Gallery: Trippy Face Paintings Turn People Into 2-D Canvases
Photo: Alexander Khoklov01Comix
From the series *2D or Not 2D*. Makeup artist Valeriya Kutsan devised and applied the striking designs that grace the faces of the models in these series.
Photo: Alexander Khoklov02Keyhole
From the series *Weird Beauty*. Much of the process was spent deciding which model would portray a given design.
Photo: Alexander Khoklov03Laces
From the series *Weird Beauty*. The painstaking application of paint could take as long as four hours.
Photo: Alexander Khoklov04Mask
From the series *2D or Not 2D*. The features of the face were used to accent or obscure the features of the design, as in this case where the model's chin is used as the upper lip.
Photo: Alexander Khoklov05Mickey
From the series *Weird Beauty*. Making the images appear graphic and flat against the human face took careful planning to compensate for the face's natural curves.
Photo: Alexander Khoklov06MonaLisaPixelated
From the series *2D or Not 2D*. This photo, featuring the project's post-production artist Veronica Ershova, demonstrates the tricky job of making straight lines that must remain unbroken across the features of the face.
Photo: Alexander Khoklov07Multiple-faces
From the series *2D or Not 2D*. Many of the models in the black-and-white *Weird Beauty* series also appeared in *2D or Not 2D*.
Photo: Alexander Khoklov08ObamaGirl
From the series *2D or Not 2D*. The lighting approaches varied, but generally photographer Alexander Khoklov had to fight his instincts and make the light as flat as possible.
Photo: Alexander Khoklov09Oilpainted
From the series *2D or Not 2D*. Other lighting approaches were used to augment the paintings themselves.
Photo: Alexander Khoklov10Patchwork
From the series *2D or Not 2D*. Compared to the planning and application of the paint, the actual photography was relatively simple.
Photo: Alexander Khoklov11Pulse
From the series *Weird Beauty*. “It is hard to sit in one pose for several hours during the makeup and then to pose the photographer for an hour,” Kutsan says.
Photo: Alexander Khoklov12Sculpture
From the series *2D or Not 2D*. The paint schemes were designed to be seen from exactly one angle. According to makeup artist Kutsan, "There was only one pose for the model, because even a slight turn of the head could completely destroy the illusion.”
Photo: Alexander Khoklov13Silhouette
From the series *Weird Beauty*. According to Khoklov, the *Weird Beauty* series started with two photos. "I brought some ideas for photos to Valeriya -- we made one picture, then a second picture after two months, and then we just decided why couldn’t we make a series from these two pictures."
Photo: Alexander Khoklov14Sketch
From the series *2D or Not 2D*. Most of the post-production work went into cleaning up the lines used at the borders of the major features of the models' faces.
Photo: Alexander Khoklov15Stained
From the series *2D or Not 2D*. The series borrows styles and techniques from a variety of artists, including Lichtenstein, Picasso, Shepard Fairey, Mondrian, and others.
Photo: Alexander Khoklov16RedBeard
From the series *Angry Beards*. For this series, the paint was actually applied by post-production artist Veronica Ershova. This one features the photographer (and Ershova's husband) Khoklov.
Photo: Alexander Khoklov17AngryPig
The two portraits from *Angry Beards* (this one features the singer from Khoklov's band) were presented as gifts to the marketing director of Rovio following a seminar in Moscow.
