating a room with a theme that would tie in with Hammer House of Horror films and seances for a 21st birthday party. The guests had to be transformed using costumes and make-up so that they resembled characters from the vintage black and white horror movies.

body painting, body painting artist, body painting for marketing, body painting for PR, bodypainting, Carolyn Roper, getmadeup
Body Painting as a Career, Body Painting Marketing and PR |

September 2, 2016

| Carolyn Roper

Body Painting in London for PR Campaigns and Publicity Stunts

I’ve done quite a lot of international work during my career which is always interesting when you get the chance to visit other parts of the world and see new cultures. But I’m based in London and so I’ve also worked on numerous advertising and PR campaigns in and around this beautiful city, including some fun publicity stunts.

These campaigns all used body painting as the method to deliver their message to the public in a unique and eye catching way. Whether it be for a light hearted PR campaign to advertise a business or possibly a product launch. Or maybe the client might want to highlight an important issue that would be of great interest to members of the general public. Whatever the reason, body painted models never fail to attract attention.

I’ve worked at several iconic London locations, and also on campaigns that made use of props such as the very famous London Red Buses and black cabs. Below are some of my favourite assignments from in and around the city.

Victoria Station – Human Billboard for CRUK

The CRUK Human Billboard at Victoria Station

The CRUK Human Billboard at Victoria Station

Back in 2013 I was very pleased to be commissioned to paint 4 models at Victoria Station in London. I had to camouflage them against a backdrop which was a billboard from the ‘Beat Cancer Sooner’ TV advertisement, encouraging the nation to come up with a million actions to fight cancer over a 6 week period. All of our amazing models were cancer survivors. Adam, Anna, Parminder and Linda were brilliant to work with, standing very still for several hours whilst me and my team completed the painting. This was a great campaign to be involved in. It generated a huge amount of interest at the station and was also featured on the ITV news.

Regent Street – ‘Bloom/LUSH ‘Save our Seas PR Campaign’

Carolyn Roper Lush promotion

Save our Seas’ PR Campaign in London

Bloom is a non- profit organisation whose wonderful work includes preserving the marine environment from unnecessary destruction. In September 2014 they teamed up with ‘LUSH’ an international cosmetics company who use only vegetarian or vegan recipes in their products. They hosted a campaign which included a ‘live’ performance of body painting involving 20 countries and 12 other body artists. The campaign highlighted the diversity of deep sea life and how easily it could be destroyed by deep sea bottom trawlers in remote waters in Europe. On the day of the campaign I was responsible for painting for the English location and painted my lovely model with an image of a squid at the ‘Lush’ cosmetics store in Regent St London. Whilst other artists painted various other deep sea creatures simultaneously at various flag ship LUSH stores around Europe including Spain, Italy, Finland and Croatia.

St Pancras Station – ‘International Tiger Day’

Painting for ‘Save Wild Tigers

Painting for ‘Save Wild Tigers

As a passionate lover of all animals and wildlife I was very pleased to be involved with a campaign to highlight the plight of the wild tiger. The 29th of July 2015 was ‘International Tiger Day’ and countries across the globe supported the campaign which raised awareness of the fact that there are only 3,200 tigers left in the wild which is a 97% decrease in the last century. Action must be taken now if these beautiful creatures are to be saved from extinction in the next 10 years. So I was commissioned to design a live art installation at St Pancras station in London as an eye catching way of promoting the campaign. It was a really early start with cabs at 3 am so that we could get our great models, Susie and Victoria, ready for the rush hour commuter traffic at 7am.

