
Body painting is a form of
body art Body art is art in which the artist uses their human body as the primary medium.Oxford Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art, Oxford University, p. 88 Emerging from the context of Conceptual Art during the 1970s, Body art may include performanc ...
where artwork is painted directly onto the
human skin
The human skin is the outer covering of the body and is the largest organ of the integumentary system. The skin has up to seven layers of ectodermal tissue (biology), tissue guarding Skeletal muscle, muscles, bones, ligaments and organ (anato ...
. Unlike
tattoo
A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing processes ...
s and other forms of body art, body painting is temporary, lasting several hours or sometimes up to a few weeks (in the case of
mehndi
Mehndi () is a form of temporary skin decoration using a paste created with henna. In the West, mehndi is commonly known as henna tattoo, although it is not a permanent tattoo.
Mehndi is a popular form of body art in South Asia and resembl ...
or "henna tattoos" about two weeks). Body painting that is limited to the
face
The face is the front of the head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affect th ...
is known as face painting. Body painting is also referred to as (a form of) "temporary tattoo". Large scale or full-body painting is more commonly referred to as body painting, while smaller or more detailed work can sometimes be referred to as temporary tattoos.
Indigenous

Body painting with a grey or white paint made from natural
pigment
A pigment is a powder used to add or alter color or change visual appearance. Pigments are completely or nearly solubility, insoluble and reactivity (chemistry), chemically unreactive in water or another medium; in contrast, dyes are colored sub ...
s including clay, chalk, ash and cattle dung is traditional in many
tribal
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...
cultures. Often worn during cultural ceremonies, it is believed to assist with the moderation of body heat and the use of striped patterns may reduce the incidence of biting insects. It still survives in this ancient form among
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...
and in parts of
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
and
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
, as well as in
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
and the
Pacific islands
The Pacific islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of several ...
. A semi-permanent form of body painting known as ''
Mehndi
Mehndi () is a form of temporary skin decoration using a paste created with henna. In the West, mehndi is commonly known as henna tattoo, although it is not a permanent tattoo.
Mehndi is a popular form of body art in South Asia and resembl ...
'', using dyes made of
henna leaves (hence also known rather erroneously as "henna tattoo"), is practiced in
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, especially on
bride
A bride is a woman who is about to be married or who is a newlywed.
When marrying, if the bride's future spouse is a man, he is usually referred to as the ''bridegroom'' or just ''groom''. In Western culture, a bride may be attended by a maid, ...
s. Since the late 1990s, Mehndi has become popular amongst young
women
A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl.
Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional u ...
in the Western world.
Many
indigenous peoples
There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...
of Central and South America paint
jagua tattoos, or designs with ''
Genipa americana'' juice on their bodies.
Indigenous peoples of South America
In South America, Indigenous peoples comprise the Pre-Columbian peoples and their descendants, as contrasted with people of European ancestry and those of African descent. In Spanish, Indigenous peoples are referred to as (), or (). The term ...
traditionally use
annatto
Annatto ( or ) is an orange-red condiment and food coloring derived from the seeds of the achiote tree (''Bixa orellana''), native to tropics, tropical parts of the Americas. It is often used to impart a yellow to red-orange color to foods, but ...
,
huito, or wet
charcoal
Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ca ...
to decorate their faces and bodies. Huito is semi-permanent, and it generally takes weeks for this black dye to fade.
Western

Body painting is not always large pieces on fully nude bodies, but can involve smaller pieces on displayed areas of otherwise clothed bodies. There has been a revival of body painting in Western society since the 1960s, in part prompted by the liberalization of
social mores regarding
nudity
Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. While estimates vary, for the first 90,000 years of pre-history, anatomically modern humans were naked, having lost their body hair, living in hospitable climates, and not ...
and often comes in
sensationalist or
exhibitionist forms. Even today there is a constant debate about the legitimacy of body painting as an art form. The current modern revival could be said to date back to the
1933 World's Fair in Chicago when
Max Factor Sr. and his
model
A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , .
Models can be divided in ...
Sally Rand were arrested for causing a public disturbance when he body-painted her with his new make-up formulated for
Hollywood films
The cinema of the United States, primarily associated with major film studios collectively referred to as Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, has significantly influenced the global film industry since the early 20th century.
Classical Holly ...
. Body art today evolves to the works more directed towards personal
mythologies
Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...
