Skin Wars (2014–…): Season 3, Episode 6 - Under the Sea - full transcript
- In the intense world
- of competitive body painting,
you can either keep your cool
or turn up the heat.
- ♪ This ain't no illusion,
- babe ♪
♪ Yeah, you're heaven made ♪
- It's a sizzling season three
of "Skin Wars."
The art of body painting
is more powerful than ever.
12 of the most talented artists
from around the world
will push themselves
week after week...
- You painted your heart out.
- [screams]
- Proving who is brilliant
- with a brush...
- Yeah!
- Just amazing.
- Loved it.
- I came here to win.
[all gasp]
- And who can't handle
- the pressure.
- I'm freaking out.
- Wow.
- What?
- [crying]
- Almost there.
- How dare you disgrace
this competition
with your bull****?
- Do you want to leave
the competition?
This week, six remain
to fight for the grand prize:
$100,000 and the ultimate title
of "Skin Wars" champion.
[upbeat music]
- Hello, painters.
- Hello.
- Hi.
- It is suddenly
- down to six of you.
- Yeah.
- Wow.
- It's just six of us now.
Things got real.
- This next challenge
- is unlike anything you've done
yet this season.
In order to inspire you,
- we're sending you
- on a little field trip.
- Oh, we get to go somewhere?
- You are going to the Aquarium
of the Pacific in Long Beach.
- Oh, my God!
- Yay!
- I love fish.
- That's right.
You'll be seeing
thousands of tropical fish
and other marine life
from all over the world.
- Yay!
- Your designs will be based on
- these beautiful sea creatures,
but you won't just be seeing
these sea creatures.
You'll be swimming with them.
- What?
- That's what's up!
- You've got two hours
for this challenge,
and your canvas
is your model's hands.
However, you'll be using
ultraviolet paint.
- I've never done UV before.
I know that UV paint
is really tricky to work with,
so we'll see.
- You guys have a chance
to really make your work pop
with this UV light.
- I want to be dazzled.
I want to see beautiful colors,
beautiful poses.
- And of course
- the winner of this challenge
- will receive a huge advantage
- in the concept challenge.
- Sweet.
- Are you ready for this?
- Yes.
- Yep.
- We are going to go
to an aquarium!
I love snorkeling,
and I have never done this type
of body painting before.
So this is gonna be
a new experience for me.
- Go off.
- Get inspired.
- Have fun!
- Have fun!
[upbeat music]
- I hope we get
to see jellyfish.
- Walking into
- the Aquarium of the Pacific
is like heaven on earth.
- Whoa!
- I get a little caught up
- with looking at the fish
instead of actually sketching
and taking pictures.
This is awesome.
- Look how big
the sharks are in there!
- I can't wait to paint these
colors, guys.
- I'm already having
- a flood of inspiration,
but this is something
that my son and I
really bond over.
He loves sea creatures.
- He loves going
- to the aquarium,
- and so it's something
- that we really share together,
and I'm super excited.
- I love the tail
- on that one there.
I need to do something
to step up the game.
- It can't just be
- a simple painting.
It needs to be something
interactive, something fun.
And then
I see this moray eel.
That's it.
That's the one.
- We're gonna get
- into the tank.
I've never done that before.
I've never been up that close
to all these creatures.
Oh, it was just amazing.
- I love looking at
the sharks and the fish.
I'm just enjoying the moment,
but I am thinking, "This
is a challenge I could win."
- It's, like,
an adrenaline rush.
I started taking
pictures of the fish.
- Like, I look up, and there
- was a shark next to my face,
- and I was like,
- "Ah, ****.
This is so cool."
That was awesome.
- Whoo.
- Whoo!
[upbeat music]
- Oh, yeah.
- They loaded our pictures.
What the ****?
Your reference photo?
That's a weird fish.
♪ ♪
- Hi! How are you, love?
- How are you?
- Like, with one,
you're gonna move it
like a shark.
So for this challenge,
I decide to go with more
than just one creature
The other one,
it's gonna be, like, a fish,
so you're gonna go
a little bit like--
That means I have to change
my model's hand position.
Optical illusion time.
It's a really big challenge,
- but at this point
- in the competition,
I have to make sure
that I wow the judges.
♪ ♪
- That's gonna work perfect.
- I want to give something
- with a little bit of movement,
so I decide on the jellyfish.
I end up putting ribbon
onto her fingernails,
so that she's got all these
little danglies going on.
[rolls tongue]
- I'm a bit familiar
- with the UV.
It's extremely important
that you work underneath
the black lights,
because they don't look
the same in regular lighting.
That's awesome.
- Ooh.
- It's a long sleeve.
- Can you--can we cut this?
We have only two hours
for this challenge,
and I like thinking
outside the box.
So I decide to create
a moray eel
that turns into
a creature.
[growling, chuckles]
♪ ♪
- All right, everyone.
There's one hour left.
♪ ♪
- Overall, I'm very inspired
by the snorkeling experience.
I'm gonna incorporate a fish
playing peekaboo with me.
- How's it going
- for you over here, man?
- Awesome.
- Oh, my God.
- Poor Luis.
- I have no idea
- what he's painting.
- That doesn't look
- like a fish.
It's gonna be interesting
to see what he's able to do.
- I know if I don't
- step up my game, I'm--
- they're definitely gonna
- send me home.
Alison made a comment.
"No offense, but how the hell
did they choose you over Otto?"
Last week, Alison tells me
that I deserve to go home.
- And I was just like, "You've had
- some **** ass pieces, too,
but you don't see
me throwing you under the bus."
- I keep hearing
- my name come up.
Luis is making comments
within my earshot
about how he's mad at me.
- What's wrong?
- Oh, he's just saying,
"If I get an advantage,
no more Mr. Nice Guy."
- Well, Alison,
you shot yourself in the foot.
♪ ♪
- You're gonna come
in from the side, like that.
There he is.
My son loves anglerfish,
and he's my inspiration.
- He had an anglerfish birthday
- party right before we came,
- and I did
- a whole black light room
of all anglerfish,
so this is so perfect.
They have this sort of
underbite with long teeth.
So I grabbed these giant,
long dragon lady fingernails,
so that will be, like,
the underbite in the teeth.
- All right, you guys.
It's sink-or-swim time.
We've got five minutes left.
- How did that happen?
- [gasps]
♪ ♪
- Two hours is just not enough
time for these two little hands.
♪ ♪
- Hurry up. Hurry up.
- Come on, come on, come on.
♪ ♪
- No! No!
- Yay!
- All right, painters.
Time's up. Tools down.
- Can't wait to see what you
little swimmers came up with.
[laughter]
- Hey, Brittney.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- Tell us about your painting.
- I was really,
- really intrigued
by the jellyfish.
I love their movement.
- They're so majestic
- in the water.
- Wow, must be jelly,
'cause jam don't shake.
[laughter]
That is gorge.
- Mm-hmm.
- What are the strings
- made out of?
- Ribbon.
They were already neons,
which I found to be
a really nice touch.
- Okay.
- Well, thank you, Brittney.
- Thank you.
- Hi, Alison.
- Hi.
My son's favorite animal
in the whole, wide world
is an anglerfish,
and they have this glowing,
bioluminescent lure
that draws little fish in.
- She has nails
- on the fingers,
- and she also has nails on
- her knuckles...
- Oh, I see.
- For the top jaw.
- That's how you got
- that underbite.
- Yeah.
- You got a lot of
- patterns and colors in there.
That's for sure.
- Well, thank you, Alison.
- Thank you.
- My main inspiration
- for my painting
was the overall experience
of snorkeling.
- I wanted to get closer
- to the coral reef,
and a little fish
just poked out,
- and it was like
- playing peekaboo,
and I just liked it.
- So was this all then
pretty much hand-painted,
- or did you pull out
- the airbrush at all?
- No.
- This was all hand-painted.
- I don't know how
- to use the airbrush.
- You mean this whole time,
- you haven't used
- the airbrush at all?
- No. I haven't used
- the airbrush.
- Really?
- How the hell did you
- make it this far.
- Well, thank you, Luis.
- Thanks, guys.
- Hey, Rick.
- Hey. What's up, guys?
I used a little bit
of airbrush on the bottom
so I could give it
that texture of deep water,
and then, like, the light rays
coming from the top.
- So did you use
- the entire two hours?
- No. I mean, I just used,
like, one hour to paint.
- This was more of an experiment
- type of day, you know?
- Of course,
- I wish that you, you know,
- challenged yourself
- a little more and, you know,
- used up some of that extra time
- on your painting.
- Well, maybe next time
we shouldn't go swimming
before a challenge,
- 'cause, man,
- I'm telling you,
I stood up,
and I was like--
[laughter]
I was like...
- I was trying to catch
- a shark and stuff, but...
- Oh, my gosh.
- All right.
- Thanks, Rick.
- Sweet.
- I brought this fishy
with me from the tank.
It's based on this moray eel.
- Ooh!
- Wow!
- There's more?
- Bring it!
- What?
- Wow, look at that!
- Come put
- your finger in it.
It may bite you though.
- Ahh!
- Oh, my goodness.
Look inside its mouth.
- Oh, God.
- Thank you, Michael.
- Thank you, guys.
- So whenever
- you hop in the water,
first what you see,
a hammerhead shark
- swimming with
- a school of fish.
After that,
a jellyfish pops in,
- right in front
- of your face.
- Oh, look at there.
- Mm-hmm.
