Nail art: techniques, trends and designs

Since ancient times, women have been decorating their nails. Already in ancient Egypt, the technique of extracting plant dyes for coloring them in various colors was well known. Fortunately, today there are many art painting techniques that allow you to create a unique nail design every time.

Drawing on the nail plate is one way to express your feelings and share them with others. Vibrant colored patterns add some variety to the look. Nail masterpieces are a variety of techniques using tools such as needles, toothpicks, brushes, they are easy to learn and accessible to every modern lady.

They paint on nail plates as simple watercolors, gels, varnishes, and acrylic paint. Masters of their craft know how to create complex volumetric or convex ornaments, to depict whole paintings and portraits on a small surface.

There are several basic tools that are required for nail art:

• needle;
• toothpick;
• dots;
• sponge;
• brushes.

The needle can be used to create simple and uncomplicated designs. Masters advise to work carefully, since such a tool can easily scratch the surface of the nail, thereby damaging it. From a safety point of view, a toothpick looks more attractive, but the wood gets wet quickly and becomes unusable.

Dots is ideal for creating ornaments and similar patterns - a tool that looks very much like a ballpoint pen.At the tip there is a special metal ball, thanks to which lines of various thicknesses can be created at a certain angle. Dots are sold in various diameters, the easiest way is to buy a set right away. It will take a lot of time to learn how to use such a tool correctly.

The sponge allows you to create smooth transitions and captivating patterns. You can buy it ready-made, in the desired shape, or you can simply cut out the tool of the required size yourself.

Real professionals use brushes. Flat ones are used for working with glitter or for performing oriental painting. Those with beveled edges let you draw small elements. Fan designs help you quickly create smooth transitions between multiple colors. There is also an instrument with a short and thin nap, which is used to write hieroglyphs.

The technique of painting with a brush requires experience and skill from a person. For self-study, you can purchase special stencils. In the arsenal of a professional nail artist, there are always several tools that differ in length and width. These are not the usual soft brushes that are often used for painting with watercolors, but hard and dense ones that hold their shape perfectly.

One of the most convenient is considered to be a thin liner, which is easiest to draw borders, create straight lines, neat shapes. The extra long brush makes it easy to create a crisp pattern in a small area. Small elements can be drawn well by transforming a simple pattern into a sophisticated composition. With the liner, it is easy to perform geometric shapes and create abstract designs.

After using a wide brush, which is the easiest way to create abstract or floral compositions, a thin tool is enough to even out the edges, add aesthetics to the picture.

The ideal brush for painting helps to create not only an elegant design, but also to highlight some minor elements on the nails without fear of damaging the created ornament. The brush, which tapers towards the end, is only 1.3 mm thick, allowing for the smallest pattern. Clean lines and graceful contours help create a light and unobtrusive manicure.

If the master observes the rules according to which the painting is applied, such a work of art will delight a woman for a long time. Remember to use the base and topcoat to create your design. They will increase the lifespan of the manicure, making it resistant to moisture and other negative factors.

Of the disadvantages of brushes, experience can be noted. Of course, most women want their nails to be decorated with incredible figures, but this is not so easy to do. To begin with, nail service experts advise you to master simple compositions and drawings, including points, circles, twigs, geometric shapes. Improve your skills so that clear edges, straight lines and neat contours can be traced in the composition. Only after that you can begin to master more complex pictures and images. It takes patience and time, but the result is great compositions, despite the fact that the area of ​​the nail plate is limited.

There are other tools that you can use to create amazing designs. The main thing is to observe the proportions, make sure that the pattern on the surface of the nail plate is combined with the chosen style and is in harmony with the image of the owner. They give preference to the shade of nail painting that suits the girl perfectly and corresponds to her individual preferences, not forgetting the importance of combining different colors and shades in manicure.

A nail brush of this shape is indispensable for drawing smile lines while performing a French or moon manicure.

There are dozens of courses that promise to teach you how to create a beautiful painting on nail plates, numerous videos are posted on the Web, but it is impossible to learn how to professionally create complex compositions without constant practice. At the beginning of training, nail art masters are advised to devote two to three hours to this every day, so that the hand gets used to holding the instrument correctly.

If a woman just comprehends this science and just wants to learn how to create pictures on nails on her own, and not delve into all the complexities of nail art, then it will be enough to study the technique of painting with not dried varnishes. This method is based on the use of colored coatings that can contrast well with each other. By mixing, whimsical flower arrangements are obtained. You can use snow motives, drops.

Such a drawing technique does not imply the presence of drawings. The main tool is a simple needle or toothpick, but it is not so convenient to work with it, since the edge of the wooden product quickly thickens.