, as
Jana Sterbak,
Rebecca Horn
Rebecca Horn (24 March 1944 – 6 September 2024) was a German visual artist best known for her installation art, film directing and body modifications such as ''Einhorn'' (Unicorn), a body-suit with a very large horn projecting vertically from ...
,
Michel Platnic,
Youri Messen-Jaschin or Javier Perez.

Body painting is sometimes used as a method of gaining attention in political protests, for instance those by
PETA
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA; ) is an American animal rights nonprofit organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president.
Founded in March 1980 by Newkirk and animal right ...
against
Burberry
Burberry Group plc is a British luxury fashion house established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry and headquartered in London, England. It designs and distributes ready to wear, including trench coats, leather accessories, and footwear. It is l ...
.
Body painting led to a minor alternative art movement in the 1950s and 1960s, which involved covering a model in paint and then having the model touch or roll on a canvas or other medium to transfer the paint. French artist
Yves Klein
Yves Klein (; 28 April 1928 – 6 June 1962) was a French artist and an important figure in post-war European art. He was a leading member of the French artistic movement of Nouveau réalisme founded in 1960 by art critic Pierre Restany. Klein wa ...
is perhaps the most famous for this, with his series of paintings "Anthropometries". The effect produced by this technique creates an image-transfer from the model's body to the medium. This includes all the curves of the model's body (typically female) being reflected in the outline of the image. This technique was not necessarily monotone; multiple colors on different body parts sometimes produced interesting effects.
Joanne Gair
Joanne Gair (born c. 1958), nicknamed Kiwi Jo (alternatively Kiwi Joe), is a New Zealand-born and -raised make-up artist and body painting, body painter whose body paintings have been featured in the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' from 1 ...
is a body paint artist whose work appeared for the tenth consecutive year in the 2008 ''
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
The ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit Issue is published annually by American magazine ''Sports Illustrated'' and features female fashion models, celebrities and athletes wearing swimwear in various locales around the world. The highly coveted ...
''. She came to prominence with an August 1992 ''
Vanity Fair'' ''
Demi's Birthday Suit'' cover of
Demi Moore
Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After rising to prominence in the early 1980s, she became the world's highest-paid actress by 1995. List of awards and nominations received by Demi Moore, Her acc ...
. Her ''
Disappearing Model'' was part of an episode of ''
Ripley's Believe It or Not!
''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals with bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' ...
''.
Festivals

Body painting festivals happen annually across the world, bringing together professional body painters and keen amateurs. Body painting can also be seen at some
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
matches, at
rave parties, and at certain
festival
A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...
s. The
World Bodypainting Festival is a three-day festival which originated in 1998 and which has been held in
Klagenfurt, Austria since 2017. Participants attend from over fifty countries and the event has more than 20,000 visitors; the associated World Bodypainting Association promotes the art of bodypainting.
Body painting festivals that take place in North America include the North American Body Painting Championship, Face and Body Art International Convention in
Orlando, Florida
Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...
, Bodygras Body Painting Competition in
Nanaimo, BC and the Face Painting and Body Art Convention in
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
.

Australia also has a number of body painting festivals, most notably the annual Australian Body Art Festival in
Eumundi, Queensland and the Australian Body Art Awards.
In Italy, the
Rabarama Skin Art Festival (held every year during the Summer and Autumn, with a tour in the major Italian cities), is a different event focused on the artistic side of body painting, highlighting the emotional impact of the painted body in a live performance more than the decorative and technical aspects of it. This particular form of creative art is known as "Skin Art".
Fine art
The 1960s supermodel
Veruschka has inspired bodypaint artists, after influential images of her appeared in the 1986 book ''Transfigurations'' by photographer
Holger Trulzsch. Other well-known works include
Serge Diakonoff's books ''A Fleur de Peau'' and ''Diakonoff'' and
Joanne Gair
Joanne Gair (born c. 1958), nicknamed Kiwi Jo (alternatively Kiwi Joe), is a New Zealand-born and -raised make-up artist and body painting, body painter whose body paintings have been featured in the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' from 1 ...
's ''Paint a licious''. More recently Dutch art photographer
Karl Hammer has taken center stage with his combinations of body painting and narrative art (
fantastic realism).
Following the already established trend in Western-Europe, body painting has become more widely accepted in the United States since the early 1990s. In 2006 the first gallery dedicated exclusively to fine art body painting was opened in New Orleans by World Bodypainting Festival Champion and Judge,
Craig Tracy. The
Painted Alive Gallery is on Royal Street in the
French Quarter
The French Quarter, also known as the (; ; ), is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans () was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old Square" in English), a ...