St Pancras Station – ‘NHS Blood Donor National Campaign’

NHS Blood Donor PR Campaign

NHS Blood Donor PR Campaign

Another very important campaign featuring St Pancras Station was for the NHS and the launch of their campaign to attract more blood donors to increase blood stocks to 30% above their usual level. This was to cope with the increase of visitors for the Olympic Games in 2012. Photographer Adrian Brooks from Imagewise was behind the body art-ery concept and I was then commissioned by Red Consultancy to design the body paint for the 8 models showing the 4 main blood groups. This was another incredibly early start with cabs booked for myself and my team to get us to the location for 4 am to start the painting. The models then went off to various London locations including St Pancras Station. All the models were very brave coping with the problems caused by the weather as they were only dressed in their underwear. But this was a hugely successful campaign for the NHS and Red Consultancy won an award for ‘Excellence in the Use of Innovative Media Outreach’

Sloane Square Tube Station – ‘X Men First Class Promotion’

 Mystique and Azazel at Sloane SquareIn 2011 I transformed 2 models into Mystique and Azazel for the release of ‘X Men First Class’ on DVD and Blu Ray. This included hand making all the latex pieces for Mystique which were then attached to her skin before we painted her body completely blue. Azazel was painted and adorned with his trade mark scar down his forehead to his cheek down across his left eye. There was a week of PR activity with the characters appearing at various locations around London, including a ‘pop up’ lounge at Victoria Station decorated in the style of the 1960’s. The lounge was opened by Jason Flemying who plays Azazel in the film. The models  also waited for the tube at Sloane Square and were also then photographed sitting on the busy train.      

 

Iconic Red London Bus – ‘A Suit That Fits’

A great publicity stunt on a London busBack in 2006 I was commissioned by the guys at the London based company ‘A Suit That Fits’ to paint a model so that he appeared to be wearing a full 3 piece suit. Once the painting was completed our great model went off around London basically posing in just his underpants. He was photographed in various iconic London locations and situations including St Paul’s Cathedral, The Houses of Parliament and he even hitched a lift on a London Bus and posed standing in a red telephone kiosk. This was a really fun campaign and I find it hard to believe that it was 10 years ago.

 

 

 

Knightsbridge Harvey Nichols – ‘Diet Coke’

Body painted models posing in the window at Harvey NicholsHarvey Nichols is a beautiful luxury department store located in Knightsbridge. In 2012 I was commissioned by Lexis Agency to paint 2 models with the new design of 2 limited edition Coke bottles ‘Night and Day’ designed by Jean Paul Gaultier. It was another very early start, I think we started painting around 3 am. Once the models were painted they posed in the store window where they attracted a huge amount of attention from passer’s by at the peak of the rush hour. Again this was a very successful campaign and generated 909 pieces of coverage across 33 national and consumer print titles.

London Black Cab – ‘Covert Affairs’ PR Campaign

Camouflage body painting for ‘Covert AffairsIn 2013 I really enjoyed working on the launch of the UK premiere of Really TV’s CIA drama ‘Covert Affairs’ I had to blend 3 models into 3 different locations to publicise the launch of the show. One model was painted into a fruit and vegetable stall in Portobello Market. Another model sat on the back seat of a London bus so that she virtually disappeared and took fellow passengers by surprise. But one of the trickiest locations was when we were blending a model into the side of a black cab. Camouflage body painting works best if there is an intricate background – all the details make it easier to make the model disappear. The side of the cab was quite plain and there were lots of reflections from the windows. But the end result worked out really well.

Houses of Parliament Westminster – ‘Royal British Legion’

 Royal British Legion ‘Count them In’ PR CampaigLast but by no means least, is the recent campaign for the Royal British Legion. The ‘Count Them In’ campaign highlighted the fact that veterans are not registered on the current census and are thus ‘invisible’. I camouflaged veteran Darren Fuller into the Houses of Parliament. This was a pretty difficult challenge as we started painting Darren at 5 in the morning, so the lighting was changing constantly as the sun rose. But we were all really pleased with the end results and Darren was an absolute star to work with. This was the final body paint in a series of 4, all set in various locations around the UK. The whole campaign was a huge hit with the media and was featured in numerous papers and online media. For me, it was an honour to meet and paint the models who were all veterans from the armed forces and an absolute joy to work with.

body painters, body painting, body painting artist, body painting for marketing, body painting for PR, body painting London, bodypainters, bodypainting, Carolyn Roper, getmadeup
Body Painting as a Career |

