Body Painting as a Career |

August 19, 2016

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.

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’

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

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

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

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

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 as a Career |

April 10, 2016

| Carolyn Roper

Body Painting – Information and Advice for Models

Am I short or are my two models just very tall?!! Diet Coke/Jean Paul Gaultier campaign

Body painting is used for various advertising campaigns, music videos, television adverts, PR stunts etc. As a professional body painter out in industry you can expect to get jobs working on PR and promotional events by clients wishing to get press coverage for a new product or event, or for television advertising.

During my career I’ve painted literally hundreds of models in various locations around the world. So here’s a few of my hints and tips that should lead to a successful and pleasant body painting experience for the model, the artist and the client.

Absolutely make sure that you are using skin safe products! I cannot stress this enough! Everything in my kit was designed specifically to go on the skin. Just because a product is non toxic doesn’t mean that you can use it on the body; your insurance won’t cover you if your model has a reaction.

Care for your model

It is VERY important as a body artist to know how to look after your model and make sure that they’re as comfortable as possible. When you’re on a job with your model try to ensure that he/she will be warm enough. If you’re in a room or location that doesn’t have heating ask if it’s possible to provide portable heaters. I usually have foil blankets in my kit for outside shoots.

If it’s a very warm day ask that fans can be provided, so they don’t get too hot. If you’re body painting for several hours then there is a good chance that your model will need to sit down. See if it’s possible to have chairs provided for your model to sit on.

Do they have another job to go to afterwards? If so, they will need to leave with absolutely no paint residue on them. If there are no showers on-set, pack plenty of baby wipes in your kit to help with the paint removal from the skin. If there are showers available, remind your model to take along a wash kit containing shower gel, flannel, towel etc.

A silk/satin dressing gown can also be useful for the model if she needs to cover-up for toilet trips etc. and not smudge the paint. Flip flops are also handy for a model to take along.

Another very tall model Amy Woodman painted for a Kryolan event at The Royal Opera House

Preparation for painting

There are things that your model needs to do to prepare themselves for being painted. Make sure they remove all their body hair. Women are usually fairly smooth, but men will need to at the least run beard trimmers over themselves as any body hair will catch on your brushes and it will be impossible to get clean lines.

Never ask your models to wax, more often than not they will come up in a rash or have broken skin on the area, making it impossible to paint on.

Make sure your models know not to put any products on their skin before getting painted. Unlike when you apply make-up, some products like moisturiser or fake tan make it extremely hard to get an even base coat as the paint does not stick evenly.

Also be aware of any contraindications that might prevent you from painting. Areas of broken skin, such as cuts or grazes. Any kind of infection or cold sores.

Sensitivity to the needs of your model

Some models can be a bit nervous before a body painting job, particularly if it’s their first experience of a body art shoot. I’m very sensitive to their concerns and I often find that a female model will feel much more comfortable once her breasts and nipples are painted, so this is always where I’ll apply the paint first.

I very rarely paint naked models, although I have had to paint detailed anatomical designs for Channel 4’s “Embarrassing Bodies” on sensitive areas. But, sometimes it is necessary to paint completely naked models. It’s then VERY important to decant your paint from its usual container into a disposable one so that you can throw away any left-over paint. I also prefer to use cheaper brushes that can be disposed of afterwards.

An even taller model painted at IMATS New York for AOFM

The Perfect Model

A good model is one that understands the process and can keep very still for long periods of time. It’s also good if they have a friendly personality and are easy to talk to. Body painting can last for several hours so some general banter and fun conversation can make the time pass much more quickly and pleasantly.

I can provide models for various shoots, but I would say that 90% of the models that I paint are usually provided by the client. Some of these models are incredibly tall and anyone’s who’s met me will know that I’m incredibly short! I can usually get them to bend down so that I can reach the tops of their shoulders and their faces. But if I’m doing camouflage work and they have to stand in one position, we have get really technical and I have to stand on a box so that I can reach them!!!

The Fainters

Body paint shoots often start very early and not all models will turn up having eaten properly or have had anything to drink. Some models deliberately avoid eating before a job as they think they might not look their best on camera. This can be a recipe for disaster.

