Do you want to paint your nails and be on trend? Apply a floral or openwork pattern on one or maximum of two fingers. If you like a delicate manicure, choose a base in pastels, white shades and beige, and for lovers of bright designs, a rich dark palette in blue, purple, black and red will suit you.
Necessary materials
To master even the simplest techniques, you need high-quality materials. Your kit should contain:
- Acrylic paints
- Watercolor paints
- Base and top coat
- Gel polishes of different shades
- Set of brushes
- Tips
- Palette
- Training cards for beginners
- Napkins and towel
- UV or LED lamp
- Stamping kit
- Dehydrator, degreaser, stick remover
- Files and buffs
- Additional sets for individual artistic painting techniques (optional)
- Rhinestones, sparkles, stucco molding, foil, melange, flock, acrylic powder for additional decor
This list is comprehensive for those new to nail art. With increasing skill and mastering new nail art techniques, the list will expand and be supplemented. Fashion trends in nail design, which are often based on the emergence of new materials, are also of great importance. Stock up on what you need and start exciting experiments.
Geometry for different lengths
For long nails
Gives more room for creativity. The easiest way to decorate a black and white manicure is to apply stripes of varying lengths and widths. They must be perfectly even to create a strict, but at the same time elegant pattern. The stripes can be located vertically, horizontally or randomly. Many combinations will allow you to create a unique fashionable manicure with a graphic design over and over again.
Geometric manicure offers an attractive and flirty solution - a polka dot pattern. This decor will look great on both a glossy and matte finish. It goes well with the same print on clothes, is suitable for an everyday look and at the same time a winning option with a formal evening dress.
For short nails
A manicure with a geometric design is very easy and simple to play with the design of short nails. Various graphic patterns and shapes (circles, triangles, trapezoids, rhombuses, etc.), as well as cells, spheres, clear lines of different thicknesses and colored mosaics, will assemble and expand the space according to your desire.
Typically, for geometric manicure on short nails, neutral colors without halftones are used, such as red, black, blue, green, white and nude. Adding a gold or silver accent to them also looks original and beautiful. But you don’t need to limit yourself to just these shades, because you can experiment with any color scheme.
What brushes are needed for painting nails?
The key to creating a neat, beautiful pattern in nail design is a properly selected brush.
There should be several of them in your set. Each will be responsible for a certain type of strokes. This is very important when making a drawing in Chinese technique with complex multi-level elements.
Each brush differs in length, thickness, shape, and angle of inclination. You can select both natural and artificial brushes in the set.
The brushes are:
- Thin long and thin short for fine touches
- Flat not hard
- Brushes with stiff bristles for adding texture
- Fan
- Beveled
To practice drawing techniques, beginners can purchase training cards that depict individual painting elements. They allow you to bring your strokes to an automatic level before working on your nails.
Manicure brushes - types, purpose, how to choose and care
Aquarium nail design
When you first hear the phrase “aquarium design,” a picture of a round, pot-bellied aquarium immediately appears in your mind’s eye. And there a goldfish swims forlornly inside, around the ceramic ruins of an “ancient castle”. But in fact, aquarium design is an amazingly beautiful manicure, which consists of many small details and decorative elements coated with a transparent gel.
Despite the fact that the procedure is quite new, it already has many fans. It is performed on extended nails and takes longer than an artistic manicure. The finished nail looks like a three-dimensional painting under glass.
Aquarium nail design
The advantage of the aquarium design is that the created design can be worn for up to three months; all you need to do is arrive on time for correction and correct the overgrown part of the nail. If you are tired of the pattern, don’t like it, or need to change the color of the nail, simply apply a layer of colored varnish to the plate.
To create an image in this style, the choice of materials is practically unlimited. Pebbles, sparkles, rhinestones, shells, flowers, beads and more, in the end everything will be filled with a layer of gel. They also use colored foil, ribbons, multi-colored threads, lace, and feathers. You can also make a composition from molded acrylic flowers and combine them with artistic painting.
A manicure is performed in several stages. First, the nail is cleaned, the length is adjusted and a base layer of gel is applied. And from this moment the creation of a miracle begins. The master combines and slightly consolidates the composition. The complexity of the design depends on the experience of the artist or the design chosen by the client. The finished image is covered with a layer of gel. Next, the shape of the nail is adjusted, the surface is polished until completely transparent. The final touch is to apply the sealing coating.
A well-done aquarium manicure will guarantee a good mood. And the chosen design will emphasize the individuality and character traits of its owner.
