Leopard Print Tutorial

Time for my very first nail art tutorial on I Heart Nail Art! I wanted to start with something a bit simple, and the photos for this tutorial have been sitting in my phone forever, so I figured a cute leopard print would be a great start.
I actually posted this a while ago on my old blog when I was an Avon rep, hence the Avon polish, but that blog was way too limiting, so I'm happy I moved on and can post it on my new blog! Sorry for the so so picture quality and water marks, these were taken before I upped my picture game -Though my pictures still are not as nice as I want them to be, I'm still learning!-.

I learned how to make this design just by looking at photos of leopards online, then just playing around with my nail wheels until I got the look I wanted. The research also taught me that the spots on a leopard are called rosettes. If you didn't know that either, then you just learned something new too! I'm like a Snapple bottle cap!

For this tutorial I stuck with a solid base to keep focus on the details, but that doesn't mean you have to. Go crazy! Maybe even go all Lisa Frank and pick bright neon colors. A while back I did a Gradient version to give it the appearance of fur.
I used a gradient of ColorClub Nomadic in Nude, and ColorClub Earthy Angel, with NYC Fashion Safari for the spots, and NYC Black Lace Creme for the rosettes. I plan on making a tutorial for the Gradient soon, so keep an eye out!


For this design you will need:
1.Polishes for your base, spots, and rosettes.
2.A double sided dotting tool, or toothpick.
3.A detailing nail art brush.
4.Something to pour your polishes on, I use tin foil so I can just crumple and toss it.

I know some people prefer to use acrylic paint for their detail work, that is totally up to you, but I've never liked using acrylic paint, I find polish just works way better for me.

First, obviously, apply your base color or colors - I applied two coats of Avon Speed Dry + On the Go Pink.-. Then apply a top coat and let it dry fully so your detail brush won't drag the polish.

Now apply your spots. To give it a more realistic appearance, just apply them randomly, and in differing sizes using your double sided dotting tool. Or if you're using a toothpick, alter the amount of polish you pick up on the toothpick to get the size difference. For my spots I used NYC Fashion Safari.

There is really no set way to apply the rosettes. Just take your detail brush and apply your color in dots and dashes around your spots randomly. For more realism, apply some dots and dashes on the bare areas around the spots also. I wish I could explain it more, I hope I have, but you really can't go wrong, so just wing it like I did. I used NYC Black Lace Creme for my rosettes.

Here's mine before my top coat.

After a coat of Sally Hanson Double Duty base & top coat in one.

Thanks for reading my first tutorial! If you try it I would love to see a picture, so send me a tweet! My Twitter link is in the Places to find me section on the left.

Brittany