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Face Painting Training Courses
We offer an intensive two day training course for people who are seriously interested in learning everything there is to know about face painting professionally.
The course covers health and safety, hygiene, materials and equipment, brush strokes and blending, application of bases, use of colour, ageing and other useful techniques. You will learn how to paint at least six standard faces from which you will be able to develop your own portfolio.
Hand outs are provided on the topics covered and each student receives a contact list for suppliers and organisations.
Each student also receives a certificate to show they have undertaken structured training from an experienced professional.
Courses take place in Richmond, North Yorkshire and Bed and Breakfast is available locally for those travelling long distances.
For one to one training, the student will need to bring a model to work on.
Face Painting Courses
Face Painting Hints And Tips
1. Keeping your table and kit clean and presentable is key to looking professional. Organise your table. Use small baskets to house your sponges and glitters and line up your paints in neat lines, in colour families, e.g. blues and purples together, oranges, reds and yellows together. Wipe your table cloth, the paint pots and the handles of your brushes with a baby wipe every now and again. Have fresh water and a slop bucket under your table to hand so that you can change your water regularly.
2. Having a three water bowl system for rinsing your brushes after every use keeps your water cleaner for longer. Get the thick off by swishing the brush in the first smaller bowl, then rinse in the second bowl, and finally the largest bowl. Chrome pet water bowls make ideal water dishes, as the chrome looks professional and is easy to clean. We just stick ours in the dish washer.
3. When a child sits down in front of you, it is so easy to ask the child what they would like to be. But be warned, children have vivid imaginations and if they come out with something that you know you can’t do, or that simply wouldn’t work as a face painting, it may show you up. Instead, roll off a quick list of what you can do and tell the child to choose which d
esign they like the sound of. If they can’t decide, ask what their favourite colour is and suggest that you paint them a surprise.
4. When painting, place your free hand on top of the child’s head. This will steady them, particularly if they are young and wriggly! Some painters like to hold the chin, but holding the head enables you to swivel their head to whichever position you want for easier painting. Tell smaller children to sit up (some have a tendency to lean further and further back away from you!) and ask them to put their hands on their knees. This relaxes the shoulders and helps them to sit up straight.
5. Whilst painting, talk to the children. Talk to them about what they’ve been doing that day, or if they are having a dog painted, for example, ask if they have any pets or tell them about your dog at home. This will put the child at ease and listening to you could distract them from wriggling around! Don’t ask questions when you are about to paint a delicate line, though! Tell younger children constantly how well they are doing and how nicely they are sitting still (even if they
are not, this could work as reverse psychology, and they may enjoy the praise and start staying still!).
6. The most important aspect of a face painting is the base. If this is not right, whatever you put on top of that base will look worse. Make sure colours are nicely blended, that you use colours which compliment each other and that a white base isn’t too wet or dry or patchy.
7. A brilliant brand of paint which I can’t get enough of is Wolfe. The Wolfe white and black are fantastic on top of any base and are always true and bold. They flow well, however, you need practise getting the consistency right, as it’s easy to add too much water, in which case it runs. The UV range is brilliantly luminous to add to a butterfly, for example, either as the compliment colour or as a statement lipstick for that ‘wow’ factor.
8. When face painting, it is so easy to try and ‘draw’ things. But when there’s a
massive queue you simply don’t have time. Learn to see face painting as applying
make-
9. Applying glitter to a design can add that perfect finishing touch when applied in a careful way. Avoid covering the face in thick glitter dust – less is more. When using tip crème, dab the glitter onto points of the face which catch the light: the cheekbones, the top of the forehead, the nose, the chin and just above the brows. This way, you can avoid the delicate eye area, whilst catching the light with a subtle hint of sparkle. Mix and match your colours. Gold glitter on top of gold paint does look pretty but don’t be afraid to make a statement. Green glitter on top of Kryolan gold looks stunning, and adding blue glitter on top of black line work on those key areas brings out the black beautifully.
10. An hour before you are due to finish, check your queue. Count the number of children in it, and decide if you need to stop the queue. It might be a good idea to paint a number on each of the children’s hands to monitor your progress and so that if people join onto the end of the queue there are no disputes. We face painters do not have eyes in the back of our heads, despite what some people think, so keep looking back after each face to make sure no one has joined onto the end. If they have, politely explain that only children with a number will be painted, as you are finishing at so and so o’clock. If you think you may finish a few minutes early, tell them to come back five minutes before the end to see if you have time to paint something little on their cheek or arm. But don’t promise anything unless you are sure. The line has to be drawn somewhere. Face painters do have homes to go to!
