blue poster paint!

[thanate]

...and I was terribly disappointed, for rumor had led me astray. There were no transformations of small girls into jaguars in Apocalypto, and the only explosion was of a hornet's nest. There were some fascinating costume bits, however, and I think more people should have human jawbones mounted on their upper arms for ceremonial purposes. I mean, really... There was also a great deal of blood, as advertised, as well as plague, fire, famine, and totally incongruous Spaniards.

I do not, however, understand the fascination with blue poster paint as body paint. They used the same color here as the highly non-woad-like woad in Braveheart, and I'm fairly convinced that to get that kind of color you would have to grind up some sort of hard-to-get mineral to make your paint, although it is possible that sufficient indigotin when mixed with something opaque and white (like the lime that they were making plaster from slightly before getting to the paint bit) might lighten to something similar. I still remain skeptical, however. Does anyone know about this?

Comments

[skittblink.livejournal.com]

http://www.mehandi.com/shop/skinindigo/
Have you seen this site?
I keep on meaning to buy some stuff from them. Of course, it's indigo, not woad, but still, pretty blue skin dye...

[thanate.livejournal.com]

nice. and the indigotin (the actual dye part) is the same in woad, so in getting real indigo you just miss out on the exciting effects that make woad good for going into battle. If you're not planning on painting it over most of your body and then having your arm chopped off, this really shouldn't be an issue. :)