The 'Unmanicure': How To Create Halloween Nasty Nails

[paobloom]

WOW! you are GOD! thank you so much for your tutorials! in my city on monday 31th we're going to celebrate a zombie walk! so I'll use your tutorials for a perfect zombie costume :)

[stuartbray73]

@paobloom he he - I'm no God...but thanks for watching! Have a great Halloween!!!

-Stuart

[ErinAlexisPants]

Boss as fuck.... thanks for this.

[demonninjagrl]

Wow, this is pretty cool, now I was going to ask one thing. When you make the shape of the cover for your nails, is it possible to make them into a more claw like shape perhaps? I have an idea for a costume I'm going to make this year and I have everything but the claws, so I had to ask about this. Much appreciated if you respond!~

[stuartbray73]

@demonninjagrl I'm sure you could - by making them longer and then bending the extending nail into a curve. Immerse that portion into fresh boiling-hot water and bend around an appropriately curved object and dunk into cold to set it in shape.

-Stuart

[demonninjagrl]

@stuartbray73 Sorry for the late reply, but thank you so much! Now I hope I can find the plastic and tape in time for tomorrow XD Happy Halloween!~

[FromTheNotebook]

I wonder if perhaps you could achieve the same effect, but longer hold time with artificial nails? Is that possible?

[stuartbray73]

@FromTheNotebook Most likely - similar question asked below:

quick question..cant you do the same effect with fake nails?

marinayou2001 1 year ago

@marinayou2001 Maybe if you're a chick. I don't think they make acrylic nails big enough for my big fat sausage fingers.

Bravo Stuart! Nothing better than a clever idea.

hhochhalter1968 1 year ago

[suspender2008]

how about the plastic can it be any type of plastic...

[suspender2008]

Imma try this for the jackal costume for my haunted house. Man this is awesome!!! what kind of tape did you use again. I couldn't hear you when you said it in the video???

[stuartbray73]

@suspender2008 Either toupée tape for holding hairpieces on or double sided carpet tape.

-Stuart

[azavier4preston]

It Seems You've Messed Up Your Beautiful Nails D:

[stuartbray73]

@azavier4preston Yes, I have been blessed with decent fingercaps, despite a youth spent nibbling away on them.

-Stuart

[aichan25]

dude i'm gonna try this to make werewolf claws!

[TurboSwagHD]

Wow I hate my I phone what I meant was I love your cut vids I dnt want the amatuer gory stuff I want a simple cut Thnx again lol

[TurboSwagHD]

I freaking love it's the truth I love you especially your cut videos I dnt want this amatuer

[MrKoolmew]

That's Awesome!!!

[jindydude1]

Could I make these say around 5cm long?

[stuartbray73]

@jindydude1 You could indeed, although beware the obvious risk of detachment owing to the leverage such a long nail would have. You could perhaps wrap a thin strip of fabric such as nail silk (AKA 'Swiss or China Silk') available from a salon suppliers.

Talk to a nail technician in a salon - they'll use fibreglass and sometimes silk to bond nail tips with an adhesive or resin.

Wrap a thin strip over the nail and around the finger, and glue down with spirit gum or similar adhesive.

-Stuart

[jindydude1]

@stuartbray73 Im apart of 501st and am making a Prince Xizor costume, he has really long nails. So I would only have the nails on for about 8hours. so something nice and cheap would be great. Plus I wont be using my hands for anything only pointing at people lol

Thanks for making a great video

[stuartbray73]

@jindydude1 Fantastic - that's cool! I reckon you will at some point need to pee or eat or drink, and that's when it happens. You could try getting some caps to go over the fingers (sewing thimbles from a craft store) and attach nails to those although the edges would not be so good.

-Stuart

[stuartbray73]

@jindydude1 Maybe a latex glove cut up into thin strips (3mm wide x 40mm long) and use these as retaining strips wrapped around the base of the nail and finger. They would also stretch and snap back if the nails got caught. That's as cheap as I can think to do it.

