In Japanese nail art, the artist or technician will apply color by hand-painting or airbrush directly onto plain acrylic nails which are then attached to real fingernails.  Most of the two-dimensional art is designed to add depth to the image and simply give the impression of three dimensions.  Actual 3-dimensional art is accomplished by adding decorations such as jewels, dangling charms, small plastic flowers, miniature replicas of food, animals or other objects.  These special items are applied to the nail with strong adhesive. 

While nail artists will often do their work onto loose acrylic nails which will then be purchased and applied to the customer's hands later, the artwork can also be done directly onto the hand or even the foot.  As nail artists become more and more skilled, they may begin to design and create their own miniature 3-D accessories made of special plastics, metals, and sculpture powder.