I have a shoot planned that needs to appear as if paint is being poured on/over a model, and they will continue to be "painted" for some time (1-5 hours maybe?). What kind of paint would be safe, or what could I use that would look like normal latex wall paint?  Primary importance is that the material is safe, secondary is that it should look like paint.

I need basic solid colors; black, white, red, blue, green, yellow, orange, purple.

Ideas?

Basic kids craft paint (tempera), the stuff they use for fingerpaints, totally non toxic and available in big jugs for kindergarten classes.

Art supply warehouse has them for about $13 a gallon in a good assortment of colors.

Don't use any paint that isn't specifically meant for skin.

Why not just buy large bottles of body paint and put them into a clean paint bucket?   Body paint is available in quart bottles.   I wouldn't use anything that wasn't specifically designed as paint for the skin.

They sell plastic buckets at Home Depot intended for painting.  If you put body paint into those buckets you'd safely get the effect you wanted with no risk to the model.

Thank you for showing respect for your model by asking what is the safest product to use. You ARE making a healthcare decision for another human being, after all........

For sure... cosmetic grade body paints will be safer than any non-toxic craft grade alternative. People may argue that it's the same pigments and such... but the refinement level of ingredients and the number of pigments deemed safe is reduced more and more as we go up the scale from craft to skin.

For buckets of color, consider the very inexpensive Palmer's bodypaint - it is very thick and can be thinned quite a bit.

At $3.33/8oz - it may be a good choice.

Some of the colors are not as vibrant as premium body paints, but that is one of the tradeoffs.

http://www.dickblick.com/products/palmer-face-paint/

Another option is Generic, "Nothing Special" bodypaint at $18/8oz.

http://www.fxsupply.com/makeup/mu_body.html

In short, there are cosmetic-grade options that are competitively priced to craft paints in the quantities you need.

Good luck on your project, and looking forward to the results!

Easy -

Mehron Liquid - safer than craft paint, affordable, easy to find, photos well, cleans up easier than craft paints...........

http://www.thepaintednavel.com/Mehron-L … /m-liq.htm

Thank you all for the suggestions. I know that tempera and acrylics are not safe and that "non-toxic" is not the same as "safe for body painting." I'll look into the brands mentioned and see what looks like it would work.