Childhood Memories—17 Cartoon Nail Art Designs and How To

Just because you’re all grown up, doesn’t mean you can’t be a kid at heart. Everyone who is younger wants to be older and everyone who is older wants to be younger. We do whatever we can to try and make our desires come true. We’ll try anything, from anti-wrinkle creams to dying our hair every type we see a grey hair growing in.

Even if you are not at the grey hair point, you probably still recall your childhood fondly, especially the movies, shows, toys, etc., that were involved in it. It was a time when you had no cares in the world, well except for who your next best friend would be. Why not keep the spirit alive, even if it’s just for a short time? Bring back all those memories and good times, not to mention that it’s also a good conversation starter, by putting your favorite cartoon character (or characters) on your nails.

Steps and Ideas

First, and most importantly, you have to decide who you are going to paint on your nails. This could be anyone! Disney princesses, Barbie, Care Bears, Powerpuff girls, super heroes, Winnie the Pooh, the Flinstones, Looney Tunes, and the Lorax, are all great ideas, but there are so many more. Whoever you can recall, it’s all possible.

Once you’ve got that figured out, now you have to mentally assess your nail painting skills. If you feel comfortable with your artistic skills over a small area, then you’re good to go! If you want to do it yourself but aren’t as confident then pick a easy design that you think you could mange. Either way you will need some key items, especially a nail art pen for thin lines, and the such.

The other way, and way easier way, if you are still set on trying it out by hand it to use stamps. They are easy to use and you can by a kit. It usually consists of a circular palette with various perfectly designed cartoon characters around the edges. The character outlines and details are actually grooves. Apply some of the paint on the one you want, scrape it off so that it’s only the grooves that are filled, press a stamper down on the design, then fill in the stamp on the stamper you just created with the colors of the character!

As you can see, it’s a relatively simple process, though it is a bit time consuming. No one ever said looking good was easy! Or, of course, you could opt for the nail salon to get them done by professionals, but it’s best to call ahead to make sure they have the materials needed.

Instead of just having the same full character on each nail on a background of a base color, there are some more creative options worth trying out:

• If you are planning on putting just the face of the cartoon, then think about putting it on the tip of the nail. Face it away from you so that when you stick out your hand the person viewing them has the correct perspective. You could also put the face of the character only halfway on the tip so that just the eyes are showing. Depending on the character, it may add more personality.
• Of course, if there are multiple characters in the show or movie you want to portray, you have the option of putting a different character on each nail.
• If you are sticking with on character, it may get a little repetitive having the same design on each nail. To spice it up, think of more basic designs and common colors to use on other nails. For example, if doing Winnie the Pooh, you could have his face on one nail, a bee on another one or two, black and yellow stripes on another, a honey jar, and so on.
• You could also keep the same character but change the facial expression. Have the cartoon be happy, surprised, angry, etc.
• If you are choosing more elegant characters, such as Disney princesses, combine them with a classic and elegant look: the French manicure. You could even have the French tips each a different color matching the character, and then the character would go above.
• Really make your cartoon characters shine! Add glitter in the right places, or even rhinestones to accentuate your chosen design.

The Sky Is The Limit!

As mentioned earlier, basically any character or characters you can think of can be painted on your nails. It’s really up to who and what you remember. Cartoons are a great way of connecting with your inner child. Up to this point, I have mainly insinuated that adults would be the wearers of these designs, but in no way is that the limitation. Your children or nieces would absolutely love if you had a nail date and they could get to choose to put their current favorite characters on their nails. It may be hard to get them to stay still because they’ll be so excited!

No matter who the designs are going on, the end result is bound to look fabulous and definitely unique.