August 10, 2016

| Carolyn Roper

Body Painting and Make-up as a Career FAQ’S

My Most Frequently Asked Questions Part 1

I get quite a few emails requesting information regarding my career in the make-up and body painting industry. Some requests are from magazines or on-line publications who would like to feature my work. Some requests are from students who are thinking of a career as a make-up or body painting artist, or who need information for their college assignments. It’s not unusual for me to receive questionaires that can take a considerable time to complete. I do try to reply to everyone but sometimes it’s just too hectic and I just don’t have the time. So I’ve compiled a list of the most frequently asked questions from the various requests that I’ve received. I’ve had to split it into two parts as I think most people might just fall asleep if they had to tackle the whole list in one go!

Some of these points are covered in more detail in earlier blog posts, so if you have a poke around in the archives you should be able to find more in depth and (hopefully) useful information there!

Graduation from West Thames College’

Graduation from West Thames College’

Where did you do your training?

Suffolk College Ipswich. I did Art and Design followed by Beauty Therapy.  Then West Thames College in London where I did a HND in ‘Specialist Hair & Make Up’

What made you want to start your own business?

After graduating from West Thames I had to weigh up the options of working for an established make-up company or starting out as a freelance make-up and body artist. Although there is the chance of less financial stability with no regular work, I do prefer the diversity of the assignments that come in. Then there’s the freedom that I get from less rigid working hours, and best of all I love being my own boss.

Artwork by Carolyn Roper

Artwork by Carolyn Roper

Why did you decide to paint on a body?

I’ve always had an interest in art and my hobbies include sketching and painting on canvasses. A lot of my spare time is still spent in my little art room at home working on various projects. I particularly love using pastels, pencils and oil paints. I, like most people, had seen the amazing photos of Demi Moore ‘wearing’ her suit painted by Joanne Gair. So when I began my Specialist Hair & Make-up HND course at West Thames, I was very pleased to see that body art was one of the modules as it was definitely something that I wanted to try. Once I started painting on the body everything just clicked and I knew this was something that I wanted to pursue.

What did you find difficult when you started?

It does take several years to get established in this industry, so it was definitely the lack of any regular work and no regular income. Living in rented accommodation in London, and having to pay very high rent meant a lot of sacrifices had to be made. No holidays, no shopping for nice clothes, meals out etc. But the sacrifices and hard work have paid off and it’s definitely been worth it in the end.

Where is your business based?

I’m based mainly in London but travel anywhere that my work takes me, whether it be somewhere in the UK or an overseas location.

Las Vegas a favourite destination

Las Vegas a favourite destination

Have you done much international body painting?

Yes. I’ve been lucky to travel extensively during my career and have worked with clients in some amazing locations including Hong Kong, Cape Town, New York, Chicago, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Orlando, The Dominican Republic Mumbai, Thailand, Paris, Rome, Berlin and several other European locations. Some assignments have literally been fly in, paint, fly out! Plus there’s the dreaded jet lag to deal with. But most of the long haul destinations have included some free time for site seeing and most importantly time to shop and fill my suitcase with assorted souvenirs.  After a December trip to Hong Kong everyone’s Christmas present had a definite oriental theme that year! One of my favourite destinations is Las Vegas and I’m really lucky to have visited 3 times for various body art events.

Can you describe your clients?

Most of my clients are from the world of marketing. They’re usually Advertising and PR agencies who want to use body art for a particular campaign or promotion. I’ve also worked with quite a few television companies who are featuring body art, or would like to use body painting for a television commercial.  I work with some charities that are very close to my heart, and I do some private commissions if I have the time.

Body painting in the Caribbean

Body painting in the Caribbean

What’s the most unusual place you’ve painted?

This definitely has to be the assignment in The Dominican Republic. I was commissioned to camouflage several models into a lovely hotel and beach side location for a Belgian travel company. On some days we were very tight on the timings and for one location we only had around 40 minutes to get the painting completed before the sun went down. So myself and Emily who was helping with the job, ended up painting as fast as we could, practically up to our chests in the sea….well it was more like Emily’s waist as she’s a lot taller than me! We had the paints floating next to us in a bucket, so yes, we were painting in the Caribbean….quite literally!