- And next, what you see
is you see unicorn fish.
- Is that the same
- hammerhead shark?
- Yes, because you see it
in the distance.
- I see.
- Then, we see
- another fish appear.
- Wow!
- Last but not least,
you see a stingray.
- There's another?
What? Wow!
- Wow.
Well, thank you, Tiffany.
- Thank you so much.
- So what'd you think?
- I thought that Brittney's
jellyfish was so delicate.
I loved the colors.
I loved those fingernails
with the ribbons.
- Yeah, her jellyfish
was so beautiful
and so theatrical.
Michael just blew me away.
He got this perfect gradation,
and that is so hard to do
with UV paint.
- It was gorgeous.
- He was overly ambitious.
- Yes.
- And I can't believe
how much he got accomplished.
- Tiffany also had
multiple transitions.
- Yes.
- You've got to hand it to her.
She created a full storybook
out of two hands.
- Yeah.
- I loved what Alison did.
She created something, like,
beautifully ugly.
Like, an anglerfish
is not a pretty fish...
- Right.
- But she made it spectacular.
- I was blown away by it.
- Okay.
- So have you made your decision?
- Yeah. Sure.
- Yep.
- All right.
- Let's go tell them.
- Great.
- Okay, painters.
You've had two hours
to create your ultraviolet,
glow-in-the-dark paintings.
- The judges have made
- their decision.
[suspenseful music]
Michael,
Alison,
Brittney,
congratulations.
You're the top three painters.
- It frustrates me
that I'm not in the top.
I feel like my piece really
stands out, but whatever.
- Great work, painters.
But there was one painter
- who brought all the pieces
- of this challenge together
and created the ultimate
ultraviolet painting.
♪ ♪
- I really want
- to win this one.
- Just the tiniest,
- little fraction of an advantage
can make the difference
between winning and going home,
and I do not want to go home.
♪ ♪
- Michael,
Alison, Brittney,
congratulations.
You're the top three painters.
- Michael, your application
was practically flawless.
They looked great
from far away and up close.
- Thank you.
- Alison,
- there was such beauty
in just the minute details,
and I love
that you conjured up
your son's
favorite sea creature.
- Thank you.
- Brittney,
we loved your jellyfish.
We loved the ribbons
and the nails on the end.
It was a very clever touch.
- Thank you.
- There was one painter
who brought all the pieces
of this challenge together
and created the ultimate
ultraviolet painting.
[suspenseful music]
♪ ♪
- Hey.
- Michael, congratulations.
- Yeah.
- That's awesome.
The winner is Michael.
- This is my second win
- in a row.
No one can stop me now.
Let's have a little kiss.
- Get a room.
- Michael, your piece was epic.
- Thank you, Marina.
- Thank you.
- Michael,
- you'll have an advantage
in the next challenge.
- Awesome.
- Great work, everyone.
In your first challenge,
you gained inspiration
- from swimming with
- the marine life at the aquarium
- and created
- ultraviolet paintings
on your models' hands.
For this concept challenge,
don't worry.
You won't be going underwater,
but your models will be.
- Ohh!
- What?
- You'll be transforming
your models into sea creatures,
and your models will be
presented to the judges
in an entirely different way:
underwater.
- Shut up.
- Most of body paint
is water-based paint.
- Airbrush is the only
- alcohol paint we have
- that's gonna
- survive underwater.
- It definitely
- makes me nervous,
- because I've never
- used it before.
- Be very careful
how you apply your paint.
- A painting that would
- crack on the runway
- will just fall off
- in the water.
You need to have
perfect application.
- No pressure.
- You'll have six hours
- to paint your sea creature,
and you must create
a 360-degree,
head-to-toe design.
Michael,
for the concept challenge,
your advantage
is to take all tools away
from one of your competitors
for 30 minutes.
During that time,
he or she can paint
only with their hands.
- I really don't want
my tools taken away from me.
- It would make
- this a total disaster,
and so I'm extremely nervous.
- All right, little swimmers,
show us what you got.
- Good luck,
- and we'll see you tomorrow.
- Good-bye, you.
- Bye.
- I'm worried,
- because I'm gonna have to use
airbrush paint
since it's waterproof.
I have never experimented with
paint getting wet in any way,
let alone being under the water,
and I'm a little nervous.
Oh, my God.
[upbeat music]
♪ ♪
- [humming]
- I want to see
- this foam thing.
I'm feeling super confident.
I won the first challenge,
- and I did it
- by doing something different.
I'm feeling like a genius.
- Damn, what are you gonna do?
- I am painting an octopus
made out of foam.
I'm taking a huge risk.
I have never painted
anything that goes underwater.
- I'm going
- a little bit out there,
- and I'm not afraid
- of doing it.
- Models are here.
- Good morning.
- Hey, how are you, girl?
- I'm not gonna do, like,
a regular, basic mermaid.
A mermaid is, like,
the perfect choice for me.
Me and my friends,
we have mer-parties,
and we'll go and pretend
we're mermaids,
- and it sounds really
- dorky and geeky,
but that's what we do.
Let's do it.
- You are going
to be a seahorse.
- You don't even know
- what that is.
- I do.
- I decided to go
- with a seahorse.
It's a beautiful sea creature.
It's gonna be way different
compared to the other painters.
All righty.
Let's get to work.
[upbeat music]
- We're gonna learn
to use the airbrush today.
I know that we have
to hook these here.
These are the ones to put
in the little things, right?
- What?
- How do I know
if this is gonna go in?
- Do you feel like
- I'm applying something?
Like, does it feel wet?
- Not wet.
- Okay.
- It's, like,
- an imaginary creature
inspired by cuttlefish.
- It's really hard
- to waterproof paint.
There's a base coat of powder.
- There's a fixer spray that
- you put through the airbrush,
and it's just a lot of layers
of process to this.
- Hey, look
- what we get to wear today.
My sea creature is an abstract
form of an alligator.
- I want to do
- something different.
I want to touch base
with home.
My grandpa and I used to
actually go hunt for alligators.
My grandpa is battling
pancreatic cancer.
Even through the hard times
- that he's going through
- right now,
he's believed in me,
and he's my biggest supporter.
So this is for him.
Sweet.
♪ ♪
- There's a disadvantage,
I guess.
- Michael's gonna take
- our tools,
like brushes or sponges,
for, like, 30 minutes.
- I've been on the bottom
- twice in a row,
so today I'm gonna take
a little risk.
I'm gonna use the prosthetics
made out of foam.
- It's something
- I'm not used to.
- I definitely can't be
- at the bottom again.
- Yeah.
- Well, hello, painters.
We are very excited
for today's challenge.
I have Craig and Robin
and Ru with me here today.
- Hi, everybody.
- Good morning.
- Hi.
- Well, the judges want to take
a look at your work.
Good morning, Brittney.
- Good morning.
So my inspiration today
is alligators.
We used to hunt them sitting
in a shallow, tin boat.
- They would float up
- and peek their heads up,
- and I was always trying
- to reach over
and touch them and pet them.
- So where were your parents
during all this?
- In the boat with me.
- Wow!
- I'm surprised that you still
have your painting hands.
- Right, right.
- They're a very
- quiet species.
- You never know where
- they're at in the water.
- Until it's too late, yeah.
- Correct.
- Right.
- So I feel like that's
- where I'm at
- in the game right now.
Nobody knows I'm there,
but before they know it--yes.
- Some of my favorite
- sea creatures
are the cuttlefish
and the mantis shrimp,
and so I wanted to create
a krakeny sea monster hybrid.
- You know a lot
about sea creatures.
- My son and I watch
a lot of nature videos,
- so we bond over it
- so much that I'm, like,
so excited to put my favorite
sea creatures into this.
- All right. Thank you, Alison.
- Thank you so much.
- Well, I don't know
- what you're doing,
- but it's already
- making me smile.
- I originally
sketched out a pose.
It reminded me of a lobster.
- Now you have to make
a giant claw or two claws.
- Yeah, yeah, I'm gonna
- glue this to her hand
and then this to her thumb,
- so it will have
- movement as well.
- Okay.
- I have a mermaid.
- Mermaids usually have long,
- flowing hair.
- Why did you choose
- the bald cap?
- Because it's so,
like, overdone now.
I didn't want it to be
that stereotypical mermaid.
- I wanted to bring something
- a little different
for you guys to view.
- I have, like, this group
- of friends that I have,
and they dress up as mermaids,
and we swim around.
- You know what,
- there's a reason
- why I have this big booty
- and flat tummy,
and part of it is
because of this motion.
- You got to get the motion
- in the ocean.
- That's right.
The motion in the ocean.
- So we're making tentacles.
Here's my sketch.
- Wow.
- Holy moly.
- I'm hoping
- to get it all done on time.
- Wow.
- Go big or go home?
- Yeah.
- I'm freaking out.
- Are you a little
- worried that foam
will constrict your model
so that she can't
perform well in the tank?
- [laughing]
- Oh, my God.
That would be terrible.
- This is so ambitious.
- Oh, my God, thanks.
- And, Michael,
- because you won
- the first challenge,
your advantage
is to take all tools away
- from one
- of your competitors.
- Who do you want
- to take tools away from
for the next 30 minutes?
[tense music]
- Having an advantage
is making me feel kind of evil.
♪ ♪
- The thought of having my tools
taken away is terrifying.
♪ ♪
- Okay, Michael, who do you
want to take tools away from
for the next 30 minutes?
