Tutorial: Cartoon heart

Hi everyone, welcome to my cartoon heart tutorial! After several tape method tutorials, I thought it would be fun to make one with a freehand design. It's a girly and simple design that only takes little time to make. And using it on a few accent nails is a nice way to add something cute to your mani. So go get your brushes and let's do some nail art ;)

First apply your base color (if necessary with a basecoat underneath) and let it dry. Here I used a polish with a creme finish (China Glaze Sea Spray), but you could also use a shimmer or subtle glitter polish, to give the design more depth.

Then use a nail art brush to draw the shape of a heart with black nail polish or acrylic paint and fill it in. The advantage of acrylic paint is that it's usually quite pigmented, has a short drying time and it's easier to work with, because it has a smoother formula. And also it's relatively much cheaper than nail polish.
I drew my heart at the tips, with a part of the shape cut off. This is to make it seem like it's 'floating'. But of course you can draw the heart anywhere you like, in the middle, at the top, big or small, it's all up to you.

After the black heart has dried, paint another heart on top with an opaque color of your choice. Most people would take a red or a pink for hearts, but because the heart is such an iconic shape, you really could use any color for it. Just pick anything that goes well with your base color.

As a finishing touch, add a typical cartoon shine to the heart, by making one big and one small dot with a dotting tool.
Apply your topcoat, clean up if necessary and you're done! Pretty simple, right? :)

Tip: To clean your nail art brush(es), pour a little bit of nail polish remover in a small dish or the cap of the bottle. Let your brush soak in it for a few seconds and dab it a few times on a cotton pad. Repeat this until your brush is clean.

Check out the tutorial page for more useful tips. Also I would love to see your attempt on my design, so feel free to leave a link to your creation in the comment section!

Products I used in this post are China Glaze Sea Spray, black acrylic paint and OPI Dim Sum Plum.