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.

Body Painting as a Career |

August 19, 2016

| Carolyn Roper

My most Frequently Asked Questions Part 2

This is a follow-up to my last blog post called ‘Body Painting and Makeup as a Career FAQ’S’ .If you haven’t ready that one. please click here

Do you prefer make-up or body painting?

Working with the brilliant Ben Haenow X Factor winner 2014

These two sides of my business are very different, but I really enjoy both of them. As well as being very well known for my body painting I’ve been part of the make-up team for the contestants on the X Factor for the last 4 years, working under Celebrity Make-up Artist and X Factor Chief Make-up Designer Julia Carta. It’s always great to pick up my make-up brushes which is a real contrast to the body art side of the business. Body painting can be very hard work – there’s often far more work behind the scenes and pre-planning before the actual day of the shoot. Plus stretching and bending for several hours at a time can be very tiring, but the transformations are usually worth it.

What makes a good model?

My amazing model Mark Ramprakash

It does depend on the design but body painting isn’t a quick process and can take several hours. A good model is one who understands the process and can stand still for long periods of time. A nice personality also makes the job more enjoyable for everyone. Friendly chatter and banter does make the time pass more quickly. I do ask that models don’t use their mobile phones whilst they’re being painted. It doesn’t look professional in front of the client and it can be difficult for me to paint them if they’re constantly moving their arms and hands around, particularly if its camouflage work where the models do need to stand perfectly still. I’ve also painted quite a few celebrities over the years and I have to say that they’ve all been marvellous to work with. When working with a celebrity confidentiality is paramount, but I’m always impressed by their patience and ability to cope with what is usually their first introduction to the bizarre world of body painting. Mark Ramprakash was one of the first celebrities that I painted for a healthy eating campaign and he was incredibly nice to work with.

Do you prefer painting on a male or female model?

If it’s a commercial job the client is usually the one who decides on the sex of the model. Some clients prefer a female model as they seem to attract more attention when they’re painted, but it does depend on the shoot and what the images will be used for. Personally I prefer painting men as you get a smoother canvas and a larger area to paint on without having to deal with the curves of the breast area on female models.

What has been your most unusual request so far?

Meeting the lovely Dr Christian Jessen

I have painted for some of the episodes of Channel 4’s ‘Embarrassing Bodies’ and was asked by the production team if I could make various small special effect pieces to replicate warts and infections that men can contract during unsafe sex. So I got my liquid latex out and made a variety of little lumps and bumps, wrapped them up and set off on the train for the production offices in Birmingham. I think it’s fair to say that they have to be the most unusual contents of my handbag ever! Once I arrived I had to attach them to some fake penises. But these were the wrong colour so I had to paint them first to make them look more natural. As I was painting on plastic they took ages to dry so we all sat in the production office waving them in the air to speed up the process. Then once the fake penises were painted and adorned with their assorted warts and pimples Dr Christian took them on holiday to Spain where he showed them to the holidaymakers on the beach to demonstrate safe sex practices whilst having fun in the sun. So this was definitely my most unusual request so far and I think it was a really unique way to illustrate a serious health issue. A couple of years later I was invited to appear as a guest on Channel 4’s ‘Sunday Brunch’ to talk about my camouflage body painting. Dr Christian was also a guest and we reminisced about my unusual homemade attachments after the show!

Are you sad to see the paint washed off?

Once a painting is finished I’m always happy to see the end results. But as long as we’ve managed to capture the design with some good photography I don’t feel too bad once it’s washed off. Although I must admit that a tiny part of me is a bit sad as the model heads off towards the showers. Or we have to get busy with the baby wipes removing everything that has just taken a few hours to create.

What has been your most memorable job so far?

Rob Riggle camouflaged for ‘Dumb and Dumber 2

I’m very lucky to have had lots of high points during my career so it’s difficult to choose just one. Painting Rob Riggle for the Hollywood movie ‘Dumb and Dumber To’ has got to be up there as a really brilliant experience. Spending 3 weeks on the set of a major movie was incredibly interesting and such good fun. The whole crew were just so friendly.

All the work that I did with the late great Storm Thorgerson are some of the assignments that I’ll never ever forget. Working on album covers and translating his ideas into body paint was amazing. Plus spending time with him in Cape Town whilst painting for a series of fine art prints was pretty special too. In between the painting there was plenty of time for relaxing by the pool and chatting in the sunshine.

What has been your most challenging job so far?

Backstage at the Alan Titchmarsh Show

This has to be the painting for ‘Dumb and Dumber To’ again! It was one of the most memorable, but also the most challenging. Camouflaging Rob Riggle into the background for the scene with the vending machine required absolute precision with the body painting as it was important that he was completely invisible to the audience before he moved and revealed his identity. Plus there was the pressure of painting for a major Hollywood movie and knowing that the producers were not going to use any CGI or tweak anything in post- production, so the camouflage body painting had to be spot on. Luckily I was given plenty of time to complete the intricate design so the finished results turned out really well.