[suspenseful music]
- I'm gonna
- have to choose...
♪ ♪
Alison,
- your painting
- looks amazing, as always,
and I'm gonna
have to choose you for this.
- Other people--everyone else
- has way more done than me,
- but whatever.
- Okay, Alison.
Put your tools down.
Your time starts now.
You can't use any tools,
just your hands.
- I'm telling you,
that karma's a bitch.
- Alison is
a very strong painter,
and I'm here to win this.
- Good luck.
- We'll see you soon.
- Thanks.
- Bye.
- Bye.
- Bye.
- Parts I had planned
- to paint with my fingers
I hadn't gotten to yet,
so there goes that idea.
I thought it was
gonna happen later.
I start trying to paint
with the alcohol paint
with my fingers,
and it evaporates so quickly
that by the time
my finger gets to my model,
it was already dry.
- This is a way
- bigger disadvantage
- than I thought
- it was going to be.
[upbeat music]
- Michael, you haven't
even started painting.
- I know.
- Is she gonna be able
to move in all that?
- Oh, Michael.
You do know that foam floats?
- I don't know
- what's gonna happen,
but let's hope
it's beautiful.
- Hey, Luis, I see
you're doing crustaceans,
and because I brought
a little piece of home,
I will let you borrow
Ted for today, all right?
- Muchas gracias.
- Do you even know
- what that is?
- Thank you. Huh?
- Do you know what that is?
- That's a lobster, right?
- No!
- Wasn't it--
- It's a crawfish.
- Oh, is this what this is?
- Luis has no idea
what he's doing.
He is making a lobster,
I guess.
I don't know.
From my angle,
she looks kind of pink.
[chuckles]
♪ ♪
- Hey, Alison.
How's your finger painting?
- I found out I can't
use the alcohol-based paint
with my fingers.
It doesn't really work.
- So I'm having
- to use the water-based
and, like, just hope
that the sealer will seal it.
- That's a big risk.
- Yeah.
- Okay, Alison,
your 30 minutes is up.
- You can get back
- to your tools.
- Yay. Thank you.
Finally, I get my tools back,
- and I go straight
- for the airbrush.
I really lost a lot of time.
I'm feeling like a lot of detail
is gonna be left out.
- All right.
- I'm gonna start
- painting now.
[chuckles]
Looking around the room,
I think Luis' piece
is a little silly-looking.
I don't see him as competition,
but I don't know.
- It's all gonna change
- underwater,
so we don't really know
what's gonna happen.
- How does that feel?
I decided to use
a lighter color palette
for this body paint,
- 'cause Robin has been
- giving me advice.
So, you know, getting
out of my comfort zone,
which is painting very dark.
Hopefully this doesn't
fall apart.
- I think Rick's
- a great artist,
but he's definitely
my competitor.
I really want to beat him.
You look like any man
would want to take you home,
which is good.
- Seductive.
- You guys,
we've got one hour left!
Y'all better make your animals
come to life.
Michael, you got so much foam
on that girl.
- You think this is gonna float?
- Probably.
- Everyone in the room
is totally worried about me.
- All those floaties, I'm afraid
they're gonna affect you, dude.
- [laughs]
- I did it.
Everyone thinks this is gonna
be a complete failure,
but I got this.
Don't you worry about me.
♪ ♪
- Never once did
- I think I was gonna learn
how to do airbrush here.
- I'm looking at Luis' piece.
Clearly, he's not familiar
with the airbrush itself.
- Oh!
- This won't work.
- This is clogging.
- He's not getting
any of those hard lines,
and his lines are fairly soft.
- A challenge
- within a challenge.
♪ ♪
- The only thing
- I'm really worried about
is whether it's gonna float.
- Water disturbance.
- Yeah. What's gonna happen?
This is the hardest I've worked
since I've been here.
- [gasps
- Oh, my God.
- Nonstop rushing,
painting, doing this,
gluing, stapling, you know,
throwing things on,
sculpting.
This is magic, my friends.
Magic, magic.
♪ ♪
You guys,
we have 15 minutes left.
Are you guys ready?
- Whoa!
- Whoo!
- Ahh!
I just ruined my sneakers.
♪ ♪
- You're almost done.
- Is anyone freaking out?
- Yes!
- I had to change plans.
- Well, you've got
- no turning back now.
- Yep.
- Done, dude.
- [laughs]
- That's it!
Time's up.
Tools down, painters.
- [sighs]
- We can't wait to see
your masterpieces submerged.
Great job, everybody.
- Getting the disadvantage,
- it sucked.
I'm not done with
all my little details,
and I'm just freaking out.
[suspenseful music]
- Welcome, painters.
- Hi.
- For the very first underwater
body-painting challenge,
you had to turn your models
into swimming sea creatures,
and we cannot wait to see
your sea creatures in action.
Let's welcome back our
esteemed judges.
Craig Tracy...
- Hello, painters.
- Hey.
- What's up, Craig?
- Robin Slonina...
- Hi, sailors.
- Hello.
- And RuPaul Charles
- Ahoy.
- Ahoy.
- Okay, painters,
- please step
- to the side of the stage.
Okay, this is Rick's seahorse
[techno music]
- Oh, wow.
- Whoa!
♪ ♪
- Man, that footage
looks amazing.
The decision that I made
of going lighter
with my color palette
- turned out to be a lot better
- than I expected.
Those yellows and purples
really glow underwater.
My model did
such an amazing job
working the actual
seahorse movement.
Nice.
- This is Michael's octopus.
♪ ♪
- I took a huge risk
painting tentacles
out of wire and foam,
and that's where
I **** up a a bit.
I basically created
a giant floatation device.
Back up she goes.
- I can't go down.
I just hope the judges
appreciate the creativity
and the hard work
that I put into it.
- Oh, Michael.
- Lesson learned, Michael.
Lesson learned.
- This is Luis' lobster.
♪ ♪
- In the water, the tentacles
looked so awesome.
The colors are very vibrant.
They pop to your eye.
- But I'm actually
- very disappointed.
The back fin flips up,
and I'm scared
that the airbrush lines
aren't clean.
- This is Alison's
mythological fish.
- Ooh.
- I'm watching the video,
- and I can see that the details
- that I was worried
- were gonna be washed out
are actually popping.
I'm feeling so much better
about my piece.
My creature wasn't meant
to be beautiful and graceful,
- so I had her doing
- a little bit more creepy stuff.
I put enough layers
of sealant on my model,
and my finger-painted dots
are holding up.
- I'm already feeling
- like a winner
- just because
- I've accomplished that.
- This is Tiffany's mermaid.
♪ ♪
- I'm super happy
- with my mermaid.
I think it looks beautiful.
My model was so graceful
under the water.
I love the way the fabric
is iridescent and flowy,
- and she looks
- completely different
- than any other mermaid
- they've seen before.
I am so proud.
- This is Brittney's alligator.
♪ ♪
- Oh, my God.
Her paint glows,
and the colors just pop.
And her face, she just sold
the anger in it
that I wanted to portray.
I love the eye on the back.
It's such a focal point.
Her movements aren't the most
impressive thing for me,
- so I'm wondering
- if the judges
- are gonna count that
- against me.
- She did good.
- That's impressive.
- Oh, cool.
- Clearly, the judges
- have a lot to discuss,
but first, they want
to ask you about your work.
Rick, we'll start with you.
[gentle music]
- Definitely, I wanted
to focus on the colors.
- I wanted to get
- that reflection that I wanted,
and I'm really happy with
what I was able to pull off.
- I'm so happy
about your color palette
If you would have done
your regular dark blues
and blacks,
it would disappear.
I love it also how well
she did posing for you.
- This model sold
the hell out of it.
- She did great.
- I'm telling you, my model
- is just perfect all around.
- Do you have a little crush
- on your model?
- Man, I sure do.
She said if I win Skin Wars,
- I will be able
- to get her number.
- So there's more
- motivation for me.
- Rick, you should be really,
really proud.
- I am really proud.
Thank you.
- Okay, Brittney, you're up.
♪ ♪
- My alligator was inspired
by when I was a child.
We used to actually go
hunting for alligators
- in the water
- late in the night,
and I would see
their eyes glowing red.
I didn't like the fact
that we were actually
going after creatures
who were so innocent.
- It's so cool that you
didn't go literal on this thing.
It's abstract,
but I get it,
and man, oh, man,
your model really sold it.
She was
a Louisiana gator woman.
- Your gator girl
was beautifully done.
The face felt kind of
ghoulish and scary.
- It scared me a bit too,
- but that was the approach
- that I wanted to take with it.
- I think that you created
your own creature,
and it's mesmerizing.
It's fierce and fabulous.
- Okay, thank you, Brittney.
- Thanks, you guys.
- Okay, Michael, you're up.
♪ ♪
- I call this the Octopus Ego.
For this challenge,
I didn't play it safe,
and I made
a very brilliant decision
to use foam for the tentacles,
but she couldn't go down.
- Everyone was like,
- "It's not gonna work,"
- and I was like, "Just let me be.
- I'm an artist.
- I have a vision.
- Let me do it."
- Do you think that
you were a little stubborn
- in not listening
- to all the warnings?
- It's the ego.
- Well, clearly, your ego
can be used
as a floatation device.
- There are times, though,
- when this thing
- absolutely looks gorgeous
- in the water.
But, you know,
that foam was the mistake.
It's a **** up mess,
Michael.
- I should have listened,
- but I didn't.
