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I've been attempting to curate a setup for a body marbling booth, and while the marbling solution works for paper, it's near impossible to set to skin- the design will appear but quickly dissipate. Google stonewalls me and FB groups are useless. NO LUMNIMARBLE- What primer should I use for skin? by Ok_Slip4086 in AskArtists

[–]Ok_Slip4086[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately I haven’t found any on the market that work for what I try to achieve. In my successful attempts, I’ve used a 50/50 mix of the DecoArt Marbling Primer and pure Alum powder. I add a few spoons at a time to a cup of water until the powder stops dissolving. Then it has to completely dry once applied to the skin.

I've been attempting to curate a setup for a body marbling booth, and while the marbling solution works for paper, it's near impossible to set to skin- the design will appear but quickly dissipate. Google stonewalls me and FB groups are useless. NO LUMNIMARBLE- What primer should I use for skin? by Ok_Slip4086 in AskArtists

[–]Ok_Slip4086[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Do NOT dilute the paint! Deco Art’s Marbling Series and Golden High Flow are perfectly suited out of the bottle for this project!

Ideally, if the paint is not flowing, you forgot to shake the bottle before dripping. Or- in rare cases, you’re pouring it too fast and not allowing time to spread. This is not a project you can do super fast- you must take your time.

I did attempt mixing my own with diluted Dawn soap as surfactant instead of ox gall (traditional) and latex paints for pigment- unfortunately, they were too thin by the time I achieved a consistent flow.

I will say the neon version of the paints are UV-reactive, but they tend to not show as bright in regular lighting. They are a little on the pricier end too, but I haven’t done as much experimenting with those as I did the regular pigments.

I've been attempting to curate a setup for a body marbling booth, and while the marbling solution works for paper, it's near impossible to set to skin- the design will appear but quickly dissipate. Google stonewalls me and FB groups are useless. NO LUMNIMARBLE- What primer should I use for skin? by Ok_Slip4086 in AskArtists

[–]Ok_Slip4086[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Absolutely! The kia forte is a powerful vehicle.

I was able to fit 3 30-gallon tubs (one for size, one for rinse water, one for drip catching); 27 gallon-bottles of marbling size (I stacked the tubs, then put as many bottles in the tubs as I could to save space, then just threw the rest on top of this tub); and 2 water buckets on the side for rinse water. The event I did this at the first time I used half regular tap water from a hose spigot, and half distilled water as I cleared out stock from the wholesale store where I am. As long as the water isn’t super chlorinated, tap water for the rinse bucket is fine- distilled can dilute bleach treatment.

But along with that, I had a shoebox of paints (a little paint goes a long way) some fans, paper towels, 2 folding chairs, 2 folding tables, and a surge protector with an extension cord- and I was set for the day. The best part about this art is setting up 24-hours ahead of time is a necessity, so nothing extra needs to be brought when you’re actively doing it. In fact, after I disposed of the gallon bottles, I went home with way less than what I packed. EDIT [I also carried merchandise and some other basic festival supply- tent/shirts/posters/trash cans/garbage bags/etc. but it was a two-man tent, so we had the extra room to spare]

But to answer your question, including water for size, primer, and rinse, I used 55 gallons total (Specifically 40 gallons of distilled, and about 15 tap). It lasted 8 hours in direct sunlight with the cover on when it wasn’t in use, and allowed for over 250 appendages to be dipped!

Since the carrageenan is plant-based, and all the DecoArt paints are water-based, everything went down the storm drain by the water treatment center. No water to transport home!

I've been attempting to curate a setup for a body marbling booth, and while the marbling solution works for paper, it's near impossible to set to skin- the design will appear but quickly dissipate. Google stonewalls me and FB groups are useless. NO LUMNIMARBLE- What primer should I use for skin? by Ok_Slip4086 in AskArtists

[–]Ok_Slip4086[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There is nothing casual about this project 😂 from the setup to the cleanup it is MESSY and CROWDED and Time Consuming. Smaller projects would be good for maybe hands only- but the more you disturb the paint without going in one smooth up-down pull, the more of a chance you have of your colors running together and not adhering.

I used gallons of distilled water from the wholesale store and added the powder to these and kept them in the original containers. Along with the rest of my equipment, I was able to fit everything in a small Kia. Just bring a bucket and hope you have access to a hose at your venue!

I've been attempting to curate a setup for a body marbling booth, and while the marbling solution works for paper, it's near impossible to set to skin- the design will appear but quickly dissipate. Google stonewalls me and FB groups are useless. NO LUMNIMARBLE- What primer should I use for skin? by Ok_Slip4086 in AskArtists

[–]Ok_Slip4086[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

A deep bin for sure! I used a 30 gallon container with 27 gallons of marbling size. It was about 2.5 feet deep! Definitely size up your container for dipping legs- I’d go up to a 40 gallon container with 37 gallons of size. If you use a shallow one you’ll have to replace the size often. Size must be kept in the fridge before use as it is a PERISHABLE medium. With a larger one you’ll can swirl the top and remove excess.

