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Step 2Painting your ears
If you are able to snag a pair of painted ears, you can totally skip this step (or just read this step to see all the work you get to avoid). Purchasing pre-painted ears not only avoids quite a bit of work, but also saves you from purchasing supplies that you will only use rarely (RMG make-up, sponges, setting powder, powder puffs) since once the ears are painted with a coat of RMG make-up, the make-up should last for at least 6 months without needing touch-ups.
The problem with the typical way of painting prosthetics is that it requires you to put make-up directly on your skin. That means every time you want to wear your ears, you'll have to blend them into your skin again! We want to avoid this. Our goal is to get the ears close to your skin tone, and then use "cheats" to hide the seams and the subtle differences in color.
Depending on your skin tone, I have found certain colors by Graftobian that work well for specific skin tones. These colors and more are all now available at Aradani Studios.
Fair skin: 1) Medium Highlight, 2) Sierra, and 3) Rose Blush
Tanned Skin: 1) Dark Bronze or Warm Tan, 2) Sierra, and 3) Rose Blush
Dark Skin: Warm Tan or Milk Chocolate or Ebony (depending on the tone of your skin)
The easiest way to visualize painting the ears is to think about the elf ear in three sections, 1) the body, 2) the flap, and 3) the back curve. The numbers on the above colors match the numbers of the sections of the ear. For example, on fair skin ears, first paint the body of the ear with Medium Highlight. Second, paint the flap with Sierra, and blend the two colors together. Finally, using just a small amount of Rose Blush, touch up the back curve to add a slight red tint to the ears.
The reason we paint a lighter tone on the flap is that most people's temples are lighter in tone than the rest of their ear. And we paint the reds along the back curve because people's ears are naturally more pink along the back curve due to the amount of blood near the surface of the skin. For some reason, most people I see who paint their own ears do NOT paint the red tints. It makes a big difference in realistic versus fake! If painting your own ears, PLEASE pay a few dollars to get a small red container of make-up!
When painting tanned ears, follow the same three section process. For darker skin tones, usually just find the make-up that best matches your skin, and paint a solid, single coat over the entire ear.
Once you have painted the ears, you need to set with make-up with powder:
1) Dab your powder puff in the powder.
2) Pat the powder all over the ear, it will now have a chalky look to it.
3) Wipe off any remaining powder with the puff.
The photos below all show the Aradani Studios small anime ear. The painting process is the same for any type of elf ear you buy, no matter how long or short.
The problem with the typical way of painting prosthetics is that it requires you to put make-up directly on your skin. That means every time you want to wear your ears, you'll have to blend them into your skin again! We want to avoid this. Our goal is to get the ears close to your skin tone, and then use "cheats" to hide the seams and the subtle differences in color.
Depending on your skin tone, I have found certain colors by Graftobian that work well for specific skin tones. These colors and more are all now available at Aradani Studios.
Fair skin: 1) Medium Highlight, 2) Sierra, and 3) Rose Blush
Tanned Skin: 1) Dark Bronze or Warm Tan, 2) Sierra, and 3) Rose Blush
Dark Skin: Warm Tan or Milk Chocolate or Ebony (depending on the tone of your skin)
The easiest way to visualize painting the ears is to think about the elf ear in three sections, 1) the body, 2) the flap, and 3) the back curve. The numbers on the above colors match the numbers of the sections of the ear. For example, on fair skin ears, first paint the body of the ear with Medium Highlight. Second, paint the flap with Sierra, and blend the two colors together. Finally, using just a small amount of Rose Blush, touch up the back curve to add a slight red tint to the ears.
The reason we paint a lighter tone on the flap is that most people's temples are lighter in tone than the rest of their ear. And we paint the reds along the back curve because people's ears are naturally more pink along the back curve due to the amount of blood near the surface of the skin. For some reason, most people I see who paint their own ears do NOT paint the red tints. It makes a big difference in realistic versus fake! If painting your own ears, PLEASE pay a few dollars to get a small red container of make-up!
When painting tanned ears, follow the same three section process. For darker skin tones, usually just find the make-up that best matches your skin, and paint a solid, single coat over the entire ear.
Once you have painted the ears, you need to set with make-up with powder:
1) Dab your powder puff in the powder.
2) Pat the powder all over the ear, it will now have a chalky look to it.
3) Wipe off any remaining powder with the puff.
The photos below all show the Aradani Studios small anime ear. The painting process is the same for any type of elf ear you buy, no matter how long or short.
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Mar 7, 2008. 10:19 AMrosa draconum
says:
I was looking on the Graftobian website, and they don't seem to carry "Sierra" as a shade of RMG. Any recommendations on what should be used instead?
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1
Jun 11, 2008. 4:24 PMkalessaradan (author)
says:
Just wanted to let you know that because of demand created by this instructable, Aradani Studios now sells Graftobian brand RMG make-up on our website (and it is cheaper than getting it directly from Graftobian). So now you can get ears and RMG at the same place and save on shipping costs. RMG make-up
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