- You used
some really great colors,
but those decisions
that you made
before you stepped
into the workroom
make or break you
in this competition.
Your ego might've
killed you tonight.
- I did everything
- without really thinking
about the consequences.
I had tunnel vision with it.
- You were overly ambitious,
neglectful and misguided,
and it could send you home.
[tense music]
- Michael, your ego
might've killed you tonight,
and it could send you home.
I want you to be
very conscious of that.
- Copy that.
- Okay, Alison.
- I was inspired
by the cuttlefish.
It's one of my favorite
creatures of the sea,
and I love the patterning
on their skin,
but also incorporates
sort of mantis shrimp.
- I love your colors.
This does glow.
It does feel phosphorescent.
- The back of your painting
is the highlight for me.
It's just gorgeous.
- Thank you.
- The banding
that you did on the legs,
it is something
you're comfortable with.
I'd love to see you step
away from that a little bit
- and try something else.
- Right.
- Great.
- Thank you, Alison.
- Thank you.
- Okay, Luis, you're next.
♪ ♪
- For my first time,
- I used airbrush
- from head to toe,
so I felt out
of my comfort zone 100%.
- Luis, this piece
left me underwhelmed,
and it was a playful piece.
Seeing a human,
you know, lobster
- reminded me
- of something from, like,
a third grade play.
But it really
started to fall apart
once it got in the water.
- I mean, come on, Luis,
everybody knows
foam floats, doll.
- Yeah.
- Who doesn't know that?
[laughter]
- Well, you know, under
- the pressure and everything,
- you're not really thinking about
- what floats and what sinks.
- You just want to make
- the piece look good.
- Luis, I know you're gonna
continue to use the airbrush.
You know, unfortunately,
this competition
is a difficult place
to learn something
this important
and this basic
to body painting.
- You're a fabulous painter.
- Thank you.
- Only problem
- is you're up against
some other really
fabulous painters.
- Okay, Tiffany, you're up.
♪ ♪
- Mine was the mermaid,
- and I did not want it to
- look like a regular mermaid,
with all the hair and stuff.
I wanted it to kind of,
like, have human features,
but at the same time
have that mythical quality.
- I wanted her
- to be a little evil
but still
strikingly beautiful.
- I am mesmerized
by your mermaid.
The color combination,
the fabric,
I think it's so beautiful.
- She is luring me in too.
I am definitely hearing
your mermaid's siren song.
That gold leaf
is just a stroke of genius.
You know how gorgeous this is.
- I feel like
- she was pretty.
[laughter]
- Now, Tiffany,
I wanted to see more detail.
Maybe the scales,
little more highlights,
- little bit more shadows.
- Mm-hmm.
- But your use
of fabric was genius.
In the water, out of the water,
this is so beautiful.
- Okay.
- Thank you, Tiffany.
- Thank you so much.
- Okay, painters,
- the judges have a very tough
- decision to make.
- Please head back
- to the painters' lounge.
We'll call you
back in a little bit.
- Good-bye, guys.
Have fun the rest
of the season.
- Shout-out to being
- bottom again.
- So what'd you guys think
of those sea creatures?
- Tiffany just blew me away
with how gorgeous her piece was.
That fabric gave it
that sexy, beautiful flow.
- How she framed the face
with those gold seashells
made her look so beautiful
and alluring.
- Very otherworldly.
- Yeah.
- How about Brittney?
- I got to tell you,
I love, love, love
that Louisiana gator woman.
- She actually
brought design elements
and feeling and emotion
to her piece.
- That young lady
- knows how to paint.
- Those teeth on the front
- of the body help.
- Beautifully done.
- It had the great highlights
- and the shadows in it.
- Rick, I think, just
knocked it out of the park.
- It was really,
- really beautiful.
The color combination
couldn't get any better.
- There was every color in
the rainbow in that painting.
- Yeah.
- Every bright color, finally.
- Every bright color
- in the rainbow.
- I wish that he would have
- put a little more attention
- around the model's eyes.
- Oh, yeah.
- That is
- a big focal point.
- How about Luis?
- It really did feel for me
like a character
in a school play for kids.
- I agree that
it felt amateurish.
- I did like the arms' banding,
and, you know,
when he brought out those
red, orange, yellow gradation--
- It popped. yeah.
- It just made me
- a little confused.
Why not put that everywhere?
- The mechanics were
definitely there on land.
- On dry land.
- Alison's work
is always clean,
but there was a few things--
like the face felt unfinished.
- I loved her piece.
- I thought it was fantastic.
Yeah, there were some places
- where it could've really
- been better,
but she knows how
to channel the inspiration
into her work,
and that's something that some
of the younger painters here
really could take a cue from.
- And then
Michael's nightmare octopus.
- He's actually had success
- biting off
- more than he can chew,
and I think that
gave him the confidence
to, like, try something
really crazy,
and then it did not work.
- Sometimes, the way
you see an octopus that's--
it's arms are wrapping
around and stuff,
- and you can't tell
- what's what.
- If you're gonna fail, at
least you fail spectacularly.
- Yeah.
- Okay, have we
made a decision?
- Yeah.
- Yes.
- Yes
- Yeah.
[suspenseful music]
- Welcome back, painters.
- Hi.
- You had some outstanding
work tonight,
and your underwater videos
were gorgeous.
Alison...
♪ ♪
You're safe.
- Nice.
- You may head back
- to the painters' lounge.
- Thank you.
- Rick,
Tiffany,
Brittney,
- you're the top
- three painters tonight.
Please, step forward.
♪ ♪
- Rick, your color
choices were gorgeous,
and you can see the results.
It really stood out
in the water.
- Thank you.
- Tiffany, I was mesmerized
by your mermaid.
The gold leaf
on the model's body
was just
the pièce de résistance.
- Brittney, it was a complete
design from head to toe.
I absolutely loved
the rendering of those eyes.
- You are just amazing.
- I've been in the top three
- so many times,
and I still
haven't won anything,
- but maybe this is my chance,
- right here.
- Brittney...
♪ ♪
You're safe.
- Thank you.
[sighs]
Man, again.
- Congratulations.
- You can head back
- to the painters' lounge.
- Thanks.
Good luck, guys.
♪ ♪
- Tiffany,
Rick,
only one of you can be
tonight's winner.
- I have what it takes
to be here in the top,
and I am here to win.
- The winner
of this challenge is...
- You both did
outstanding work,
- but only one of you can be
- tonight's winner.
[suspenseful music]
Tiffany, congratulations,
you're our winner tonight.
[laughter]
- I'm so happy.
- You killed it.
- Aww.
Nice.
Thank you, guys.
Ahh!
What do I do now?
Yeah!
- Dance it out, girl.
- Yes.
- Great job, Tiffany.
Dance it out, girl.
Dance it all the way
back to the painters' lounge.
- Yes! Yes!
- Yay! Bye!
[laughter]
- Luis and Michael,
you are the bottom two painters.
- I took a huge risk,
but I made it this far,
so I'm thinking,
- "Maybe I have
- a shot of staying."
- Luis, you did make
some really clever choices.
Unfortunately,
this is your first time
ever doing a complete,
full-body paint with airbrush,
and you suffered for that.
- Michael, you've been
on a roll lately,
but tonight,
you got overly ambitious
and it really backfired
all over the place.
- Luis, Michael...
[suspenseful music]
One of you will be packing
up your brushes tonight.
Michael...
♪ ♪
You're safe.
- Michael, just remember,
you need to check your ego,
'cause that could've
sunk you tonight.
- Michael, you may head back
to the painters' lounge.
- Thank you.
- [exhales]
- That means, Luis, I'm sorry.
Unfortunately,
you'll be going home tonight.
- Luis, you're not
the same artist
walking out of here
that you were walking in,
and I can't wait
to see you keep growing.
- I'm proud of myself.
I came, I showed,
I lost, I won,
but that's life,
and I'm just thankful
that I got to be here.
It was amazing, and thank you
for the opportunity.
- Luis, it's time
to go wash off your canvas.
- All right.
- Thank you.
Bye.
- Ah!
- [laughs]
- Ohh, and he still keeps
a smile on his face.
- I'm not ready
to pack my brushes yet,
- but it's unbelievable
- that I've made it this far,
and for that I'm really proud.
- Your journey
- doesn't end here.
- It's just the beginning.
I'll miss you guys.
- Group hug.
- Group hug, guys.
- As much as I wanted
to win the $100,000
so I can go to school,
this isn't gonna stop me,
it's not gonna break me.
- Y'all take care.
- I'll see y'all later.
- Love you, Luis.
- Bye-bye.
- My journey on "Skin Wars"
- has taught me
- to believe in yourself
and how to believe
in your own artwork.
This is the best experience
that has happened to me yet,
and I say "yet" because
it's just the beginning.
I grew so much
as a body painter here,
and I'm excited to see
where it takes me.
♪ ♪
- Next time on "Skin Wars"...
- Today, you will be painting
breast cancer survivors.
- It's like the dawn
of a new era.
- I chose to fight, to live.
- You're amazing.
- I'm sort of light-headed.
So sorry.
- I've never,
ever felt beautiful like this.
- Where their scars are,
there is beauty.
- Please, welcome guest judge
Samantha Harris.
- You don't know
- what it means
- for me to be able
- to see the strength.
- I feel like a total bad-ass.
- I'm loving it.
- You deserve to feel beautiful
- when you look in the mirror.
- You brought tears
to my eyes. Wow!
