Well, I tried my hand at face painting at the church event a couple weeks ago. It was very impromptu as the face painter they had expected was a no-show. I kept having these cute little ones asking me to paint their face and I had to tell them that the face painter wasn't here (and all the time thinking, "you don't want me to paint on you!"). Then, one kid - probably 4 yrs old, or so - told me he wanted to be painted like me (like a clown). The kid said it with such flattery and childlike innocence that I couldn't turn him down. Plus - he wouldn't take no for an answer. He actually told me that I could get the paints that I did myself up with! (Nothing like a child's encouragement to boost your self esteem). That's when the coordinator had said she had some face paints - so off to work I went. I basically just tried to paint whatever the kids asked for. But next time, I want to be prepared.

What should I get to get started?

Oh - and to add more excitement to my life - I've been volunteered to face paint at an employee picnic that my company is giving on Oct. 7.

HELP!

if you dont want to do full faces you can have a sheet of paper that had differit pics on it that the child could pic from. right now i dont do full faces cuz the face paints i have is only good for 15 full faces or so

I'd check out www.snazaroo.com , they have all sorts of information and a group there too. Like Willace said try drawing up a few that you are comfortable with and just have people choose from them, that way you'll be more confidence and as you gain experience you can add to your designs. I perfer paradise paints but they are more expensive, you can get a bold set of color from snaz. They're safe and the only brand FDA approved. It will limit you to those colors or colors you blend but it's a good starting point and even though the kit looks small it will do atleast 100 cheek art designs. just my 2-3, no lets make that 4 cents worth.

If you are interested in painting full faces, use sponges to paint the large areas. Load a damp sponge with paint, stroke it on, then pat with the sponge to remove any streaks and to give it a smoother look. Then use a brush for the details. I use a spray bottle of water to re-wet my paints. It keeps your water cup from looking like mucky! Also, use several brushes so you don't have to keep washing them between colors.