Marlos' Costuming and Bodypainting
Bodypainting
Recently, I've taken up bodypainting as a part of my costuming and for the simple
enjoyment of it. I've divided it into sections based on the events for which the
face/bodypainting was done. I try and do this as often as I can make an excuse
for it. :P
Table of Contents:
1. Hallowe'en 1997: Back when it all began.
2. Duckon7: My first furry convention.
3. Toronto Trek: Which we raided after a bodypainting session.
4. Feral!: Facepainting and head casting at Algonquin Park.
5. AIDS Walk Toronto: walking for a great cause.
6. Practice Session: Painting, a movie and a pub.
7. Hallowe'en 1998: Full circle.
8. Latex Session: experimenting with latex painting.
9. Further Confusion: Bodypainting at the con.
10. Cheetah: P.Pardus uses me as a canvas.
11. Parade: Spatter and myself at a local parade.
12. Feral99!: Facepainting workshop at Feral99!
13. Hallowe'en 1999: Facepainting at the annual furry party in TO.
14. Parade: Parade in TO.
15. Feral! 2000: Painting Giza for my workshop.
16. Aids Walk Toronto 2000: Cheetah on the Walk.
17. Pride 2001: Toronto Pride Parade 2001.
i. Appendix: More about my painting.
Hallowe'en 1997
For Hallowe'en of 1997, I finally constructed my 'Marlos, the Flying Tiger' costume. I wore it the whole day and it even won the campus' costuming contest. This is what ended up starting it all. And on the day before Halloween of '98, the department finally developed the film, so there's some new pics.
Posing at the bookstore
Crouching pose
Standing pose
Crouching pose, on campus
Standing pose, on campus
Working at the office
Hard at work
Marlos at Duckon VII
I attended Duckon VII (June 12-14, 1998) and had a great time running around in various forms of my costume. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pics of myself, so these are the pics that I've managed to collect from others.
Toronto Trek
Recently, a few furs and I did some bodypainting and then we went to Toronto Trek (July 10th to 12th) and had a great time. We made it in time for the end of the dance and then hung around for some room parties. At one of the room parties, we were fortunate enough to meet Jason Carter (Marcus Cole the Ranger from Babylon 5). He was most impressed (and even more inebriated). Here's a bunch of photos.
The Canvases
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Silfur: the cheetah
Torso, front
Painting, side view
Torso, front
Posing, front
Posing, face
Posing, back
Front view
Posing, side
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Marlos: the tiger
Scritchies from Jason Carter
Posing, front
Posing, back
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Starwolf: the wolf
Posing, front
With Jason Carter largeand small
Posing, front
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Group:
Benjamin, Marlos, Ryan and Silfur (left to right)
Silfur and Starwolf Dancing
Silfur, Starwolf and Wilykat (left to right)
The trio: front
The trio: posing
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At Feral!, Melskunk and I ran a facepainting workshop.
Here's a sample of the faces that were done.
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Black cat
Deuce, a calico cat
Melskunk as a cheetah
Pantheris, the tiger
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As well at Feral!, there was a costuming workshop on casting and prosthetics
which I took. It was ran by Smash with the assistance of Rex. Rex was done
(full head cast) as a sample by Smash while others observed. Later, Lucius,
Bleis and SuperJay worked to make a cast of my face (Thanks again!) Here's
some photos of the process which was used.
Rex: head casting
1. Algenate
2. Cover everything
3. Divider strip
4. Plaster
5. Full front section
6. Grafiti & seperate back
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Marlos: face casting
7. Skullcap
8. Algenate
9. Plaster
10. Cover face
11. Plaster curing
12. Negative removed
13. Positive casting
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If you'd like to know more about what I did at Feral!, just go view my
con report and my full set of photos from there.
More info can be found about the event by clicking on the 'Feral!' text above.
AIDS Walk Toronto
Silfur and I have gotten painted up for the AIDS Walk in Toronto (Sept 26th) which is done to raise awarness about and funding for AIDS research across Canada. After the walk, we wandered the city for a while and then went to a Looney Toons film festival.
Practice Session
Silfur, Spots and I held a practice painting session on October 2nd. Silfur and I also decided to switch roles: I became a cheetah and he became a tiger. We did Spots up as a dalmation. Afterwards, Silfur and I met up with the furry crowd for the premiere of Antz, then an evening at the Fox's Den (a local pub).
This Hallowe'en, the Toronto Furries held a costume party with a face and bodypainting session before hand. Click on the link to see the photos.
Latex Session
Having made contact with LPnR, another local bodypainter, we decided to get together on January 10th and try an experiment with dyed latex. By making a 2:1 mix of latex and Liquitex acrylic paint, we got a well-coloured latex that would remove easily when soaked in water. As this was just a test, we only did the front of our chests and our arms.
Marlos in tiger style
Marlos again
LPnR as zebra
Back in January, I travelled down to California for Further Confusion, a new furry convention. Several furs did bodypainting, either on their own or with my assistance. Yes, I know I should have had this pics up long ago, but I kept putting it off.
Cheetah, by P.Pardus
P.Pardus asked me if I'd like to volunteer my face as a canvas for painting. I decided that I'd like to go as a cheetah for a change. The work took about two hours to complete and then we took several photos. I wore the paint that evening to the community center gathering and to two clubs afterwards. With Silfur's help, it even won me an 'Enter the Haggis' t-shirt!
