NAILS Next Top Nail Artist Pre-Challange

I sculpted Russian Almond nail shape. The Russian Almond shape is a crossing of the pipe and the stiletto shapes. The nails were made using acrylic system and I used black and beige colours to create the free edge.\n(Riches Pearl from Harmony, Black Blue from Nail-Artists, Obscure Rose Cover Pink from Nail-Artists, Prohesion Crystal Clear powder from Harmony, Nail liquid from Young Nails.)  

Prepare your paints and tools. I combined acrylic paints, nail polish and gel polish. You will need black pencil, a fine detail brush and a round brush for the flowers. \nThen start drawing the main design, the Saint Basil’s Cathedral.  

Paint the design. The building was painted using acrylic paints, regular gel polish and gel. \nI started with the towers, then I painted the dome. I used ochre, dark brown, navy blue, red, yellow and green colours. And I used metallic colours as well: light gold and bronze. \n  

When the first layer dried I painted the fine details and windows. \nStart drawing the Saint Basil’s Cathedral highest tower. The contour lines were made using black pencil. Then paint an opaque base layer with wet black acrylic paint to add dimension. (Like a watercolour effect.)  

The building were painted with various brown colours. When the first layer dried I painted the floors and the tiny windows. I used white and black acrylic paints.  

This cover gave me the chance to use one of my favourite technique, the Zhostovo folk art painting. Zhostovo is an old Russian folk craftwork of painting on metal trays and furnitures. A few years ago the incredibly talented Russian nail designers implemented this technique to nails. It is a stunning technique but very time-consuming so it isn't a popular technique for salon work. But it is perfect for a competition. :)\nThe painting process is the following:\na. paint the white base\n  

b. paint the second layer with dark colour\nc. paint the 3rd, 4th, etc layers (as many you want) with lighter colours to get a 3d effect\nd. paint the final layer with white colour. But only just a few petals and just one side of the petals. \nPaint the leaves with the same method and use various green and yellow acrylic paints. \nFine contour lines were painted using white acrylic paints and very fine natural hair brush.  

The flowers on thumb and pinkie finger were painted using the same technique. \nThis technique are usually made using vivid colours on dark background. Yellow, orange, red, magenta, purple and traditionally the base is a black background. I used these colours to paint the flowers. The colours of my flowers are in harmony with model’s sweater on the picture.\n(Nails Magazine, May 2015 Issue.)  

Some nonfigurative elements were added in white and gold colours to create a perfect Russian design.\n  

Close up the thumb. You can see a little bit more of the details and an short sbs from the Zhostovo technique.\nAdd a shiny top gel to get the perfect finish. \n\nI hope that you will enjoy this tutorial and this quick journey to Russia. ;) \n\nIf you have any questions feel free to ask them. \nOn my Instagram @nailartinlondon you will find more photos and more tutorials from Zhostovo flowers.