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Tag Archives: Carolyn Roper

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
Camouflage, Film & TV |

January 25, 2017

| Carolyn Roper

Body Painting for Blue Peter

Carolyn Roper Blue Peter body painting

Blue Peter presenter Radzi Chinyanganya camouflage body painted on the Show

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

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

Looking Back

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

1 a Blue Peter 3 WP blogThe Blue Peter Badge

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

The Presenters

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

1 a blue peter WP BlogMy Body Painting Challenge

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

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

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

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

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

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

Blue Peter body painting, body painting, Body painting for TV, camouflage body painting, Carolyn Roper
Body Painting as a Career, Camouflage, My Work Assignments |

November 9, 2016

| Carolyn Roper

Body Painting Around The World

Since starting out in my freelance body painting career in 2004 I’ve worked on some amazing assignments in some beautiful locations. Some of these jobs have had very tight schedules and it’s literally been fly in, paint, and fly out! But luckily, most of the long haul destination jobs have included some spare time to get out and about for some sightseeing, trying the local food and of course buying some local souvenirs! That definitely makes the jet lag worth it. Although my husband might disagree as he sees yet another coconut shell drinking cup, raffia hat and heavily embroidered stuffed animal emerge from my suitcase!

I’m very lucky to have worked with clients in Hong Kong, New York, Las Vegas, Chicago, Atlanta, New Orleans, Orlando, Cape Town, Thailand, South Korea, The Dominican Republic, Mumbai, Paris, Holland, Belgium, Austria, Berlin, Alicante, Rome, Gran Canaria, Latvia, Nuremberg, Monaco and Malta. A lot of my work comes in with reasonably short notice and some of these destinations have required visas. So it’s usually a race against time and an anxious wait to get all the paper work approved in time for me to fly out!

Below are some of my favourite assignments.

 

Carolyn Roper Las Vegas bodypainting

Demonstrating highlights & shadows to the students in my Las Vegas Convention Class

Las Vegas

I’ve been very lucky to visit Las Vegas 3 times and this is definitely one of my very favourite destinations. The first visit was incredibly memorable. I was invited to teach at the 2011 Face Painting and Body Art Convention by the organiser the lovely Karen Owens. At the end of a long flight seeing the outline of the skyscrapers of the Las Vegas strip peeping out from the desert as the plane approached the airport was a surreal experience. Once I had collected my suitcase from baggage I was met by a chauffeur and whisked off in a white stretch limousine, courtesy of Karen, to the beautiful Flamingo Hotel. So it was definitely a ‘Welcome to Las Vegas’ moment!  The convention was brilliant with so many friendly people and I returned to teach again the following year. My third visit was in 2015 when I painted at a make-up artist trade show representing the ‘Olivares Haus of Glam’.

Carolyn Roper Cape Town bodypainting

My camouflaged model taking people by surprise in Cape Town

Cape Town

Another very beautiful location was South Africa where I’ve worked on 2 assignments in Cape Town. The first one was in 2009 when I was body painting for a series of fine art prints for Storm Thorgerson, including ‘The Beach Catalogue’ and ‘The Outback Catalogue’. In between the painting there was plenty of free time for getting out and about sightseeing and visiting the local markets.  The second trip was in 2010 when I was commissioned by H2 Films to camouflage a model into various locations for an advertisement for ‘The Irish National Lottery’. Cape Town is amazing I loved the scenery and the culture and it’s definitely on my list of places to re-visit purely as a tourist without a paint brush in my hand!

Carolyn Roper Mumbai bodypainting

The painted models in their beautiful costumes ready to perform to the audience in Mumbai

Mumbai 

On New Year’s Day in 2012 I escaped the British winter weather and travelled to India with the great team from Acrobat Productions. I was commissioned to do the face and body art for the performers who would be working at a prestigious wedding in Mumbai. We stayed at the beautiful Trident Hotel and after the job we all had a few days to relax and see more of this fascinating city before we flew back to London. I loved India and it’s definitely a country that I would like to return to sometime in the future.

Carolyn Roper Dominican Republic bodypainting

My model camouflaged in the Dominican Republic for the Belgian travel company’s television advertisement

The Dominican Republic

Back in 2012 there was another memorable campaign that I had the pleasure of working on. It was a television advertisement for the Belgian travel agency ‘Neckermann’. The idyllic location for the filming was The Dominican Republic in the Caribbean. Our long-haul destination involved planes trains and automobiles before we reached our hotel, which was the base for the filming. My job was to camouflage several models into tropical looking backdrops so I took along my Getmadeup team mate Emily Dowdeswell to help with the painting. We had a fantastic week working with the models and managed to fit in some shopping in our free time…. yet more souvenirs in the suitcase!    

