Freehand Glitter tass/ whole body/ tips in general

[Wildcatfin]

I did my 1st glitter tatt (freehand!) at a bodypaint comp in Wales this summer and loved it! Addicted now and looking forward to receiving the kit I won. So hope you don't mind but thought I'd post what I had learned. All the pics are from my 1st few booking so I'm still learning but I love it!

I now offer it as a service and its really popular Uk AND HK.
I don't use stencils; I leave that for the DIY table I offer as well (mainly for adults/ teens) where I have tiny kits of puffers etc made up. I reckon if they see me doing far more intricate unusual stuff they appreciate its an art and not an easy thing with a stencil they could do themselves.

Met a painter in UK who did it with water soluble spirit gum - OK, nice idea as it washes off but that glue is horrible to work with precisely and the whole point of glitter tatts is they are not so ephemeral AND are waterproof! Tried it over a bodypaint that way and it sucked. So I stick to Prosaide etc - body glues, the good ones by Mehron or Graftobian as i can get big bottles.

My BIG tip is to dye your glue - I add small crumbs of a strong colour of f-p (like wolfe) and shake it up until the glue is coloured. I have the glue in a sort of applicator tip bottle (not a puffer) and just draw it straight onto the skin. So when the glue dries I can still see it!


I have all my glitters in puffers, colours labelled so I can see if working in clubs and my headtorch is struggling. I stick to opaque glitter, having seen the effects from ones that aren't its a bit pointless. Also I have some of the mica powders which give a 'real' tatt effect - the guys love the fake maori tatt look at the rugby 7s.

This is an odd one -

she wanted 'bird wings a cat had chewed'. And don't get me started on the one who had a pic from the Kama Sutra she wanted on her back (I missed out the rude bits but boy that was hard).

I use an alcohol spray to clean the skin 1st; for the DIY table I have the wee rip open individual sachets for them. And tell them to wipe down the used stencil with it too.

Why do you all draw on the skin 1st? I would have thought that would waste time AND create a layer that would stop the tatt lasting as long? If you can draw it in eyeliner why can't you draw directly with the glue?

Drips are usually easy to disguise and I do try to get whatever i paint flat & horizontal which helps.

I now only use a brush for big areas on bodies; the rest is the bottle tip of glue doing it. Took a couple of practice tatts on me to get it but is great now.
Tip from bibi is to keep a small container of washing up liquid for your gloopy brush - stops the brush getting sticky, somehow, works better than the proper removers or alcohol!
This was a 1st attempt with a brush:

This was with the bottle - much better!


I clean stuff or do another glue on someone whilst waiting for it to dry, then start glittering. I have a great glitter tray i got from the UK - you know the kind? For glittering cards in - raised edge to catch it all then a plugged hole at the bottom end you can open to easily pour it all back into a glitter pot after. So i keep that under wherever i am doing the stuff, and just squirt (or dribble - depends on the hole in the puffer - I usually make them a bit bigger) asstd colours on. So you can be quite precise AND fast and not get a sticky brush if a bit wasn't dry. Then brush around/ squish on and hey presto.

Know what you mean with the glitter sometimes sticking even when i wiped down with alcohol before. Here in HK we are very humid too. So i keep a few damp clean facecloths handy to get the worst off after brushing off hasn't worked. And tell them it will look even better the next day/ after a shower:)

LOVE the 'full' body tatts - have pics of the 1st torso test shoot i did and its fantastic to do as well as the end product. Think it may become my 'thing' especially as you can do it the night before and save such a stress if you have a load of bodies to do. Plus with rubbing alcohol the girl said it was not bad to get off in a hot shower.
She is wearing scuplted breast prosthetics...





What was interesting was to see even the pro photog couldn't get decent sparkles on the glitter - my own efforts the flash bleaches it out as well as losing the sparkle...

Cat x

[Sherry]

Hi Cat,

Love this post and all the useful info.  I'm wondering what you charge for the freehand tats?  When you do back designs or any design where their body is in a position where the glitter is hard to apply, do you have them bend over, or what is your method?  I find this part of glitter tattoos a bit awkward at times.  I find a lot of things about glitter tattoos tricky at times.

I've also noticed that many times it seems to take an eternity waiting for the preliminary alcohol rub to dry and then the glue to dry.  Do you think I'm applying the alcohol too liberally to begin with?  I use the alcohol rubs that come prepackaged in those little squares.

You've given me a lot of ideas.  I might have to break out my glitter tattoo kit and do some revamping and try some things.   

[Alison]

Nice, Cat -

The picture of you holding a litl container - Is that a container of stuff for washing the brush?  Or is it the container of glue that you paint with?  Or is it a container of glitter that you poof with?

[Party Picassos Facepainting]

BBBB uuuuuuu tiful work! Imaginative and so sparkly. A job very well done!

[Wildcatfin]

Thanks guys!

I charge by the hour for glitter tatts; a bit more than I do for face stuff as it tends to welly thru the glitter. I very rarely do ppf any more.

OK, I always get them to have the surface as horizontal as poss; so for arms/ backs they have to to bend/ rest on the chair or whatever. I do tend to be quite picky about what I will paint & where, and tell them its pointless in less flat/ accessible areas. For the body she lay on a mat.

Re the alcohol; I mainly use the wee squares too but just a quick rub and it evaporates almost instantly. I hate the waste of packageing but tho I'd prefer to use my alochol spray and a facecloth, the cloth quickly gets 'dirty' and the spray is a bit 'broad', often.

If the glue takes a while and I have a queue,  I go on and glue the next person or at least prep them, saves time. Same with the wipes, actually, you can get them to do it whilst you wait for glue on the 1st person to dry, or do a bunch at once.

the wee container is a squeezy-tipped bottle i put my dyed glue in, its what I now mainly use to 'paint' with. Saves sticky brushes and gives nice fine lines once you are used to it. 2 bottles lasted me 6 hrs at a ball last month.

cat x

[Alison]

Thanks Cat ~ 
I sure wish I knew what sort of a squeezy-tipped bottle you use for the glue.
It looks like a pouffer bottle?  But wouldn't the glue application be too thick?
Do I see an extra plastic 'spatula' attached to the tip?  A special bottle?

Does anybody Sell the glue in tipped bottles like that?  (It looks almost like an Elmer's tip would be better?)  Did you then do something to adapt it for your use?

Thanks, Cat - you seem to be one of our Glitter-Tattoo Specialists

[Wildcatfin]

I import mine from bibi on http://www.facepaint-uk.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=202&keyword=&manufacturer_id=0&Itemid=127&orderby=product_sku&limit=50&limitstart=50
the 'bottle with fine nozzle'. t takes a bit of getting used to - I use pro-adhesive from the big bottles rather than glitter tatt glue; and its quite runny. Yoy often don't need to squeeze and have to sort of drip n drag. Elmers glue would be wayyy to big a hole for this - this is like a poofer botle but finer, I think.

Nope not an expert, did my 1st this Aug and was lucky enough to come 2nd behind Bibi in the Welsh Internationals...just love it though!

Rarely offer it apart from for adults gigs and as body coverings, my new thing. Have another dancer booked next week, can't wait.

Cat x