A great FX dictum is 'Cheap, Quick or Good...pick two of these 'cos you can't have the third'.

-Stuart

[jindydude1]

@stuartbray73 yeah didnt really think of the peeing part lol. I do need to make a latex glove. So this would work.

and I choose Cheap and good lol. I dont care how long it takes. I need to do a full headcast to make a latex mask, (you other videos helped with that too, so cheers lol)

[eils18]

ps. is the illustrator okay to use if acrylic paints aren't available?

[stuartbray73]

@eils18 Absolutely you can. You can use just about anything!

[eils18]

this is exactly why you're my favourite make-up effects artist.

amazing! so helpful!

x

[TorweyBrandman]

Nice!

[JesstheHappyEmoGirl]

SO helpfull! This is just perfict for my Amnesia costume! thank you for posting the tutorial!!

[stuartbray73]

@JesstheHappyEmoGirl Cool! Glad you liked it.

[Familienschreck4ever]

absolutely amazing. they look almost as if they were real ( if you just look at the result, it is absolutely stunning). but if i ever will do this, i´ll buy some cheap plastic nails and fit them to my hands. would probably work if your nails have the right size :) *thumbs up*

[PEEPSaPLENTY]

Will these fall off easlie because your useing tape?

[stuartbray73]

@PEEPSaPLENTY Depending on the tape you use, it can. Double sided carpet tape is probably stronger, but you can always opt for nail glue used for attaching false nails. Depends what you need them for, but because of the nature of the gnarly tips, you are more likely to snag on fabrics etc. This being the case, it is probably safer to use tape and have a fake nail come away than to use a strong adhesive and rip the real attached underneath.

[keziaannabel008]

OMG thanxx !

[ToxicTwistedTipOffs]

Oh, this is so unbelievable helpful! I was wondering how I could do a simple gritty look without having to swing for acryllics, since I'm being a zombie this year. You've really come up with a cheap way. Hopefully these work splendidly!

[stuartbray73]

@ToxicTwistedTipOffs Fab...thanks. Glad you like it - send me a photo when you do! Be great to see how you did.

-Stu

[Iilmisse]

I have just finished making these nails, and they look fantastic. Really easy to make, especially using all the make up i already had for my zombie face. I really look forward to showing these of at the halloween party. Thanks very very much!

[TheHottie5576]

amazing!

[THdattebayo]

Hey! Thank you for the unbelievably useful tutorial!

Can you think of a tutorial, how to make vampire fangs, the cheap and practical way, like this? I'd be glad even for a few suggestions! Thanks!

[stuartbray73]

@THdattebayo Good idea...I shall think about how best to do that. Great suggestion!

[WicCaesar]

I would love to make these nails for my zombie outfit, but I don't have nails like every other human. My nails are horrible and small and freak.

[FailPandaProductions]

ok i had to share . . .

im in the us so after about 2 hours of boiling water i have the right diameter ! my biggest problem was getting the right diameter of the boiled plastic. i ended up with a 3/8th inch plastic spoon that replicated the same relation to (finger size to plastic diameter). now i need to cut etc.

[stuartbray73]

@FailPandaProductions Good grief...2 hours? If you use a thin report cover or similar it should yield to the heat in less than a minute. I think the thickness of report covers obviously will vary but a spoon 3/8th sounds awfully thick. If the plastic is thin enough and the cylindrical object is small enough, the curvature should not be such a trial for you.

By all means, email me some pics of what you have used and I'll help as much as I can.

-Stuart

[FailPandaProductions]

@stuartbray73 i have fairly thick plastic maybe a millimeter or more (two real nails thick) . . . and the spoon has a diameter of like 1-1/2 cm . . . got it to work ,but it streches a little after words.

[stuartbray73]

@FailPandaProductions The thinnest plastic you can use is best. If the nails are too thick they'll protrude too high off from the real nail. I found those report covers work best, but that's great if you can get the thicker plastic to work. They won't break easily, I'm sure. Did you do a complete set?