- This has never happened
in Skin Wars.
- of competitive body painting,
you can either keep your cool
or turn up the heat.
- ♪ This ain't no illusion,
- babe ♪
♪ Yeah, you're heaven made ♪
- It's a sizzling season three
of "Skin Wars."
The art of body painting
is more powerful than ever.
12 of the most talented artists
from around the world
will push themselves
week after week...
- You painted your heart out.
- [screams]
- Proving who is brilliant
- with a brush...
- Yeah!
- Just amazing.
- Loved it.
- I came here to win.
[all gasp]
- And who can't handle
- the pressure.
- I'm freaking out.
- Wow.
- What?
- [crying]
- Almost there.
- How dare you disgrace
this competition
with your bull****?
- Do you want to leave
the competition?
This week, six remain
to fight for the grand prize:
$100,000 and the ultimate title
of "Skin Wars" champion.
[upbeat music]
- Hello, painters.
- Hello.
- Hi.
- It is suddenly
- down to six of you.
- Yeah.
- Wow.
- It's just six of us now.
Things got real.
- This next challenge
- is unlike anything you've done
yet this season.
In order to inspire you,
- we're sending you
- on a little field trip.
- Oh, we get to go somewhere?
- You are going to the Aquarium
of the Pacific in Long Beach.
- Oh, my God!
- Yay!
- I love fish.
- That's right.
You'll be seeing
thousands of tropical fish
and other marine life
from all over the world.
- Yay!
- Your designs will be based on
- these beautiful sea creatures,
but you won't just be seeing
these sea creatures.
You'll be swimming with them.
- What?
- That's what's up!
- You've got two hours
for this challenge,
and your canvas
is your model's hands.
However, you'll be using
ultraviolet paint.
- I've never done UV before.
I know that UV paint
is really tricky to work with,
so we'll see.
- You guys have a chance
to really make your work pop
with this UV light.
- I want to be dazzled.
I want to see beautiful colors,
beautiful poses.
- And of course
- the winner of this challenge
- will receive a huge advantage
- in the concept challenge.
- Sweet.
- Are you ready for this?
- Yes.
- Yep.
- We are going to go
to an aquarium!
I love snorkeling,
and I have never done this type
of body painting before.
So this is gonna be
a new experience for me.
- Go off.
- Get inspired.
- Have fun!
- Have fun!
[upbeat music]
- I hope we get
to see jellyfish.
- Walking into
- the Aquarium of the Pacific
is like heaven on earth.
- Whoa!
- I get a little caught up
- with looking at the fish
instead of actually sketching
and taking pictures.
This is awesome.
- Look how big
the sharks are in there!
- I can't wait to paint these
colors, guys.
- I'm already having
- a flood of inspiration,
but this is something
that my son and I
really bond over.
He loves sea creatures.
- He loves going
- to the aquarium,
- and so it's something
- that we really share together,
and I'm super excited.
- I love the tail
- on that one there.
I need to do something
to step up the game.
- It can't just be
- a simple painting.
It needs to be something
interactive, something fun.
And then
I see this moray eel.
That's it.
That's the one.
- We're gonna get
- into the tank.
I've never done that before.
I've never been up that close
to all these creatures.
Oh, it was just amazing.
- I love looking at
the sharks and the fish.
I'm just enjoying the moment,
but I am thinking, "This
is a challenge I could win."
- It's, like,
an adrenaline rush.
I started taking
pictures of the fish.
- Like, I look up, and there
- was a shark next to my face,
- and I was like,
- "Ah, ****.
This is so cool."
That was awesome.
- Whoo.
- Whoo!
[upbeat music]
- Oh, yeah.
- They loaded our pictures.
What the ****?
Your reference photo?
That's a weird fish.
♪ ♪
- Hi! How are you, love?
- How are you?
- Like, with one,
you're gonna move it
like a shark.
So for this challenge,
I decide to go with more
than just one creature
The other one,
it's gonna be, like, a fish,
so you're gonna go
a little bit like--
That means I have to change
my model's hand position.
Optical illusion time.
It's a really big challenge,
- but at this point
- in the competition,
I have to make sure
that I wow the judges.
♪ ♪
- That's gonna work perfect.
- I want to give something
- with a little bit of movement,
so I decide on the jellyfish.
I end up putting ribbon
onto her fingernails,
so that she's got all these
little danglies going on.
[rolls tongue]
- I'm a bit familiar
- with the UV.
It's extremely important
that you work underneath
the black lights,
because they don't look
the same in regular lighting.
That's awesome.
- Ooh.
- It's a long sleeve.
- Can you--can we cut this?
We have only two hours
for this challenge,
and I like thinking
outside the box.
So I decide to create
a moray eel
that turns into
a creature.
[growling, chuckles]
♪ ♪
- All right, everyone.
There's one hour left.
♪ ♪
- Overall, I'm very inspired
by the snorkeling experience.
I'm gonna incorporate a fish
playing peekaboo with me.
- How's it going
- for you over here, man?
- Awesome.
- Oh, my God.
- Poor Luis.
- I have no idea
- what he's painting.
- That doesn't look
- like a fish.
It's gonna be interesting
to see what he's able to do.
- I know if I don't
- step up my game, I'm--
- they're definitely gonna
- send me home.
Alison made a comment.
"No offense, but how the hell
did they choose you over Otto?"
Last week, Alison tells me
that I deserve to go home.
- And I was just like, "You've had
- some **** ass pieces, too,
but you don't see
me throwing you under the bus."
- I keep hearing
- my name come up.
Luis is making comments
within my earshot
about how he's mad at me.
- What's wrong?
- Oh, he's just saying,
"If I get an advantage,
no more Mr. Nice Guy."
- Well, Alison,
you shot yourself in the foot.
♪ ♪
- You're gonna come
in from the side, like that.
There he is.
My son loves anglerfish,
and he's my inspiration.
- He had an anglerfish birthday
- party right before we came,
- and I did
- a whole black light room
of all anglerfish,
so this is so perfect.
They have this sort of
underbite with long teeth.
So I grabbed these giant,
long dragon lady fingernails,
so that will be, like,
the underbite in the teeth.
- All right, you guys.
It's sink-or-swim time.
We've got five minutes left.
- How did that happen?
- [gasps]
♪ ♪
- Two hours is just not enough
time for these two little hands.
♪ ♪
- Hurry up. Hurry up.
- Come on, come on, come on.
♪ ♪
- No! No!
- Yay!
- All right, painters.
Time's up. Tools down.
- Can't wait to see what you
little swimmers came up with.
[laughter]
- Hey, Brittney.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- Tell us about your painting.
- I was really,
- really intrigued
by the jellyfish.
I love their movement.
- They're so majestic
- in the water.
- Wow, must be jelly,
'cause jam don't shake.
[laughter]
That is gorge.
- Mm-hmm.
- What are the strings
- made out of?
- Ribbon.
They were already neons,
which I found to be
a really nice touch.
- Okay.
- Well, thank you, Brittney.
- Thank you.
- Hi, Alison.
- Hi.
My son's favorite animal
in the whole, wide world
is an anglerfish,
and they have this glowing,
bioluminescent lure
that draws little fish in.
- She has nails
- on the fingers,
- and she also has nails on
- her knuckles...
- Oh, I see.
- For the top jaw.
- That's how you got
- that underbite.
- Yeah.
- You got a lot of
- patterns and colors in there.
That's for sure.
- Well, thank you, Alison.
- Thank you.
- My main inspiration
- for my painting
was the overall experience
of snorkeling.
- I wanted to get closer
- to the coral reef,
and a little fish
just poked out,
- and it was like
- playing peekaboo,
and I just liked it.
- So was this all then
pretty much hand-painted,
- or did you pull out
- the airbrush at all?
- No.
- This was all hand-painted.
- I don't know how
- to use the airbrush.
- You mean this whole time,
- you haven't used
- the airbrush at all?
- No. I haven't used
- the airbrush.
- Really?
- How the hell did you
- make it this far.
- Well, thank you, Luis.
- Thanks, guys.
- Hey, Rick.
- Hey. What's up, guys?
I used a little bit
of airbrush on the bottom
so I could give it
that texture of deep water,
and then, like, the light rays
coming from the top.
- So did you use
- the entire two hours?
- No. I mean, I just used,
like, one hour to paint.
- This was more of an experiment
- type of day, you know?
- Of course,
- I wish that you, you know,
- challenged yourself
- a little more and, you know,
- used up some of that extra time
- on your painting.
- Well, maybe next time
we shouldn't go swimming
before a challenge,
- 'cause, man,
- I'm telling you,
I stood up,
and I was like--
[laughter]
I was like...
- I was trying to catch
- a shark and stuff, but...
- Oh, my gosh.
- All right.
- Thanks, Rick.
- Sweet.
- I brought this fishy
with me from the tank.
It's based on this moray eel.
- Ooh!
- Wow!
- There's more?
- Bring it!
- What?
- Wow, look at that!
- Come put
- your finger in it.
It may bite you though.
- Ahh!
- Oh, my goodness.
Look inside its mouth.
- Oh, God.
- Thank you, Michael.
- Thank you, guys.
- So whenever
- you hop in the water,
first what you see,
a hammerhead shark
- swimming with
- a school of fish.
After that,
a jellyfish pops in,
- right in front
- of your face.
- Oh, look at there.
- Mm-hmm.
- And next, what you see
is you see unicorn fish.
