Mosaic Nail Art Tutorial & 4 Different Looks

Hey all!

Today I have the tutorial for the mosaic nails I did in the last post.  It's actually very simple and requires little tools.  All you really need is some time and patience. :)  In case you didn't see my last post, here's what mosaic nails look like.

Step 1:  Pick out at least 4 colors you'd like to use for this mani.  Apply the sheerest as your base color.  Then using either a nail art polish with a thin brush or your own thin brush, apply this pattern.  I used Milani nail art polish in white, which I don't recommend.  It gets gloopy really fast, so I've had to add boatloads of polish thinner to it.  I did a mirror image of this pattern on every other finger so that it doesn't look the same for all the nails.






Step 2:  Draw random lines going out from the pattern.  Make sure not to make this symmetrical, that way it'll look more like it's pieced together.  Also this is only a sketch, so don't worry about making the lines perfect.  I tried to make the pattern on each nail look different.  PS. If you need a bigger pic of any of these, you can always click them. :)








Step 3: Color in the design.  Make sure that the same colors don't touch.  This is why you need at least four colors.

Step 4:  Now go back over your original outline with your thin brush again.  This time make sure your lines shape the colors into crisp shapes.  After trying this a bit, I noticed it looks nicer if your lines are thin.  That way your colors are closer together.  Finish off with a coat or two of your favorite top coat.  I used Seche Vite Fast Dry top coat. :)

 

Here are a couple more pictures of coloring and outlines.  Of course when you do this, you'll need to outline all your nails first, then proceed with the coloring, etc.  Don't do the entire procedure for each nail like I did here.  I wasn't completely happy with how the first one came out, so I did it again on my middle nail.  I did these last night, and this morning I thought I might as well do the rest for my pictures.

And the final result!

Left to right: mermaid, fiesta, jewel, color family

I did a different color combination for each nail to show you some more examples.  On my pointer (far left), I actually used a different color polish for each shape.  This one's a mermaid mosaic.  The middle nail has a fiesta themed mosaic, the ring has a jewel toned mosaic, and the far right is composed of four polishes in the same color family.  If you prefer not to use all different colors, using the same color family will render a tamer, yet still unique design.

I was really pleased with the results when I finished, but I was even more impressed when I went outside because of the way sun hit all the different colors and finishes: holo, flakies, jelly, creme, shimmer, glass flecks.  In fact, I was so distracted by my nails that I didn't realize that there were birds raging war against me above my head.  As I was taking pictures outside my house, I thought to myself that the birds were chirping really loud today.  After a while, I noticed bird shadows circling around me on the pavement.  Imagine my horror when I looked up to see two birds swooping down at me!  I ran inside, and they kept cawing and flying around my door. o_O  Birds are vicious during this season (breeding season)!  It's like that short story "The Birds" by Daphne du Maurier; the one that was later turned into a film by Alfred Hitchcock.  Anyway, I was still able to get all the pics I needed, so enjoy. :)  I won't be stepping outside again today!

Leave a comment letting me know which look you like the best!



Liz
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PS.
I'm not advertising LG here!  I used my phone since there wasn't one specific star polish for this mani.  I thought the back cover would look nice with the fiesta nail. :P