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Paint with all the Colors of Skin: Changing Skin Tone for a Costume

A character with a skin color different from your own will come with its own challenges depending on how much skin is shown. (If you're lucky, it's just the face).


 Natural vs Unnatural Skin Color

We should, right off the bat, address the elephant in the room. While I believe you can cosplay as whoever you want, at least in the United States, there is a social expectation to not to darken your skin to portray a character that has a darker skin color than your own. To put it in blunt terms, no "black face" or "brown face" please. This has fallen very far out of fashion and could ruin your political career. (If you have such asperations.) But in all seriousness, I'd like to think that as cosplayers we're respectful and sensitive enough not to participate in this practice. 

HOWEVER, if you get dark when you tan or get lighter when you stay indoors, this is perfectly acceptable. (Even spray tans to an extent.) 
I think generally because we dress up as a character because of our admiration and fandom, we approach this issue with more thought. 

When cosplaying a human character based on a human ethnicity that does not match your own should be approached respectfully. You can put out feelers to fellow cosplayers or cosplay groups to get ideas on how to best approach the costume. Be prepared to hear out opinions that say you should not cosplay a particular character. It can affect your reputation online which does hold a lot of currency as of the time of this blog post. But it is also the good, moral thing to do. Modesty, sister to humility, is about putting the will of others above our own. (Doesn't mean be a door mat, but if we can tame our ego, it's good for the soul.)

However, for fantasy characters, creatures and ethnicities, there's not as much fuss. Although, sometimes people get weirded out by Drow which are literally black faced.
Too close to actual ethnic group. 
 
Acceptable. 

Skin Color Methods

Now, let's get into the process! The best method for you will depend on how much skin is showing. 

1) Tanning/Lightening - either through natural or artificial methods you can darken your natural skin color or lighten it. 

2) Nylon Fabrics - You can get leggings in many different colors which should cover your legs with a tone and you can apply it to your arms as well! You can also use scraps of these fabrics to cover parts of your costume that should look like skin. 

3) Body Paints/Face Paints - This can seem like the most natural look when going for a skin color change. It uses your own imperfections and doesn't hide everything. There are ways to make it look more "natural". The rest of this blog is going to get into body paint. Check the reference section for some more in-depth advice about face paint/body paint. 

Types of Body Paint

There are many types of paint that are appropriate for skin, but they all behave differently. They are not all beginner friendly and in some cases not very comfortable. But this should give you some quick reference as to what to search for. 

Grease Paint - This is what you'll commonly find in Party Stores or children's face painting kits. It is relatively inexpensive, can cover a lot of surface area, washes off easily, and appears very vibrant. The downsides is that it rubs off very easily, can stain fabrics (and other areas of the house) and it does not layer very well. It is recommended that if you are going to use grease paint to "set" the paint with baby powder or a makeup setting powder to help. It should only be used on the face and neck or on latex prosthetics. (Rubber Grease Paint.) There are horror stories of grease paint that just finds itself all over walls, couches, clothes, and cars. For smaller occasions, it is an option, however, there are some conventions that ban grease paint because of the staining issues. 
My face was grease painted.

Water-Activated - One of the most popular methods for body paint is water-activated paints. These come in pressed cakes or air-brush bottles. You must wet the cake with water to make it more of a cream that you can apply to yourself. The makeup despite its small size can go a long way! It does "dry" on your skin and stays on relatively well. You can blend colors and multiple layers when applying. The downside is that it's not water proof. Also, that means it's not sweat proof. You may lose some of the makeup if you don't set the makeup or you get in a water-balloon fight. It's easily removed with soap and water. (I pretty much exclusively use this for my costumes.) 
Water activated Paints + Makeup


Alcohol-Activated - this shares most of the benefits of the water-activated makeup with the bonus of it being a bit more water resistant. You can sweat a lot but it won't run off. The downside is removal is more tedious. 

Latex Makeup - There are methods of mixing body-paint pigment with latex paint. (The stuff they used on Myth Busters.) The stuff is SUPER durable and you may have fun peeling it off later. However, it's not an option if you have a latex allergy and it can be uncomfortable to wear. But it's the best for covering up tattoos. 

Hope this helps give you some search terms for finding your best skin color method. 

Resources

Madeyewlook Youtube channel

Face Painting Tips

Asari Makeup Walkthrough

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