Who decides on the design?

I would say that with 95% of my commercial work the client is the one who provides the design. Sometimes they want my input and then I put a design together for their approval. If there are logos  I hand cut the stencils beforehand for a nice crisp professional finish. For my past competition work I usually play around with sketches before deciding on my final designs.

What do you like about painting on the body as opposed to working on a canvas?

Body painting at IMATS New York

Body painting at IMATS New York

I like the way a body painting can tell a story and have a range of emotions. You can play around with the lighting and position of the models’ body and your artwork changes every time the model changes position. You can also interact with your model and I’m very much a people person, so it’s great to create a piece of art that you can actually chat to whilst working.  The down side is that you can’t just leave a body painting as you would with a canvas. You can’t put it aside whilst you have lunch, or leave it for another day.  Once you start you have to finish, and usually as quickly as you can.

How long does a body painting take?

The timings will depend on how much of the body is being painted and the complexity of the design. A full body paint in a very intricate design can take up to 4 hours. With camouflage work I always prefer at least 4 hours particularly if it’s a very detailed background, but I rarely get as long as I would like. As a commercial body artist it’s all about being able to achieve the best possible result for the client usually in the shortest amount of time. I’m always up against the clock and there have been a few shoots where I would have loved the luxury of an extra hour for finishing touches. If the timings are really very tight I take along another artist so that we can work together to speed up the painting time.

Do you work alone, in a partnership, or have employees?

It depends on the job and the timings. If it’s a one model or 2 torso body paint I usually work alone. For bookings with multiple models I have a great team of make-up and body artists who work with me on larger assignments. Some of my team are also employed by established make-up companies like MAC or Inglot and some are freelance like me. But most have been with me for many years and 2 of my girls were actually my bridesmaids when I got married 3 years ago.

Continue to FAQ’s Part 2 for more information on life as a freelance make-up and body painter.

body painting artist, body painting career, bodypainting career, Carolyn Roper, getmadeup, UK body painter
Body Painting as a Career |

December 6, 2015

| Carolyn Roper

Body Painting, Make-Up and assorted mayhem with the late great Storm Thorgerson.

Gaining Work Experience with Storm

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I first started working with Storm Thorgerson and StormStudios back in 2004 when I was still a student. He was the artistic genius behind so many iconic album covers including Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Genesis, 10cc and later Muse and Biffy Clyro and is considered by some as ‘the best album designer in the world’. My father was a huge Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin fan so I had seen the album covers in his collection, but I never imagined I would get to work with the person who actually designed them.

Carolyn Roper and Storm Thorgerson

With Storm and my body painted model at an exhibition of his work

A friend had passed on my details as Storm was looking for a model for a photographic shoot for an upcoming CD cover. However the model would be posing in a telephone kiosk and it soon became clear that although my face might fit the brief, my body certainly didn’t. Being quite short, the kiosk would really accentuate my height, or lack of it! So I asked if I could do some work experience and that was the beginning of an artistic relationship and friendship that lasted until Storm sadly passed away in April 2013.

Body painting with Storm was never boring!

Working with Storm was anything but boring. On an early shoot I ended up standing in for the model and posing on an old plane in a hangar in my underwear, which as you can imagine came as a bit of a surprise, particularly as I was only there to do the make-up.

Over the years, as well as the ‘normal’ studio shoots, I body painted in vans, in fields and on beaches. I painted for fine art prints, book covers, CD covers, posters and exhibitions including a really interesting live event with Storm on stage at BAFTA. I was painting eyes on a model’s back whilst Storm talked about his career. It was so fascinating that I actually forgot where I was and stopped painting, until Storm prodded me back into action. Then everyone in the audience was given a cabbage. Just like on a shoot, Storm directed the audience while Rupert Truman from StormStudios took a photo of everyone holding the cabbage in front of their face. So just a regular night out for the audience really!!!

Carolyn Roper Biffy Clyro Folding Stars

Wave body painting for the cover of Biffy Clyro CD Folding Stars. Photo: Rupert Truman / StormStudios.