I’ve been in situations where some girls have spent longer with their head down the toilet feeling faint and nauseous, than being painted. There have been times when I’ve actually had to dash off to buy breakfast for them. Once they’ve had something to eat and a mug of hot sweet tea, or an orange juice, they’re good to go and we can get on with the painting. But this seriously eats into the time and can affect the finished result, and is so easily avoidable. So I would highly recommend that all models eat a proper breakfast/lunch before a body paint shoot.

I like to take some snacks with me on jobs, things like bananas. I also have a supply of glucose sweets which I pop into their mouths frequently and can help stop models from feeling faint whilst I work.

My tallest model ever! Ryan Mackins painted at Olympia Beauty Trade Show for Mistair

Some models don’t want to drink a lot of water because they are worried about going to the loo and smudging the paint with their underwear. But it’s really important to stay hydrated. It is a lot easier to clean up some smudged paint around the groin than have to clean off an entire section because your model has fainted and ruined half your painting. I always tell my models to pull their underwear to the sides if possible when using the toilet and it very rarely results in any smudged work.

It’s also important to get your model to move around lots whilst you are mixing the paint or cleaning your brushes, quite often it will be not moving their feet that will cause your model to feel unwell, particularly if it’s a very warm location.

I ask my models to tell me as soon as possible if they start to feel unwell. If there’s a chair available sit them down. I’ve had situations where a very tall model has suddenly slithered off down the wall with me desperately trying to hold her up. And with a 6 foot plus model and a 4 foot 11 artist you just know it’s never going to end well.

Body painting artist becomes body painting model

I always wanted to have my own body painted and was very pleased and surprised to receive an invitation from the American artist Craig Tracy who I first met at the World Body Painting Festival in Austria on my second visit in 2004. So in March 2005 I travelled to New Orleans and spent a week with Craig sightseeing, eating and of course painting each other with the designs that Craig had worked out in advance.

The end result of the body painting collaboration between myself and Craig Tracy

The body painting collaboration was a unique experience for me and I think I definitely have more sympathy for my models now.

After this experience I can confirm that it’s quite difficult to stay absolutely still for long periods of time, particularly if you have to stand up. But no doubt like many of my own models, I found it absorbing to be able to watch and actually see the design taking shape.

Body Painting can transform people, they become part of the art work. You can see the shiest model come alive once they have been painted. It’s a really liberating experience and I would recommend it to anyone.

Body Painting as a Career |

April 1, 2016

| Carolyn Roper

A career in body painting or make-up : What you need to consider

My graduation from West Thames College in 2004

After graduating from West Thames College in 2004 with a HND in Specialist Hair and Make-up I had to make an important decision about my future career. Did I want to join a make-up company like MAC or try my hand at freelance work? I had to weigh up the options.

If I joined a make-up company I would have regular hours, regular pay, work colleagues, sick pay, holiday pay and no tax returns to deal with at the end of the year. Plus the opportunity to progress within the company over the years ahead.

Working as a freelance make-up and body artist means no regular hours, no regular pay, no sick or holiday pay, and the dreaded tax return and National Insurance to sort out. It can be lonely. You have no colleagues. No surprise birthday cakes, no office Christmas party. Secret Santa doesn’t really work if you have to buy the present for yourself. But the advantages are that you’re your own boss, and don’t have to do regular hours every week with a limited annual holiday allowance. But more importantly the work can be really varied and interesting, and you’re very much be in control of your own career. After giving it a lot of thought I decided to go down the freelance route.

Portfolio piece from my time at West Thames College

No Regular Income

Starting out in the industry as a freelance body painting or make-up artist isn’t easy. Unfortunately you won’t leave college one month and be doing make-up in the world of rock and pop the next. The reality is that you’re more likely to be sitting in your flat eating beans on toast and wondering if you have enough train fare to get to your next job. But don’t get dis-heartened as it’s the same for most freelancers at the beginning of their career.

