“The Fairly OddParents” Inspired Nail Design

I’ve been really into cartoons lately, particularly Butch Hartman’s creations from during his time at Nickelodeon. I was obsessed with Danny Phantom a few months ago, and I’ll probably post a nail design from that period at some point (I’ve got a huge backlog of nail pictures!) At the moment, my main focus is The Fairly OddParents. I’ve been browsing Hartman’s YouTube channel and I noticed he often features #HartFanArt, that is, visual art pieces by people geeking out about the fine folks of Dimmsdale and Amity Park as much as I do. I didn’t necessarily want to “submit” pictures of this nail design — I didn’t bother to clean up the edges before taking the pictures, so the nails look a bit messy — but I still wanted to identify my very unofficial post as HartFanArt since it technically is, even though it’s not on a canvas and as I am writing this now, a week after painting it, about 50% of the polish has already chipped off. But, c’est la vie.

The two thumbs represent the hairstyles of Cosmo (green) and Wanda (pink).

On the left hand, the middle finger represents the outfit of Chloe Carmichael, the shrill do-gooder neighbor who appears in season 10 and is one of the reasons I think the show needs to continue — her story is not over! The ring finger shows the rainbow bridge to Fairy World and some clouds. I tried to imitate Timmy Turner’s shirt color for the pointer finger, then I added a bit of rainbow sparkles because why not?

The pinkies are simply purple with purple sparkles, representing the sky in Fairy World and/or baby Poof.

On the right hand, I added some golden stars to the Fairy World bridge. The middle finger is the white shirt and tie, a style shared by several of the men in the series including Cosmo, Timmy’s Dad and Denzel Crocker, the crazed elementary school teacher. The pointer finger here is a more abstract rendering of the curly tentacles of Mark Chang and the other Yugopotamians, aliens that resemble green octopuses (another plus for me, a die-hard octopus fan!)

What could possibly go wrong?

Tinkerbell-Inspired Autumn Nail Art

This was my first nail design of the school year. I was trying to capture some of the rich transitional splendor of the leaves on the trees, which are never just one simple color but blush like apples, set like suns, and finally fall like desiccated starfish.

This nail design was also inspired by Tinker Bell as rendered by Disney, with her expansive wardrobe consisting of green leaf dresses. I imagine in real life, she would prefer a little variety and wouldn’t mind using autumn leaves for a change… as long as they didn’t crackle to bits while she was wearing them!

Luckily, that wasn’t an issue with this nail design.

 

Have a magical autumn!

 

Neverland Geography Nail Design

Hi there! I know I have been horrible about posting for the past few months… I would say I’ve been busy, but everyone’s busy, so let’s just skip to the nail design.

This design represents different aspects of Neverland: the green nails have leaves and feathers for the garb of the Lost Boys, Fairies, and Native people, while the white and blue nails contain starfish because starfish.

I mean, Neverland is an island, so there’s got to be starfish somewhere, right?

There are a lot of things about Neverland that I just don’t get. For one, in James Matthew Barrie’s book, the children’s minds (which generate the island) are pure Londonian, and yet there are these people there that are supposed to be Native Americans.

Also, the native people are portrayed in the book as being sort of outsiders, rather marginal to the story (my main pet peeve is the scene where they start worshipping Peter because in the book they are considered stupid enough to really think he is a god called the “Great White Father.”) In reality, the indigenous people on any Neverland would necessarily know more about the island and how to work with its forces than newcomers would, and they would probably be wise by now to Peter and his eternal espièglérie.

I think it would be more interesting if Tiger Lily’s character had more of a chance to really move through the space of the story, since I have always seen her as wise and independent. But who knows what the culture is like on Neverland? At any rate, probably not a mixture of random elements of cultures pickpocketed by colonists from across the American continent, then misrepresented (not everyone wore feather headdresses or lived in tepees.) Not that I have a right to theorize about it really – I’m not descended from any native Neverlandians.

Well. In my Neverland, things would be run by the people that belonged there first. And that might include some sea creatures.

Doodles Nail Design

This nail design started out as a challenge to myself not to do anything ocean- or pirate-related. Even Peter Pan, my newest obsession, was off limits. The result is … a bit of a mess.

It was supposed to look like doodles that a kid (or adult) might do on a piece of paper – see the blue college-ruled pinkie? But then some of the nails, especially on the right hand (since I had to paint using my less dominant left hand) ended up more in the realm of abstract art. Even a watercolor cloud, in some cases.

See the treble clef on my right pointer finger, above? No? I didn’t think so.

In the left thumbnail (above), I painted branches and leaves. My mom asked me knowingly, “Is that coral?” I assured her hurriedly that there are no marine references in this nail design. (Though of course all life descends from the ocean…)

Above is just another abstract thumbnail. Have a good day!

Alice Through the Looking Glass Mani

Above image found on http://www.finalreel.co.uk/alice-through-the-looking-glass-character-posters/

Last weekend I watched the Disney 2016 film “Alice Through the Looking Glass” for the first time. Need I explain and defend my instant and passionate love?

These nails are based on the colorful variety of ridiculous characters and elements in the visually stunning, emotionally spinning, film. Above is a thumbnail based on the face of the Queen of Hearts. Below, a film still of the red queen and her contemptible sister who gets to wear the crown.