Carolyn Roper New York bodypainting

My design for the Make-up Show in New York

New York.

I’ve visited ‘The Big Apple’ 3 times and it’s always a pleasure! I’ve demonstrated make-up and body painting at various industry trade shows in this great city! In 2008 I represented Mehron at ‘The Make-up Show’. In 2011 I painted for AOFM at ‘IMATS’ NYC and my last visit was in 2015 when I was commissioned to paint for ‘Olivares Haus of Glam’. There’s usually been enough spare time for me to get out and about in between the painting to shop until I drop!

bodypainting, camouflage body painting, Carolyn Roper, getmadeup, getmadeup.com
Body Painting as a Career, My Work Assignments |

September 16, 2016

| Carolyn Roper

Body Painting Illusions and 3 Dimensional Designs

As I’ve previously mentioned in an earlier blog, for a successful career as a commercial body artist versatility is key! You have to be confident that you can paint in any style that your client requires, whether it be logos, tattoos or camouflage body painting. And although very well known for my camouflage work, one of my particular favourites is painting 3 dimensional and illusion designs. I love the way that you can create something so different from the norm and really trick the eye using only body paint.

3D body painting Carolyn Roper

3D body painting at Olympia, London

3 Dimensional Body Painting at Olympia Beauty London

In 2014 I represented Mistair at the Olympia Beauty show which is one of the UK’s best trade events in the beauty industry. Held annually at Olympia in London the show attracts salon and spa owners, make-up artists, nail technicians and students. There are numerous demonstrations taking place during the event including several student competitions. I painted model Laurence Caird with a 3-dimensional design inspired by the work of tattoo artist Jesse Rix. I also gave a talk during the show about ‘Commercial Body Painting as a Career’ and one of the prizes awarded by Mistair in the student body painting competition was an industry day with yours truly! The finished design on Laurence is one of my all-time favourites and was a huge hit on my Instagram page, where it’s racked up more than 1,000 ‘likes’.

Biffy Clyro ‘Machines’ 3 Dimensional Body Painting

Biffy Clyro 'Machines' body painting Carolyn Roper

Biffy Clyro ‘Machines’ illusional body painting. Photo: Rupert Truman

I’ve done quite a bit of body painting over the years for the late great Storm Thorgerson, the artistic genius behind numerous iconic album covers including Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. One of the designs that I really enjoyed working on was back in 2007 and was for the 4th single from the album ‘Puzzle’ which was entitled ‘Machines’ by the Scottish rock band ‘Biffy Clyro’. There were a series of body painted images for the album and subsequent singles. For ‘Machines’ I painted the model with Storm’s design of a metallic torso showing beneath the model’s shirt. The photography is by Storm Studios photographer Rupert Truman.

 

'Terminator' style body painting Carolyn Roper

‘Terminator’ style body painting

Terminator Style Hand Painting

Another real favourite of mine is the hand that I painted with an illusional terminator style. Last year I started my own Youtube channel and made several time lapse videos featuring 3 dimensional body paintings, superheroes and various other designs. For this time lapse I painted my own hand and I think it worked out particularly well. I really like the end of the video where my hand takes on a creepy life of its own! This image has also been a big hit on my Instagram page with more than 800 ‘likes’.

Watch the time-lapse video here

 

3D chains body painting Carolyn Roper

3D chains body painting illusion

3 Dimensional Chains Body Painting

Another body painting that I designed for my Youtube channel was a 3 dimensional chain link that I painted on my friend and model Liam Boyle. I made a time lapse video that demonstrated the use of highlighting and shadows that really makes the chains stand out and look as if they’re literally hanging down the front of Liam’s torso. This was another Instagram favourite with more than a 1000 ‘likes’. I’m really looking forward to putting together more time lapse videos, but I’ve been so busy with commercial work recently that my filming fun has had to take a bit of a back seat for now.

Watch the time lapse video here

 

Metallic body painting illusion Carolyn Roper

Metallic body painting illusion

Metallic Neck Illusion Body Painting

Way back in 2007 I was asked to submit some images for an article on my body painting that ‘Illusion’ (the face and body art magazine) was putting together. They requested previously unpublished photos. Most of my work is commercial and has already been shown in either newspapers or magazines, or on bill boards around London. So I got together with my photographer friend Joseph Sinclair and designed some new images especially for the magazine. One of the new designs was the metallic neck effect that I painted on model Stephan D’Bart. This was my first illusional body painting and I think it worked out really well.

