Artsy;...I had a couple face painting questions.

1. I've never tried this, but I think I might be good at it (I have a creative side).

2. How do you suggest I get started (books? Videos?); what do you suggest I buy to start out (supply-wise)

3.and one last question: do you think a board with 83 designs takes the kids forever to make a choice? I know when I was at Disneyworld and my friend and I were going to get our faces painted, we never could make up our minds which design and ended up getting nothing. LOL
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Okee Dokee Pinky! and all interested others!

WARNING: This is a long post, so you might want to prop up your feet and slurp your favorite frosty beverage...

Lets' see...


1. Practice Practice Practice ON somebody is my best advice.
Drawing and painting on a flat surface such as paper is not the same as the curves and twists of a person's face. However, you should have basic drawing skills and a steady hand and GOOD BRUSHES! My brushes are the finest sable Kolinsky brushes around. They cost a lot but they are sooooo worth it. I take good care of the brushes and they service me well.


2. I suggest you get started by firsthand observing others facepainting to see what they do. I originally got into facepainting when I was drawing caricatures at Sesame Place and during my break, I'd walk over to the facepainting stand and watch them. I thought, "Hey, I can do that! and that looks lke more fun than what I am doing."

Then one day one of my students' parent (I used to own an art school) asked me if I'd facepaint at her daughter's birthday party. I figured, yep! I can do that, so I went out and bought the same facepaints that I saw was being used by the amusement people. (Kryolan Aquacolor).

There are some great youtube videos from Sillyfarm that might help you see the procedures too.

You can go to your local library and look at the zillion facepainting books out there. I wouldnt buy them though. Copy a few nice designs out of the book if you want as a reference, but the beauty about facepainting is that YOU can make up your OWN designs as you get better at them.


3.
I would NOT advise you to have many designs in the beginning. Start out with a few--even if it's five designs that you do well. And add a new one as you feel comfortable with the others. Continue to build on your portfolio. Don't add any new ones on until you can paint the design in your sleep. Dream about painting the design. BE the design. :)

Well, you need to start somewhere and take it slow and do a great job--don't slop the paint on and make things uneven and lopsided. I strive for excellent brushwork and symmetry. I always set the bar higher for myself and as a performer, this is nothing new, right? It's the norm.

I don't do anything but facepaint and do pocket magic about color at BD parties. No balloons, nothing. That's all I do, so I do it well and stick to what I'm comfortable with. A clown who does other stuff as their repertoire would not need so many designs on their menu, so maybe this advice doesn't apply to everyone's needs.


I have several boards. I have a Quick Crowd board that only have 20 simple designs on it. I have one that has 30 designs and then my 83 design Biggie board (I use this for birthday parties but I used it for this one event to get some party business out of it). If I combine the Biggie board with the Quickie Board, I have over 100 designs to offer at one big gig.


Keep in mind that I've been an artist since I was born. I've been facepainting professionally for over 20 years and I have found which designs work best for me and which ones are the crowd favorites. I have a marketing and business sense that helps keep me grounded too. I've taken CareerTrak Seminars for customer service, etc over many years and know the business side of business having had successful businesses in the past. (Performing Arts Dance school and an Art School & Gallery)

I have many designs because it prevents me personally from having to deal with special requests, like, "Can you do a donkey dancing on the ceiling with a disco ball and a team of football players that are dressed in drag?" Ummm. no..but I make a mean party balloon! ha ha. I HATE hearing "Can you do this? Can you do that?" ARGHHHHH!!!! So I found a way to avoid this aggravation. It may not bother you, but it annoys me when I have a hundred people in line and someone is asking me to paint the sky the moon and the stars with this and that and on and on....grrr...

No. I really do not like being put on the spot to do a special request. I like to take my time to figure out the brushstrokes and the color choices, etc. before I add it to my "performance."

I NEVER do logos or copyrighted designs. I don't do ELMO or BIG BIRD or team sports. I respect the copyright and do not infringe on their property, so I make sure I have plenty of diversions from the common Elmo requests.

Of course, it isn't NECESSARY to have 83 designs available, but this definitely helps ME stand out in a crowd ( I live in a facepainter-infested area outside Philadelphia) and as a result, I have quite an impressive following of corporate gigs that book me two years in advance and a few are "standing gigs" meaning they get me at their functions every year on a certain day. It works for me.


Compare this to a balloon twister who offers five animals vs. 50 animals. Who would you hire for your next big corporate event?

Which entertainer can charge a high fee for their services?


By the way, my record high average was painting 52 designs per hour.

