I think this campaign we created in the spring deserves a blog post of its own. I got to create body painting for a non-smoking campaign of a little different kind. The campaign was aimed for expecting mums-to-be. It's surprising how many women still smoke when they are pregnant....

"You paint your own stripes"

Tiikeri ei ole laumaeläin.
Maalaat omat raitasi.​​
​
A campaign against smoking 

CLIENTS:
Kuopion kaupunki
Kuopio ehkäisevä päihdetyö
Pohjois-Savon Syöpäyhdistys ry

Campaign production & visual design:
AnnaLouise
Annukka Miettinen
Loviisa Linjama​
​
Body painting:
Riina Laine
http://www.riinalaineartist.com/
​
Music by https://www.soundcloud.com/ikson

Let's imagine there was a company specializing in vegetable food products and they wanted to promote them. How would they advertise something as generic as vegetables? 

Well first they could come up with a good slogan. something that encourages people to eat more veggies. It could be something like "More vegetables one day a week means 52 better days in a year." That's very good. 

But how would they make their ad stand out from the crowds of tomatoes, salads and peppers that are the seen in vegetable commercials? They know good copy isn't enough. So what do they do to catch people's attention visually?

They choose body painting. 

APETIT is the company we just imagined. They trusted the idea of their marketing partner Hasan & Partners and took a step in creating something totally different to what you are used to seeing in TV commercials, let alone in vegetable promotions. And I'm so happy and proud all of them trusted me to be the creator for the challenging body painting illusions.

I was contacted by the director Aleksi Koskinen from Hasan & Partners right in the beginning of the project. I stepped in from the beginning of the design phase which was essential, as my knowledge on body painting and it's possibilities helped in mapping out the final visual goal. The vegetables to be created were our design choices and naturally then approved by the client. 

I was commissioned to create the designs and sketches for the paintings. After the actual painting days I also got to view the final images and film and give my proof on the edits. I really love it that the client respected my wish to keep the paintings as natural as possible with minimum edits - the beauty of body painting lies in it's authenticity.

I also used my contact network and booked the most suitable models for this project. All of them were dancers and former athletes who are used to working with their bodies and have strength to hold poses that look easy, but in real life feel totally opposite. 

My personal challenge in this was to create multi-body illusions which are one of the most difficult forms of body painting. At the same time I wanted to create something that would blow everyone's mind away and meet (preferably exceed) my client's expectations. I never do less than what I can, instead I always try to give more. I'm so grateful for this project, and it feels so amazing to get this feedback afterwards:

Links about the campaign:

• ​Apetit-website
• ​Marmai: Apetit valitsi hasanin uudeksi kumppanikseen "Uskaltaisin väittää, että tämä kampanja erottuu" 6.4.2018

One of my favourite types of commissions are definitely belly paintings. It is such a priviledge to get to paint the bump of a new mother-to-be. It's a beautiful way to celebrate new life and I feel honoured to have my brush strokes capture the special time in someone's life. 

The themes for painting vary and I always try my best to bring the client's wishes to life. Sometimes the painting is given as a surprise present at the baby shower, and it's great to see how spot-on the friends have been with the subject they've asked for the painting! 

These paintings always make the clients smile (or cry to behonest, sometimes they are so moved by the end-result that even I get teary). The painting session is also a good time for the mum-to-be to just relax and enjoy and concentrate on her baby. I love giving them a moment to remember with my art.

Most of my clients have had their belly painted in the beginning of their maternity leave. That's when they have more time to themselves and of course this a great way to spend your time off! :D Naturally "the canvas" is bigger then too, which is great for round shaped paintings. 

Here are some of my latest belly paintings, don't you just love those beautiful bumps! <3
More pictures and information can be found on my Belly painting page.

I'm so happy this happened - I got my body painting on the cover of a magazine! And actually it is one of the first (if not the first) Finnish magazines to have body painting on the cover. And what's even better, is thatSeura is not a fashion or design publication, but a magazine with stories of interesting people, societal issues and of course with a TV guide and crosswords puzzle, and aimed for an audience of 50+. 

BUT, how cool is this magazine to have body painting on actress-singer Maria Ylipää, who they interviewed - such a brave and open-minded take on their normally very traditional style. Love it! I've worked as a make-up artist for Seura for years and I knew this was coming at some point. We were all waiting for the right time and the right person to model for it. So I think Maria was perfect for this! So powerful, as were the pictures in the end. 

What do you think? The feature story was about the seven deadly sins. Can you guess which one(s) she was portraying? 

Seura (issue 47/ 2017): "Näyttelijä Maria Ylipää: Alastomuuden pitää olla perusteltua." 

Body painting, make-up & hair: Riina Laine
Photos: Tommi Tuomi/ Otavamedia

MAKING OF PHOTOS: Pia Karapää

Watch the making-of video below