Another tricky job was my appearance as a guest on ‘The Alan Titchmarsh Show’ to demonstrate camouflage body art. I took along one of my team, Alex, to help speed up the painting and it should have been quite a relaxing job. The male model had to lie on a table and I had to paint him to blend in with various vegetables. But with the combined weight of the model and the veg, the table started to collapse! So we had to wait until the table could be reinforced and this was seriously eating into the painting time. The show was due to go live at 3 pm and at one point around midday when we still hadn’t managed to pick up a paint brush I was thinking that we would appear on air with a half painted model missing a few carrots, a couple of cabbages and maybe a pumpkin or two. So we had to paint as fast as humanly possible to get him ‘hidden’ in time. Thankfully it all worked out really well in the end and our human arrangement of fresh produce managed to surprise the startled audience.

What has been the proudest moment of your career to date?

Becoming a World Champion for the 2nd time

I’ve had a few really proud moments during my career. There was the feedback from Peter and Bobby Farrelly the producers of ‘Dumb and Dumber To’ after I had finished the camouflage body painting for the film! Plus Jim Carrey telling me that my work was amazing! Also standing on the stage at The World Body Painting Festival in 2007 with my friend and fellow artist Carly Utting as new World Champions in the ‘Brush & Sponge’ category. And then again in 2009 when I won the ‘Special Effects’ category with my assistant Paula Southern. I was the youngest, and the first artist, in the then 12 year history of the festival to win the championship in separate categories.

Body Painting Marketing and PR |

May 1, 2016

| Carolyn Roper

Body Painting for Advertising, Publicity and Promotion – Client advice regarding model nudity and clothing issues

Model Katy was body painted wearing a bra and pants combination for this Trade Show promotion

During my career I’ve worked on advertising and PR campaigns for numerous clients including The Ford Motor Company, Diet Coke, The NHS, Panasonic, Walkers Crisps and Universal Pictures. One of the main concerns for many clients is the question of how much, or how little, models involved in their campaign should wear. This is a particular concern for advertising, events or campaigns where female models are being painted. The choice of underwear does usually depend on the marketing campaign in mind, e.g. the venue or promotional vehicle and the target audience.

For instance at trade shows it can be a fine line between attracting potential customers to your stand or offending them if you get it wrong. So with regard your target audience, if they are visitors to an event like a fine food fair, they aren’t likely to want to look at a topless or nearly naked model whilst eating their artisan cheese and chutney! A discreet set of underwear that can be painted over in a pretty design would be more appropriate.

Body painting ‘live’ at an event can be useful in attracting visitors to the stand

All the models that I paint wear a minimum of a thong or pants and variations from topless, to body painted clothing and everything else in between. Your model choice is also important. For trade events it’s good to use a professional model who is confident when body painted and will engage with the public in a friendly manner to help to promote your product or draw visitors in to your stand. Some clients prefer the model to be fully painted and ready before the event. Other clients prefer to have the model body painted ‘live’ at the event as this can be guaranteed to attract a steady stream of visitors to the stand.

With most celebrity body painting that I’ve done, the models, both male and female, prefer to be as covered as possible before the painting begins.

So if you are thinking of using body painting for a photoshoot, promotional purposes or an advertising campaign and require most of the body to be painted, what are the underwear choices for your model/s?

Celebrity Ricky Whittle in body painted jeans to promote ‘Jeans for Genes’ day

Male models

For male models, again it does depend on the venue or event. If I’m painting jeans on a guy the underwear selection is very important. They need to be tight fitting and as seam free as possible as they have to virtually disappear and become part of the body painted garment. Large white cotton Y fronts are never going to work. For other events the men have worn boxer shorts, trunks and jockey shorts.

This promotion for Sanex used a topless model for their campaign

Female Models

For female models, first of all we have the topless option. The models are just that, completely topless, but wear a thong or small pants. Most competition work is done with topless models and some advertising campaigns and events prefer it if the models are only wearing pants. Most models are comfortable with this, but it’s wise to check first. You don’t want to get to the studio/event to find that your model refuses to take her bra off.

Just about all of the models that I’ve worked with say that once you’re body painted you do actually feel covered and as if you are wearing clothing.

This Beowulf movie promotion used gold body painted models wearing nipple covers

Nipple Covers or Pasties

Then we have the nipple covers or pasties! They are small round covers that stick on to the breast and completely cover the nipples and give a slightly more discreet look.