And no, these are not little doodads (oooo--I like that name! maybe a new clown name for me?) I do complex work quickly and my brushes flit and flutter in the air like the baton of a drum majorette.


When I facepaint, it is a performance. I don't just sit there and paint. I ham it up. Do a little jig, dance and prance around and really play up the kid's design choice. A Tiger? GROWL!!!!!! ROAR!!!!

When the design is finished, I look at them and say, "Hey... where did Michael go? I can't find him, all I can see is a puppy dog!.... Oh! There's Michael-- he IS the puppy! ha ha ha" (Get it?)

I honestly never had anyone go away empty-faced because there were too many to choose from, so I can't tell ya for sure if it's a deterrent, but my hubby helps me by "consulting" with the clients and offering suggestions based on his insight--(high forehead? great for a huge Morphos Butterfly. A young kid that is hyper fidgety? "Artsy can make a BIGGER lizard if you get it on your arm instead of your cheek." See what I mean?


Prices? Start out low. Get the practice first. It's worth the exposure. Offer to facepaint at friend's parties JUST FOR FUN--don't charge. Believe me. You will get gigs anyway and that is the beauty of giving it away freely in the beginning. You will be rewarded.



Whew! That is enough writing for now. Maybe I should teach at an upcoming clown seminar. There's so much more I could share... Hmmm.....



HAVE A COLORFUL DAY!
Artsy

Artsy, I cannot possibly thank you ENOUGH for posting this! Wow, Wow, Wow. I am so impressed. And YES you definitely should be teaching (like Mama Clown). I will print this out and keep it! It looks like quite an undertaking, but seems to be well worth it. One last question? What should I look for in a starting set of paints (colors, amts)? Thanks again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you ever do teach a facepainting course. please let me know. I am just starting out with face painting and I live on the other side of Phila from you, near Levittown. I am hoping to add facepainting to my clown skills. I do mostly kids parties because that's what I prefer. Some of the calls I've gotten were specifically looking for facepainting in addition to magic and or balloons. Thanks for all the advice.

Wow!
Thanks Artsy! That was great...I am sure you could teach seminars! You sound awesome...thank you so much for all the info! Would love to see some of your work! Have a great week!

Ditto to all the above sentiments!!!! and an extra WOW!!!!! You rock girlfriend!!!!! I wanna be like you when I grow up!!!!!! LOL

Does Philly have face painting jams? If not it sounds like enough talent is there to establish some monthly get together just to play, show off and fellowship with people with similar interest.

We have too much politics in the face painting around here. No one seems willing to teach even through the clown alley yearly clinics.

Count Philly lucky to have those like Artsy who share their knowledge even if just on line.

Thank you everyone for making me feel welcomed on this forum. This has really been the first time ever I've really talked to anyone about my Artsy life. It feels so good to have found my "birds of a feather flock together" nest.

Pinky:
I suggest to try various paints. Many people like Snazaroo, others like Kryolan and there are many others out there like Ben Nye, etc but they are quite costly. My entire kit and kaboodle of facepaints cost me well over $500 and that is just for the paints so factor in brushes (about $150) and all the other accessories that go along with serious facepainting. I have a former manicurist license and still follow proper sanitary practices like using alcohol and fresh sponges, cotton, qtips, etc.

Whatever paint you decide on, PLEASE do not use acrylic paint! AND THAT GOES FOR EVERYONE OUT THERE WHO FACEPAINTS! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE STOP! It is not meant for the skin and can irritate. It's messy and unprofessional. Find something that is hypoallergenic, not just nontoxic. All nontoxic means is that you can eat it. ewww...

What I would do to start out is to buy one little refill circle of black. Get it in various brands. Check out SillyFarm.com Then PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE on yourself, on anyone who will let you. Then once you know which brand you like, purchase the multi palette of primary basic colors. It comes in a little watercolor-like paint box set. Get a little misty-type spray bottle and you are pretty much set to begin working on trial faces for free until you are comfortable charging for it. $1 and $2 designs for starters.

Hey LollyPlop! I am still doing corporate events in Bucks County! I used to live in Langhorne. My art school was in NEWTOWN! Do we know each other by chance? Why haven't I ever bumped into you? I did a coloring page for a clown from Fairless Hills a long time ago. Her name was ... ummmm... can't recall...Karen? She was married to a police officer. Is that you? Would't that be funny if it is?

Artsy,

Thanks for all of the advice. I like the idea of buying a small sample of each brand paint. The face painters I have met do say they each have their own consistencies and take a slightly different amount of water/approach. They seem to split between Snazaroo and Mehron for most things and then pick Wolf Brothers for the black and white lines that go on top of the other paints.