To work with a needle, first apply the main (base) layer, do not allow to dry, apply the next layer - varnish of a contrasting color to create dots, which are then quickly connected with a needle into a pattern. It is important to work quickly here: if the varnish dries before they start making the pattern, the picture will seem sloppy.

Several options for working with this technique.

• As a base, a mother-of-pearl or white varnish is used, in the center - red or pink. Cover the nail with the base color, then put a large drop of the second varnish in the center of the nail and place a small spot inside this drop with the base varnish. On three sides, draw lines with a needle, starting from the outer edges of the nail. The latter starts with a white point and quickly draws a circle to mix the varnishes. You should get a flower that resembles a rose.
• You can apply base varnish, then three drops of a different color. From the bottom up, quickly connect them, leading the needle to the very edge of the nail. The result is a graceful twig.

Manicurists know the tricks to make stylish nail designs. Most girls are not artists by comparison, which means they have a hard time creating beautiful and attractive nails. Bright roses and unusual ideas are not available to everyone, because they may lack experience, tools at hand, or just fantasy.

Recently, sakura with a twig or just its flowers looks perfect on nails. It is best to use acrylic paints to create such a pattern, as they allow you to create the desired color transition.

Japanese cherries can be additionally decorated with diamonds, painted with foliage, or only inflorescences can be selected. Brushes will be the main assistants. Thin will allow you to clearly outline the boundaries, the rest will mix the palette of colors.

Flowers and floral design in general allow you to create more than just a romantic look. This design is also suitable for casual wear. The most popular are bright and rich poppies, delicate, clear-sky cornflowers, snowdrops and roses. As a base coat for such patterns, not only light colors are suitable, but also black, dark purple.

You can create amazing designs for Valentine's Day with varnishes, gels or acrylics. Girls on this holiday love to decorate their nails with lips, hearts and other patterns, in which red always predominates.A combination of any tones of red with white, gold or black will look great, since they are contrasting relative to each other.

Interesting options relate to the animal theme. Recently, more and more often you can find images of a cat, a fox or a panda on the nails of young and ambitious girls as decorations. This pattern creates a playful look.

If a woman is tired of looking usually and wants to emphasize her own charm, passionate nature, then lace is suitable as an ideal decoration for nails. It can be painted, but then you need a thin brush, which is worth learning how to work with. Despite the fact that the process takes a long time, the result is amazing. It is best to paint the pattern with black acrylic paint, as it can be erased in case of something.

All interesting birthday designs are decorated with bright colors that emphasize the solemnity of this day. Hot air balloon design is popular. Draw them with brushes and acrylics, so a fairly neat and undisturbed drawing is obtained.

The easiest manicure option for beginners looks like this in stages.

• The first step is simple - you need to look at your nails and hands. If there is an old varnish, it will need to be removed, if the shape is uneven, file it, remove the cuticle around the nails. All these small imperfections can lead to a feeling of untidiness, even if a real work of art flaunts on the nail plate.
• After the standard procedure, the varnish is applied. Protect the surface of the nail plate with a primer layer. Any clear coat will work perfectly as a base coat. It is allowed to dry before the next step.
• Now take a bright green tone and paint over the nails twice with it. Applying two coats will provide a rich color. Let it dry.
• Draw a heart, for this you need a thin brush and black opaque varnish. Make four points in the center of the nail, then connect them with thin liners to create a heart shape. Fill the shape with color and allow to dry.
• Envelop the drawing with white nail polish.
• After the composition is completely dry, fix it with a thick finishing layer of a transparent coating.

You can create a floral design step by step using dots in purple colors, but every woman has the right to decide on a palette on her own. To complete the picture you will need:

• covering in three different shades: yellow and two different shades of purple;
• an ordinary sewing needle or a simple toothpick;
• finishing coating;
• dots.

Before you start creating a drawing, experts advise you to first make a schematic drawing on paper in order to clearly represent each subsequent step. The subsequent steps are as follows.

• Cover the nail plate with a purple background, while on each finger you will need to first finish the design before proceeding with the other, since the coating should not dry out.
• A light tone of varnish drips just below the middle of the nail plate.
• Until it dries, take the dots and create straight lines, moving from the edge of the set drop through the center and beyond. They try to keep the distance between the lines approximately the same. After each line, wipe off the tool, otherwise the image will turn out to be sloppy.
• The following steps do not require the use of dots. They make rounded stripes out of dots emanating from the flower.
• After the drawing has dried, a topcoat is applied.

To create one of its options, you will need:

• 2 contrasting nail polishes;
• thin tool: toothpick or needle.

Step by step guide.

