There comes a time in every nail technician's career in which he or she must learn the delicate process of free hand painting. This advanced technique is the most technically challenging in the nail art practice, but it is also one of the most rewarding. For some people, becoming proficient at free hand painting takes time, but once mastered it becomes second nature. By carefully studying every design that you plan to undertake before you attempt to execute it, you will slowly begin to see the pieces coming together, and it won't seem that complicated after all!
If you need extra help, I would strongly recommend that you consider going to a free hand painting course. This is the fasted way to learn the basics of this technique and start down the road to being an expert nail artist. You may also find it helpful to start with simpler designs first and then slowly work your way up to the tougher ones. This “Poppy Flowers” design is really the perfect place to start. Once you have mastered this one, then you can start experimenting with more difficult cutting edge designs.
We'll get started with this Poppy Flowers design in just a minute. Since it doesn't require any straight lines or tight angles, it should be a pretty simple pattern to follow. Just remember to keep your movements as natural as possible. Splendid; now let's get down to it!
What you’ll Need: 3 x Liners (black, white, red), top coat Skill Level: Beginner Technique: Hand Painting
Step 1 – First lets take the red liner and paint an organic looking five leaf flower head. The petals do not need to be symmetric. In fact, it's better if they're not!
Step 2 – Now that you've created the flower head, try to give it a little more depth by making lines from the edge of the flower to the centre with quick short motions. This should cause the paint to rise off of the surface of the nail slightly, creating a more dynamic effect.
Step 3 – Now, use a black liner to paint two small lines on each leaf, making ten lines in total.
Step 4 – Now you can use the same black liner to create a stem from the edge of the flower head to the tip of the nail. This line should be slightly jagged rather than straight, lending it a natural look. If you'd like, try painting the stem in green liner instead of black.
Step 5 – Next, use a dotting tool with white polish to make between four and six small dots at the centre of the flower head.
Step 6 – Sometimes, in order to give this design some additional life, I like to paint a second flower with next to the first with a head that is just beginning to bud. To do this, you will first paint a second black stem with a downward curving top.
Step 7 – Next, paint a small red bud at the tip of the stem.
Step 8 – To keep the design protected, apply a top coat over the entire nail.
And, Voilà! You're finished! I usually like to leave half or more of the nails blank, with a simple French manicure. This tends to look more graceful than a completely filled in design. Just paint flowers on four or five of the nails.
