Snake on nails: design, 100 photos of manicure with fashionable designs

The very effective “snake on nails” design is gaining popularity. And it doesn’t matter what technique you use to make a beautiful snake - bubble, stamping, slider or freehand. In any case, the manicure will look relevant, correspond to trends, and attract attention.

This patterned nail art can be combined with different shades. For example, red, black, gray, beige, brown, blue, green, white and even transparent. The colors will transform the design, revealing all the advantages of the snake image or snakeskin effect.

Snake designs on nails can be treated differently, but denying the fact that they will be present in a manicure is pointless. We see this print on the catwalks all the time. We invite you to look at new photo ideas for stylish manicure with the image of a snake.

Snake design on short nails

Short nails are undoubtedly held in high esteem by girls. And the snake design is amazing both in glossy and matte versions. In the photo example, the option is complemented by a hand-drawn snake. As for other techniques, to create a snake pattern, craftsmen often use adhesive-based sliders, which are covered with any elastic top. And stamping design. Moreover, today it is difficult to say right away exactly how the snake nail design was made. And which option is most relevant. The choice is up to the master and you.

Design technique

There are several ways to make a reptile manicure with gel polish, but they are all very simple. Usually all the tools can be found at home. Let's look at all the options with which you can create an unusual texture.

Simple predatory print

In the table you can find several ideas that will help you transfer a unique print to your nails. Choose the one that suits you best:

Drawing scheme

There are several methods for rendering the reptile texture. It is best to draw random lines where your hand leads you. The scales can be very small or form a large mesh. It all depends on your desire. You can arrange the scales in a chaotic manner, changing their sizes, or use our diagram:

1. You need to prepare your nails in advance: apply a base and a colored layer of gel polish.
2. Using a brush, draw thin lines in the middle of the nail along the entire length. The space between the lines should be decent.
3. Connect the lines on the sides to create corners.
4. From each corner, draw parallel lines up and down on each side.
5. Connect the lines and finish the drawing.

To draw scales, it is recommended to use gel paste or thick gel polish.

Video instruction

Detailed instructions on how to do a reptile manicure can be seen in the video below.

Long nails with a snake

Long nails are now often seen on celebrities. However, excessive length should still be avoided. If you want a nail design with a snake, make a contrasting design on a calm surface so that the pattern looks as attractive and charming as possible. Alternatively, the drawing can look quite voluminous and colorful - this way you will add the necessary accent. We have collected the most interesting ideas with exotic animal print and a drawing of a mysterious reptile in the photo selection below.

Red color

In the 2022 season, a wide palette of scarlet varnishes is incredibly in demand. It becomes an ideal solution both for everyday life and for a special occasion if a fashionista wants to loudly make a statement. The combination of red coating and snake theme looks especially bold and cool.

The most advanced fashionistas can implement a manicure in the 2022 season with Gucci snakes or with a laconic image of a predator on just one nail as an accent. Nowadays it is incredibly popular to use a design on a transparent base - this technique makes the manicure lighter and more relevant.

Red polish is an incredibly versatile solution for nail art. With such a base, a variety of manicure techniques, as well as their stylish combinations, look harmonious. Who would have thought that a daring and provocative snake pattern would look stylish in a duet with a classic French jacket and gold glitter. But in the 2020 season, the recipe for success is simple - the winner is the one who is not afraid of unusual combinations in manicure.

Beige nails with snake

Nude colors in manicure effortlessly create a harmonious nail design. But here, too, bright images of a snake, golden, silver (made with foil) will help to diversify the manicure - this will add style, uniqueness and novelty to the image. In addition, colored rhinestones will help you realize this design. For example, on a translucent background of nails in combination with a French coat.

What it is

Animal print has been extremely popular in the fashion industry for several seasons in a row. Patterns with dangerous predators and amphibians are in great demand, along with leopard, tiger and zebra, not only among designers of world Fashion Houses. Reptile manicure has firmly established itself among nail art masters and home users. The unique texture creates a special predatory effect on the nails, so much so that not a single fatal beauty can pass by it.