1. Start with one base coat on each nail. Wait a few minutes for it to dry.
2. Apply a second coat, wait until it dries a little, or go directly to step 3. If you wait until dry, the result will be more accurate.
3. Apply a contrasting color only to the tips of the nails. It should look like a sloppy French manicure. Then they take a toothpick or needle and connect the drops in any direction to create an abstract design.
4. Dripping polish onto foil and dipping a toothpick to dot the base of the nail.
5. After everything is dry, cover the nails with a layer of colorless varnish.

Modern manicurists suggest painting on nails not only with acrylics, but also with varnishes, since this is a completely different technique that allows you to create amazing pictures. If we talk about fashion trends, the drawings never fade into the background, they only change their shape, color palette. Every year there are attractive novelties, original ideas that begin to live a new life.

The floral theme never goes out of style, it's a galaxy full of amazing choices for how you could spruce up your own look. In most cases, additional rhinestones or sequins are used, since they are ideally combined with a romantic bow.

The latest fashion trend is clear acrylic nails with contrasting colors and a little dusting around the edge of the nail plate. This design looks neat, gentle and not very striking. It is also distinguished by its versatility, since it is suitable both for the business sphere and for everyday life, for which the fair sex fell in love with it.

Berries and fruits have taken a special place in this area. They have organically come into fashion along with bright saturated shades. Strawberries, orange slices, limes and other prints decorate nails in summer and cheer up in winter. You can draw strawberries or bananas on the palms. Such a design will be able to distinguish a woman from the crowd.

Another unusual option is the characters of your favorite cartoons.

Candy and sweets are another topic that is just coming into fashion, but girls are already striving to learn how to draw such drawings as realistically as possible. With all this, there is no need to build up large nails in order to enjoy the variety of proposed patterns, it is enough just to choose the right element, and you can enjoy the usual convenience.

Where can we go without stripes in the new season! This trend, according to professional designers, is able to survive for a long time, since the topic is not completely exhausted and new options appear on how and in what form the stripes can be located. With the right choice of geometry, you can visually lengthen short nails or shorten too long ones. Abstraction in this case also keeps pace with the times and often looks organically next to the lines.

The design in the form of a butterfly wing, which is easily traced with a toothpick and two colors of varnish, is only coming into fashion. The image is applied with dots, which are subsequently simply connected to each other. You can master this technique on your own, thereby diversifying your own image without involving a specialist.

Like lines, polka dots also maintain their position and do not want to leave the fashion world. It is distributed over the nail plate in a line, evenly over the entire surface, painted large and small. It has become especially fashionable to combine peas of different colors and sizes.

If the collection contains several consecutive shades of the same color, then you can create on the nail the feeling of a window into an unknown world. First, a square of the darkest tone is drawn along the edge of the entire nail plate, after which it is lighter, then even lighter.The center is filled with the lightest shade.

You should definitely pay attention to the modern technique of drawing a parrot coloring on your nails. Despite the complexity of the design, it turns out to be very simple to create. A little closer to the cuticle, drops of the desired color are placed across the entire width of the nail and stretched down with a toothpick. Slightly lower on the resulting rays, they also use the second color and stretch them down again. The technique is repeated to the very edge. A visual sensation is created that there are several feathers on the nail plate, which enter one into the other.

Due to the fact that the urban theme is more and more penetrating into our lives, it also touched on nail design. Now it has become very popular to reproduce high-rise buildings in design.

To have beautiful and original designed nails, you do not need a professional, unless, of course, this is a super difficult option. It is enough just to choose a suitable design and study the technique of drawing on your own.

It is worth paying tribute to the great Hollywood stars who have dazzled us over the years on the red carpet with beautiful examples of what can be done with nails. It was from there that the fashion for rhinestones, glitters and other bright decorative elements came to us.

If we talk about images, then depending on the selected tones, you can create a feeling of a romantic nature or a woman.accustomed to achieving goals no matter what. The red and black version cannot fail to attract attention from the opposite sex, since it is defiant and alluring. It doesn't matter which design is chosen, be it bright poppies or just an abstraction, to add solemnity, you can use gold. Looks great on red black lace with rhinestones and foil.

When a girl is going to build acrylic nails, use gel, shellac or any other technique, it is worth choosing the right design that will match not only the general style, but also the situation. If most of the time you have to spend in the office, meeting with clients, partners, then pretentiousness and chic will be superfluous. In this case, a classic French or moon manicure is suitable without the use of bright shades with a small pattern made with a thin brush and black acrylic paint. It could be an ornament, a piece of lace, or something that tastes like a woman.

