When I was in elementary school, I enjoyed reading Archie comic books. Veronica Lodge was my favorite because she was a snotty, wealthy woman with an extensive wardrobe. And she was the drama queen! Of course, she often had to be taught the lesson of humility and generosity.
My least favorite character was probably Moose because dumb jocks never appealed to me. And I really didn’t like Betty Cooper because she was such a goody-goody who often got upstaged.
Who’s your favorite and least favorite Archie character?
So when I came across a comic nail tutorial on YouTube by cutepolish, I was excited to try my hand at it. Unfortunately, my Archie Comic Nails didn’t turn out well. But I’m still sharing my failure with you because it could help you achieve better results after learning about my mistakes.
I’ve also included my comic nail tutorial and cutepolish’s YouTube video at the end of this post in case you’d like to try it yourself!
Archie Comic Nail Swatches
No Top Coat
No Top Coat
With Top Coat
With Top Coat
With Top Coat
No Top Coat
No Top Coat
*~* Archie Comic Nail Art Tutorial *~*
What You’ll Need:
- Archie Comic Book (You can also use comic strips from the newspaper.)
- Rubbing Alcohol (You can get this at the drugstore in the first-aid section.)
- Base Coat (I used OPI Natural Nail Base Coat.)
- Top Coat (I used Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat.)
- White Creme Nail Polish (I used OPI Alpine Snow.)
- Bowl (for the rubbing alcohol)
Step 1: Flip through your Archie comic book or the newspaper and cut out images or words that you’d like to use. Be sure to cut out a larger area so it’s easy to manipulate. You’ll need 10 in total – 1 for each nail.
Try to use images or text that will cover up most of your nails. And keep in mind that whatever you choose will be inverted when you put it on your nails. This doesn’t matter much for images, but for text, it will be backwards.
Step 2: Prepare your nails by applying a base coat.
Step 3: Paint your nails with your white creme polish. Use as many coats as you need to get it as smooth and bright as you can. Using a white polish is important because it allows the comic to show up better.
Wait until it’s completely dry before going to the next step. (I was impatient, so I applied a coat of Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat at this point. This may or may not be why the ink from the comic didn’t fully transfer onto my nails.)
I used OPI Alpine Snow. To achieve full opacity, I applied 2 coats. The formula was streaky on the first coat. On the second coat, it was much better, but not perfect. That’s okay, though, because while you need it to be bright, having a few streaks won’t be as noticeable when the images are on your nails later.
Step 4: Pour some rubbing alcohol into your bowl. (You can also use another form of alcohol like a body mist. And apparently you can also use vodka, but honestly, why would you waste that?)
Step 5: Take the first image or text clipping you want to use, and dip it into the rubbing alcohol.
Step 6: With the image or text you want faced down, carefully position it on your nail. Press it down for a few seconds without sliding the paper around or you’ll smudge the design like I did. Then slowly peel off the paper.
Step 7: Repeat Steps 5 to 6 for the rest of your nails. Wait a few minutes for your nails to dry.
Step 8: Seal in the design by using a top coat. I used a shiny top coat, but if you use a matte top coat, you’ll maintain that cool newspaper finish.
Step 9: Admire your work! 🙂
If you want to check out the original YouTube tutorial video by cutepolish, check it out here! Hers turned out waaay before than mine, so I suggest you head on over. Let her know that Mary from Swatch And Learn sent ya!
Are you going to try your hand at Archie comic nail art? Are you a Veronica Lodge or Betty Cooper fan?
I love this!! Archie Comics were my favorite!
Poetic Realist recently posted: All AboutNails!
Hey Poetic Realist!
It didn’t come out as well as I had hoped, but with practice, I’ll probably get better.
Did you save all your Archie comics? Back in high school, I sold most of mine at my best friend’s garage sale. Really regret it now. Had to buy a new one just to try this out! Hehe, and I felt a bit silly buying it now since I’m in my 20s. 😛
This is so cool!! I also used to read Archie Comics. I found a few of my old ones a few months back and now I want to read them all over again! 😀
Ruthe recently posted: China Glaze Crackle over Pure Ice Celestial
Hey Ruthe!
Thanks – it was something I hadn’t tried before, so it was really fun.
Which was your favorite Archie character?
Since I couldn’t find my old books (and most of them I regret selling at my best friend’s garage sale many years ago), I had to buy a new one for this nail art. Did you know that they’ve introduced a new character? His name’s Kevin Keller, and he looks like an updated version of Archie. He wasn’t in my book, but there were ads about his new series.
That’s very cool! I like the idea of pictures better than the other newspaper nails I’ve seen, because the backwards print on the newspaper nails irritates my OCD. You can’t tell that the cartoon images are backwards, though! I’m going to have to try some Calvin and Hobbes or Bloom County nails!
Natalie recently posted: Family Party Weekend!
Hey Natalie!
I’m on the same page as you. Although I think newspaper nails are cool (and I do plan on trying it sometime), it’s too bad the words appear backwards – I think it would bug me after a while, too. That’s why I tried comic nails first. 🙂
When you try it out, please come back and share the link. I’d love to see your finished results, and I’m sure Swatch And Learn readers would, too.
I took a look at your blog, and you are very talented and creative. Love your nail art and the cute clothes and hats! 😀
That is so neat! I’ve wanted to try the newsprint but the comics are pretty awesome too!
I was thinking that if I could find a foreign language newspaper (like Asian or something fancy) I’d try that since it would be less obvious backwards. If only I still lived in a city where I had access to non English newspapers!
Hey Bailey!
Thanks! 😀
I haven’t tried this, but I wonder if you printed something out and used it if the rubbing alcohol would transfer the ink well or not. If we can use printers, well, then we could print out words backwards so that when we put it on the nail, it would be readable. Or maybe the rubbing alcohol only works with newspaper ink. This is something I should try!
wow, this is so cute! thanks for sharing this…im an older betty/veronica fan oo…josie n the pussycats also….
this gives me an idea tho……i also love funky phantom, wonder if i could get jonathan muddle moore on my nails like this. that would have people talkin’!
Hey Nirmal!
😀 I’m so happy to hear that you liked it!
Haha, you should totally try it out. People will be staring at your nails constantly! 🙂 If you try it out, I’d love to see a picture of it.
I saw my best friend with these today, and I had to find out how she did it!! This was so helpful, and I know I’ll be the one with the sweet nails in class tomorrow
Hey Mra!
YAY! I’m so pleased that you’re going to try out this design. Rock it! 😀
Can I also use normal alcohol? : alcohol ketonatus 70%?? And Nice nails!!
Hey Larissa!
Hmm…I’m really not sure. I’ve only ever used rubbing alcohol. As long as the alcohol is safe to be in contact with your skin, I guess it’s okay. I heard of one person using vodka because she didn’t have rubbing alcohol…haha! (But I think that’s a waste. :P)