The fashion for expensive texture is most often expressed in wallets, bags, belts and other accessories. But American girls went further and began to stick real snakeskin on their nails, carefully securing the surface with a top coat. Snake skin can be purchased for $12-20 online. But the price for a manicure with a reptile costs about $150-300. The unreasonable price for a luxury coating forced the craftsmen to come up with analogues of the dangerous print.

You can repeat it using regular polish (gel polish), gel paste and several brushes. Not bright, but with a predatory character, the texture involves the placement of scales over the entire area of ​​the nail with a colored base. It is necessary to form small zones of different lengths and widths around the perimeter. An important feature of the reptile design is that the edges of the scales should be wavy and have round corners. The approximate size should range from 3 to 6 mm. After marking, you can put a drop of topcoat on each scale for volume. This is another great option for a voluminous manicure.

Best color combinations

To create a coating, any natural and natural shades are suitable. Standard colors are green, brown, black, gray and beige. Any dirty and muted undertones (swamp, olive, mud color) will also be very appropriate. The print pattern should be much brighter and more contrasting than its background. Don't forget about color combinations, otherwise the wrong combination can ruin the entire manicure. Each nail should resemble a different small reptile.

Design lifehacks

Our small tips will help you create the perfect nail design with imitation reptile skin:

• the best combination with an original manicure is exquisite evening dresses, a formal trouser suit or a discreet look with a blouse and pencil skirt;
• you can even draw an unusual dragon texture if you use blue and green varnish with shimmer as a base;
• a gradient substrate is particularly well suited for such a coating;
• if you have some kind of accessory with a predatory print, try to repeat a similar texture on your nails for complete harmony;
• a manicure with an imitation of a reptile on the nails looks quite bold and is not always suitable for an everyday look, it is more of an evening option;
• old snake skin can be found in the forest in the spring or ordered on the Internet; the price for such pleasure starts from 700 rubles.

Black manicure with snake

By rhyming this pattern with the classic black color of the coating, they achieve a more restrained and everyday manicure formula. When the image should have few active details. A pattern or snake print in black tone is best suited to everyday and even business attire. Options with metallized decor and rubbing are possible.

The black and white combination, on the contrary, is very bright and expressive. Especially when the snake design moves from one nail to another.

Suitable nail shape

Absolutely any nails are easily suitable for both reptile designs and snakeskin imitation. You can create a beautiful manicure both on short nails of natural length and on longer, perhaps even extended nails.

Manicure with imitation crocodile skin

But the longer the length, the less everyday the manicure looks. For extended nails, it is better to choose such a design only in case of preparation for a serious special event.

The shape of the nails can also be any. Round, square, oval and rectangular options are classics, but with triangular nails such a manicure will look more provocative.

Matte manicure with snake

Masters continue to develop trends inspired by matte nail polish. Many have already played enough with cow print, now the next trend is a snakeskin pattern, which goes perfectly with a matte background. As shown by stylish interpretations - in dark and light colors. Patterns can be made by hand, but other techniques and styles are also possible, adding elements with shiny decor.

Necessary materials and tools for manicure with gel polish

To apply snake skin to your nails yourself using gel polish, you need to purchase all the items for this procedure. The biggest and most expensive purchase for a manicure will be an ultraviolet lamp, which is used to dry the gel polish. You will also need gel polishes in the desired colors, base and top, dots. Performing a manicure with ordinary varnishes will also require a base and top coat, varnishes of the desired colors, a brush or dots.

To more accurately familiarize yourself with the process of applying snake skin to nails, you need to look at the photos that describe each step step by step. You don’t have to be an artist to draw such a pattern on your nails; just follow the rules for applying varnish, and the manicure will turn out very beautiful.

Manicure with reptile eye

Many girls experiment with provocatively bright designs on their nails. These include the image of a snake’s eye on the nail, which is used as a bright accent. What is relevant, does not give up its fashionable positions at all. The main thing is not to overload it with shades, textures and decor.

Best color combinations

For a manicure with a snake pattern, you can use any color scheme. The colors that look most advantageous in this design are those found in the natural coloration of reptiles: brown, green, blue, sand. For everyday manicure, you can use 2 – 3 shades of coating, for example, the trio “beige, brown and white”, “blue, light blue and black”.

If you are creating a festive manicure, you can add glitter of gold or silver, holographic foil, glitter, and stones to it.