- Is that the same
- hammerhead shark?
- Yes, because you see it
in the distance.
- I see.
- Then, we see
- another fish appear.
- Wow!
- Last but not least,
you see a stingray.
- There's another?
What? Wow!
- Wow.
Well, thank you, Tiffany.
- Thank you so much.
- So what'd you think?
- I thought that Brittney's
jellyfish was so delicate.
I loved the colors.
I loved those fingernails
with the ribbons.
- Yeah, her jellyfish
was so beautiful
and so theatrical.
Michael just blew me away.
He got this perfect gradation,
and that is so hard to do
with UV paint.
- It was gorgeous.
- He was overly ambitious.
- Yes.
- And I can't believe
how much he got accomplished.
- Tiffany also had
multiple transitions.
- Yes.
- You've got to hand it to her.
She created a full storybook
out of two hands.
- Yeah.
- I loved what Alison did.
She created something, like,
beautifully ugly.
Like, an anglerfish
is not a pretty fish...
- Right.
- But she made it spectacular.
- I was blown away by it.
- Okay.
- So have you made your decision?
- Yeah. Sure.
- Yep.
- All right.
- Let's go tell them.
- Great.
- Okay, painters.
You've had two hours
to create your ultraviolet,
glow-in-the-dark paintings.
- The judges have made
- their decision.
[suspenseful music]
Michael,
Alison,
Brittney,
congratulations.
You're the top three painters.
- It frustrates me
that I'm not in the top.
I feel like my piece really
stands out, but whatever.
- Great work, painters.
But there was one painter
- who brought all the pieces
- of this challenge together
and created the ultimate
ultraviolet painting.
♪ ♪
- I really want
- to win this one.
- Just the tiniest,
- little fraction of an advantage
can make the difference
between winning and going home,
and I do not want to go home.
♪ ♪
- Michael,
Alison, Brittney,
congratulations.
You're the top three painters.
- Michael, your application
was practically flawless.
They looked great
from far away and up close.
- Thank you.
- Alison,
- there was such beauty
in just the minute details,
and I love
that you conjured up
your son's
favorite sea creature.
- Thank you.
- Brittney,
we loved your jellyfish.
We loved the ribbons
and the nails on the end.
It was a very clever touch.
- Thank you.
- There was one painter
who brought all the pieces
of this challenge together
and created the ultimate
ultraviolet painting.
[suspenseful music]
♪ ♪
- Hey.
- Michael, congratulations.
- Yeah.
- That's awesome.
The winner is Michael.
- This is my second win
- in a row.
No one can stop me now.
Let's have a little kiss.
- Get a room.
- Michael, your piece was epic.
- Thank you, Marina.
- Thank you.
- Michael,
- you'll have an advantage
in the next challenge.
- Awesome.
- Great work, everyone.
In your first challenge,
you gained inspiration
- from swimming with
- the marine life at the aquarium
- and created
- ultraviolet paintings
on your models' hands.
For this concept challenge,
don't worry.
You won't be going underwater,
but your models will be.
- Ohh!
- What?
- You'll be transforming
your models into sea creatures,
and your models will be
presented to the judges
in an entirely different way:
underwater.
- Shut up.
- Most of body paint
is water-based paint.
- Airbrush is the only
- alcohol paint we have
- that's gonna
- survive underwater.
- It definitely
- makes me nervous,
- because I've never
- used it before.
- Be very careful
how you apply your paint.
- A painting that would
- crack on the runway
- will just fall off
- in the water.
You need to have
perfect application.
- No pressure.
- You'll have six hours
- to paint your sea creature,
and you must create
a 360-degree,
head-to-toe design.
Michael,
for the concept challenge,
your advantage
is to take all tools away
from one of your competitors
for 30 minutes.
During that time,
he or she can paint
only with their hands.
- I really don't want
my tools taken away from me.
- It would make
- this a total disaster,
and so I'm extremely nervous.
- All right, little swimmers,
show us what you got.
- Good luck,
- and we'll see you tomorrow.
- Good-bye, you.
- Bye.
- I'm worried,
- because I'm gonna have to use
airbrush paint
since it's waterproof.
I have never experimented with
paint getting wet in any way,
let alone being under the water,
and I'm a little nervous.
Oh, my God.
[upbeat music]
♪ ♪
- [humming]
- I want to see
- this foam thing.
I'm feeling super confident.
I won the first challenge,
- and I did it
- by doing something different.
I'm feeling like a genius.
- Damn, what are you gonna do?
- I am painting an octopus
made out of foam.
I'm taking a huge risk.
I have never painted
anything that goes underwater.
- I'm going
- a little bit out there,
- and I'm not afraid
- of doing it.
- Models are here.
- Good morning.
- Hey, how are you, girl?
- I'm not gonna do, like,
a regular, basic mermaid.
A mermaid is, like,
the perfect choice for me.
Me and my friends,
we have mer-parties,
and we'll go and pretend
we're mermaids,
- and it sounds really
- dorky and geeky,
but that's what we do.
Let's do it.
- You are going
to be a seahorse.
- You don't even know
- what that is.
- I do.
- I decided to go
- with a seahorse.
It's a beautiful sea creature.
It's gonna be way different
compared to the other painters.
All righty.
Let's get to work.
[upbeat music]
- We're gonna learn
to use the airbrush today.
I know that we have
to hook these here.
These are the ones to put
in the little things, right?
- What?
- How do I know
if this is gonna go in?
- Do you feel like
- I'm applying something?
Like, does it feel wet?
- Not wet.
- Okay.
- It's, like,
- an imaginary creature
inspired by cuttlefish.
- It's really hard
- to waterproof paint.
There's a base coat of powder.
- There's a fixer spray that
- you put through the airbrush,
and it's just a lot of layers
of process to this.
- Hey, look
- what we get to wear today.
My sea creature is an abstract
form of an alligator.
- I want to do
- something different.
I want to touch base
with home.
My grandpa and I used to
actually go hunt for alligators.
My grandpa is battling
pancreatic cancer.
Even through the hard times
- that he's going through
- right now,
he's believed in me,
and he's my biggest supporter.
So this is for him.
Sweet.
♪ ♪
- There's a disadvantage,
I guess.
- Michael's gonna take
- our tools,
like brushes or sponges,
for, like, 30 minutes.
- I've been on the bottom
- twice in a row,
so today I'm gonna take
a little risk.
I'm gonna use the prosthetics
made out of foam.
- It's something
- I'm not used to.
- I definitely can't be
- at the bottom again.
- Yeah.
- Well, hello, painters.
We are very excited
for today's challenge.
I have Craig and Robin
and Ru with me here today.
- Hi, everybody.
- Good morning.
- Hi.
- Well, the judges want to take
a look at your work.
Good morning, Brittney.
- Good morning.
So my inspiration today
is alligators.
We used to hunt them sitting
in a shallow, tin boat.
- They would float up
- and peek their heads up,
- and I was always trying
- to reach over
and touch them and pet them.
- So where were your parents
during all this?
- In the boat with me.
- Wow!
- I'm surprised that you still
have your painting hands.
- Right, right.
- They're a very
- quiet species.
- You never know where
- they're at in the water.
- Until it's too late, yeah.
- Correct.
- Right.
- So I feel like that's
- where I'm at
- in the game right now.
Nobody knows I'm there,
but before they know it--yes.
- Some of my favorite
- sea creatures
are the cuttlefish
and the mantis shrimp,
and so I wanted to create
a krakeny sea monster hybrid.
- You know a lot
about sea creatures.
- My son and I watch
a lot of nature videos,
- so we bond over it
- so much that I'm, like,
so excited to put my favorite
sea creatures into this.
- All right. Thank you, Alison.
- Thank you so much.
- Well, I don't know
- what you're doing,
- but it's already
- making me smile.
- I originally
sketched out a pose.
It reminded me of a lobster.
- Now you have to make
a giant claw or two claws.
- Yeah, yeah, I'm gonna
- glue this to her hand
and then this to her thumb,
- so it will have
- movement as well.
- Okay.
- I have a mermaid.
- Mermaids usually have long,
- flowing hair.
- Why did you choose
- the bald cap?
- Because it's so,
like, overdone now.
I didn't want it to be
that stereotypical mermaid.
- I wanted to bring something
- a little different
for you guys to view.
- I have, like, this group
- of friends that I have,
and they dress up as mermaids,
and we swim around.
- You know what,
- there's a reason
- why I have this big booty
- and flat tummy,
and part of it is
because of this motion.
- You got to get the motion
- in the ocean.
- That's right.
The motion in the ocean.
- So we're making tentacles.
Here's my sketch.
- Wow.
- Holy moly.
- I'm hoping
- to get it all done on time.
- Wow.
- Go big or go home?
- Yeah.
- I'm freaking out.
- Are you a little
- worried that foam
will constrict your model
so that she can't
perform well in the tank?
- [laughing]
- Oh, my God.
That would be terrible.
- This is so ambitious.
- Oh, my God, thanks.
- And, Michael,
- because you won
- the first challenge,
your advantage
is to take all tools away
- from one
- of your competitors.
- Who do you want
- to take tools away from
for the next 30 minutes?
[tense music]
- Having an advantage
is making me feel kind of evil.
♪ ♪
- The thought of having my tools
taken away is terrifying.
♪ ♪
- Okay, Michael, who do you
want to take tools away from
for the next 30 minutes?
[suspenseful music]
- I'm gonna
- have to choose...