Above image from http://whollyart.com/7-valuable-lessons-alice-through-the-looking-glass/

Throughout the series, a blue butterfly (outgrowth of the famous wise caterpillar) marks the presence of magic in all places, even in the real world, as long as someone (like Alice) is present who believes nothing is impossible. On my right hand pictured above, the pointer finger represents the butterfly’s wing, the middle finger was originally a tea cake but grew clock arrows in silver, and the ring finger sports the hat worn by the Mad Hatter.

Above image from http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2016/04/21/alan-rickmans-animated-character-poster-alice-looking-glass/

As the crown of Wonderland figures prominently in the drama of the film, I tried to do a simpler version of that crown on my thumbnail.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Halloween Nail Art

Just your generic last minute Halloween nail design. Choked out between assignments for classes that either don’t care or care far too deeply that Monday is the 31st.

Mostly I am proud of the two black nails with sparkly white spiderwebs.

 

Ruby Slippers in Munchkin-Land

In my music theory class this week, one of the random facts that got tossed in between the miserable numbers and solfège nonsense was this: “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” from the Wizard of Oz is the most recognized melody on the planet. The fact struck me in particular because this is the first piece my vocal coach has given me to work on. As to whether the melody is truly the most recognizable in human civilization, I’d say that depends on who is producing it. It might not be recognizable for months, years, or reincarnations, in my case.

(above image By Warner Bros. – 1949 re-issue trailer. See: TCM Movie Database, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10386845)

In the meantime, all this Rainbow stuff reminded me I still hadn’t done a Wizard of Oz nail design. Unfortunately, my fingernails were really short this week (I got a little carried away clipping them to improve my violin technique) and so I couldn’t do the full-fledged production that haunted my imagination, with “Wicked”-style witch silhouettes and spiraling yellow brick roads and maybe a representation of all Dorothy’s companions on her journey, and of course a glittery pink nod to Glinda. But I managed to crank out a Dorothy-dress grid, a pair of ruby slippers, and a munchkin lollypop all the same.

The brown middle finger on the right hand represents Dorothy’s brown tresses decorated with white-and-blue bows.

If I could see the Wizard, I’d ask him to fill my brain with music theory books because apparently I have no inkling what I’m doing in this class. Also, maybe he could magically make the Yellow Brick Road song stop being stuck in my head.

Ariel the Little Mermaid Mani

You may have noticed I haven’t posted anything for weeks. This disaster was caused by my camera’s battery charger suddenly defecting from service with no proper paperwork. I had to search high and low for a company that still actually sold the appropriate replacement part, since the original company itself had stopped selling it and most companies that claimed to provide it were a little shady. That said, finally I did get the charger and it worked, so now I can show you the nail designs from July that were hanging in limbo on there waiting for a miracle that seemed not to be forthcoming. Hallelujah!

This mani is based on Disney’s Ariel the Little Mermaid, with her green fishtail, purple clamshells, and feisty red chevelure.

Good things come to those who wait, I suppose… but even better things come to those who rush up to the first sea witch they find and sign a permanent contract to change their core physiology. I like her better with scales than feet, but at least she keeps the hair.

Ballerina Bows

Pretty much everyone went through a ballerina stage (at least, it seemed like “everyone” when I was choosing my extracurricular activities in kindergarten). One of the most fascinating places for me at that age was the ballet store, where tutus of every color blossomed like Christmas tree worms from the ceiling and pearlescent pointe slippers beckoned from the shelves.

Image credit: Ballet: The Nutcracker; Choreographer: Ben Stevenson; Dancer(s): Katharine Precourt & Linnar Looris; Photograph: Amitava Sarkar – found on http://www.danceadvantage.net/sugar-plum-fairy/

These nails are based on various costumes I was able to find simply by googling “ballerina costume.” All the theatrical dresses are so expressive, flamboyant, over-the-top… I wish I could dress like that all the time! (Maybe.)

The gray lattice-y ones are supposed to reflect fancy lace-up slippers with purple laces.

Above image credit: http://www.polyvore.com/ballet_dresses_romantic_tutus/collection?id=3142772

Each of the thumbnails represents a blue-gold bow tied somewhere on a pink costume.

Finding Nemo Nail Art

Everyone’s talking about the new movie “Finding Dory.” Especially where I volunteer at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, people can’t stop mentioning some scene with a touch tank where all the creatures scream “HANDS!!!” and scramble to avoid nasty human fingers tugging and poking at them.

It can be awfully annoying to deal with disrespectful hands at the aquarium, in all seriousness. While touch tanks can be educational, the mental and physical health of the animals needs to be front and center.

Shark in a touch tank, the size of which is not visible in this image. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Shark_Touch_Tank_Aquario_Natal.jpg

That aside, we must remember that “Finding Nemo,” the predecessor to the new Dory rage, is the classic that colored my childhood. To memorialize the best, I did this design which captures the scene where Dory and Marlin are bouncing through a swarm of pink sea jellies.

Above image from http://pixar.wikia.com/wiki/Jellyfish

Since many of my family members read this blog, let me just preempt their comments by mentioning that when I was little and first watched “Finding Nemo” in a theater, I apparently screamed and ran out of the building when the shark grinned across the big screen. Let’s have it be known that during the same time period, at a visit to the same aquarium where I now volunteer, I ended up crying and stricken by a film of a shark ruthlessly killed by a wayward fishing net. That shark wasn’t smiling.

Have you seen “Finding Dory?” Does it do any credit at all to its predecessor?