Storm really enjoyed using body painting for some of his work, including the CD cover for Biffy Clyro’s ‘Puzzle’. I love that design, it’s one of my particular favourites. Myself and Carly, a friend and fellow artist, painted a guy from head to toe with jigsaw puzzle pieces. The CD was a huge hit once it was released and was featured in numerous magazines. It was amazing to see the image on billboards around London. I was teaching body art out in Florida and went into a music store and there it was. It was great to see my work across the pond. We also painted a guy with a wave design for the single Folding Stars from the Puzzle album.

 

Carolyn Roper Mind Over Matter 4

Painted suits on the cover of Mind Over Matter 4: The Images of Pink Floyd. Photo: Rupert Truman / StormStudios.

Flexibility and enthusiasm were key (and a sense of humour helped!)

My work with Storm wasn’t limited to body painting. I did hair and make-up if required, including the cover for American rock band ‘Umphrey’s Mcgee’ CD ‘The Bottom Half’. I also painted some coloured suits with designs from various Pink Floyd album covers. These were flown to the US and used in a shoot for the book cover of ‘Mind over Matter 4: The Images of Pink Floyd’.

We were out in the countryside on a shoot and I ended up strapped to the front of Dan, Storm’s designer and artist, who was wearing a harness. We were dangled out over a stream at an angle of around 45 degrees for a poster design! I seem to remember there were a few cow pats around too. Definitely not my normal day at the office. It was very funny!!

Carolyn Roper Beach Catalogue body painting

My body painting on Storm’s ‘Beach Catalogue’ fine art print. Photo: Rupert Truman / StormStudios.

When I won the World Bodypainting Championship in Austria for the first time in 2007 we were driving home through Germany when my phone rang. It was Storm. He didn’t realise where I was, but I said I was on my way home from the competition in Austria. He asked how I had done and when I said I had won he said he felt like a proud father and that he liked to think he had a little bit to do with my success. And there’s no doubt in my mind that he did.

In 2009 we had a memorable trip to South Africa. On the flight over Storm’s TV screen wasn’t working. I offered to swap seats but he just shared my screen instead. It was just as well that we had the same taste in films! During the 2 weeks in SA we worked on the ‘Outback’ and ‘Beach Catalogue’ fine art prints, with plenty of time for sightseeing and bobbing around in the pool in between the painting. It was a great experience.

Carolyn Roper on Face the Facts CD

‘Face the Facts’ CD cover for Octane OK. Me and Storm captured in the background! Photo: Rupert Truman / StormStudios.

Sadly the end of an era

The final shoot that I did with Storm was for the CD cover ‘Face the Facts’ for the Birmingham rock band ‘Octane Ok’. Once I had finished the painting Storm and I sat and chatted for ages. We got caught on camera and appear together in the background on the album cover. This is quite poignant as I knew Storm was very ill, but didn’t realise that this would be the last time that I would see him. He was hoping to make it to my wedding in March 2013 but sadly it was not to be.

I feel very privileged to have known Storm. As well as our working relationship he was also my friend and mentor and responsible for a really interesting and often very amusing chapter in my life. I knew that a shoot with Storm and the team would always be a memorable event. No one pushed me harder than he did, and he could be the most challenging of clients at times. But I don’t think I would be half the artist that I am today without having known him and worked for him. I still miss his dry wit and his wisdom, his crazy phone calls and even his shouting!

Storm’s lovely Testimonial

“We like creating custom images and are particularly fond of the illusory quality of body painting, not so much the decorative side as the odd or surreal side. The skills needed to execute these different qualities include dexterity, patience, speed and a particular visualising capacity – Carolyn has these skills in spades plus a sense of humour and a good nature, so vital in withstanding the pressures of the business and working with demanding clients….not me I hasten to add”.
Storm Thorgerson. Graphic Designer & Film Maker.

 

Taken by Storm DVD

‘Taken by Storm’ DVD

Additional information about StormStudios.

