Sports Illustrated Body Painting

Sports Illustrated body painting photos are well known for their creativity, and they should be. These gorgeous photographs combine beautiful composition and artistry, as well as those classic Sports Illustrated poses that are as stimulating as they are sexy. Sometimes the girls look as if they are wearing swimsuits, but others are painted to look as if they wearing jerseys, cover-ups or T-shirts.

Famous Sports Illustrated Body Painting

Some Sports Illustrated body painting pictures are particularly famous. Here are some of the most popular ones of all time that you either know about and want to revisit, or need to look into right away.

Irina Shayk

Shayk had her body painted by Joanne Gair for LBB Artist Management in Grenada, and the paint was made to look as though the model was wearing a back-tied strapless swimsuit with torn bottoms, almost like she had been shipwrecked. Not only was this work extremely detailed, but it incorporated rare colors like red and pink, which are considered more problematic tones for body painting.

Bethany Dempsey

The wife of U.S. Midfielder soccer player Clint Dempsey modeled a classic design for Sports Illustrated with a skimpy top painted on her upper body and a string bikini below. The triangle bikini top had an interesting dimensional effect with floral, ruffled cups and tiny string straps, but the side-tie bottoms were slightly more substantial. The bikini bottoms' ties were knotted into sumptuous bows that spilled across her hips in a style that's not usually showcased in the magazine.

Julie Henderson

Henderson's painted-on swimwear has an asymmetrical effect not uncommon on body paint designs done by Joanne Gair. The light green swimsuit style has a one-strap design that went up over one shoulder and then assumed a more traditional bandeau silhouette on the other side of the torso. The swim top was made to look slightly jagged or ragged around the bottom, which also gave it more volume and realism. The swimsuit bottoms ran straight across the bottom and flat against the hips with slightly uneven edging to match the top.

Jessica White

White's bikini paint looked almost reptilian in nature with a large expanse of scale-like detail covering her breasts and a small section of torso. The painting at the top was made to resemble a reinforced bandeau top with a slight band at the bottom possibly made from a gossamer fabric of some sort. The bottoms were less "realistic" and actually didn't resemble a swimsuit bottom at all. Instead, the swimsuit bottoms created the image of a pensive face over the entire bikini zone.

Brooklyn Decker

Decker got a real treat when it came to her Sports Illustrated bikini; she got to rock a rare topless-style monokini that was sexy and subtle. Fashioned in white, her painted-on swimsuit featured a very realistic-looking world map with orange and yellow continents, plus nautical symbols added in detail around the land masses. The strap that reached around her neck looked as though it was made from rope or cord.

Rachel Hunter Model

Rachel Hunter was also painted in a one-piece design with criss-cross halter straps. Her paint was more vibrant than Decker's, although it also incorporated a map theme. The swimsuit body painting had side cutouts with a high-cut hip, and it had straps that crossed across the front of the chest to tie at the back of the neck.

Abigail Clancy

Abigail Clancy's body paint was certainly made to fool the eye. Her swimsuit style had a gingham effect that was as sweet as it was busy, which helped her pull off some more daring poses. Her swimsuit style was a small triangle top pulled up over the bottom of the breasts with plenty of ruffles at the side of the cups. The bottoms were styled like a traditional string bikini bottom.

As you can see with much of the Sports Illustrated body painting, it's not nearly as racy as it's made out to be. In fact, many models who pose for the magazine report that they feel totally comfortable in front of the camera and don't feel naked at all. These are some Sports Illustrated bikini photos that are 100 percent art, and they are also a favorite amongst swimsuit collectors and photo enthusiasts.