♪ ♪
Alison,
- your painting
- looks amazing, as always,
and I'm gonna
have to choose you for this.
- Other people--everyone else
- has way more done than me,
- but whatever.
- Okay, Alison.
Put your tools down.
Your time starts now.
You can't use any tools,
just your hands.
- I'm telling you,
that karma's a bitch.
- Alison is
a very strong painter,
and I'm here to win this.
- Good luck.
- We'll see you soon.
- Thanks.
- Bye.
- Bye.
- Bye.
- Parts I had planned
- to paint with my fingers
I hadn't gotten to yet,
so there goes that idea.
I thought it was
gonna happen later.
I start trying to paint
with the alcohol paint
with my fingers,
and it evaporates so quickly
that by the time
my finger gets to my model,
it was already dry.
- This is a way
- bigger disadvantage
- than I thought
- it was going to be.
[upbeat music]
- Michael, you haven't
even started painting.
- I know.
- Is she gonna be able
to move in all that?
- Oh, Michael.
You do know that foam floats?
- I don't know
- what's gonna happen,
but let's hope
it's beautiful.
- Hey, Luis, I see
you're doing crustaceans,
and because I brought
a little piece of home,
I will let you borrow
Ted for today, all right?
- Muchas gracias.
- Do you even know
- what that is?
- Thank you. Huh?
- Do you know what that is?
- That's a lobster, right?
- No!
- Wasn't it--
- It's a crawfish.
- Oh, is this what this is?
- Luis has no idea
what he's doing.
He is making a lobster,
I guess.
I don't know.
From my angle,
she looks kind of pink.
[chuckles]
♪ ♪
- Hey, Alison.
How's your finger painting?
- I found out I can't
use the alcohol-based paint
with my fingers.
It doesn't really work.
- So I'm having
- to use the water-based
and, like, just hope
that the sealer will seal it.
- That's a big risk.
- Yeah.
- Okay, Alison,
your 30 minutes is up.
- You can get back
- to your tools.
- Yay. Thank you.
Finally, I get my tools back,
- and I go straight
- for the airbrush.
I really lost a lot of time.
I'm feeling like a lot of detail
is gonna be left out.
- All right.
- I'm gonna start
- painting now.
[chuckles]
Looking around the room,
I think Luis' piece
is a little silly-looking.
I don't see him as competition,
but I don't know.
- It's all gonna change
- underwater,
so we don't really know
what's gonna happen.
- How does that feel?
I decided to use
a lighter color palette
for this body paint,
- 'cause Robin has been
- giving me advice.
So, you know, getting
out of my comfort zone,
which is painting very dark.
Hopefully this doesn't
fall apart.
- I think Rick's
- a great artist,
but he's definitely
my competitor.
I really want to beat him.
You look like any man
would want to take you home,
which is good.
- Seductive.
- You guys,
we've got one hour left!
Y'all better make your animals
come to life.
Michael, you got so much foam
on that girl.
- You think this is gonna float?
- Probably.
- Everyone in the room
is totally worried about me.
- All those floaties, I'm afraid
they're gonna affect you, dude.
- [laughs]
- I did it.
Everyone thinks this is gonna
be a complete failure,
but I got this.
Don't you worry about me.
♪ ♪
- Never once did
- I think I was gonna learn
how to do airbrush here.
- I'm looking at Luis' piece.
Clearly, he's not familiar
with the airbrush itself.
- Oh!
- This won't work.
- This is clogging.
- He's not getting
any of those hard lines,
and his lines are fairly soft.
- A challenge
- within a challenge.
♪ ♪
- The only thing
- I'm really worried about
is whether it's gonna float.
- Water disturbance.
- Yeah. What's gonna happen?
This is the hardest I've worked
since I've been here.
- [gasps
- Oh, my God.
- Nonstop rushing,
painting, doing this,
gluing, stapling, you know,
throwing things on,
sculpting.
This is magic, my friends.
Magic, magic.
♪ ♪
You guys,
we have 15 minutes left.
Are you guys ready?
- Whoa!
- Whoo!
- Ahh!
I just ruined my sneakers.
♪ ♪
- You're almost done.
- Is anyone freaking out?
- Yes!
- I had to change plans.
- Well, you've got
- no turning back now.
- Yep.
- Done, dude.
- [laughs]
- That's it!
Time's up.
Tools down, painters.
- [sighs]
- We can't wait to see
your masterpieces submerged.
Great job, everybody.
- Getting the disadvantage,
- it sucked.
I'm not done with
all my little details,
and I'm just freaking out.
[suspenseful music]
- Welcome, painters.
- Hi.
- For the very first underwater
body-painting challenge,
you had to turn your models
into swimming sea creatures,
and we cannot wait to see
your sea creatures in action.
Let's welcome back our
esteemed judges.
Craig Tracy...
- Hello, painters.
- Hey.
- What's up, Craig?
- Robin Slonina...
- Hi, sailors.
- Hello.
- And RuPaul Charles
- Ahoy.
- Ahoy.
- Okay, painters,
- please step
- to the side of the stage.
Okay, this is Rick's seahorse
[techno music]
- Oh, wow.
- Whoa!
♪ ♪
- Man, that footage
looks amazing.
The decision that I made
of going lighter
with my color palette
- turned out to be a lot better
- than I expected.
Those yellows and purples
really glow underwater.
My model did
such an amazing job
working the actual
seahorse movement.
Nice.
- This is Michael's octopus.
♪ ♪
- I took a huge risk
painting tentacles
out of wire and foam,
and that's where
I **** up a a bit.
I basically created
a giant floatation device.
Back up she goes.
- I can't go down.
I just hope the judges
appreciate the creativity
and the hard work
that I put into it.
- Oh, Michael.
- Lesson learned, Michael.
Lesson learned.
- This is Luis' lobster.
♪ ♪
- In the water, the tentacles
looked so awesome.
The colors are very vibrant.
They pop to your eye.
- But I'm actually
- very disappointed.
The back fin flips up,
and I'm scared
that the airbrush lines
aren't clean.
- This is Alison's
mythological fish.
- Ooh.
- I'm watching the video,
- and I can see that the details
- that I was worried
- were gonna be washed out
are actually popping.
I'm feeling so much better
about my piece.
My creature wasn't meant
to be beautiful and graceful,
- so I had her doing
- a little bit more creepy stuff.
I put enough layers
of sealant on my model,
and my finger-painted dots
are holding up.
- I'm already feeling
- like a winner
- just because
- I've accomplished that.
- This is Tiffany's mermaid.
♪ ♪
- I'm super happy
- with my mermaid.
I think it looks beautiful.
My model was so graceful
under the water.
I love the way the fabric
is iridescent and flowy,
- and she looks
- completely different
- than any other mermaid
- they've seen before.
I am so proud.
- This is Brittney's alligator.
♪ ♪
- Oh, my God.
Her paint glows,
and the colors just pop.
And her face, she just sold
the anger in it
that I wanted to portray.
I love the eye on the back.
It's such a focal point.
Her movements aren't the most
impressive thing for me,
- so I'm wondering
- if the judges
- are gonna count that
- against me.
- She did good.
- That's impressive.
- Oh, cool.
- Clearly, the judges
- have a lot to discuss,
but first, they want
to ask you about your work.
Rick, we'll start with you.
[gentle music]
- Definitely, I wanted
to focus on the colors.
- I wanted to get
- that reflection that I wanted,
and I'm really happy with
what I was able to pull off.
- I'm so happy
about your color palette
If you would have done
your regular dark blues
and blacks,
it would disappear.
I love it also how well
she did posing for you.
- This model sold
the hell out of it.
- She did great.
- I'm telling you, my model
- is just perfect all around.
- Do you have a little crush
- on your model?
- Man, I sure do.
She said if I win Skin Wars,
- I will be able
- to get her number.
- So there's more
- motivation for me.
- Rick, you should be really,
really proud.
- I am really proud.
Thank you.
- Okay, Brittney, you're up.
♪ ♪
- My alligator was inspired
by when I was a child.
We used to actually go
hunting for alligators
- in the water
- late in the night,
and I would see
their eyes glowing red.
I didn't like the fact
that we were actually
going after creatures
who were so innocent.
- It's so cool that you
didn't go literal on this thing.
It's abstract,
but I get it,
and man, oh, man,
your model really sold it.
She was
a Louisiana gator woman.
- Your gator girl
was beautifully done.
The face felt kind of
ghoulish and scary.
- It scared me a bit too,
- but that was the approach
- that I wanted to take with it.
- I think that you created
your own creature,
and it's mesmerizing.
It's fierce and fabulous.
- Okay, thank you, Brittney.
- Thanks, you guys.
- Okay, Michael, you're up.
♪ ♪
- I call this the Octopus Ego.
For this challenge,
I didn't play it safe,
and I made
a very brilliant decision
to use foam for the tentacles,
but she couldn't go down.
- Everyone was like,
- "It's not gonna work,"
- and I was like, "Just let me be.
- I'm an artist.
- I have a vision.
- Let me do it."
- Do you think that
you were a little stubborn
- in not listening
- to all the warnings?
- It's the ego.
- Well, clearly, your ego
can be used
as a floatation device.
- There are times, though,
- when this thing
- absolutely looks gorgeous
- in the water.
But, you know,
that foam was the mistake.
It's a **** up mess,
Michael.
- I should have listened,
- but I didn't.