StormStudios is a design company formed in the early 1990’s by Storm Thorgerson (ex Hipgnosis and Greenback Films) and Peter Curzon (designer), joined soon after by Rupert Truman (photographer) and later by Dan Abbott (designer and illustrator).

Together with a changing team of freelancers, we have created designs for many diverse projects including exhibitions, company logos, websites, typefaces, books and airships, but most notably we have designed album covers for bands such as Pink Floyd, Muse, Biffy Clyro, The Steve Miller Band, Ian Dury And The Blockheads, Pendulum, The Cranberries, The Mars Volta, Alan Parsons and many others. Storm sadly passed away in 2013 but the Studio remains busy creating ‘normal but not’ designs.

Visit their website at stormstudiosdesign.com and also the stormsight.co.uk website for beautiful fine art prints and also the recently released DVD ‘Taken by Storm’, a film by director Roddy Bogawa which is described as “an intimate portrait of Storm that reveals his character and gives a deep insight into how he worked”. This fascinating documentary is a must for all fans out there.

body painting, body painting artist, Carolyn Roper, Storm Thorgerson, StormStudios
Body Painting as a Career |

November 14, 2015

| Carolyn Roper

How did I get into body painting?

I get numerous emails from students looking for advice and enquiring about my background in the make-up and body painting industry. It’s really flattering and I do try to reply to as many requests as I can, but there are times when I’m incredibly busy and some emails do slip through the net. I always feel guilty if I haven’t managed to reply to someone, so I’ve decided to publish my experiences in my blog so that in future anyone wondering about how to get into body art or make-up might find the answers to their questions and also find it helpful and informative.

So one of the questions that I’m asked on a regular basis has to be ‘How did you get into body painting?’

Early days in College

I started my make-up and body painting career back in 2002 at West Thames College in London. I had previously studied at Suffolk College and after a foundation course in Art & Design I moved on to Beauty Therapy before deciding on a career in the make-up industry.

Carolyn Roper winning Suffolk College Make-up Competition

Winning the Suffolk College 2002 Make-up Competition

There weren’t too many make-up courses available back then. I applied to The London College of Fashion, Manchester and West Thames. The next step was to put together a portfolio.  I forced my very patient fellow Beauty Therapy friends to model for me in their lunch hour. I stripped them of their beautiful make up and then made them up with various ‘looks’ and took ‘before and after’ photos on my father’s old Olympus SLR camera and had the photos enlarged.

We also had an end of term show/competition with the theme ‘Showgirls’. I decided to enter and based my design on ‘The Moulin Rouge’ and in particular Christina Aguilera’s make-up. My friend modelled for me and we made a great outfit complete with sequinned basque and large feathered head dress. On the day of the competition we only had around 30 minutes to do the full make-up before the show. When the results were announced I was very pleased and incredibly surprised to have won first place! It was a real boost for my CV and my portfolio.

After my interviews I was offered a place at Manchester and also West Thames where it was a brand new course for the college. I was very impressed with the tutors and facilities, so I was delighted to be offered a place on the HND for ‘Specialist Hair & Make-up’ and in 2002 I left home in Suffolk and moved to London.

My interest in body painting began

I suppose it was my love of art in general that sparked an interest in body painting. I had seen the very popular photo of Demi Moore in the body painted suit and was keen to try my hand at some body art. I was pleased that there was a body painting module on the course and once I picked up a brush I loved it! Something clicked and I just knew that this was something that I wanted to pursue.

Carolyn Roper entry at 2003 World Body Painting Festival

My first ever body paint was at the 2003 World Body Painting Festival.

Taking part in body painting competitions

In 2003 and whilst still a student I went to what was then ‘The European Bodypainting Festival’ now the massive ‘World Bodypainting Festival’ in Austria. I finished in 17th place out of 84 competitors with my first ever body paint. I’ll be covering this amazing experience in more detail in a later blog.

In 2004 I entered the student make-up and body painting competition at Olympia representing West Thames College. The theme for the body painting category was ‘The Wizard of Oz’ so I decided to base my design on ‘The Scarecrow’ and persuaded a fellow make-up student Philip to model for me. We were allowed props, so I made a short denim skirt/tunic with a rope belt, which protected his modesty wonderfully. Philip also had a very fetching scarecrow hat and some straw stuffed cuffs and boots.