A predatory design can be achieved by using red and black colors. The drawing of a red and black snake looks very expressive on white gel polish. And don't forget about the matte top. With it, all shades of gel polishes are transformed and look completely different. A matte top will give you an even more stylish result.

Nude

A nude manicure with a snake can be a great option for everyday wear. It uses translucent bases and delicate cream shades of gel polishes. Nail art looks equally good on both oval and square nails.

White manicure with snake

The snake looks expressive on a white background. If you choose white as the main color of the manicure, you can use any colors of paint to depict a snake, even very bright ones, such as orange, yellow, red. To balance the composition, you can cover several nails with gel polish of one of the colors used in the design.

Light blue

Blue snake scales look beautiful against a light blue background. This design will not be too bright and is suitable for every day. A light blue manicure can be complemented with a snakeskin pattern in white. This nail art will turn out even more delicate. The drawing can also be created using watercolor techniques or applied using an airbrush.

Transparent

The image of a snake in fragments looks impressive on a transparent substrate. A part of a reptile is drawn on each nail, and if you line up all the nails in a row, you can see a complete design. For design, it is better to use rich colors that will stand out against the background of natural nail plates.

Red design

A black snake can decorate a red monochrome manicure without making it pretentious or too vulgar. This manicure will look very stylish under a matte top.

Gold snakeskin looks beautiful on red. It can be created using gold gel paint or foil. The design can be complemented with rhinestones and bouillons, but it is important not to overload your nails with decor.

Black

An interesting design can be made using black gel polish. It is applied to all the nails of one hand, and on the other hand a snake is drawn in black. As a background for the picture, it is better to use nude shades or bright colors that contrast with the black coating: yellow, red, orange. Depending on what color is chosen for your nails with a pattern, you can get either a calm manicure for everyday wear, or a bright and spectacular design.

More photos and publications: Photos of shellac manicure: modern trends

Volume

To add volume to the design, you can use a transparent base for gel polish. It is applied with a thin brush on top of a pattern or drawing of a reptile and polymerized in a lamp. After the base hardens, you get a convex image of a snake or realistic scales.

With rhinestones

Rhinestones can enhance the expressiveness of a manicure with a snake pattern. They can be placed on top of the design, laid out in smooth lines, imitating the silhouette of a snake, or used to create snake scales.

Dark green

Dark green gel polish is often chosen for autumn manicure. This coating looks especially beautiful under a matte top. You can complement the design with the help of a snake silhouette drawn with a thin brush and black gel paint.

Magnetic varnish for creating a snake print

One of the simplest and most common ways to create a snake manicure is magnetic polish.

You can buy it at almost any nail service store. The peculiarity of this varnish is that it contains microparticles of metal, which, when interacting with a magnet, line up in a certain pattern. Manufacturers made sure in advance that the choice of patterns was extensive.

Apply the first coat of polish to your prepared nails and let it dry for a few minutes. Then add a second layer and, without letting it dry, bring the magnet as close to your nail as possible. The distance should be approximately three millimeters, no more. But you need to do everything with extreme caution so as not to catch the varnish itself, otherwise you will have to repeat the procedure from the very beginning. The magnet is held for ten seconds, then removed and the varnish is allowed to dry. Only after this a glossy top coat is applied. Please note that each nail will have to be treated separately so that the second layer of varnish does not set before it gets its turn.

Preparing nails before applying decor

The first thing to take care of is the appearance of the hands themselves. Even the most fashionable design will lose half its effectiveness if there is no basic manicure. For such a case, you can use both edged manicure and European manicure. The European version of care is more gentle and reduces all pain to zero. For this procedure you need:

• cuticle softener;
• orange stick;
• a bowl of warm water;
• any base oil;
• nail polish remover;
• cotton pads;
• cotton buds;
• glass nail file;
• polishing buffer

Using a cotton pad and nail polish remover, remove the previous nail art. Give your nail the desired shape using a glass nail file. Don't forget that you only need to file your nails in one direction, otherwise you risk damage and splitting of your nails. Using a polishing buff, remove all irregularities from the plate.