 

3D face Carolyn Roper

3D face illusion design

3 Dimensional Face Painting

Another design that I created back in 2007 for Illusion magazine was a 3 dimensional face painting. This was originally inspired by a piece of work that I found in one of my art books by the Swiss surrealist artist H.R. Giger. I made tiny shapes from liquid latex and attached them to the model Sam’s face with spirit gum. Then I painted him with black face paint before finally adding a touch of gold paint to bring out the detail on the latex pieces. The photography was by Hass Idriss.

 

 

Body painting illusion Carolyn Roper

Body painting illusion at IMATS London

3 Dimensional Body Painting at IMATS London

I also painted an illusional design at IMATS (International Make-up Artists Trade Show) held at Olympia Exhibition Centre in London in June. I was delighted to be commissioned to paint on the Screenface London stand. Screenface is an amazing supplier of all things make-up and body art related, and Screenface products have been used in numerous films over the last 30 years including Monty Python, Harry Potter and Indiana Jones. For the demonstration I painted my great model Kyle James, again using lots of highlights and shadows in my design to show metallic parts and torn flesh. Kyle had to step in at the last minute, but I think you’ll agree that he proved to be a marvellous living canvas for my design. You can read more about IMATS in general, in one of my earlier blogs.

3d body paint, 3d body painting, body painting, body painting career, body painting illusions, 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, Latest News |

June 28, 2016

| Carolyn Roper

Suffolk New College Awards Ceremony

As a former student of Suffolk College I was delighted and very honoured to receive an invitation on behalf of the Principal Viv Gillespie to be the Guest of Honour at the ‘End of Year Celebration Event‘ on the 22nd of June.

Carolyn Roper Suffolk New College

Programme for the Awards Ceremony

So I made sure my diary was kept clear for that date and last Wednesday I set off on the train to Ipswich, back to where it all began for me as a Beauty Therapy student in 2000. It was whilst I was on the Beauty Therapy course that one of my tutors recognised my artistic talents and suggested a career as a make-up artist. Her encouragement spurred me on to research the industry and move to London to take up a place on the HND course for ‘Specialist Hair & Make-up’ at West Thames College in Isleworth. It was after graduating from West Thames in 2004 that I decided to start working as a freelance make-up and body painting artist and set up my business Getmadeup.com  

It was really nice to be back at the college again; I can’t believe it was my first visit after leaving in 2002. The old building where I trained is no longer there. It’s since been replaced with a beautiful new light filled building.    

I took along ‘the Mothership’ as she was the one who was gently coerced (forced) to volunteer her face and body on a regular basis so that my Beauty Therapy student friends could practice their skills on her! She had to endure false lashes being stuck on, sometimes upside down, sometimes back to front…..yes that is possible! And on more than one occasion when she stopped at the supermarket on the way home she looked a bit too much like ‘The Joker’ from Batman after some over enthusiastic application of lip liner and lipstick! We did have some giggles and she never complained. Everyone has to start somewhere and there’s really no substitute for practicing on a human face or body!  I’m still friends with some of the girls from my student days and they’ve gone on to achieve very successful careers in the beauty industry.

Once we arrived at the college everyone was extremely friendly and welcoming! I was given a quick run through of how the afternoon would pan out and then we went up to ‘Shelleys’ the college restaurant for a reception with the special awards winners, invited guests and sponsors.

Carolyn Roper Suffolk New College

On stage handing out the awards

Then it was off downstairs to the stage for the awards ceremony with the Principal and the Chair of Corporation. The ceremony started with some music from the Performing Arts students and the introductions.

Then it was my turn to step up to the microphone and give a short speech outlining my career since leaving the college, and finishing with what I hope were some inspirational and motivational words for the students about to embark on the next step in their chosen careers.   

The presentation of the awards began with students from the School of Business, Health and Childcare and School of Construction & Engineering Technologies coming up on stage to receive their awards. There was a lot of congratulatory hand clapping and a lot of hand shaking.

Finally we finished with more music from the talented performing arts students. I was then presented with the most beautiful bouquet of flowers which was really lovely.

Carolyn Roper Suffolk New College

My beautiful ‘thank you’ bouquet of flowers

Once the ceremony was over we went off to the marquee for some very nice refreshments all made by the catering students and had the chance to chat with more of the staff and students from the college. All in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.  

Note to self. When standing on the stage for 2 hours, even if you are the shortest person there, wear comfortable flat shoes! J  

Carolyn Roper, getmadeup
Body Painting as a Career, My Work Assignments |

June 9, 2016

| Carolyn Roper

Body Painting for IMATS London

IMATS LONDON 2016

The IMATS Show in London, 2016.

The International Make-Up Artist Trade Show (IMATS) features professional make-up and body painting in annual events covering four countries.

Since the first show in Los Angeles in 1997 IMATS, founded by Emmy Award winning make-up artist Michael Key, has now expanded and there are trade shows in New York, Los Angeles, London, Toronto, Vancouver and Sydney. This 3-day event is the world of make-up’s biggest gathering of make-up artists, students and industry enthusiasts all under one roof.

