Introduction: Neko Atsume Fish and Socks Nails Using NO TOOLS!!!

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About: I am a mixed martial artist that just happens to love art, design, cooking, and instructables :)

Ever since my bear nails have started fading away (tb to my last nail tutorial) I've been thinking up of new and fresh ways to paint my nails that are unlike any others on the web. This time, I hit you guys up with a partly nerdy, partly catty, but fully awesome new idea on how to paint my nails....Neko Atsume style!! For all you fans out there of the hit app, this one's for you. And, best part of it all, it's totally tool-free!

Step 1: Materials!

For this tutorial, you'll need a black (I used Black Out by Pure Ice) a blue (mine was Santorini-70177 by Julie G) a green (this one was another Julie G, Gelato in Venice-70112) a red (the one I used was generic) a yellow (I used gold for some extra pizzaz, this one was by Covergirl) a white (mine was 909-Sheer Pearl by Revlon) and a top coat and base coat (mine was ultimate shield by Sally Hansen). And don't forget your toothpick!! You'll need at least two for this tutorial.

Step 2: Fishies! Step 1

First, make sure you apply a base coat to all your nails. The fish will be on all your nails except your pointer finger nail (or your thumb nail, whichever nail you prefer to keep open) so keep that in mind.
Take your toothpick, and dip it in your red color (a good sized glob at the end will do well). To make the fish body, start in the middle of your nail and make a small circle shape, tapered a tiny bit at the end. To make the tail, (using your toothpick as well for this) make a little curve at the end of your circle, and extend it all the way down near the tip of your nail. Box it off, almost like you're making a small sideways rectangle, and close any gaps it may have with the rest of the paint on your toothpick.

Step 3: Fishies! Step 2

Using the other side of your toothpick, dip it into the green polish this time, making sure to coat the sides. Using the side of the toothpick, stripe on little green seaweeds on the side of your nail (it could be either side, depending on which side has the most room) I drew on three stripes, one long, one shorter, and one barely noticeable, but you can vary with the sizes.

Step 4: Fishes! Step 3

Now for the bubbles!! To make these bubbles, take the second toothpick, and put some of your blue color on. Make sure you have enough color on the tip, but not so much that it will make the bubbles look more like ugly globs. Anyways, using the tip of the toothpick, dot on tiny bubbles right above the fish's "nose." I drew around 3 bubbles (4 on my thumb) each one varying in size, from small to bigger. To make a bigger bubble, slather a little more polish onto the toothpick.

Step 5: Fishies! Step 5

The last and final step, is the simplest of all the steps!! All you have to do is take the other end of that second toothpick, and dip the tip of it into your black color. Using the very very tip of the toothpick (make sure there is only a little dot of polish on it) dot a tiny black eye onto the fish's head, right near it's "nose." I liked to give the illusion that my fish was looking up at its bubbles, so I dotted my fish's eye right near the top or middle of its head, but you can do whatever you want!

Step 6: Socks! Step 1

Now onto the kitty Socks! I chose Socks for this tutorial because he's cute and simple to make, but you can experiment with your favorite cats too!
To make Socks, you'll need to take your black color's brush and start from one end of your nail and swipe up and over in a circular motion until you've made a small half circle taking up a little under half of your nail.

Step 7: Socks! Step 2

Now for the ears! To make the ears, either reuse one of the ends of your toothpick, or grab a third one. Coat the toothpick in your white color (the sides as well) and draw on the ears. Make sure you start at the far right or left of your black circle, and make the ear by holding your pick at an angle and letting the sides do all your work, using the tip to make the cat ear point. Do this for the other side of the ear, creating a triangle shape, and filling in the inside of the ear with more white polish if there are gaps.
If the white gets onto your black circle, go over your circle with black polish after your ears are done, ensuring no rough white edges show on your final product.

Step 8: Socks! Step 3

The last and final step, the eyes!! Using your yellow color (in this tutorial I used gold) and the other end of your third toothpick or an existing end, dip it into the yellow, leaving only a small drop of yellow at the very tip of the toothpick. Dot on Socks' eyes right above the very tip of your nail, making sure they are a good distance apart from each other. My eyes are looking straight ahead, but for an added effect, you can dot them on close together looking to one side, almost as if they are looking at the fish you just painted on!

Step 9: Done!

And there you have it guys! A cute, easy nail art tutorial that will be sure to wow any onlookers, and evoke conversation in all you fans out there. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial as much as I did, and if you ever try this, make sure to show me in the comments!! Thank you! :)