If they are used in conjunction with a plain body painted design they are still visible but if the design is more intricate they can be hidden more easily within the design.

Bra tops or Bikinis

The next option is a bra top or bikini top that can be painted over with the design.

Body Painting Carolyn Roper Ashley Roberts

Celebrity Ashley Roberts was body painted wearing a bra and pants combination for a Crysis 3 video game promotion. Photo Lou Denim

Sometimes the bras need to be virtually invisible, but for some events where any suggestion of partial nudity might be an issue, the clients prefer the bra tops to be more obvious so that the overall look is more discreet.

Bandeau Tops

For an even more discreet option there is the bandeau top. These give great coverage so are more appropriate for events where any hint of nudity might be a problem.

These can either be in a design or colour that will blend in with the painting, or be a complete contrast that still compliments the body painting.

Actor Rob Riggle was body painted for a scene in ‘Dumb and Dumber To’ wearing a lycra body suit

Body Suits or Leotards.

I’ve painted quite a few models who have worn lycra body suits or leotards. From my point of view it is slightly more difficult as body paint is meant for bodies not clothing. Any mistakes are harder to rectify as you can’t just wipe the paint off as easily as you would on a body. But the end result can be just as good as painting directly onto the body and can be a less embarrassing experience for the apprehensive model. For the camouflage body painting in ‘Dumb and Dumber To’, American actor Rob Riggle wore a full body suit and the finished painting was exactly what the producers wanted and Rob completely disappeared into the background wall and vending machine!

In this Unicef campaign, the model was body painted wearing a full set of clothing

Painted Clothing

There are times when the models will have to wear clothing that can be completely painted over. This is often the choice with camouflage work where the model needs to be remain partially visible instead of disappearing completely into the background.

For example I worked on a campaign for Unicef where children needed to be painted to highlight the hidden nature of child trafficking. The child models all wore clothing that myself and my team painted to blend them in to various backgrounds.

Carolyn Roper JENNIFER ELLISON bodypainting

Celebrity Jennifer Ellison. Photo Adrian Brooks/Imagewise

Half body or torso shoots only.

If it’s not a full body paint the models can wear some clothing to compliment the painted parts of their bodies. Some shoots require only torso painting, so then the models can wear trousers, shorts skirts etc.

The image on the right shows celebrity Jennifer Ellison wearing a blouse and shorts combination for this torso body painting for a Kelloggs ‘Healthy Eating’ promotion.

Conclusion

So if you’re considering using body painting for marketing purposes including advertising, product launches or publicity stunts and would like any further information, please don’t hesitate to contact me to discuss your requirements in more detail.

Body Painting Marketing and PR |

April 26, 2016

| Carolyn Roper

Body Painting for Marketing: PR, Publicity and Promotional Campaigns

Diet Coke new bottle design by J P Gaultier – body painted models in Harvey Nichols window

Visually stunning body painting can be used to great effect to promote products, services or organisations. Since founding Getmadeup.com in 2004 I’ve worked with numerous marketing, advertising and PR agencies, or sometimes directly with companies and charities, to produce memorable and distinctive body painting designs. My body art has been seen on TV, in newspapers and magazines, on packaging such as CD covers and book covers, or on models at events such as exhibitions, trade shows and product launches. I have a brilliant team of artists who work with me on larger assignments so we can confidently produce stunning results on campaigns of any size, from one model on a photo shoot to multiple models in various locations for coordinated publicity stunts. Here are a few examples:

Posing with my models outside Harvey Nichols

Launch of new Diet Coke bottle design

In 2012 fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier created a design for 2 new limited edition bottles for ‘Diet Coke’. I was commissioned by Lexis agency to paint 2 models in the new design for a live body art installation where the models would pose in a window display in Harvey Nichols to publicise the launch of the new designs. The models had to be ready for the early morning rush hour, so my team and I had a 3 a.m. call time to get the models finished for their shop window appearance.

The following measurement and evaluation was reported by PR Week:

The campaign generated 909 pieces of coverage across 33 national and consumer print titles including The Sun, Daily Mirror, The Independent and the Daily Mail. Magazine coverage included InStyle, Heat, Closer, S, You and Star. The tour bus alone generated 70 pieces of coverage. More than 2,500 limited edition products worth £12,000 were sold on the first day.

More at the prweek.com website here

Body Painting Carolyn Roper Gary Lineker

Gary Lineker hidden amongst the vegetables for a Walkers Crisps promotional campaign

Walkers Crisps Promotion with Gary Lineker

I was delighted to take part in the ‘Gary’s Great Ingredient Hunt’ promotion for Walkers Crisps with Gary Lineker. The challenge was to use body paint to hide/camouflage Gary into 2 different backgrounds.