They have also suggested buying one brush before getting a full set. I have seen that there is a difference in the brushes. Some are able to maintain their point/shape better than others.

Oh Luki, You hit a big nerve in the facepainting field. It's a very dog-eat-dog environment and I'm not talking hot dogs with relish. NOBODY wants to share anything about facepainting. It's VERY territorial, and I admit, a Philly jam wouldn't be something I'd want to do because there are very catty cranky insecure and snobbish people in the art industry.

I would love to teach at a clown convention as long as nobody facepaints in my backyard. *grin* LOL

"Can you do a donkey dancing on the ceiling with a disco ball and a team of football players that are dressed in drag?"


Dang. You never can find a design you like at these things......

Thanks Artsy! I'll have to look into those Kolinsky Sable Brushes.

I would love to teach at a clown convention as long as nobody facepaints in my backyard. *grin* LOL This is supposed to be funny and not taken literally.


Ya know. Now that you 've all got me thinking about this and axedaclown too. Maybe if I do a seminar in the future, I'll have different kinds of brushes and brands of facepaint to sample so that everyone can get a full take on getting a feel for it. Wow! I feel good about this! Thanks everyone!

Note to self. Put Artsy's name in the hat for 2009 TCA convention.

I do wonder if I could drum up interest in organizing a face painting seminar for North Texas and Southern Oklahoma. All I know of facepainting is the names of a couple of paint producers

That is one thing I like about ballooning. I have couple of other balloon blowers in the area and often I go to the balloon gathering in DFW with one of them. Not often enough but when I can.

[quote=Luki Loki;54138]Note to self. Put Artsy's name in the hat for 2009 TCA convention.

All I know of facepainting is the names of a couple of paint producers
[quote]


Would those names be Sherwin Williams, Red Devil and Valspar?

.

I'm not Karen. My real name is Kitty. I've been clowning off and on for about 20 years. Mostley while my kids were young. Then I went back to work full time, and stopped clowning. I am now retired early due to medical problems. I started back with clowning about 6 months ago. I do magic and balloons but would like to add face painting to my skills. I am practicing on a doll right now. I hope to be able to practice on real people soon. I would love to see you paint if you have any open to the public gigs near me. I live right near Sesame Place. About 10 years ago, I had a weekley clown gig at the Pizza Hut in Newtown. Now I am doing just birthday parties, because I still feel too rusty not to mention a lot less energetic to do anything that is longer than an hour or two.

Hey that's great! I'm glad that you are getting back into the fun again. I took some time off to get my art degree and then I was very depressed and so sad. I missed doing gigs and making kids happy but regained my inner clown and feel so much better.

Do you know of anyone who takes the kids to day care or an after school program? You might be able to get in there and do some "free" facepainting. It's a good way for you to practice. Start out with five designs, and don;t forget--one of those designs can be a balloon and they can choose ASNY COLOR, so now you have mroe than five instantly! LOL!

I will definitely keep in touch with you when I have a public gig in your area. I'll be in Newark Delaware on Sept 14, but everything else I have booked are private corporate events.

I'll also keep you in mind if I get a facepainting workshop together, but that will have to be after the holidays, maybe in January? I dunno at this point, but let me know if you are interested.

This is an awesome post :) Thanks for sharing.

I have some really nice brushes too, I find it impossible to apply clown paint without the aid of a brush for finer details, however I have to say for the most part my fingers do well.:o

Pinky,
I would suggest taking a good look at the The SNAZAROO USA home page - for face painters (http://www.snazaroo.us/) web site. You'll find lots of information about face painting, including 'how-tos'. Check out the FAQ section. I think it's very informative for a newbie. It covers things like avoiding acrylic paints, hygiene, etc.

And for paint brushes, watch for the Hobby Lobby 40% off coupons each week. That's how I gradually built up my supply of good brushes since they aren't cheap.

When we train new clowns to face paint, we start them off with just a few basic items ... snakes, spiders, hearts, flowers. As they practice and become more comfortable they add new items. And make sure you get the right glitter, no craft glitter. Kids almost always want glitter. If you don't have someone to practice on, then use your leg so you get the real feel of painting on someone rather than on paper.

Artsy,
Great post, very helpful. Thanks!

Thanks again everyone! Terrific info. I really appreciate it!

What a great thread. I have been facepainting for a while, but it was my least favorite activity when clowning. Just recently I discovered that the reason it wasn't satisfying to me is because I didn't pracitce enough to be able to do my designs quickly and with confidence. Now that I have made a commitment to pracice and learn new designs it is MUCH more enjoyable.