You can give glossy black nails a unique look by adding silver dust or some detailing. Like red and gold, black and silver is always a safe bet, whether it's floral, feather or lace. The main background can be either black or silver. A moon manicure with a black crescent looks very neat, French can be done in the same color, adding a few openwork lines to the junction of two shades.

“Naked” or transparent finishes - designs that suit any style, shape, be it short, pancake, almond, square, oval or any nail. Here, a simple and light design can be perfectly combined with a golden gradient, lilac, lilac and any other girl's taste.

If you wanted something unusual, why not take a print from the wild and make it more interesting by showing your own imagination? This applies to leopard print, zebra skin, peacock feathers. Experts advise in the latter case to use glitter-based varnishes or nail paints, then the picture is overflowing and looks especially good.

The chevron style and the glitter gradient look good. The result of this combination is an unusual design. In summer and spring, you should definitely use bright shades of lemon yellow and green, as they awaken a great mood. Professionals are always praised for the perfect match of the colors that are present in the rainbow. Purple, blue, cyan, green, yellow, orange and red are used in rainbow designs as well. It is best to draw this element with acrylic paint, since then the lines are clear.

Nothing looks as cute and adorable as Hello Kitty on nails, although this design suits teenagers as they do not have to attend formal meetings and business meetings. The main color in this design is soft pink.

You should definitely take a closer look at the ombre technique, when you can complement your manicure with a splash of glitter and black ornaments. Specialty stores have training stencils for this.

When spring comes, you can use more attractive motives, light colors. For example, no matter how simple ordinary dots on the nail plate look, they can be supplemented with small lines, thereby creating an uncomplicated drawing. Such a design goes well with French manicure, when only the line of the joint between two colors is drawn. Thus, the design becomes more original, and a clear contrast is hidden under the painting.

If a girl is minimalist and loves subtle designs, solid color as a base, then a simple nail design that does not have a load on the details would be ideal. In this case, you can simply draw a small ladybug on one of the nails, for example, a nameless one.

When trying to avoid boring ideas, it is worth paying attention to just the main emphasis, that is, the image, the brightness of the colors used. Recently, aquarium equipment has been in particular demand. Nail service professionals have learned how to create real works of art in a small area of ​​the nail plate. Plants and inhabitants of the deep sea are drawn with a thin brush, and everything from above is covered with a thick layer of gel.

For those who are not looking for easy ways, it's time to use the services of a professional and apply your own or someone else's portrait on the nail. This is very unusual, but requires skill, so finding such a master will not be easy.

On occasion, you should always demonstrate your own personality. You cannot be afraid of shine and bright colors. A simple sponge will come to the rescue here, which will help create a smooth transition from one color to another. Such a gradient is usually complemented by various drawings on the topic. A flower arrangement looks very good, where rose petals can be emphasized along the edge with a small amount of glitter.

In specialized stores there are not only sand for manicure, sparkles, but also large rhinestones, Swarovski crystals. If you choose them correctly and distribute them over the nail, moving the structure to one edge, then it will be possible to draw small lines with curls between them and get an unusual ornament.

Returning to the issue of using peas on nails, it is worth using the summer design option, when the dots with different ball diameters will become the main tool and assistant. The nail plate is completely covered with black varnish, as bright shades look best on it. Until it dries, large drops of bright yellow color are applied in the center from top to bottom. On both edges, dots of smaller diameter peas of other bright colors are placed, the main thing is also in a line.

If a girl is a constant romantic, then you should plunge into the theme of love and decorate your nails with hearts of different sizes. The background can be white, gold or black, as you like.Each element is painted separately with a thin brush, and then painted over with acrylic paint.

We must not forget about the creation of a spectrum on the nail plate. It's not exactly a rainbow, but it also looks very original. For this effect, acrylic paints and varnishes are used, which are combined on a piece of foil, and then applied with a sponge. There is no need to choose a particular nail color when you can use them all in one design with this technique. However, maintaining harmony is not so easy, it is important in the end to create a complex but neat image.

What can complement the perfect summer tan better than soft pastel colors? Women are advised to choose lighter shades so that they can contrast with the bronze skin. If it seems that it is too simple, but you do not want to overload the design, then you can draw peacock feathers on a few fingers with black paint.

An exquisite twist to French design - a black manicure with shiny glossy tips on a matte backdrop. That kind of simple elegance is all it takes to beautify yourself without attracting a lot of attention. You can make small ornaments around the edge from one of the corners using silver or white.

You can show childish spontaneity and use well-designed gift boxes as a drawing, apply an image of a Christmas tree, snowflakes, bells or tinsel for the New Year. The latter looks especially impressive when used with volume, shine and braided design techniques. If you have a rich imagination, Christmas tree decorations, well traced with shiny acrylic paint, will become a real decoration for the holiday.

