Hi there! I'm cosplaying Ilia Amitola from RWBY for RTX in 4(ish) days. I am having trouble figuring out what to use for her scales on her hands/shoulders/face/legs. I thought about lipstick, but I'm worried that it'll smear too much. This light brown I'm looking for is really hard to find in washable markers. Plus, Austin Texas humidity is brutal, and I want it to last the whole of Friday but wash off that night as I'm cosplaying Winter the next day. Any ideas?
Hello there!
You should use a body painting product for this, as it will be skin-safe.
My top recommendation would be to get an alcohol-based paint, as this will last a long time, and as it is not dissolved by water, you don’t have to worry as much about sweating it off. A product that is already in liquid form is easy to brush or sponge on into the shape of the scales. Be sure to also get the special remover for the paint, and moisturize well after removing it.
You can also try a water-based paint, which is easier and cheaper to obtain than alcohol-based, and won’t have as high of a risk of smudging as a creme paint/grease paint would. This is usually in cake form and activated by water, and you can brush it onto your skin. Be sure to seal this well with a spray-on makeup sealer.
Creme paints/grease paints would be my last choice for this, as the paint tends to smear, even when fully saturated with powder, but it would create a more sweatproof alternative, so if you can’t do the others, this would still work as long as you are careful to set it with a large amount of translucent powder and spray it with sealant afterwards.
For any issues with sweat in the heat, I would recommend a setting powder that contains antiperspirants (many theatrical makeup powders have these) to help prevent sweating to begin with. You can also bring your makeup with you for touchups throughout the day.
I hope that helps! Good luck :]
—Fabrickind / Q&A Staff