We only had 3 hours to complete the painting and as Philip was over 6 feet tall it was quite literally a tall order to get him finished in time. I do remember we were also being judged on how tidily we worked and I was a bit worried that I would be marked down as I kept getting straw everywhere from Philip’s ‘stuffing’. Plus the painting area was quite small and every time I moved I got hit on the head by the wings of the ‘Flying Monkey’ who was being painted and constructed next to me! When the time was up I was reasonably happy with my efforts and sent a slightly reluctant Philip out to dance around in front of the judges waving a bunch of silk poppies!

Carolyn Roper's winning 'Scarecrow' entry at Olympia Beauty Show 2004

My winning ‘Scarecrow’ entry at Olympia Beauty Show 2004

When the results were announced I could hardly believe my ears. I won first prize in the body painting category. Then I won the prize for the most points awarded in any category in the whole competition, and finally I won the college trophy for West Thames. I was rewarded with a cheque for £250 and also a weekend in Paris for two.

Coupled with my experience in Austria in 2003 I think Olympia was a defining moment in my life. It was when I knew that body painting was going to feature heavily in my career.

Work Experience

I was also given some good advice from an industry expert to try and get as much work experience as I could whilst I was in college. As well as giving me an idea of what my future career would entail, it would also improve my CV, and show that I had used my time in college wisely.

So whilst still a student I searched sites like UK Screen and Talent Circle for experience in the make-up world. I chased anything that moved – short films, music videos etc. I did quite a few low pay and no pay jobs which helped to build up contacts and give me some experience in the different sections of the industry.

Carolyn Roper's first photo-shoot with Storm Thorgerson

My first photo-shoot with Storm Thorgerson. Photo: Rupert Truman.

One of the best opportunities I had during this time was having the chance to do some work experience with the late, great, Storm Thorgerson, who was responsible for so many iconic album covers, including Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’. I was the make-up artist on Storm’s photo-shoot for an album cover for band ‘Jane’s Addiction’. We kept in touch and as Storm enjoyed using body art in his work, I was lucky enough to paint for him on numerous occasions over the following years. I will be covering my experiences with Storm in a separate blog in the next few weeks.

So not quite in a nutshell, but that is how I got into body painting. A lot of hard work combined with a few strokes of luck has led to a really interesting career. If you want to be successful you have to put the effort in to succeed. You have to be pro-active. Search out the make-up and body painting competitions and enter. Look for work experience. It’s a very competitive industry, so don’t expect anything to drop into your lap!

 

body painters, body painting, body painting artist, body painting career, bodypainters, bodypainting, bodypainting career, Carolyn Roper, getmadeup, UK body painting artist
Latest News |

October 19, 2015

| Carolyn Roper

Carolyn Roper’s updated website and new blog!

A warm welcome to make-up and body painting artist Carolyn Roper’s updated website and new blog.

We’ve been running getmadeup.com for the last 11 years and the site has grown tremendously in that time. With so many galleries containing so many images we decided that it was the right moment for a bit of a ‘spring clean’ through the existing images and an update to the site in general. We were very pleased to work with James from Bernhardmedia.com whose help and advice with the design and installation of the new website was invaluable.

Mehron Blog1With the introduction of the blog to the site we’ll be giving regular updates which should give you an insight into the life of a busy, freelance, commercial, make-up and body painting artist. We’ll also be sharing hints and tips, favourite products and snippets from a very interesting career to date.

We’ve got some exciting projects in the pipeline so remember to check back on a regular basis for any new information that we have to share.

Have a browse around the new site. We hope you enjoy the new updated format which we feel is far more ‘client friendly’. If you have any feedback, feel free to email us with your observations.

Photo: Busy working on a pop-art design for NYX Cosmetics using Paradise Make-up AQ by Mehron.

body painting, body painting artist, Carolyn Roper, getmadeup, make-up artist

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