Body Painting as a Career |

April 1, 2016

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!!!!

January 21, 2016

| Carolyn Roper

For a successful Body Painting career, versatility is vital

Getmadeup team job for Rugby Sevens promotion at Twickenham

Although being well known for my camouflage body painting, as a freelance body artist I have to be able to paint whatever design my clients’ require, whether it be crisp logo work, temporary tattoo’s or intricate details for fine art prints. I never know what, where, or when the next assignment will be and each body paint brings its own challenges. Quite often the design will be something that I’ve never painted before, so I have to have confidence in my ability to transfer my client’s design onto the body with a very professional finish, often in the shortest possible time.

I also have a very talented Getmadeup team of make-up and body artists, most of whom have been with me for years, who support me on larger assignments when multiple models need body painting and/or make-up.

Camouflage body painting for Belgian travel company TV advertisement

Camouflage Body Painting

Camouflage work is quite specialised and can be pretty complex depending on the background that the model needs to be blended into. Personally I prefer a ‘busy’ background with a lot of detail. It might take more work, but I find this makes it easier to make the model disappear. I’ve worked on numerous camouflage jobs during my career, some that needed the model to be virtually invisible like when I painted Rob Riggle for ‘Dumb and Dumber To’ where it was vital that he wasn’t seen by the audience before he moved and revealed his identity. But on other camouflage jobs the model needs to be painted into the background, but still be partly visible to the viewer. In this image we were painting in The Caribbean for a television advertisement which was for a Belgian travel agency. I was with my fellow artist Emily Dowdeswell, and due to the timings we only had 40 minutes to do the painting before the sun went down. We were quite literally up to our waists in the sea with our paints floating next to us in a bucket!

Body painting leathers and logos for World Super Bike champion Leon Haslam

Logos

Some jobs have the client’s logos incorporated into the design. I hand cut stencils for the logo work to give a really professional finish. There are usually only one or two logos required. But for the job at Silverstone where I had to paint World Super Bike rider Leon Haslam in his racing leathers, I had to cut numerous stencils for all the logos that were needed on his torso. It was a really enjoyable day. Leon was great to work with and everyone was really pleased with the finished result.

There have been quite a few people, including very experienced motor cyclists, who didn’t realise that Leon was ‘wearing’ body paint and not his actual leathers. There’s a time lapse video of the painting on my video page.

Carolyn Roper StormStudios body painting

The Beach Back Catalogue body painting in South Africa for StormStudios. Photo: Rupert Truman

Fine Art Prints

As well as body painting for CD album covers I had the pleasure of working on a series of limited edition fine art prints for the late great Storm Thorgerson and StormStudios. The designs were all of various album covers from Storm’s vast portfolio including Pink Floyd, Muse and Audioslave. Some of the shoots took place in the UK, mainly at The RAC Club in Pall Mall. But we also had an amazing two week trip to South Africa in 2009 where I worked on ‘The Beach Back Catalogue’ and ‘The Outback Catalogue’. Visit www.stormsight.co.uk for beautiful prints and posters and other assorted goodies from the very talented crowd at StormStudios.

Celebrity Ricky Whittle body painted with tattoos for Now Magazine

Body Painted Tattoos

Tattoos are always popular with clients and I’ve painted quite a few over the years. If the tattoo is only required for the photoshoot I use my usual water based body paints, and the design can be washed off easily with soap and water at the end of the day.

But sometimes the client might want the tattoo to last for a few days. I would then use one of the more durable alcohol based FDA approved cosmetic inks on the market. It depends on the brand that you use, but the design will last for at least 3 or 4 days, and sometimes up to a week. These products are usually removed with an oil based cleanser.

Mystique body painting and SFX for PR stunt to promote X-Men First Class DVD

Body Painting and Special Effects

There are times when I’m called on to produce some special effects to transform the model for a particular shoot. Some prosthetic pieces can be bought ‘off the shelf’ from specialist suppliers such as ‘Charles Fox-Kryolan UK’ in Covent Garden, London. But for some of my jobs I make the pieces myself with handmade individual moulds and liquid latex. It can be a bit of a messy process and I think my husband’s heart sinks every time I commandeer the bathroom with my sack of plaster and tubs of latex.

For one assignment I was asked if I could transform 2 models into Mystique and Azazel during a week of PR events for the release of ‘X Men First Class’ on DVD. I hand made all the numerous latex pieces myself, and then had to reproduce the look several times on various models throughout the week. They appeared at different London locations including seated on an underground train, and in a 1960’s style ‘pop up lounge’ at Victoria Station. I then had the pleasure of transforming model Sam Cooke into ‘Mystique’ for a photoshoot at the end of the week.

Carolyn Roper Kate Garraway body painting

Celebrity Kate Garraway make-up and body painting

Combined Body Painting and Make-up assignments

As well as being a body artist I’m also a make-up artist and some shoots require a combination of make-up and body art. If we’re working on a shoot with a celebrity their time is very valuable and will almost certainly be limited. So I usually take along another artist from the Getmadeup team to help to speed everything up.

In 2011 I was commissioned to reproduce a £5.00 note on TV presenter Kate Garraway to publicise the charity lendwithcare.org. It was a very enjoyable shoot where I did the body painting on Kate’s back whilst Emily Dowdeswell did her hair and make-up.

Film & TV, My Work Assignments |

December 19, 2015

| Carolyn Roper

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

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

A Kylie Christmas at The Royal Albert Hall

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

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

Inside Soap Magazine

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

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

Glittering Gold Body Painting for ZEEN Oil

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

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

X Factor Final weekend

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

The Christmas Market at Colmar, Alsace.

Seasons Greetings from everyone at Getmadeup

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

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

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

Carolyn Roper’s updated website and new blog!

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

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

Mehron Blog1 With the introduction of the blog to the site we’ll be giving regular updates which should give you an insight into the life of a busy, freelance, commercial, make-up and body painting artist. We’ll also be sharing hints and tips, favourite products and snippets from a very interesting career to date.

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

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

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