Chinese painting technique: implementation features and step-by-step instructions
The secret to successful painting in the Chinese style is confident use of a brush and mastering different types of strokes.
The design looks impressive on long extended nails with a sharp shape. On short nails it is better to draw individual elements. For beginners, it is recommended to combine several basic types of strokes in one combination.
You will need acrylic paints that have the right consistency for artistic painting, a background varnish of a neutral shade, and a fixative.
- Prepare your nails for design, remove the old coating and buff the surface. Use a degreaser to remove dust and remove excess moisture.
- Apply the base and dry it in a lamp.
- Cover your nails with one or two layers of gel polish in a background red shade, as in the photo.
- Prepare a palette with black, white, pink, brown, green paints. During the work, you will need to mix them with each other and with water to obtain the desired shade.
- Using a brush with coarse bristles, apply a dark background along the bottom of the nail, blending the edge well so that there are no sharp lines.
- Use a flat brush to draw the buds.
- Use an angled brush to paint the petals.
- Using a thin short brush, complete the design with stems and small droplet elements, as in the photo.
The most difficult thing is to accurately create chiaroscuro transitions between contrasting shades. Artistic painting in Chinese technique will require the ability to draw and preliminary practice of strokes on training cards.
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Publication from MANICURE PEDICURE SAMARA (@veratimonina_nails)
If this design seems complicated, consider simpler options below.
Fruits
Very juicy and “tasty” fruit designs are especially important to choose for the summer season. They are bright, colorful and with such a manicure you will not be bored. On your nails there may be slices of lemon, orange, watermelon, kiwi, lime, as well as a variety of berries.
Painting nails with graphic elements
In addition to the exquisite floral designs made using Chinese techniques, consider simpler and more elegant brush painting techniques using graphics. In this direction, lines, strokes, semicircles, dots, peas, triangles, and rectangles are used to draw nails.
It is convenient to draw graphics with long and short thin brushes, as well as beveled brushes of different thicknesses.
In the absence of brushes, graphic designs can be easily applied using tape, adhesive tape and stencils.
Manicure design with watercolors
Floral design
Roses painted in one color look perfect against a dark background. They can be decorated with rhinestones or bouillons. We draw the petals from a point in the center or in the reverse order, pulling out each petal with a thin brush. Poppies, daisies, dandelions, and irises look beautiful in this style.
Marine theme
The tones are predominantly blue-green. Drawing is simple: randomly apply dots on the substrate and let it spread unhindered. You can decorate with an applique: an anchor, a fish, a ship, a shell, a starfish or a horse.
Reptile skin
The color scheme here can be varied: shades of green, blue, pink, gray. They usually combine two colors that match the tone, creating the natural color of the reptile's skin: yellow and orange, gray and black. The design is applied in the same way as the marine theme, but in a checkerboard pattern.
Abstract pattern
Here the designer’s imagination has nowhere to go. You can depict curls, chaotic lines, circles of different diameters. The color range is as wide as possible. The photo below is full of ideas for creating an abstract design.
Marble image
As with the reptile skin patterns, two shades of watercolor are used. These can be contrasting or similar colors. The “stone” motif is made rough or veined.
Animals
Cats, dogs, birds and fish are especially popular among fashionistas. They complement your everyday look well and lift your mood on weekdays. You can get ideas for drawing from children's books. Such models require high artistic talent from the master.
There are many design variations, it all depends on the imagination and talent of the nail artist. The more painstaking the work, the more skills and time it will take to create a unique image.
Lace painting
It is done with a thin brush using small strokes from large strokes to smaller ones. A background of a neutral or bright shade is first applied, the sticky layer is removed, and then the drawing is done. After drying, it is secured with a top coat. Beginners should consider using the stamping technique, which allows you to create a beautiful lace design on your nails in a matter of minutes.
Openwork manicure - lace on nails
Landscapes
Landscape drawings are also classified as complex types of drawing. After all, here the drawing itself is carried out in detail, and the background of the nail coating itself is also harmoniously selected. It is in this tandem that a landscape manicure will look perfect. You can choose your own landscape design for each season, which will allow you to always keep up with the times.
Flower painting
If it’s difficult for you to draw roses, try painting with daisies, cornflowers on a nude or beige background. Flowers are popular in the spring and summer season. They will beautifully complement light, airy outfits. To complete the drawing you will need a flat and angled brush. Additionally, you can outline the flower with a black border for contrast and add bright color in the design of small details.
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Publication from Alla Zop-Hadzhikova (@alla__nail__master)
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