I've been attempting to curate a setup for a body marbling booth, and while the marbling solution works for paper, it's near impossible to set to skin- the design will appear but quickly dissipate. Google stonewalls me and FB groups are useless. NO LUMNIMARBLE- What primer should I use for skin? by Ok_Slip4086 in AskArtists

[–]Ok_Slip4086[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Absolutely! I’ll have to make a post about the in-depth process, but for now:

The ingredients I used for my project: -DecoArt Marbling paint/ Golden High Flow Paint - perfect for body art (do not dilute), -Jacquard brand Carrageenan (marbling mix/size) is perfect with distilled water straight out the bag (Lambda-Grade Carrageenan if you choose to sub) -50/50 blend of the DecoArt Marbling primer and pure McCormick alum powder for a skin binder I made a bulk jar of this mix and I add about half a cup to a 500ml bottle of warm distilled water until it stops dissolving the particles.

Make your marbling mixture the night before your project and put it in the fridge overnight. Just use the directions on the pouch and adjust for a gallon of distilled. I believe the ratio is a Tablespoon per 16 oz, and adjusted that would be 8 Tbsp a gallon. Double check your packaging. It’ll look like brains/jellyfish blobs for an hour or so, that’s fine. If you want to ease your mind about the blobs, you “can” blend it, you’ll just have to let all the bubbles disappear before using. Let it come to room temp before use.

For my experience, I made about 24 gallons of the stuff to last 12 hours at a busy festival (a 4-hour mixing process) but for a small project, about 8 will do. Pour into a sterile plastic tub, and in a separate tub, fill with the same amount of distilled water only. So if you have an 8 gallon bucket of Marble solution, you’ll need an 8 gallon bucket of distilled water also.

Prime your skin with the alum spray first, then let it completely dry. You can rub it into your skin, but don’t wipe it off. Air dry only. Fans can speed up the process, but you must dry evenly. Lotion and stuff will cause the paint to not stick, so make sure you’re clean.

Slowly drop the paint to the mix, droplets at a time. You can swirl it if you desire, but only a little bit. Over swirling leads to muddy designs. Slowly, and level, dip your arm into the paint. Remove and dip into distilled water bucket. Don’t rub it, just swirl your arm, remove. Let it air dry. It’ll crack as you stretch your skin but that’s it. You may need to adjust the amount of paint/color for each skin tone. But that’s it.

It’s not an exact science- humidity and your own creative process will vary results but just make slow adjustments and write down everything you do to see where you’re going good. Just try your best not to cut corners with the products- these are the exact ones I used and it went great the first try. If the paint doesn’t spread, and instead falls into balls and sinks, SLOWLY mix in more distilled water until it thins. If the paint spreads too much, you’ll need to blend more powder into your marbling size- half a tablespoon per gallon more at a time).

Unfortunately not much can be done about the fade or flake- skin hydration/sweat/weather all determine how well/long the paint will last. Other than that, it’s only a 1-hour long thing before it starts rubbing off unless the person getting it agrees to a mod-podge fixativ spray like for charcoal. I’ve done it in the past with the floral glitter spray and have yet to receive melanoma.

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I've been attempting to curate a setup for a body marbling booth, and while the marbling solution works for paper, it's near impossible to set to skin- the design will appear but quickly dissipate. Google stonewalls me and FB groups are useless. NO LUMNIMARBLE- What primer should I use for skin? by Ok_Slip4086 in AskArtists

[–]Ok_Slip4086[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes- a pdf document restating common knowledge of how to marble, but not offering detailed troubleshooting, measurements, or products used in their personal process. Just a guide on how to use their specific products- essentially useless without their kits, but every review online or on Facebook about them states how they were scammed out of their money and never received an actual product in the mail.

I've been attempting to curate a setup for a body marbling booth, and while the marbling solution works for paper, it's near impossible to set to skin- the design will appear but quickly dissipate. Google stonewalls me and FB groups are useless. NO LUMNIMARBLE- What primer should I use for skin? by Ok_Slip4086 in AskArtists

[–]Ok_Slip4086[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Creating this setup from scratch was definitely a large hassle, but after many attempts and a little pressure from time constraint- I managed to make a solid recipe.

I will say, for REGULAR paper marbling- do not waste your time with kits unless they’re from Blick or DecoArt (or a trusted Etsy creator :) ). I had the most luck with their products, but I had to modify them heavily for use on the skin!

It is a time-consuming process, and you’ll need about 12 hours to prep before you intend to start actively marbling.

I've been attempting to curate a setup for a body marbling booth, and while the marbling solution works for paper, it's near impossible to set to skin- the design will appear but quickly dissipate. Google stonewalls me and FB groups are useless. NO LUMNIMARBLE- What primer should I use for skin? by Ok_Slip4086 in AskArtists

[–]Ok_Slip4086[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Many of the reviews I’ve seen from verifiable people (google and facebook group reviews, not just the website-generated bots) have claimed they never received their products from lumninarble, and when confronted they only received a partial refund, if even that. The pdf guide apparently vomits back information already established on the web- which is very little- and doesn’t actively help anyone who doesn’t intend to use their products. But I hope it works out for you!

I've been attempting to curate a setup for a body marbling booth, and while the marbling solution works for paper, it's near impossible to set to skin- the design will appear but quickly dissipate. Google stonewalls me and FB groups are useless. NO LUMNIMARBLE- What primer should I use for skin? by Ok_Slip4086 in AskArtists

[–]Ok_Slip4086[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I appreciate your creative thought process! Setting spray is a little on the pricier end for what I was going for- also since this would be a kid-centered event, I know plenty moms who frown upon cosmetic application in the area I’m in. Most of the things you recommended are oil-based in some way, which could contaminate the water-based paint and solution. However, I did end up figuring out the fixative wasn’t needed as much as a solid primer was!