Top professional artists often from the world of film and TV, and SFX experts, give demonstrations and hold seminars which gives the visitor a fantastic opportunity to hear first- hand the experiences of the very highly regarded professionals working in this fascinating and very diverse industry. There’s a whole host of exhibitors selling everything that you could possibly need for a career in make-up and/or body painting.

A Student Highlight

When I was a student doing my HND in Specialist Hair and Make-up at West Thames College a trip to London IMATS was definitely one of the highlights of the year. Listening to the seminars from my heroes in the world of make-up. Seeing the incredible SFX demonstrations and creations, watching the professionals at work at the various make-up booths, plus getting the opportunity to see, and try out, so many fabulous products was pretty mind blowing for a young student. I always left at the end of the day with my bag full of new brushes and beautiful products, a head buzzing with inspiration, sore feet, glittery bits everywhere and a large dent in my bank balance.

Since 2004 when I started out as a freelance make-up and body artist I’ve worked at IMATS several times both in London and New York representing various teaching academies and make-up and body art companies. This year I was delighted to be asked to demonstrate for Screenface London.

Below are some of my favourite designs from my body painting in past shows including my illusional design painted at this year’s show in London on Saturday the 4th of June.

Carolyn Roper Body Painting IMATS 2010

My body painting, IMATS 2010

London 2010 – Art Deco Body Painting

My first booking at IMATS London was for The Academy of Freelance Make-up Artists (AOFM) back in 2010. I took my inspiration for the design from the beautiful work of Polish Art Deco artist Tamara de Lempicka 1898-1980.

My model, Armin Grossegger, flew in from Austria especially for the event.

Once I had finished the painting I embellished the design with peacock feathers, crystals and superfine glitter.

 

 

Carolyn Roper Body Painting IMATS 2011

My H R Giger inspired body painting, IMATS 2011

London and New York 2011 – H.R.Giger and Superhero Body Painting

The following year I painted for AOFM again. At the London show in January in 2011 I used the amazing work of the Swiss surrealist artist H R Giger for my inspiration.

Then in April I hopped across the pond and represented AOFM at the IMATS show in New York. This time I decided on a series of Superhero images for my paintings.

 

Carolyn Roper Body Painting IMATS 2012

My sugar skull design, IMATS 2012

London 2012 – Sugar Skulls and Alice in Wonderland Body Painting

In 2012 I was back in London and represented Mistair. MistFX face and body paint was quite a new product on the market and very different to other paints that I had used in the past. Unlike the solid paints that are activated with water, MistFX is a liquid paint and comes in a bottle. It comes in a great range of colours, it’s very durable and gives a really lovely professional finish.

Carolyn Roper IMATS London 2012

Alice in Wonderland design, IMATS 2012

I decanted the paint from the bottle into an artist’s pallet and painted my brilliant model with a very colourful sugar skulls design.

On the second day I painted a design inspired by Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen from the 2010 film ‘Alice in Wonderland’. I was really pleased with how it turned out and this has always been one of my favourite pieces of work.

 

Carolyn Roper IMATS 2013 Superman

Superman comes to IMATS London, 2013

London 2013 – Superman Body Painting

In 2013 I painted for Mistair again and this time the Superhero theme made a re-appearance. My husband is a huge fan of anything Marvel related and we’ve got shelves full of books and comics which are always a great source of inspiration for me. My model Ryan Mackins was huge. I think he must hold the record for the tallest person that I’ve ever painted!

Carolyn Roper Body Painting IMATS 2016

My 3-D body painting, IMATS 2016

London 2016 – 3 Dimensional Body Painting Illusion

I was delighted to be commissioned by Screenface London to paint at their stand at this year’s show. We had a last minute panic when the model who had been booked broke his leg the night before the show. After several frantic phone calls, Paintopia director Jennie Roberts arranged for the brilliant Kyle James to step in and save the day. Kyle was an absolute delight to work with and I decided to accentuate his great physique with a design made up of a combination of ripped skin and metal inner workings with a bit of flesh showing through for good measure!!

IMATS exhibitors include numerous high profile brands from the world of make-up, SFX and body painting; also make-up magazines, colleges and brush companies. The wide range and quality of the products, the artist demonstrations, the student competitions, plus the seminars, makes IMATS a must for anyone interested in the industry, or for those already working as a make-up artist or body painter. Just wear some comfortable shoes and take along a purse full of money! You’ll be tempted beyond belief and already planning your visit the following year!

body painting, body painting career, Carolyn Roper, getmadeup.com, IMATS London, IMATS New York

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