-Stuart

[ImNotCrazy44]

You sir, have just gained a new subscriber =D

[hwk4545yo]

thats cool

[claressadubs]

I'm making my own nails now (per your directions) as I watch this. My family does a haunted house each year and I liked these nails so much that I wanted to make them as soon as I first saw the video. Now I just have to come up with a costume to go with them... ; )

[stuartbray73]

@claressadubs Fantastic. If you put plastic bags over your hands, it will help you slip them through sleeves etc without snagging them on the fabric. You'll have to email me the finished results!

[VJExavior]

Well done. I'll have to give these a shot next time I'm doing a batch of zombies.

[tjalolx]

i'd hate to scratch my butthole with them fingernails..

[mizzjeni170]

@tjalolx LOL

[MissPurplePolish]

Hi, i went on your website , does it cost for the 'sign up corse thingy' ??

[stuartbray73]

@MissPurplePolish Nope...the FREE mini ecourse is totally free. There are also free articles on the 'Free Stuff' page. The physical workshops when you come to the studio have a charge as listed, but the online one you can sign up for does not cost you a penny.

[MissPurplePolish]

@stuartbray73 Thanks ! im sooo gonna do that

[MissPurplePolish]

@MissPurplePolish

[SleevedQtee]

@MissPurplePolish I signed up on his site a few months back, and every tutorial is amazing. It's helped me learn so much about material and what does best with others. Pretty neat stuff. :)

[farrahgedden]

so great !! continue =)

[marinayou2001]

lol..maybe your right

[hhochhalter1968]

Great video. Awesome presentation and bad ass nails. Do the nails lose their shape after an extended period of time? Thanks!

[stuartbray73]

@hhochhalter1968 They don't lose their shape but you will increae the chance of catching them accidentally and it popping off.

It is a constant problem for the career zombie, who learns to carry spares, avoid small children, string tassles on soft furnishings and dense foliage, all which present such nail-loss hazards.

[FoolishDemon]

ooo! put more videos up, your so good at what you do <3 keep up the good work :)

[marinayou2001]

quick question..cant you do the same effect with fake nails?

[hhochhalter1968]

@marinayou2001 Maybe if you're a chick. I don't think they make acrylic nails big enough for my big fat sausage fingers.

Bravo Stuart! Nothing better than a clever idea.

[stuartbray73]

@marinayou2001You could indeed.

I mentioned in the drop down info under the player that I originally did this tutorial with fake nails from a beauty supply store, but found this method worked much better. The nails I could buy work fine on small hands, but I used up all the thumb sized nails on my man-hands. Also, these looked better.

The curvature on premade nails would cause them to unstick unless you used a Cyanoacrylate (superglue) nail glues which requires a more extensive removal.

[stolmasa]

A great video!! I might try this one on this years Halloween party at my work. A little off topic question, what is the music that is playing in this video. It sounds very interesting and haunting.

[stuartbray73]

@stolmasa just some royalty free loops and an ambient track I had. I thought the gentle tap-tapping of cymbals would have a kind of 'A-Team kitting up' thing about it. Music sequencers are cool.

[stolmasa]

@stuartbray73 Haha I see. Well it came out really well. Some times that kind of background music makes the video look much much more professional than if you add a track from a licensed musician. But considering your experience, no wonder the video is so good. Your web site is pretty cool and I encourage everyone that checks the video, to check the site as well!! Cheers!

[horseslover95]

look´s very nasty!! Great work!

[makeitup08]

Great Video!

[brickintheyard]

Nice work!!

[stuartbray73]

@brickintheyard Cheers Mitch. Still experimenting with editing software. It'll get better, I promise!

[stuartbray73]

I added a 'Cheat Sheet' you can download for this on the site.

[cesarilloquetepillo]

Excellent work Stuart :D

[stuartbray73]

@cesarilloquetepillo Thanks! I know I sound like a drain having a confession beaten out of it, but it's weird talking at a microphone!