. In 2009, a popular late night talk show ''Last Call with Carson Daly'' on NBC network, featured a New York-based artist Danny Setiawan who creates reproductions of masterpieces by famous artists such as
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalí ( ; ; ), was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, ...
,
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...
, and
Gustav Klimt
Gustav Klimt (14 July 1862 – 6 February 1918) was an Austrian symbolist painter and a founding member of the Vienna Secession movement. His work helped define the Art Nouveau style in Europe. Klimt is known for his paintings, murals, sket ...
on human bodies aiming to make fine art appealing for his contemporaries who normally would not consider themselves as art enthusiasts.
Since 2005 the Australian visual artist
Emma Hack has been creating photographs of painted naked human bodies that visually merge with a patterned background wall inspired by the wallpaper designs of
Florence Broadhurst. Hack is best known for the
Gotye
Wouter André De Backer (; born 21 May 1980), known professionally as Gotye ( , , ), is a Belgian-born Australian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known for his 2011 single "Somebody That I Used to Know" (featuring Kimbr ...
music video for the song "
Somebody That I Used to Know
"Somebody That I Used to Know" is a song written, produced and performed by the Belgian-Australian musician and singer Gotye featuring vocals from the New Zealander singer Kimbra. The song was released in Australia and New Zealand through El ...
", which uses
stop-motion
Stop-motion (also known as stop frame animation) is an animation, animated filmmaking and special effects technique in which objects are physically manipulated in small increments between individually photographed frames so that they will appe ...
animation body painting and has received over 800 million views on
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
. Hack now creates her own canvas backgrounds and her work is often featured with live birds, representing nature. Hack's artworks are exhibited worldwide.
Michel Platnic is a French–Israeli
contemporary
Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...
visual artist. He is known for his "living paintings". He uses multiple mediums including photography, video, performance body-painting and painting . Platnic builds three-dimensional cinema sets that are a backdrop for his video and photography works and then he paints directly on the body of the living models he places within the sets. Using this technique, Platnic brought to life several scenes of paintings made famous by artists
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of nat ...
,
Egon Schiele
Egon Leo Adolf Ludwig Schiele (; 12 June 1890 – 31 October 1918) was an Austrian Expressionist painters, painter. His work is noted for its intensity and its raw sexuality, and for the many self-portraits the artist produced, including nude sel ...
,
David Hockney
David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English Painting, painter, Drawing, draughtsman, Printmaking, printmaker, Scenic design, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considere ...
and
Lucian Freud
Lucian Michael Freud (; 8 December 1922 – 20 July 2011) was a British painter and draughtsman, specialising in figurative art, and is known as one of the foremost 20th-century English portraitists.
His early career as a painter was inf ...
and placed them in a different context.

Los Angeles artist,
Paul Roustan, is known for his work in body painting and photography which spans both the fine art and commercial worlds. His body painting has garnered numerous awards, including winner of the North American Body Paint Championships.
Trina Merry is a body painter known for camouflaging models into settings, backgrounds and, in her "Lust of Currency" series, famous paintings. Merry's collection was exhibited during Miami
Art Basel
Art Basel is a for-profit, privately owned and managed, international art fair staged annually in Basel (Switzerland), Miami Beach (US), Hong Kong and Paris. Art Basel provides a platform for galleries to show and sell their work to buyers, an ...
in 2017 and at the Superfine! New York art fair in May 2018.
Peruvian artist
Cecilia Paredes is known for her style of painting her own body to camouflage herself against complex floral backgrounds and natural landscapes.
In the commercial arena
Many artists work professionally as body painters for television commercials, such as the Natrel Plus campaign featuring models camouflaged as trees. Stills advertising also used body painting with hundreds of body painting looks on the pages of the world's magazines every year. Body painters also work frequently in the film arena especially in science fiction with an increasing number of elaborate alien creations being body painted.
The ''
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
The ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit Issue is published annually by American magazine ''Sports Illustrated'' and features female fashion models, celebrities and athletes wearing swimwear in various locales around the world. The highly coveted ...
'', published annually, has frequently featured a section of models that were body painted, attired in renditions of swimsuits or sports jerseys. Also ''
Playboy
''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
'' magazine has frequently made use of body painted models. In the 2005 ''Playmates at Play at the Playboy Mansion'' calendar, all
Playmates appeared in the calendar wearing bikinis, but Playmates
Karen McDougal and
Hiromi Oshima actually appeared in painted-on bikinis for their respective months.
