Body art is a growing artistic genre that uses the human body as custom canvass to create amazing works of art. Some artists prefer using the natural curves that only the human body can provide to paint reproductions of world famous art masterpieces or company logos to promote some mass-market product. Other artists specialize in more detailed artistic visions while utilizing only particular limbs such as hands, feet or the face.

Body painting artists use non-toxic, removable paint that is sprayed onto the skin using airbrush equipment. Much like a tattoo artist, the airbrush artist may first draw an outline of the image or images that will be painted on the client’s body, and then the artist will begin to spray-on the color, shade and highlight the image onto the skin. The finished masterpiece is temporary, but so amazing.

Flying Eagle

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The Bald Eagle is the national symbol of the United States of America and a bird of prey that has overcome nearly being wiped out of existence due to habitat destruction and poaching. The eagle pictured above brings this pair of hands alive as the paint is expertly sprayed into place, so when the hands are joined together, it really does look like it is about to take flight.

Dolphin

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At first glance, this looks like a painting or an optical illusion, but a closer examination we can see that it is a hand painted to perfection. It does look like a dolphin posing for the camera in the deep blue sea.

Owl

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Owls are beautiful birds when they are not hunting the wild rabbits that visit my yard at night. Of course, the rabbits don’t need to hop for safety when this owl is around. The way that the artist detailed the feathers on this piece is quite incredible and makes the hands disappear.

Zebra

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Talking about optical illusions, this zebra looks so real that it almost didn’t make this list as body art.

Elephant

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Elephants are the largest land mammals on the planet that maintain a highly sophisticated family unit in the wild. The body artist captured the essence of this great beast in extraordinary detail. It is hard to believe that this excellent creation will be washed down the drain with a little soap and warm water.

Bald Eagle

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The America Bald Eagle has been removed from the endangered species list as a result of conservation and a growing wild population. The artist of this creature captured the strength and the wonder of this most majestic animal.

Fish

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My best guess as to the type of fish that this fish represents is a Japanese Coy, but it is a wild guess at best.

Crocodile

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This crocodile looks real enough to make a nice pair of cowboy boots.

Tiger

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Tigers are the most popular animals that belong to the big cat family. It’s no wonder why the client wanted to get a tiger painted on their hands and it is always huge plus when the artist can make the tiger look as real as this one does.

Dalmatian

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The first thing that came to mind was the image of a firehouse Dalmatian and the second thing that came to mind was the classic Disney movie “101 Dalmatians” and all, because of the airbrushed detail that makes it all look so real.

Giraffe

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As far as body art goes; the giraffe seems to be the most logical choice to paint, because the arm (neck) makes the creation more realistic.

Toucan

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Bird lovers can spot detail better than anyone, but I am not one of them. It looks like a toucan, so it must be a toucan. If not, then what kind of bird is this?

Swan

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Swans are not only beautiful and graceful in the water, but can be quite aggressive when out of the water, especially if they are protecting a nest nearby. It is striking how much this airbrushed work of body art resembles an actual swan, that one could become confused if now aware that it is only a painted pair of human hands that just resembles the real thing in the wild.