Thursday, September 13, 2012

31DC2012: Day 13, Animal Print

Today's theme... animal print! Last year, I was so proud of myself for thinking outside the box and doing a poison dart frog print instead of a more traditional leopard/zebra. This year, I decided to continue that tradition and show a manicure inspired by one of my favorite animals -- the ray! This mani was based on a photo of an eagle ray, in particular.


Here is the photo that I was inspired by. I loved the contrast of the white rings on the black, and the subtle transition from the black outside the rings to a lighter gray on the rest of the ray. 

source

The rings are spread pretty consistently over the ray, but then there are more concentrated white spots towards the edges. I followed suit on my nails...


The base is OPI Nein! Nein! Nein! Ok Fine! and then the rings were just made with white and black. I used a sponge to apply some splotches of black on top of the Nein! Nein! base, and then took the small end of a dotting tool to add white sections over the splotches. Then, I used a pinpoint dotting tool to add black on the inside of the white, giving the appearance of rings.


I like these nails a lot. They are abstract and a little funky, and even if you don't know what they are based on, they are still interesting.


Do you think I got it down?


Here's a little collage photo to aid in pinning, if anyone is interested in using it! I know just showing this manicure alone might be a little confusing to people. :)


Thanks for reading! Don't forget to check out the rest of the challenge prompts here!
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39 comments

  1. Omg you're a genius! I love out-of-the-box animal prints and this is waaay out there! =D

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  2. Very cool! I love it and I love your creativity! :)

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  3. I saw this photo on Facebook and guessed it was some sort of fish - so pleased with myself ;) These look awesome! x

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  4. I totally loved those frog nails and I love these a lot, too! There are so much other beatiful & inspiring creatures besides tigers, zebras and leopards... ^^
    x

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  5. this is verry pretty! i love the black/grey and white

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  6. OMG every animal print challange you take the cake *bows to master*

    xoxox
    gin

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  7. Where my mind immediately went:

    "Oh, seaweed is cool. Seaweed is fun."

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  8. This is pretty damn cool, nothing beats good old animal print !

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  9. These looks so beautiful! I love the monochromatic colour scheme and the idea is wonderfully unique. :)

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  10. So awesome! You've outdone yourself, Sarah!

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  11. This is very cool and while not everyone will immediately know what it is, it's cool all on it's own as an abstract print.

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  12. Love this! I actually had the opportunity to swim with/pet an Eagle ray in April, an AMAZING experience and your nails totally do the pattern justice!

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  13. Wow, that is such a great representation! Great job!

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  14. Fantastic! I love how you thought outside of the box- I get so bored with zebra and leopard prints!

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  15. Beaultiful!!!!
    http://mundodosesmalts.blogspot.com.br/

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  16. You are soooo creative. I love your mani. Beautiful, no matter what it is based on. You are my favorite blogger. You inspire me daily. Thank You,

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  17. So good that it cut ally led me to comment - I'm a little shy! These are very, very good! Well done!

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  18. * I meant actually, silly auto correct!

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  19. Very nice! You NAILed it! ;)
    Reminds me a lot of a real feathers nail art I did some time ago!

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  20. That looks amazing! SPOT on! (lol get it? "Spot" on haha)

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  21. This may be my favorite mani you've ever done...ever. I'm always amazed how you avoid any glare on your pics. What's you secret?

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    1. Thanks! I think it is a combination of my lightbox (tutorial here: http://www.chalkboardnails.com/2012/03/intermediate-nail-photography-lightbox.html) and just learning what angles work best for my photos. Hope this helps!

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  22. I love where u draw your inspiration. Its always unique and unexpected. I likey!

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  23. I love your outside-of-the-box thinking. The ray mani is great, but I looked back on the poison dart frog mani and it took my breath away.

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  24. Way to go outside the box! The animal print is crazy.

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  25. This is gorgeous! And easy to attempt as well!

    I must say I still prefer the poison dart frog! =P

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  26. I just got back from the Bahamas. As soon as I saw the 1st pic, I knew that was a stingray print! You did a great job, so unique! I love it.

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  27. How cute! I love that this isn't a typical animal print!! Great job!

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  28. What a wonderful and unique mani for the challenge. Gorgeous!

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  29. These look reaaally great!! Once again way to think outside the box, very inspiring!

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