Glitter Everywhere! What do I do?

Hi all! I asked in the body glitter tat how-to Cat posted, but I want to be sure to put it out where people can see.

I was able to do the body glitter. I opted for a simple-one color design (mostly because I was running out of studio time). I used a very fine red glitter. Keep in mind, before this, I'd never done a glitter tat (except for trying one out on myself, and another on my friend prior to the shoot). So basically, I painted on an area with the glue/paint mixture, then put glitter over the area, thinking I would brush off the excess like we did for elementary school glitter projects.

Yeah... right. This model had a fine film of glitter everywhere. We went with it. I'm not sure if she was wearing lotion, or if I should have made sure I kept glitter to the glued areas only. Another artist suggested baby powder first?

What do you all do with glitter tats? Is there a trick I'm missing?

Thanks!

Oh, and here's one of images quickie-edited (click on the thumbnail if you want to see it bigger). I was going for the Queen of Hearts meets Vegas Showgirl burlesque. But you can see all the extra glitter, especially around her neck. Even in the belly button.

packin tape or a lint roller. Takes it right off

is your photographer gonna photoshop the dirty floor??

Yeah... Like I said, it was a quick edit, and the final version I get won't have his name all over the bottom... Or else I may not let him share my bedroom anymore.

We tried some duct tape, and a lint brush (the red velvety kind is all we had). No good. I also tried a few brushes, paper towels (both dry and wet), and during clean-up she tried a shop-vac. Nada. Live and learn.

Cool!

I made my first 'stencils' of Canadian maple leafs and after trying the first one I thought it'd be a great idea to add glitter. I found the same thing, the glitter stuck everywhere. So I kept the stencil on after the paint was sponged on and quickly poofed some glitter on, THEN took off the stencil and it worked out much better.

So I can see how free hand glitter tattoo would be more messy. I'm thinking the sticky lint roller would be a good idea for the larger areas. It works for dust on lamp shades.

Baby powder on a fluffy brush... brush it off that way.

Nice design, a shame about the extra glitter.

Shannon, that makes sense! Barbers do that to get the tiny hairs off.

Thanks, LW! My model, um, really got into it! She's an actress.

Love the design lady!!!!
very pretty! I was patiently waiting for photos!

the baby powder does work the best although even it's not perfect. When that stuff's stuck it's ridiculous to get off the skin!!! Your model must have had some lotion on or was sweating a bit during the process of you painting her.
I've had the same thing happen when I was painting a phoenix on a girls shoulder one hot summer afternoon.

OH....and I used packing tape to get the extra off.....worked pretty well......

Another person at the Jam in Columbia said the green fantasy sponges work really well for cleaning the tat area and picking up extra glitter.

I am sorry to laugh, but she looks like she has hairy pits as well. I sure hope he is good at photoshop!

I am going to be honest here for a second. The glitter work is TERRIFIC!!, but I would not use this photo. The glitter film makes her look like she is hairy and diseased. People will have a field day with this one and I don't think you want the stress of it. With the amount of work involved in the photo clean-up, I would almost redo this one.

I am happy to donate some red glitter to the cause. Let me know.

-Metina

LOL!

I've only shared this with you guys for help! I have to go through the film with my husband again, there were some shots that weren't as bad.

And I'd started to try the photo editing to clean it up, but it's a nightmare. I may re-do it. Adding her was an afterthought. I'll post the bodypainitng I did when the pix are ready.

You can actually apply baby powder to the skin before doing the glitter tat. It doesn't really affect the adhesive, but it does help the stray glitter particles brush off easier.
You might also consider doing the glitter tat, then having the model shower off the excess before doing the body painting work and photos.
Rinsing off in the shower will also make the glitter more sparkly for the shoot.

Metina wrote:Another person at the Jam in Columbia said the green fantasy sponges work really well for cleaning the tat area and picking up extra glitter.

-Metina

Yep- that's how I get rid of the excess glitter when I do free-hand glitter.

But - and this is a biggie - when the models has super moisturized skin already it doesn't matter what you use to try and wipe off the excess.

So, while I haven't tried the baby powder (and I wouldn't want to alcohol wipe the whole body), I think I will opt for the baby powder.

JBax- how much glitter/glue did you use and how much time did the application take?

Thanks so much for sharing!
~Michelle Heffner

JBax wrote: I've only shared this with you guys for help!

Lemme clarify (I forget the brain disease makes me difficult to understand sometimes!)... I'm don't want to show the pic to anyone else but felt comfortable enough with ya'll to ask for help! I'm loving the suggestions!

The shower is a great idea! Especially when you figure we had to rent studio time. I could have completed it at her house. The glitter tat would travel really well, unlike a painted body, with coat, and heat in the car, etc.

I think I only worked on her for an hour. It seemed to go really fast. I got a good sized plastic bottle (imagine a giant poofer) to mix. I had it in my head that I would need a lot... Yeah... not so much. I'd say I put about 10 oz of the prosthetic adhesive, and maybe about 12 oz of liquid paint. I made WAY too much! I could have only made 2, maybe 4 oz total and been just fine. I could have gone longer and done more if I'd had the time. I would have liked to add gold design and a pinky color to highlight.

So: 1. I'm hoping my mixture doesn't mold and am considering keeping it in the fridge to slow down that process.
2. I'm wondering what the rules are in public parks for this kind of thing. I've got a host of ideas once it gets warm (and a few for when it snows again).

Oh, if it is the white acrylic based adhesive, like Michael Davvy's, I don't know if is it wise to store it in the refrigerator....that stuff is sensitive to extreme cold and turns to a solid if it gets anywhere close to freezing.