Cartoon Nails

Cartoon nails ideas

Cartoon nails work because characters are already drawn in flat colors with bold outlines, which is exactly what polish does well. A few ways to approach them:

• One character per nail: give each finger a different member of the cast, the way a team of turtles or a trio of superhero sisters fills a hand.
• Iconic details only: a pair of goggles, a mustache or a single big eye is enough to say Minion or Mario without painting a full face.
• Skittles style: paint every nail a different color, then add simple faces or eyes on top.
• Accent nail: one character on the ring finger, with the other nails in that character's colors.

How to paint a cartoon character on a nail

• Pick a character with simple, rounded shapes. Fewer lines means a cleaner result at nail size.
• Paint the base in the character's main color, then block in the larger shapes.
• Add white for the eyes before black for pupils and outlines, so dark lines stay crisp.
• Outline last with a nail art pen or a thin striper. Outlines also hide uneven edges.
• Float a top coat over the design without pressing, so the black doesn't smear.

Want to learn the technique?

These are finished designs. For step-by-step videos of character work, see Disney nail art and movie inspired nail art. Some character sets add raised eyes or goggles; that kind of texture is covered in 3D nails.

Questions people ask

What are cartoon nails?

Nail designs that show animated characters or borrow the bold, outlined look of cartoons. Some paint the characters themselves; others put cartoon-style faces on plain color.

Are cartoon nails hard to do?

Simple characters such as Minions are mostly shapes and dots, so they're manageable with a dotting tool and a pen. Detailed faces take patience, which is why many people keep them to one or two accent nails.