Thinking of Face Painting?

Thinking of Face Painting?

 

 

 

This is for anybody out there who is either thinking about face painting or just starting out. I have been face painting for a few years now and it can earn you a bit of extra income but I do it mainly because it's fun!

It's fun to dress up and paint kid's faces and basically act like a big kid for a day. If I'm doing an event, I will always go dressed for the occasion, so if I'm doing a little girl's birthday party, most of the time I will go dressed as a princess or if it's a Christmas event, I will go as an elf. I find it makes it more special for the children and they are more likely going to want their face painted if your dressed as Disney princess rather than if they just see you as a stranger. It also gives the child something to talk about, so if I am dressed as Elsa from Frozen, I find that while I'm painted the kid's face they will start talking to me about the film and it just opens up a window of opportunity. It also helps to grab the attention of the parent, because they will wonder why you are dressed up and they will want to come over and see what you are doing.

Here is a picture of me and my mum as we were getting ready to do an event before Christmas.

When I first started out face painting, I bought a pack from Snazaroo of 7 colours, and they did last me quite a while before I had to start adding to them.
The colours I would recommend getting are:

• Black
• White
• Red
• Blue
• Orange
• Yellow
• Green

I know a lot of people out there will be thinking I'm crazy for not putting pink for all the little girls but you can easily make pink by mixing a bit of white into your red.
Like I said, these colours lasted me a while before I started adding to them because I didn't see the need as I was only just starting out and I was still practising. As I got better at the designs and people started asking me for business cards is when I started to think I needed to buy more colours. So, that's when I bought a pink, I also picked up a purple for the girls and a brown because I had a lot of boys asking to be wolves as it was around Halloween time.

Other things you will need to buy to get you started are paint brushes, and try to get decent quality ones. I mean you don't have to buy the ridiculously expensive ones but try to aim for a step above the ones kids use in primary school. They have to be soft to the touch so your not scratching the child's face and comfortable to use (as you may be painting for a whole day).

Also buy some sponges, they need to be quite dense sponges with even holes. To start I just used a pack of baby sponges I picked up from B&M, I think they still sell them for around £1.50 for a set of 3. Usually the sponges that fit this purpose are round so I always either cut mine in half or quarters. This makes them easier to hold, easier to apply paint with and it means I get more sponges for my money.

I hope this has helped you figure out what you need to buy to start out. I will have some more tips for you about face painting soon. I will talk more about ways of practising, finding designs that are suitable for you and the hygiene side of it all.

I hope this has inspired you whether you were already considering face painting or if it had never crossed your mind before.


Stay Inspired
Amy
xxx