Then place your hands in a bowl of warm water. If desired, add sea or regular table salt to further strengthen your nails. Keep your hands in the water for about ten minutes, then dry them with a towel and begin applying a special cuticle softener. It should be applied around the entire circumference of the nail to further soften the nail folds. The required holding time for such a gel is indicated on the packaging.

Use an orange stick to move the cuticle and remove dead cells. Use a towel or napkin to remove any remaining product. Apply base oil to the skin around the nail with a cotton swab and moisturize your hands with cream.

Methods of drawing

To create a manicure with reptiles, two types are practiced: imitation of snake skin on the nail surface and direct drawing.

A rare and very expensive method of applying snake skin shed during the molting period, cut to the shape of a nail, is used for special occasions. After fixing the fragment on the nail plate, it is coated with transparent varnish.

Special stickers and artificial overlays will allow you to create a similar manicure yourself at home. The sliders are glued on, strictly following the instructions. If the sticker is completely adjacent to the nail, then no additional fastening is required. A small fragment on the surface requires all stages of manicure: creating a base, using colored varnish, fixing with a fixer.

Minx Snake Scale Thermal Film is peeled off the base, heated and applied to the nail surface. After drying using an ultraviolet lamp, a layer of gel is made and dried again.

Often in salons, snake skin is painted with a brush.

Dots is perfect for this purpose. Large cells are placed in the center of the nail plate, and smaller ones are placed closer to the edges. The colors usually used are black, brown, green, yellow, and blue. Scales can be created using gel.

First, lay a thin layer of base, which is dried for 2 minutes in a lamp. After applying a dark layer, also dried for 2 minutes, spots of light colors are added to the nail. Suitable bubbles can be created using dots. The layer of not yet dried gel is turned into segments of scales.

To apply the grid, you can select diamond-shaped or rectangular cells of the desired size. First, black, green, blue or gray varnish is applied, then yellow or orange gel is added directly to the cell. The mesh should be pressed well against the nail. After drying, each cell is filled with a drop of transparent gel. To add volume to the image, the procedure can be repeated.

Sometimes a fishnet is created using tulle, lace or old fishnet tights.

The nail, covered with dark varnish and dried, is wrapped in prepared mesh cloth. The mesh should not move, so it is fixed with something or pinched with your fingers.

Colored varnish is applied with a sponge over the mesh. After drying the top layer, the mesh is carefully removed. The finishing layer will smooth the surface of the nail and help avoid roughness.

You can draw scales by applying parallel horizontal stripes with black varnish. Then they are connected from the sides with lines so that hexagons are formed. From them, diagonal stripes lead to the edge of the nail, first up and then down, forming a mesh around the large scales.

Nail art requires a lot of patience. It is necessary to draw each scale, so it is recommended to use one or two fingers on your hand for work.

Imitation of snake skin is also created using Cat's Eye shellac.

Its base contains metal elements, which, when exposed to magnetic fields in the varnish, take on a certain shape. When dry, beautiful patterns are obtained.

First, the nail is coated with a suitable varnish, dried, and a mesh is painted in black. Sometimes the cells are shaded with foil and covered with biosculptural transparent varnish. Often the drawing is done in a monochromatic color scheme.

To create a volumetric imitation, a base gel is first applied. You need to use a product with a thick structure. After it dries, the nail is covered with two layers of dark varnish, each of which is pre-dried. Then light pigments are applied, which are immediately covered with drops of fixative.

Transfer foil will help create shiny cells.

You must act quickly and carefully: firmly press the foil to the nail surface and sharply remove it. The adhesive layer will begin to shine beautifully. The frame of the scaly diamonds will take on a shimmering appearance.

To avoid rubbing off glitter from the surface, it is necessary to use a finishing layer of topcoat. Drops of modeling gel are added to the very center of the diamonds. Then the fixative is applied. Diamonds acquire noticeable volume.

The checkerboard arrangement of the cells attracts many lovers of manicures with the image of a reptile. To prevent the drops from spreading, it is recommended to dry each of them separately for several seconds in a lamp. At the final stage, all nails are thoroughly dried and a smooth layer of fixative is applied on top. The fingers are again placed in an ultraviolet lamp. The sticky layer must be removed.

There is one of the easiest ways to create a snake scale nail design using the craquelure technique. To do this, take a varnish with a special cracking effect and apply it to the nail plate.