Your kit is expensive and there’s a lot of competition for the work that’s out there. Plus with no regular income and no idea when, or where, your next job will come from, it can be very tough. Everyone’s circumstances are different. If you’re lucky enough to live at home with family support and few overheads, or have the security of a partner or husband’s salary, it’s very different to leaving home and renting often very expensive accommodation and completely supporting yourself. Then all the money that you earn has to be saved for living costs, as you could have a quiet month with absolutely no work and you still have to pay your rent etc.

Financially try not to go down the credit card route. I had a simple rule…in fact I still have. If you can’t afford it, don’t buy it, book it or cook it! I’ve eaten my fair share of beans on toast and it was several years before I felt secure enough to book a holiday.

My mother used to send me vegetables through the post so that she knew I was eating properly. It wasn’t unusual for me to come home and find an envelope on the doormat containing green beans and baby sweetcorn!!!

In action at the World Bodypainting Festival in Seeboden, Austria, in 2005

Portfolio Building

I did a lot of low pay and no pay assisting jobs to build up my portfolio and gain experience in the industry. Plus my birthday present from my parents every July was a trip to The World Bodypainting Festival in Austria. As well as a great experience it was a good way of building up my portfolio and also hopefully winning some accolades that might enhance my career. In those early days I never imagined I would win once, let alone twice. But it’s definitely been invaluable in terms of taking my career to the next level. I’ll be covering The World Bodypainting Festival in more detail in another blog.

Unsocial Working Hours

If a model, or models, need to be ready for an early morning press call the painting has to be done before sunrise. I’ve had numerous jobs where I’ve found myself in a cab with the driver navigating a very empty city at 3 am. This is never ideal but it has to be done. You know the feeling when you’re off on holiday and set your alarm for an early flight?? Then you hardly sleep because you’re worried about missing your flight. Well it’s that same feeling only 10 times worse. You toss and turn and then end up getting up before you really have to, simply because you’re awake anyway! You then have to go and paint to a really high standard against the clock to get the models finished, usually after around 3 hours sleep. But I find that once I’m at the location the adrenalin kicks in and I’m off…… painting like a mini ninja!

A getmadeup team job for the NHS. Photo: Adrian Brooks/Imagewise

Building up your Business

There are no short cuts. You have to build up your experience, and your client list, and that only comes with time. If you do a good job the client will be more likely to remember you and use you again, or even recommend you to other clients. But when you’re starting out know your limitations. It’s better to not do the job at all than do it badly. You not only let the client down, but you risk your reputation as well. If you’re good at what you do, you’ll find that it’s almost self- perpetuating. The more work you do the more work comes in.

I’m pleased that I decided on the freelance route, it was the right decision for me. No two days are the same and I love being my own boss. I’ve worked hard to build up my business and now have many repeat clients. I have my Getmadeup team who work with me on larger assignments so my little business also supports several other artists and I actually now have some colleagues. But none of this has happened overnight. I started at the bottom of the ladder and it’s taken me 12 years to get to the point that I’m at today.

My ‘Alice in Wonderland’ themed body painting for Mistair

Career Advice

So my advice to anyone who has a passion for make-up/body painting and is seriously thinking of a career in the industry would be to get some training. Either a full time college course or one of the shorter courses from the various make-up academies out there. There are some excellent self- taught make-up artists, but just about everyone that I know in the industry has started their career with some professional training.

You must have Public Liability Insurance before starting work in the industry. If you poke your brush in someone’s eye you’ll be in big trouble with no insurance cover. I get mine through Professional Beauty. It’s automatically renewed every 12 months and is around £50 for the year. Anyone who works with me must have their own PLI as mine won’t cover them.

If you’re freelance don’t expect to run before you can walk. Gain as much work experience as you can. Do the low pay jobs to practice your skills and build up contacts.

Don’t get disheartened at the beginning of your career. Realistically it will probably take you a few years to get established.

Finally, I hope that anyone who’s interested in becoming a professional make-up or body painting artist will find this information interesting and useful. I’ve tried to be honest and give you the benefit of my experience. It’s not easy starting out, it’s hard work. Early starts, late finishes, not a lot of spare cash! But if you’re willing to persevere it can be a great career, incredibly good fun at times and very interesting. Good luck!!!!

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 17^th 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!