Face Painting is a great activity to share with your kids. It inspires fun and creativity as well as spurring on their imagination.
But if you're not an artistic person, painting a face can be quite a challenge. Without the technical know-how, those perfectly polished Instagram designs are impossible to re-create. And nobody wants to be bogged down in long-winded video tutorials on brush stroke technique while your child waits impatiently for their face paint!
This how-to guide combines easy step-by-step instructions with clear annotated images of the completed look to make things accessible and straightforward. The designs included here are easy to master for the face painting novice but also work well as time-saving designs for an intermediate face painter. The end result is one that impresses the kids and saves you time and stress.
Ladybird
You will need:
Red Face Paint
Black Face Paint
Sponge
Medium Brush
Thin Brush
Directions:
Using your sponge, paint a rounded rectangle over the eye and nose area with red face paint. The effect should look a bit like an eye mask. When filling in the shape with colour, do not take the paint too close to their eyes.
Using your thin brush, paint an outline around the red rectangle in black paint.
Using your medium brush, paint a semi-circle on top of the rectangle in black paint and fill in. This should be in the centre over the nose and should span the middle third of the rectangle’s length. This is the Ladybird’s head.
Using your small brush and black paint, start at the bottom outline in the centre of the rectangle (over the nose) and paint a small triangle over the red paint. This triangle will point up the centre of the nose. Fill in with black paint.
With the same brush and paint, paint a similar triangle on the opposite side of the rectangle over the red paint. This triangle will connect to the top outline in the centre of the rectangle (on the forehead) but will be upside down, pointing downwards towards the nose. This triangle should be the same height as the one on the bottom of the rectangle, but much wider. Make this triangle as wide as the semi-circle above it and fill it in. The final effect will be a black shape that appears half circle on top and half diamond on the bottom.
Again, using your thin brush, paint a straight line down the centre of the nose with black face paint. This will connect the point of the top black triangle with the point of the bottom black triangle.
Add detail to your ladybird with your thin brush and black paint. Paint 5 or 6 small spots on the red area around each eye.
Lastly, with the same brush and paint, add two antennae to the top of the Ladybird’s head by painting two swirls extending up and out from the semi-circle at the top of the design.
Princess
You will need:
Yellow/Gold Face Paint
Blue Face Paint
White Face Paint
Red Face Paint
Medium Brush
Thin Brush
Directions:
Using a medium tipped brush and blue face paint, paint a diamond shape in the centre of the forehead above the nose. Make sure to leave enough space between the bottom of the diamond and the brow line for the next step.
Using your gold/yellow paint and medium brush, paint a line across the top of the brow line from the highest point of one eyebrow to the highest point of the opposite brow. This is the base of your crown.
Starting from the centre point of the base of the crown above the nose, paint a gold/yellow outline around the blue diamond in the centre of the forehead using your medium brush. Leave a gap between the blue diamond and the gold/yellow outline.
Continue to add ‘spikes’ to your crown using gold/yellow paint and your medium brush. Add a line either side of the gold/yellow diamond outline from point 3, following the diamond shape. Make these shorter than the central diamond. Add a smaller triangle at each end of the crown above the brow bone. Blend into the base of the crown if needed.
Using white paint and your thin brush, add highlight to the blue diamond by adding two thin white lines to the left side of the diamond. Do the same on the gold crown spikes as required.
Add sparkle by painting a small cross with white paint with your thin brush on the tip of the diamond. Add sparkle decoration elsewhere on the forehead and eyes if desired.
Finish with red face paint on the lips if desired.
Tiger
You will need:
Orange Face Paint
Yellow Face Paint
White face Paint
Black face Paint
Sponge
Medium Brush
Thin Brush
Directions:
Using your sponge, cover the area from under the nose to the bottom of the chin in white face paint.
Again, using your sponge, cover the whole nose (from the nostrils up to the brow line), area around the eyes (up to bottom of eyebrow) and across half of the cheeks with yellow face paint. Make sure to blend with the white paint around the chin and lip area.
Using your sponge, cover the rest of the cheeks and across the forehead up to the hairline with orange face paint. Again, make sure to blend with the yellow paint around the cheeks and eyes.
Using your black face paint and medium brush, cover the end of the nose with black paint. Make sure to paint around the edges of the nostrils.
To create the whisker area underneath the nose, paint a vertical line down from the middle of the bottom of the nose to the top of the upper lip using your medium brush and black paint. Paint three small black dots in a triangle shape on both sides of this line.
Using a thin brush and black paint, paint whiskers on each side of the face. Starting from the edge of the white paint and overlapping into the yellow paint, paint three black lines using quick light motions of your brush. Repeat on the other side.
Using your black paint and medium brush, paint stripes around the edges of the face. These stripes should create a ‘clock face’ look around the edges of the face and not reach too far into the centre (yellow part) of the face. For each stripe, start with your brush on the side closest to the centre of the face then paint outwards towards the edge of the face in a straight line. Make sure to leave space between each stripe for the following step.
In between each black stripe, use your white paint and medium brush to paint white stripes. These should be shorter than your black stripes. Use the same technique for your white stripes as you did with the black stripes.
The Hulk
You will need:
Green Face Paint
Black Face Paint
Sponge
Thin Brush
Directions:
Using a sponge, cover the forehead with dark green paint. Make sure to cover the eyebrows.
Paint new eyebrows using black face paint with a thin brush. Use lots of short thin strokes to create the look & texture of hair. To shape the brows – start on the side closest to the nose where their natural brow begins, then steeply rise away from the natural brow, ending in a high arch. Do this on both sides.
Using your brush, paint two wiggly lines horizontally across the forehead with black face paint to create a furrowed brow effect. Paint a wider line on top then a smaller one underneath. The shape of each line should be a loose, shallow ‘M’ shape, starting with a shallow upwards arch on the left side, dipping downwards in the middle above the nose, with another shallow upwards arch on the right side.
Finally, add short thin lines around the eyes using your brush and black face paint to create a wrinkled effect. If unsure, get the child to scrunch up their face and paint the natural crease lines of their skin.
Finish with green face paint on the lips if desired.
Snowman
You will need:
White Face Paint
Black Face Paint
Blue Face Paint
Brown Face Paint
Orange Face Paint
Medium Brush
Thin Brush
Directions:
Begin by painting three circles in white paint with your medium brush to create the Snowman’s head and body. Paint them with their edges overlapping, one on top of the other. The circles should reduce in size – paint the largest circle on the bottom first, then a medium circle above this, finishing with the smallest circle at the top.
Paint his scarf by using your thin brush and blue face paint. Paint a blue line across the seam between the small and medium sized circles. Then paint two sweeping lines from the end of this blue line out to the right side of the Snowman’s body.
To create his hat, paint a straight line horizontally across the top of the Snowman’s head, using your black paint and thin brush. This line should stretch out beyond the sides of the head. Paint a black square in the centre on top of this line, about the same width as the Snowman’s head.
Again using your black paint and thin brush, add two small dots on the head to make his eyes and three small dots going down the centre of his body, underneath his scarf to make his buttons.
Add stick arms to your Snowman by using your brown paint and thin brush. Paint a line reaching out diagonally upwards from the right side of the torso (medium circle). Add a ‘V’ shape onto the end of this line to create a hand. Do the same on the other side.
Finally, using your orange paint and thin brush, draw a long thin triangle in the centre of the face, pointing out to the side, to create the carrot nose.
All of the PartyFriendz face painters have a wealth of experience and training and all products are dermatologically tested and follow EU guidelines.