The success of body painting has led to many notable international competitions and a specific trade magazine (''Illusion Magazine'') for this industry, showcasing work around the world.
Face painting

Face painting is the artistic application of nontoxic paint to a person's face. The practice dates from
Paleolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...
times and has been used for ritual purposes, such as
coming-of-age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
ceremonies and funeral rites, as well as for hunting. Materials such as clay, chalk or henna have been used, typically mixed with pigments extracted from leaves, fruits or berries and sometimes with oils or fats.
Many peoples around the world practice face painting in modern times. This includes indigenous peoples in places such as Australia, Papua New Guinea, Polynesia and Melanesia. Some tribes in
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...
use the technique during rituals and festivals, and many of the
indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast
The Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast are composed of many nations and tribal affiliations, each with distinctive cultural and political identities. They share certain beliefs, traditions and prac ...
of North America now use it for ceremonies, having previously also used it for hunting and warfare. In India it is used in folk dances and temple festivals, such as in
Kathakali
''Kathakali'' (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: Kathakaḷi ) is a traditional form of Indian Classical Dance, and one of the most complex forms of Theatre of India, Indian theatre. It is a play of verses. These vers ...
performances, and
Mehndi
Mehndi () is a form of temporary skin decoration using a paste created with henna. In the West, mehndi is commonly known as henna tattoo, although it is not a permanent tattoo.
Mehndi is a popular form of body art in South Asia and resembl ...
designs are used at weddings. It is also used by Japanese
Geisha
{{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha
{{nihongo, Geisha{{efn, {{IPAc-en, lang, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ., ʃ, ə, {{IPA, ja, ɡei.ɕa, ɡeː-, lang{{cite book, script-title=ja:NHK日本語発音アクセント新辞典, publisher=NHK Publishing, editor= ...
and
Chinese opera
Traditional Chinese opera (), or ''Xiqu'', is a form of musical theatre in China with roots going back to the early periods in China. It is an amalgamation of various art forms that existed in ancient China, and evolved gradually over more tha ...
singers. Women in
Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
paint their faces with designs featuring stars, flowers and leaves using contrasting yellow and white wood paste called
masonjoany.
In some forms of Western
folk dance
A folk dance is a dance that reflects the life of the people of a certain country or region. Not all ethnic dances are folk dances. For example, Ritual, ritual dances or dances of ritual origin are not considered to be folk dances. Ritual dances ...
, such as
Border Morris, the faces of the dancers are painted with a black
pigment
A pigment is a powder used to add or alter color or change visual appearance. Pigments are completely or nearly solubility, insoluble and reactivity (chemistry), chemically unreactive in water or another medium; in contrast, dyes are colored sub ...
in a tradition that goes back to the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
. In the 18th century
cosmetic face painting became popular with men and women of the aristocracy and the
nouveau riche
; ), new rich, or new money (in contrast to old money; ) is a social class of the rich whose wealth has been acquired within their own generation, rather than by familial inheritance. These people previously had belonged to a lower social cla ...
, but it died out in
Western culture
Western culture, also known as Western civilization, European civilization, Occidental culture, Western society, or simply the West, refers to the Cultural heritage, internally diverse culture of the Western world. The term "Western" encompas ...
after the fall of the French aristocracy. During the 19th century
blackface
Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...
theatrical makeup gained popularity when it was used by non-black performers to represent
black people
Black is a racial classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin and often additional phenotypical ...
, typically in a minstrel show. Its use ended in the United States with the
Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. At about the same time the
hippie
A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...
movement adopted face painting, and it was common for young people to decorate their cheeks with flowers or
peace symbols
A number of peace symbols have been used many ways in various cultures and contexts. The dove and olive branch was used symbolically by early Christians and then eventually became a secular peace symbol, popularized by a ''Dove'' lithograph ...
at anti-war demonstrations.
In contemporary Western culture face painting has become an art form, with artists displaying their work at festivals and in competitions and magazines. Other western users include actors and clowns, and it continues to be used as a form of camouflage amongst hunters and the military. It is also found at entertainments for children and sports events.