If there is an anniversary ahead, then a cake, candles, confetti, or maybe even numbers are more suitable as a drawing. The advantage of a thin brush when decorating nails in this design is difficult to overestimate, since it is she who helps not only to clearly draw small elements, but also to outline their boundaries using a black tone.

The sun, palm trees and sunset are those images that remind us of the days of the long-awaited vacation. Each of them can be applied to nails, thereby creating a special mood of lightness and relaxation. And again, paints and brushes become the main assistants, the skill of the artist is used, who can use both simpler silhouettes and create a whole picture.

Geometric shapes can be intertwined on one nail or used on different ones. It has become very popular to use several different color basecoats. Bordeaux, white and black look very good. The thumb and middle finger are covered with a burgundy shade, the index and little fingers are covered with black varnish, and the ring finger is white. On the smallest nail plate, two small horizontal lines are drawn with white acrylic paint, shifting them to the left, and semicircles are placed on them, which should be perpendicular.

Even rhombuses are drawn on the ring finger, placing them on the right side at a distance from each other. Rhinestones are applied to the middle nail, setting them in a straight line.

Most women love black nail polish as it is sophisticated and elegant. It comes in glossy and matte, so why not combine both in your chosen design with a matte base and an accent on the glossy ends? You can apply varnish to the edges with a brush, draw a drawing along the border using silver paint. It might just be a fun combination of lines.

If Halloween is ahead, you can complement the image with an interesting nail design, especially since it is very easy to do this with paints and brushes at hand.The vampire theme is always dominated by red, but it is going out of fashion, it would be much more interesting to make pumpkin drawings, and with different faces or ghosts. In the end, the dark wine shade and the piercing scary skull pattern look great. With such a design, you can become the leader of such a party.

Fabulous nail designs are no problem for beginners. It is enough to collect the necessary palette at hand, take a needle and train your hand so that the lines are confident. After applying the general tone, which can be any you like, add white dots over the entire surface of the nails. Finally, to transform them, the lines are connected to each other, and the joints are drawn in a different color. So you can create a marble effect, leopard print.

You can play with zigzag lines or make them straight, but distribute them unevenly over the nail, creating separate zones that are painted with suitable colors. This abstraction makes it possible to achieve the desired visual increase in the length of the nail plate, or, conversely, shortening. Turquoise and white squares look good next to each other. The lines between them can be painted over with metallic.

You don't have to use peas in your own style, they can be easily converted to circles. The advantage of this design is that it takes a minimum of time to create a unique image and the girl does not need to master special skills. To work you need a dots. It is necessary to work with each nail separately, since it is impossible for the main layer to dry, otherwise then the effect we are striving for will not work.

As for the basic coverage, in this case, the woman is not limited by anything in her fantasy. The main thing is to remember that the colors of the varnish should be in harmony with each other and it will be varnishes that will be used for painting, and not paints that do not have the required texture.

If a light shade is selected as the main layer, then the circles should be bright and clear. Black, white and all contrasting shades look good. First, a base layer is applied, then several small or large drops are placed on the surface, on top of them is a drop of the base shade. It should be borne in mind that the varnish will spread, so it is worth observing the distance between them. If you make the first drop black, and then drop another bright shade into the middle, the result will be beautiful circles with a black border. You can use several colors in one circle, then you will get a completely different effect.

When used as a base dark shade, the technology does not change, but it will need to be applied in several layers, and the first one must dry. This is the only way to avoid gaps that can spoil the design. In general, the masters advise to polish the nail plate well in order to avoid uneven application of varnish.

The theme of using white and black will never dry out. Some designers still like the chessboard a lot. It is simple to make it, it is enough to apply a white or black tone as a base layer, then paint the nail with acrylic paint and a thin brush, while you can not completely paint over the surface, but use the element only from the side in combination with other drawings.

Playing with black and white nail polishes is very easy. You can ultimately personalize the simplest design that, after processing, will match the style and personality of the girl chosen by the girl.

It has become very popular to copy and reproduce in design the colors of natural materials, including marble, wood. After mastering a simple technique, you can create the feeling that a layer of natural stone is lying on the nails. White marble with gray lines looks especially unobtrusive, but at the same time original looks. You can combine shades of black, white and gold on your nails.

Plaid is another print that never goes unnoticed. Women prefer to “dress” their nails in this pattern both in everyday life and to complement a special look. These can be vertical and horizontal white, blue, red and any other lines that create fancy squares. The design looks good in both glossy and matte finishes.

Next, see 27 simple life hacks to create a beautiful manicure.