A quick rundown on PAX body paint
Sure! PAX is a sort of home-made body paint created by mixing two things: 1) Pros-Aide and 2) Liquitex acrylic paint. It looks like this when applied:
It’s amazing for several reasons:
- looks awesome. I mean look at that sexy gray hand.
- easy to apply
- stays on for a long time and DOESN’T SMUDGE. Seriously, I rubbed my hand all up against some black fabric and nothing came off at all.
- you can make it in any shade you want just by buying the colors of paint you need.
Downsides are:
- it’s a bit pricy (~$25+shipping for an 8oz bottle)
- you can’t apply it to your face. maybe some people do, but I wouldn’t recommend it if you want to actually be able to make facial expressions without your makeup cracking.
- hard to get off. Which isn’t to say it doesn’t come off, it just takes more scrubbing with a good adhesive remover than regular makeup.
There are a few versions of Pros-Aide out there: Pros-Aide, Pros-Aide No Tac, and Pros-Aide II. I went with the Pros-Aide II (which I bought here) because it’s basically an updated formula of the original that breaks down more easily under adhesive remover, making it easier to wash off when you’re done. I bought two bottles of the 16oz, because I wanted to have enough for an entire convention’s worth of graying four people.
One thing I should note about ordering the Pros-Aide: DO NOT order it when the weather for that week is below freezing! Wait until spring, seriously. If the Pros-Aide freezes, something in it changes chemically and it won’t work anymore, even after it thaws.
As for the Liquitex paint, you can buy it at any art supply shop. The gray we used for the trolls is a mixture of gray and white. Play around with it until you get the shade you want.
When you mix the Pros-Aide and the paint, some people do 50:50, I think we went a bit heavier on the Pros-Aide, maybe 60:40 or so? Again, play around with it until you find a consistency that you like. Apply it to your skin with a brush (we used foam brushes), and wait several minutes for the layer to dry. You might have to do a few layers to get it to look smooth. Make sure you let each layer dry before adding a new one!
Oh, and a heads-up: make sure you shave anywhere you’ll be applying the PAX. Any hair on your arms, etc, get rid of it! It’ll show through the paint and look weird, and then hurt like a bitch when you’re trying to scrub it off.
When you’re done applying the PAX and it’s all dry, powder yourself up nice and good with a translucent powder or even just baby powder to seal it. Then you’re done!
As for removal…. Well, tbh I haven’t figured this one out for sure yet. Last weekend we just scrubbed with soap, water, and a bit of 70% isopropyl alcohol. Probably not so kind on the skin. Your best bet is probably a good adhesive remover, like the type they sell along with the Pros-Aide.
So far I’ve only tried this out on my hands – next weekend cowbuttcrunchies and I will be using it for realsies at Katsucon, so I’ll add to this if we run into any problems worth being aware of, or come up with any other good pointers.
Tagging this homestuck cosplay so hopefully it’ll help other troll cosplayers too. Good luck with it!