For several decades it has been a common entertainment at county
fair
A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...
s, large open-air
market
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
*Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
*Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
*Marketing, the act of sat ...
s (especially in Europe and the Americas), and other locations that attract children and adolescents. Face painting is very popular among children at
theme park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...
s, parties and
festival
A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...
s throughout the Western world. Though the majority of face painting is geared towards children, many teenagers and adults enjoy being painted for special events, such as sports events (to give support to their team or country) or charity fund raisers.
In the military

It is common for soldiers in combat to paint their faces and other exposed body parts in colors such as green, tan, and
loam
Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–si ...
as
camouflage
Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...
. In various South American armies, it is a tradition to use face paint on parade in respect to the indigenous tribes.
Temporary tattoos
As well as paint, temporary tattoos can be used to decorate the body. "Glitter tattoos" are made by applying a clear,
cosmetic-grade glue (either freehand or through a stencil) on the skin and then coating it with cosmetic-grade
glitter
Glitter is an assortment of flat, small, reflective particles that are precision cut and come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Glitter particles resemble confetti, sparkles and sequins, but somewhat smaller.
Since prehistoric times ...
. They can last up to a week depending on the model's body chemistry.
Foil metallic temporary tattoos are a variation of decal-style temporary tattoos, printed using foil stamping technique instead of ink. On the front side, the foil design is printed as a mirror image in order to be viewed in the right direction once it is applied to the skin. Each metallic tattoo is protected by a transparent protective film.
Body paints

Modern water-based face and body paints are made according to stringent guidelines, meaning these are non-
toxic
Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subst ...
, usually non-
allergenic
An allergen is an otherwise harmless substance that triggers an allergic reaction in sensitive individuals by stimulating an immune response.
In technical terms, an allergen is an antigen that is capable of stimulating a type-I hypersensitivity ...
, and can easily be washed away. Temporary staining may develop after use, but it will fade after normal washing. These are either applied with hands, paint brush, and synthetic sponges or natural
sea sponge
Sponges or sea sponges are primarily marine invertebrates of the animal phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), a basal clade and a sister taxon of the diploblasts. They are sessile filter feeders that are bound to the seabed, and are o ...
, or alternatively with an
airbrush
An airbrush is a small, air-operated tool that atomizes and sprays various media, most often paint, but also ink, dye, and make-up. Spray painting developed from the airbrush and is considered to employ a type of airbrush.
History
Up unt ...
.
Contrary to the popular
myth
Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...
perpetuated by the
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
film ''
Goldfinger'', a person is not
asphyxia
Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects all the tissues and organs, some more rapidly than others. There are m ...
ted if their whole body is painted.
Liquid latex may also be used as body paint. Aside the risk of
contact allergy, wearing latex for a prolonged period may cause
heat stroke
Heat stroke or heatstroke, also known as sun-stroke, is a severe heat illness that results in a body temperature greater than , along with red skin, headache, dizziness, and confusion. Sweating is generally present in exertional heatstro ...
by inhibiting
perspiration
Perspiration, also known as sweat, is the fluid secreted by sweat glands in the skin of mammals.
Two types of sweat glands can be found in humans: eccrine glands and Apocrine sweat gland, apocrine glands. The eccrine sweat glands are distribu ...
and care should be taken to avoid the painful removal of hair when the latex is pulled off.
The same precautions that apply to
cosmetics
Cosmetics are substances that are intended for application to the body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering appearance. They are mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either Natural product, natural source ...
should be observed. If the skin shows any sign of
allergy
Allergies, also known as allergic diseases, are various conditions caused by hypersensitivity of the immune system to typically harmless substances in the environment. These diseases include Allergic rhinitis, hay fever, Food allergy, food al ...
from a paint, its use should immediately be ceased. Moreover, it should not be applied to
damaged, inflamed or sensitive skin. If possible, a test for allergic reaction should be performed before use. Special care should be paid to the list of ingredients, as certain dyes are not approved by the US
FDA
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...
for use around the eye area—generally those associated with certain reddish colorants, as CI 15850 or
CI 15985—or on lips, generally blue, purple or some greens containing
CI 77007. More stringent regulations are in place in California regarding the amount of permissible
lead
Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
on cosmetic additives, as part of
Proposition 65. In the European Union, all colorants listed under a
CI number are allowed for use on all areas. Any paints or products which have not been formulated for use on the body should never be used for body or face painting, as these can result in serious allergic reactions.
As for
Mehndi
Mehndi () is a form of temporary skin decoration using a paste created with henna. In the West, mehndi is commonly known as henna tattoo, although it is not a permanent tattoo.
