Saturday, December 29, 2012

How-To: Easy(ish) Adventure Time Nail Art

Hello everyone! Lately I've been a little obsessed with Adventure Time, which you should definitely watch if you haven't already. After having an AT marathon yesterday, I was inspired to create a Princess Bubblegum and Finn manicure!

There are a few Adventure Time manicures floating around the internet, but many of them seemed quite difficult to achieve (especially without acrylic paint), so I tried to make mine a bit easier, but just as adorable.

Pssst- this hand was painted with my non-dominant hand (the left)! Really though, this design is pretty easy.


Step 1.) As always, make sure that your nails are completely clean, and then apply a base coat.

Step 2.) Follow the chart below to create Finn.

 

Row 1: Use a white striper to mark off a section of the nail for Finn's face and hat. Next, fill in the space with a white polish. You may need to apply two coats before the polish is opaque.
 
Row 2: Paint the bare tip of your nail with a blue polish to represent Finn's shirt. Then use a large/medium dotting tool to dab on two ovals on either side of Finn's hat.
 
Row 3: With the same dotting tool, use a light flesh colored polish for Finn's face. Create an oval by dotting a line of polish in the middle of the white section, and then carefully build around it until you're satisfied with the oval's size and shape. The trick to doing this with a dotting tool is to use plenty of polish and light, stippling motions so you don't dent the layer of polish underneath.
 
*You can always use a white striper to perfect the edges of the oval once the flesh toned polish has dried!
 
 
 


Step 3.) Follow the next two charts to create Princess Bubblegum.






 Frame 1: Swipe a line of pink polish down the center of the nail with a larger nail art brush, starting a bit above the cuticle.

Frame 2: Make another stroke that curves gently from the first. (Basically, you're just making a big oval).

Frame 3: Repeat step two on the other side of the nail, and fill in any gaps. Using one central stroke as a starting point for the curves will make sure that they are symmetrical.



 Row 1: With a pale lavender polish and a large/medium dotting tool, make a vertical line in the center of the pink oval. On one side of the line, make a short horizontal line and then gently curve it downward. Fill in any gaps, and make sure to keep the top edge of Bubblegum's face straight so that it looks as if she has bangs.

Row 2: After repeating the previous step on the other side of the nail, use a white striper to make a thin line across Bubblegum's forehead. Next, make a vertical line with the striper that connects to the center of the previous line. Wait for the white to dry, and then carefully go over it with a yellow polish. The white acts as a base to make the yellow appear more vibrant.

Row 3: With the same yellow polish and a medium dotting tool, make a dot at the top of Bubblegum's crown. Use the dotting tool to make the connections between the vertical and horizontal lines of the crown curved.


Step 4.) Give Finn and Bubblegum eyes and a mouth!

 
The eyes should sit quite far apart, and the mouth should be positioned between the eyes and only slightly downward.
 
* Princess Bubblegum should have a light blue jewel at the top of her crown- the yellow wasn't dry yet, so I made the faces before going back in with a small dotting tool and light blue polish.



Step 5.) Seal with a topcoat and you're done!

Products Used:

Finn:
Essie "Go Overboard", O.P.I "Don't Pretzel My Buttons"
 

Princess Bubblegum:

Essie "Pilates Hottie", Sephora by O.P.I (not sure of the color), Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear "Mellow Yellow", L'Oreal "Club Prive".
 
Both:
 


Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear "Black Out", Essie "Blanc", Kiss Nail Art Paint in white.
 
*I mixed a lot of my colored polishes with white to get the right shade, just as you would with acrylic paint.




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