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Enter the Haggis t-shirt
Parade
Spatter and I got painted up for a local parade recently Unless noted, the pics were taken by Spatter's friend Isaac (who helped with the painting). I got painted as my usual tiger and Spatter as a cheetah. He spent many hours making a skeletal tail which sways and bounces nicely for fuller motion. Unfortunately, I rained quite a bit that day, but fortunately not during the parade itself. Everyone watching the parade loved the paint jobs and I must have posed for over a hundred photos.
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Feral99!
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During the late summer of 1999, TRAACS once again held Feral!, a furry summer camp/convention, held at Camp Kinark. As in the previous year, I ran my facepainting course, with the assistance of Bleis and Superjay (who covered prosthetics). I was much busier this year and had no opportunity for painting myself, as I was more involved in running the camp. Among those who attended my workshop, here's the pictures of those who got painted during the workshop: Adelor the Lion, Giza the Leopard and Melpurik the Leopard.
Bleis, as a cougar. Part of prosthetic demo. (photo by SuperJay)
The Class: Adelor, Melpurik, Giza and myself.
Adelor, as a lion.
Adelor again (photo by Thraxarious).
Adelor again (photo by Bungee).
Giza, the leopard.
Giza juggling (photo by Bungee).
Giza juggling (photo by Bungee).
Melpurik, who did himself using a shiney bread knife as his only mirror. Very impressive. (photo by Thraxarious).
Other facepainting at Feral!
Pann painted as a tiger by Giza after the workshop.
Pann at work (photo by Bungee).
Kip as a raccoon. (photo by SuperJay)
Kip again. (photo by SuperJay)
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Hallowe'en 1999
TRAACS once again held a furry Hallowe'en party in Toronto in 1999 and I attended in paint (after a short visit to work :P ). There I helped paint a few furs, while others showed up done up on their own. Lots of furs were there. Lots of fun was had. Lots of food was eaten. Lots of fun was had. Lots of funds were raised. And lots of fun was had by all. Photos by Allan D. Burrows and Bungee Skunk (many thanks).
On Parade
Another local parade that I got painted up for. This year I did myself up as a cheetah and met up with the other furs before joining in the parade. I want to thank the Humane Society group that was there for letting me march with them and a special thanks to their fursuiter for hamming it the cat-dog scenario with me. Unfortunately, I had an accident with my camera and have no photos of my own for this event. These are the ones I've collected from others.
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I attended and helped organize Feral!, the furry summer camp, again this year and did more bodypainting. My subject again was Giza, who decided to be a tiger this time to match the ears and tail he'd brought with him. I took progressive photos with several cameras while doing my work so you can see a little of the steps involved. I gave Giza more detail than I usually do and did the stripes slightly differently. All in all, it took about 3 hours of steady work. We were both very pleased with the end result.
Aids Walk Toronto 2000
For this year's Aids Walk in Toronto (Sept 24th), TRAACS registered a team of furs and went on the Walk. When I was collecting my pledges, I told everyone that if I got over $250 in pledges, I'd walk in bodypaint. I think this helped my results because I got almost $300, thanks to some enthusiastic friends who told everyone to pledge so that I'd do the walk in paint. Dennis, Deuce, Ryan, Bungee and myself made up Team TRAACS for the walk. I wasn't the only one in the fur for the group. Deuce also wore his fursuit on the two-hour (plus) long walk.
Toronto Pride Parade 2001
I walked in this year's Pride Parade in cheetah paint. Here's the photos I've gotten to this point from various sources. I'll be adding more soon.
Appendix
I've been asked numerous questions about my painting both online and offline (as I'm one to display my works in public areas). Most often this revolves around two aspects, the 'how' and the 'why'.
The 'how' questions probably the easier ones to answer. They deal with such things as 'How long did it take?' 'Who painted you?' 'What did you use?' 'How easy is it to get off?' and the like. These are the sort of questions that deal with how the painting was done.
The time involved in my painting varies greatly depending on how many able-bodied friends I can recruit into doing the basecoats. It can take typically an hour to two hours (or more) to do someone up, depending on whether it is full-body or just upper-body. Complexity of the markings over the base coat will affect the time involved as well. The face is almost always done by me, as well as the direction for any markings needed.
My product of choice is Snazaroo facepainting cakes (18ml). They come in a wide range of colours, are simple to use and blend. As they are a water-based paint, removal is simple and easy, needing only soap and water. I use them also because of the ease of availability, colour selection and the cost. Should you be looking to buy, I recommend you try at art supply stores and not costuming shops, as the mark-up is less at an art store. Colour selection at art stores may be lower, though... be ready to go to a few stores or call ahead if you need something particular. To learn more about Snazaroo products, visit their website by clicking on the overly-cute clown to the right.
The 'why' of face and bodypainting is not something that I can easily explain. It's just something that I enjoy doing, enjoy wearing and enjoy others seeing. It may seem somewhat paradoxical that, while I'm a shy and introverted person, I enjoy such a public display of myself and my art. It's not something I fully understand, but part of it is that, once I have the paint on and am going to show it to the public, I've already marked myself as different. So I may as well make the most of it, fit the part, play the role and enjoy it. And then I do.
Disclaimer:
These images are not available for public distribution. Do not copy them onto your own site, nor use them in any form of commercial or non-commercial distribution, publication, archive, etc... w/o the express written permission of myself or all individuals in these photographs. Thank you.
![[Snazaroo Facepaints]](snazclwn_sm.gif)