When I’m working with celebrities I’m aware that their time is usually pretty valuable so the timings can be quite tight. On this occasion my fellow artist and member of my team Emily Dowdeswell came along to help speed up completion of the body painting.

Using my airbrush to put the finishing touches to the body painting on Gary Lineker

“Over the years I’ve done some weird and wonderful things with Walkers, but I’ve never been made to disappear,” said the former England striker. “It will be fun to see people’s reactions when they find me in the image and realise I’m buried in amongst the fresh, homegrown ingredients.”

The photos from the campaign appeared in The Daily Mirror and Daily Star as well as numerous online media websites.

NHS Blood Donor Promotional Campaign

The NHS promotion on St Pancras Station, London. Photo: Adrian Brooks/Imagewise

In 2012 the NHS Blood & Transplant Service needed to increase blood stocks by 30% for the Olympics to cope with the increased visitors in the country. So I was commissioned to design a full body paint which would show veins, arteries and hearts. The design would be then painted on eight volunteers to represent the four main blood groups. On the day of the campaign we had to get the eight models ready for an early morning press call, so I put together a team of seven body artists to assist me and we started the painting at around 4 a.m.

During the painting process we were filmed for the ‘Blood art’ery’ video which gave a behind the scenes look at the work in progress. The film also features some great footage of the painted volunteers out and about in London.

The body painted models made a real impact with the public on St Pancras Station, London. Photo: Adrian Brooks/Imagewise

This was an extremely successful campaign. The video generated a huge amount of mainstream coverage and there was an immediate public response. In one day alone 30,000 people visited the blood.co.uk and there was in increase in calls from possible donors of 29%.

International PR Agency Red Consultancy won an award for ‘Excellence in the Use of Innovative Media Outreach’ for this campaign. Fantastic photography by Adrian Brooks.Imagewise.

You can watch the video on YouTube here

Camouflage Body Painting to promote launch of new TV series

Body painting Covert Affairs Carolyn Roper

This camouflage body painting to promote the TV series Covert Affairs has been viewed extensively around the World

In 2012 I was commissioned to body paint 3 camouflaged models to blend them into various London locations for a promotional campaign to launch the UK premiere of the new series of the CIA drama ‘Covert Affairs’ on Really TV. One model was camouflaged to blend into the outside of an iconic London taxi cab. Another setting was for the model to be camouflaged onto the back seat of a London bus. But the most popular image was the painting that I did in a street market. I blended the model into a fruit and vegetable stall and the reactions from the passing shoppers was brilliant. This image has been shared all around the world and has also been the subject of two meme’s!

Players body painted in a Safari theme to promote the Marriott London Sevens rugby tournament

Promotion of the Marriott London Sevens rugby competition

In 2013 I was commissioned to body paint several rugby players in a safari theme to promote the launch of the Marriott London Sevens rugby tournament.

Rugby players Dan Norton, Michaela Staniford, Chris Cracknell, Tom Mitchell and Alice Richardson were painted in safari animal designs that represented their own strengths and style of play.

World Series leading try scorer Dan Norton became a Cheetah to signify his lightning pace. Norton said: “Each year the fans fancy dress outfits get better and better so we thought we’d get in on the action.

Body Painting Carolyn Roper Chris Cracknell

Rugby player Chris Cracknell looking ferocious as a body painted lion for the PR campaign

All the players were great fun to work with and it was a really enjoyable shoot for myself and my Getmadeup team of artists.

The photos received wide exposure in the media including the Daily Mail, the London Evening Standard and The Sun.

You can see Tom Mitchell and Chris Cracknell talking on YouTube about their painted characters here.

The ‘X Men First Class’ promotion used models transformed by body painting and special effects into the characters on the London Underground

Promotion of the release of ‘X Men First Class’ on DVD and Blu Ray

In 2011 I was asked if I could transform 2 models into Mystique and Azazel for a week of PR activity to publicise the release of ‘X Men First Class’ on DVD.

For Mystique’s character I hand made all the numerous latex pieces myself and then had to reproduce the look several times on various models throughout the week. They appeared at different London locations including seated on an underground train and in a 1960’s style ‘pop up lounge’ at Victoria Station which featured a recreation of one of the sets from the film.

Model Sam Cooke posing as Mystique for the campaign. Photo: Stewart Williams

Here, commuters could pose for photos with the characters and also stop and join in with various activities that included playing chess in a setting that was very similar to the one that appears in the film, complete with replica 60’s Chesterfield sofas.

The lounge was opened by Jason Flemyng who plays Azazel in the film. The week’s activity ended with a photoshoot with model Sam Cooke where I transformed her into Mystique for a stunning set of photos by photographer Stewart Williams.

You can see the link for the video from the transformation on YouTube here.