Mehndi is a popular form of body art in South Asia and resembl ...
, natural brown henna dyes are safe to use when mixed with ingredients such as lemon juice. Another option is Jagua, a dark indigo plant-based dye that is safe to use on the skin and is approved for cosmetic use in the EU.
Body marbling

Hands and faces can be marbled temporarily for events such as festivals, using a painting process similar to traditional
paper marbling
Paper marbling is a method of aqueous surface design, which can produce patterns similar to smooth marble or other kinds of stone. The patterns are the result of color floated on either plain water or a viscous solution known as size, and then ca ...
, in which paint is floated on water and transferred to a person's skin. Unlike the traditional oil-based technique for paper, neon or ultraviolet reactive colours are typically used, and the paint is water-based and non-toxic.
Hand art
"Hand art" is the application of
make-up
Cosmetics are substances that are intended for application to the body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering appearance. They are mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources or created syn ...
or paint to a hand to make it appear like an animal or other object. Some hand artists, like
Guido Daniele, produce images that are ''
trompe-l'œil
; ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a Two-dimensional space, two-dimensional surface. , which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into perceiving p ...
'' representations of wild animals painted on people's hands.
Hand artists work closely with
hand models. Hand models can be booked through specialist acting and modeling agencies usually advertising under "body part model" or "hands and feet models".
Body glitter
The application of glitter and reflective ornaments to a woman's
breasts
The breasts are two prominences located on the upper ventral region of the torso among humans and other primates. Both sexes develop breasts from the same embryology, embryological tissues. The relative size and development of the breasts is ...
, often in the shape of a
bikini top or
crop top and sometimes alongside
nipple tassels, is known as glitter boobs. Like body paint, this decoration is popular with festivalgoers. Buttocks are also sometimes decorated in a similar manner,
and the adornment of the a woman's pubic area is known as a
vajazzle.
Media
Body painting features in various media. The popular TV variety show, ''
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for six seasons from January 22, 1968, to July 23, 1973, on the NBC television network. The show, hosted by comed ...
'', featured bodies painted with comedic phrases and jokes during transitions. ''
The Pillow Book
is a book of observations and musings recorded by Sei Shōnagon during her time as court lady to Fujiwara no Teishi, Empress Consort Teishi during the 990s and early 1000s in Heian-period Japan. The book was completed in the year 1002.
The wor ...
'', a 1996 film by
Peter Greenaway
Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a British film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Mannerist painting in particular. Common traits in his films a ...
, is centred on body painting. The 1990
American film ''
Where the Heart Is'' featured several examples of models who were painted to blend into elaborate backdrops as ''
trompe-l'œil
; ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a Two-dimensional space, two-dimensional surface. , which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into perceiving p ...
''. ''
Skin Wars'' is a body painting reality competition hosted by
Rebecca Romijn
Rebecca Alie O'Connell ( , ; later Romijn-Stamos; born November 6, 1972) is an American actress and former model. She is known for her role as Mystique in the original trilogy (2000–2006) of the ''X-Men'' film series, as Joan from '' The P ...
that premiered on
Game Show Network
Game Show Network (GSN) is an American basic cable channel owned by the television network division of Sony Pictures Television. The channel's programming is primarily dedicated to game shows, including reruns of acquired game shows, along wit ...
on August 6, 2014.
See also
*
Body art Body art is art in which the artist uses their human body as the primary medium.Oxford Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art, Oxford University, p. 88 Emerging from the context of Conceptual Art during the 1970s, Body art may include performanc ...
*
Corpse paint
*
Make up
Cosmetics are substances that are intended for application to the body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering appearance. They are mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources or created syn ...
*
Mehndi
Mehndi () is a form of temporary skin decoration using a paste created with henna. In the West, mehndi is commonly known as henna tattoo, although it is not a permanent tattoo.
Mehndi is a popular form of body art in South Asia and resembl ...
(so-called
henna
Henna is a reddish dye prepared from the dried and powdered leaves of the henna tree. It has been used since at least the ancient Egyptian period as a hair and body dye, notably in the temporary body art of mehndi (or "henna tattoo") resulti ...
tattoos)
References
External links
Ultimate Face Painting Tutorial for Beginners: Your step-by-step guide for learning how to face paintWorld Bodypainting Festival websiteQu’est-ce que le body painting?(article in French, archived from the original)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Body Painting
Body painting
Optical illusions
Special effects