- You used
some really great colors,
but those decisions
that you made
before you stepped
into the workroom
make or break you
in this competition.
Your ego might've
killed you tonight.
- I did everything
- without really thinking
about the consequences.
I had tunnel vision with it.
- You were overly ambitious,
neglectful and misguided,
and it could send you home.
[tense music]
- Michael, your ego
might've killed you tonight,
and it could send you home.
I want you to be
very conscious of that.
- Copy that.
- Okay, Alison.
- I was inspired
by the cuttlefish.
It's one of my favorite
creatures of the sea,
and I love the patterning
on their skin,
but also incorporates
sort of mantis shrimp.
- I love your colors.
This does glow.
It does feel phosphorescent.
- The back of your painting
is the highlight for me.
It's just gorgeous.
- Thank you.
- The banding
that you did on the legs,
it is something
you're comfortable with.
I'd love to see you step
away from that a little bit
- and try something else.
- Right.
- Great.
- Thank you, Alison.
- Thank you.
- Okay, Luis, you're next.
♪ ♪
- For my first time,
- I used airbrush
- from head to toe,
so I felt out
of my comfort zone 100%.
- Luis, this piece
left me underwhelmed,
and it was a playful piece.
Seeing a human,
you know, lobster
- reminded me
- of something from, like,
a third grade play.
But it really
started to fall apart
once it got in the water.
- I mean, come on, Luis,
everybody knows
foam floats, doll.
- Yeah.
- Who doesn't know that?
[laughter]
- Well, you know, under
- the pressure and everything,
- you're not really thinking about
- what floats and what sinks.
- You just want to make
- the piece look good.
- Luis, I know you're gonna
continue to use the airbrush.
You know, unfortunately,
this competition
is a difficult place
to learn something
this important
and this basic
to body painting.
- You're a fabulous painter.
- Thank you.
- Only problem
- is you're up against
some other really
fabulous painters.
- Okay, Tiffany, you're up.
♪ ♪
- Mine was the mermaid,
- and I did not want it to
- look like a regular mermaid,
with all the hair and stuff.
I wanted it to kind of,
like, have human features,
but at the same time
have that mythical quality.
- I wanted her
- to be a little evil
but still
strikingly beautiful.
- I am mesmerized
by your mermaid.
The color combination,
the fabric,
I think it's so beautiful.
- She is luring me in too.
I am definitely hearing
your mermaid's siren song.
That gold leaf
is just a stroke of genius.
You know how gorgeous this is.
- I feel like
- she was pretty.
[laughter]
- Now, Tiffany,
I wanted to see more detail.
Maybe the scales,
little more highlights,
- little bit more shadows.
- Mm-hmm.
- But your use
of fabric was genius.
In the water, out of the water,
this is so beautiful.
- Okay.
- Thank you, Tiffany.
- Thank you so much.
- Okay, painters,
- the judges have a very tough
- decision to make.
- Please head back
- to the painters' lounge.
We'll call you
back in a little bit.
- Good-bye, guys.
Have fun the rest
of the season.
- Shout-out to being
- bottom again.
- So what'd you guys think
of those sea creatures?
- Tiffany just blew me away
with how gorgeous her piece was.
That fabric gave it
that sexy, beautiful flow.
- How she framed the face
with those gold seashells
made her look so beautiful
and alluring.
- Very otherworldly.
- Yeah.
- How about Brittney?
- I got to tell you,
I love, love, love
that Louisiana gator woman.
- She actually
brought design elements
and feeling and emotion
to her piece.
- That young lady
- knows how to paint.
- Those teeth on the front
- of the body help.
- Beautifully done.
- It had the great highlights
- and the shadows in it.
- Rick, I think, just
knocked it out of the park.
- It was really,
- really beautiful.
The color combination
couldn't get any better.
- There was every color in
the rainbow in that painting.
- Yeah.
- Every bright color, finally.
- Every bright color
- in the rainbow.
- I wish that he would have
- put a little more attention
- around the model's eyes.
- Oh, yeah.
- That is
- a big focal point.
- How about Luis?
- It really did feel for me
like a character
in a school play for kids.
- I agree that
it felt amateurish.
- I did like the arms' banding,
and, you know,
when he brought out those
red, orange, yellow gradation--
- It popped. yeah.
- It just made me
- a little confused.
Why not put that everywhere?
- The mechanics were
definitely there on land.
- On dry land.
- Alison's work
is always clean,
but there was a few things--
like the face felt unfinished.
- I loved her piece.
- I thought it was fantastic.
Yeah, there were some places
- where it could've really
- been better,
but she knows how
to channel the inspiration
into her work,
and that's something that some
of the younger painters here
really could take a cue from.
- And then
Michael's nightmare octopus.
- He's actually had success
- biting off
- more than he can chew,
and I think that
gave him the confidence
to, like, try something
really crazy,
and then it did not work.
- Sometimes, the way
you see an octopus that's--
it's arms are wrapping
around and stuff,
- and you can't tell
- what's what.
- If you're gonna fail, at
least you fail spectacularly.
- Yeah.
- Okay, have we
made a decision?
- Yeah.
- Yes.
- Yes
- Yeah.
[suspenseful music]
- Welcome back, painters.
- Hi.
- You had some outstanding
work tonight,
and your underwater videos
were gorgeous.
Alison...
♪ ♪
You're safe.
- Nice.
- You may head back
- to the painters' lounge.
- Thank you.
- Rick,
Tiffany,
Brittney,
- you're the top
- three painters tonight.
Please, step forward.
♪ ♪
- Rick, your color
choices were gorgeous,
and you can see the results.
It really stood out
in the water.
- Thank you.
- Tiffany, I was mesmerized
by your mermaid.
The gold leaf
on the model's body
was just
the pièce de résistance.
- Brittney, it was a complete
design from head to toe.
I absolutely loved
the rendering of those eyes.
- You are just amazing.
- I've been in the top three
- so many times,
and I still
haven't won anything,
- but maybe this is my chance,
- right here.
- Brittney...
♪ ♪
You're safe.
- Thank you.
[sighs]
Man, again.
- Congratulations.
- You can head back
- to the painters' lounge.
- Thanks.
Good luck, guys.
♪ ♪
- Tiffany,
Rick,
only one of you can be
tonight's winner.
- I have what it takes
to be here in the top,
and I am here to win.
- The winner
of this challenge is...
- You both did
outstanding work,
- but only one of you can be
- tonight's winner.
[suspenseful music]
Tiffany, congratulations,
you're our winner tonight.
[laughter]
- I'm so happy.
- You killed it.
- Aww.
Nice.
Thank you, guys.
Ahh!
What do I do now?
Yeah!
- Dance it out, girl.
- Yes.
- Great job, Tiffany.
Dance it out, girl.
Dance it all the way
back to the painters' lounge.
- Yes! Yes!
- Yay! Bye!
[laughter]
- Luis and Michael,
you are the bottom two painters.
- I took a huge risk,
but I made it this far,
so I'm thinking,
- "Maybe I have
- a shot of staying."
- Luis, you did make
some really clever choices.
Unfortunately,
this is your first time
ever doing a complete,
full-body paint with airbrush,
and you suffered for that.
- Michael, you've been
on a roll lately,
but tonight,
you got overly ambitious
and it really backfired
all over the place.
- Luis, Michael...
[suspenseful music]
One of you will be packing
up your brushes tonight.
Michael...
♪ ♪
You're safe.
- Michael, just remember,
you need to check your ego,
'cause that could've
sunk you tonight.
- Michael, you may head back
to the painters' lounge.
- Thank you.
- [exhales]
- That means, Luis, I'm sorry.
Unfortunately,
you'll be going home tonight.
- Luis, you're not
the same artist
walking out of here
that you were walking in,
and I can't wait
to see you keep growing.
- I'm proud of myself.
I came, I showed,
I lost, I won,
but that's life,
and I'm just thankful
that I got to be here.
It was amazing, and thank you
for the opportunity.
- Luis, it's time
to go wash off your canvas.
- All right.
- Thank you.
Bye.
- Ah!
- [laughs]
- Ohh, and he still keeps
a smile on his face.
- I'm not ready
to pack my brushes yet,
- but it's unbelievable
- that I've made it this far,
and for that I'm really proud.
- Your journey
- doesn't end here.
- It's just the beginning.
I'll miss you guys.
- Group hug.
- Group hug, guys.
- As much as I wanted
to win the $100,000
so I can go to school,
this isn't gonna stop me,
it's not gonna break me.
- Y'all take care.
- I'll see y'all later.
- Love you, Luis.
- Bye-bye.
- My journey on "Skin Wars"
- has taught me
- to believe in yourself
and how to believe
in your own artwork.
This is the best experience
that has happened to me yet,
and I say "yet" because
it's just the beginning.
I grew so much
as a body painter here,
and I'm excited to see
where it takes me.
♪ ♪
- Next time on "Skin Wars"...
- Today, you will be painting
breast cancer survivors.
- It's like the dawn
of a new era.
- I chose to fight, to live.
- You're amazing.
- I'm sort of light-headed.
So sorry.
- I've never,
ever felt beautiful like this.
- Where their scars are,
there is beauty.
- Please, welcome guest judge
Samantha Harris.
- You don't know
- what it means
- for me to be able
- to see the strength.
- I feel like a total bad-ass.
- I'm loving it.
- You deserve to feel beautiful
- when you look in the mirror.
- You brought tears
to my eyes. Wow!
- This has never happened
in Skin Wars.