Collection: LDS Line Art Gel

What is line art gel?

A gel color made for drawing rather than painting: thinner-bodied than a polish so it flows off a fine brush in one continuous stroke, pigmented enough to read as a solid line in a single pass, and cured under the same UV/LED lamp as the rest of the manicure. LDS builds the brush into the cap of every Line Art Gel bottle, a long fine liner, so the bottle is the tool. Open, load, draw, cure.

This page holds the whole LDS line art range we carry: the 36 numbered Line Art Gel colors and their duos and sets, the Platinum metallic liners, the chrome and glitter liners, two metallic gels for full-nail or detail work, an air-dry metallic marble ink, and the clear rhinestone gel that doubles as a 3D sculpting gel.

What is on this page

Which liner do you reach for?

• Outlines, French smile lines, lettering, geometric work: the numbered Line Art Gel. 01 Black and 02 White first; add the pastel and neon numbers for seasonal work.
• A metallic line that does not need chrome powder: the Platinum liners for colored metallics, the Silver or Gold Chrome liners for a straight mirror line. All cure like a gel and sit under top coat.
• Whole-nail mirror finish on a few fingers, plus matching detail: the Silver Metallic or Laser Silver Metallic Gel. One bottle does the full-cover accent nail and the fine line on the others.
• Marble, stone and veining: the Metallic Marble Ink. Because it air-dries, it goes on between cured layers without a lamp step, and it drags and feathers in a way a gel cannot.
• Stones and small 3D charms: the Rhinestone Gel. Set the stone into the wet gel, cure, no wipe.
• Freehand florals and lace: Line Art Gel for the outline, and if you want the petals raised, the emboss and painting gels for the fill.

How do you draw with line art gel?

1. Work on a cured color. Finish the color coats and cure them; line art goes on a cured, unwiped surface. A cream base from SNS Gel Only or a HEMA-free cream from A'DOR gives the line a flat bed.
2. Load the brush lightly. Wipe the cap brush on the neck so the gel sits in the last third of the bristles. Too much gel and the line spreads before it cures.
3. Draw in one stroke, then lift. Rest the side of your hand on the table, pull the brush toward you, and lift at the end of the line. Going back over a wet line is what makes it thick.
4. Flash cure between colors. A few seconds under the lamp locks a line before the next color crosses it. A full cure once the design is done.
5. Top coat. Chrome, glitter and platinum liners lose their shine without one; for the metallic gels LDS specifies a non-wipe top. Base and top are under Base & Top Gel.

For the metallic gels, LDS gives cure times of 30 to 60 seconds under LED and 60 to 90 under UV, and recommends a smooth black gel base underneath for the strongest mirror. The marble ink is the exception to all of this: shake it hard before every use, drop or drag it onto the cured layer, let it air-dry, then seal.

Line art on gel, dip and tips

LDS rates the liner for natural nails, gel, acrylic and tips, which in practice means it sits on any cured or set surface. On a dip manicure, draw over the activator-set powder before the top coat, cure the line, then top. On soft gel tips and builder gel, treat the cured structure as the bed. For a chrome look on a whole nail, a chrome liner is a different tool from chrome powder: the liner is a colored gel with a mirror pigment, cured and topped like any gel; the powder is rubbed onto a tacky layer and needs its own base. Use the liner when you want a line, the powder when you want the whole nail.

Stocking and care

• Open with black, white and two metallics. That covers French, outlines, lettering and a chrome line. The Essential Gel Art Set is that shortlist in one box.
• Duos for a growing menu. The Perfect Gel Art Duos pair the numbered colors two at a time, so a wall grows in small steps instead of a 24-set.
• Cap brushes need cleaning. Wipe the brush on the neck every time and cap immediately; a liner with a dried tip cannot draw a fine line.
• Keep liners out of the lamp's light. An open liner bottle next to a running lamp cures in the neck.
• Shake the marble ink, roll the gels. The ink's pigment settles and must be shaken; the gels are rolled so no air goes in.
• A dedicated liner brush from our brush collection gives finer control than the cap brush for lace and calligraphy work; the cap brush is the everyday tool.

Related collections

• Emboss & Painting Gel Thicker gels for raised florals, 3D work and painted fills.
• Pat Pat Gel Ombre gel palettes that line art sits on top of.
• Rhinestones Stones and charms for the rhinestone gel.
• LDS, All Products Rubber base, tips, lamps and the rest of the LDS range.
• Nail Art Chrome, glitter, ombre and stones across every brand.

Related reads

• Easy nail art trends you can do at home
• How to do a French manicure at home
• The new French manicure
• Chrome nails: how the mirror finish works