Thursday, April 19, 2012

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

This manicure features one of my new Sonoma Nail Art polishes called 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. It is inspired by a wonderful event we have had here in Santa Rosa for the past 4 years (it will not be happening this year, but hopefully next year) called the Great Handcar Regatta. It's a super fun steampunk themed event with entertainment, food, shopping, demonstrations, and amazing handcars that race each other in heats on the railroad tracks all day long. The costumes at this event are AMAZING. This polish is inspired by the Jules Vern novel that really seems to epitomize the steampunk aesthetic.

I made a fun/creepy octopus slinking along the ocean floor with splashes of sparkly water all around him. Captain Nemo would kill these nails, like literally. 

This is a new polish (new to me) that I picked up at Rite Aid yesterday. Color Club Age of Aquarius. I had to do some extreme color correcting to this photo and it is still not quite right. This is such a gorgeous shade, but really hard to photograph!

I started with the octo-body on my ring finger, then added tentacles on the middle finger, and finally on the pinkie finger. All of the artwork here is done with acrylic paints, which I find SO much easier to work with than nail polish when it comes to nail art. Check out my FAQ section to see more about the tools I use.

Next I continued shading and added his evil eyeballs. I used a bit of neon green acrylic paint to really make certain parts stand out. Once you topcoat your design, somethings will fade a bit and blend together, so it is best to try to add a lot of depth in the highlights and the shadows. 

Finally I added little dots to suggest his suckers (eek, I am creeping myself out!) and dabbed on my sparkle polish to indicate water splashing and swirling here and there. I like how the sparkle polish continues to tell the story in this manicure with the different shades of blue and green and the occasional white hexagon (my hint at bubbles in the water).

On my right hand I painted a few bubbles using white acrylic paint, and surrounded it with more of my polish, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I want to give a shout out to two amazing nail artists who helped to inspire this manicure. Attacked Astoria made an AMAZING Kraken manicure that I wish I could do. Her talent is incredible and you need to follow her blog for sure! And I absolutely love this mani done by Fez Baker. She is an incredible graphic artist in her own right, and these creepy octopus nails are the bomb.

This is as close to the actual color of Age of Aquarius that I was able to get. It is really vibrant and I love how glowy it is with this lil sea monster. :-)

And here is my baby: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I am selling this polish and some others this evening through my etsy store online. I will replenish stock of my polishes again in June (hopefully earlier if I can get more polish base). If you like this polish, I really hope you are able to get it during my sale today! If not, don't fear, I will make lots more. :-)

52 comments:

  1. This is fantastic!!!!! :D

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  2. Your octopus is amazing! 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is stunning! :)

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    1. Oh thank you so much! That is really nice of you to say!

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  3. I don't see him as evil and creepy at all?! He's cute and I'd expect him to be a sweetie! I can't wait to hear about the success once your Etsy shop opens!

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    1. You only think he is sweet. You haven't seen his monstrous FANGS! Rawr! LOL I am a bit nervous about this sale, but it should be fun! And probably really fast, ha ha.

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  4. Holy cow, I love this!!! You are SUPER talented!

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  5. Also, I would love to get my mitts on that franken, but I bet you are going to sell out quickly!

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    1. Sale starts soon, good luck! If you don't get it this time, I promise I will make lots more. :)

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  6. Replies
    1. Awwww, that is really nice of you to say! Thank you!

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  7. You are so talented. Thanks for the step by step pics.

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    1. You're welcome! Check out Robin Moses for great tutorials as well, she is my polish mentor!

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  8. Never ask me to pick a favourite manicure from your vast collection- I won't be able to do it!!!

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  9. Your polish is gorgeous and you Octopus is amazing!

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    1. Thanks Amanda! I am in love with my polishes and I want to marry them, ha ha.

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  10. Great manicure! 20,000 leagues is one of my all time favorite books. Though I'm terribly afraid of octopuses, I managed to look at your fingers long enough to appreciate the artwork before my pulse started increasing. Yes, I am afraid of nail art octopuses. :P

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    1. I am nervous about them too! Glad you could overcome your fear for a second to peep my mani. :)

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  11. this is so awesome, it's crazy!!!! In love!!!

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    1. Oh wow, what a nice compliment! I love your stuff too!!

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  12. I love this! I could stare at it all day lol. Fantastic!

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    1. Thank you Carly! That is very sweet of you to say!

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  14. Ah, so awesome!!!! Love everything about this mani!

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    1. Thanks so much Theodora! I had a lot of fun painting it. :)

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  15. Very beautiful! Love everything about it! Congrats on your opening, bummed that I missed it! =/

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    1. Thank you Chrissy! Good news, I may have more base sooner than I thought. Keep checking my blog for updates. :)

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  16. This is gorgeous and simply amazing! Great job!

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  17. 1 word : SKILLS . I love this!

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  18. This is so very well done! It's so awesome :D

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  19. Your works are fine! You are my inspiration.Very beautiful :))))

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  20. Cutest octopus ever! Great job!

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  21. Hi :)
    I just found my way to your blog.. I LOVE IT!! you have an amazing talent :) I love anything that has to do with the sea, animals and nature so this nail art is right up my alley :)
    Im a new subscriber :)
    hugs

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    1. um I will have to follow you when I get home to my own computer cause my computer at work wont let me follow you :/
      Im a follower though ;)

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  22. That is really nice to hear. thank you for the update and good luck. Events on the sea

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