Introduction
We all know that whether it’s at parties, fetes, Halloween or weddings, our children are always attracted to face painters. Face painting is a fun activity that kids of all ages enjoy. This fun activity for a birthday party, Halloween or any other occasions. Face painting has been around for much longer than you might think. It is defined as the application of cosmetic paint to a person’s face and has been used for thousands of years. From hunting camouflage to religious decoration to military subterfuge, face paintings are used to everyday living in numerous ways. It today’s society, it is used most commonly as entertainment. When it comes to face painting you need to make sure you get the right face painting materials rin order to paint the face properly.
The face painting kit
If you really want to be a face painter you need to first purchase the necessary items needed for face painting. You need a face painting kit and this can be bought from various shops. You need to note that white face paint and black face paint are for base most of the times. Also, you should buy other colours of face paint for more creative face painting. Other necessary items include sponges, brushes, stencils, temporary tattoos and stamps among many others. You might also want to buy glitter face paint. Glitter face paint adds an extra sparkle to the face. There are numerous designs that you can create such as ghosts, cats, clown, animals, princess and many others.
Steps for face painting
There are steps that you should follow for face painting. This is actually an art and therefore if you follow the right steps coupled with your creativity you will create an impressive design. The first step of face painting is always preparation. Every face painter knows the importance of preparation before they can start painting. Preparation, in this case, entails getting all the materials in one place. The face pains that you have should be suitable for the particular design you want to create. The paints must be water-based and non-toxic. There is a wide range of face paint available in party stores or craft stores. When you’re buying your face paint be sure to choose the basic colours first such as black, white, red, blue and yellow. Some of these colours can be mixed to come up with orange, green and other creative colours. Also, you need both thick and thin brushes. Sponges are necessary because they are very helpful in applying the base colour to the face.
After you gather everything you need, now you should start painting. Doing it outdoors is always great since there will be little mess. If you cannot do it outdoors, you should place a paper beneath so that the paint doesn’t mess the floor. When you are face painting, you should avoid the areas of the face that are sore or have cut marks. It’s always wise to start with the light colours and choose the larger area of the face before moving into the final details and use of dark paint colour. The base colour should always be applied first. Proceed to paint the kid’s favourite design. After you’re done, you should allow 5 to 10 minutes for the top layer to dry off.
Some of the common face paint designs
There are some common face paint designs that are loved by most kids. They include butterfly face paint, Halloween face paint and different face paint. Here’s how you can create these designs.
Butterfly face paint
When you are creating a butterfly face paint, you should use a damp sponge and put some lilac paint on the face. A butterfly face paint means drawing the shape of butterfly wings across the eyes up to the cheek. Apply glitter face pant to achieve a more sparkling look. Use metallic silver paint to dab on the butterfly wings using a sponge. The silver colour should blend well with the lilac colour. Finally, you can use a brush to draw black swirls around the butterfly design and add some silver glitter to the finishing touch.
Halloween face paint
There are numerous designs you can create for Halloween. It all depends on your creativity. One of the most common Halloween designs is the devil’s face. To start, you need to apply red paint all over the face. Then use a brush and black paint to draw the bug eyes.
Cat face paint
Cat face paint is liked by many kids. It’s very easy to draw this design. You should first apply white paint on the nose and then draw the ears above the eyebrows. Paint the whisker pads on top of the kid’s lips to the centre of the cheeks. Dab some pink paint on the cheeks and the tip of the nose. Use a brush to apply black paint to give the outlines of a cat’s face.
Why do children love face painting?
Children are naturally excited about face painting. This is why in parties you will always see a face painter having long queues. Here are a few reasons why children love face painting.
- For the love of creativity
Children just love creativity. They love being involved in creative play and imagination. In choosing their favourite face paint designs they learn about making decisions. Face painting gives them an opportunity to express their individuality.
- For the love of fun
Children just love fun. They love things that make them happy and excited. Face painting is just a lot of fun and allows children to learn how to be light-hearted. Feeling light-hearted is so simple and innocent. Face painting brings some exciting mood to the kids. You only need a moment to change a grumpy kid to a happy kid. Remember a happy kid is always a joy to have around.
- For the love of play
Children just love play and are always naturally drawn to activities that develop emotional intelligence. We all need emotional intelligence in our lives and it’s wise to develop it from a young age. Face painting is part of play-acting and can greatly help children in learning about emotional intelligence as well as mindfulness through observation and self-expression.
- For the love of beauty
Children just love beauty and face painting is just beautiful. It helps with a child’s self-confidence as it leads them to be noticed and receive favourable attention. Carefully applied face paint can help conceal scars, moles, discolouration and other superficial medical conditions.
Kids vs. Cosplay vs. Casual vs. Pros
the first thing that many people think of when they hear face paint is always Halloween, but there are so many more occasions that face paint be called for including birthday parties, themed events, sport, general cosplay, anime conventions, theatre performances and many others. Here are the four main categories for face paint:
- Kids
- Cosplay
- Casual
- Professionals
Kids face paint
Face paints for kids are often much brighter palette, non-toxic and are suited for sensitive skin. Some kids face paint usually come with stencils and starter brushes which make them great for kids to play with.
Cosplay face paint
If you’re trying to create something from your imagination or recreate your favourite superhero, face paint for cosplay should always have a wide colour spectrum and higher quality ingredients to work with. If you are attending a convention, you may want to consider alcohol or oil activated paints to ensure they don’t come off easily when walking the convention floor.
Casual face paint
Casual face paint is great if you plan on wearing face paint only once. You may want to wear it when you are heading to the stadium on a weekend to cheer on your favourite team.
Professional paint
This requires organization and reliable results. Professional paint should be safe to use on kids without adverse effects should any get in their mouth.
Why we love being face painters
There are several reasons why we love being face painters. Here are the top reasons.
- We love to paint
Passionate face painters are just really into drawing and painting and artistic expressions in various forms. No matter how tedious it can be to prepare your supplies and the number of clients to paint, you are always happy with the result. You’re happy when you bring smiles to kids.
- Creative collaboration
As a face painter, you receive different requests from different people. You get inspired and challenged and you always love it when you get a request to paint something you’ve never painted before. Seeing the final result is rewarding in that it’s the product of your skills and the client’s creativity - that’s collaboration.
Meeting new people
Networking is great for any type of business. A face painter meets new people in happy circumstances.
Conclusion
Face painting brings happiness to kids in a party. It is a mood changer. For your kid’s birthday party it’s nice to have a face painter around to paint the favourite designs on the kids’ faces. A great face painter is always equipped with the right tools and skills to bring out the best results.