How To Do Face Painting + Easy Face Paint Ideas For Kids

There are many ways you can add the perfect finishing touch to your party costume. While most often people are drawn to accessories such as costume jewellery or a funky pair of costume glasses, face paint is a great way to truly transform into your chosen character. Learning how to face paint also provides you with a talented skill that is useful for any child's party. Instead of hiring a face paint artist for your child's party, you can do it yourself! Kids love having their faces painted to become their favourite characters, and when you learn how to face paint, you're allowing them to explore both their creativity and their imagination.

Find out how to apply face paint as well as our favourite face paint ideas right here at Spotlight.

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Quick Links

• Everything You Need to Start Face Painting
• How to Apply Face Paint
• Face Paint Ideas For Little Superheroes: Spiderman Face Paint
• How To Face Paint A Butterfly, Rainbow and Flowers
• Magical Unicorn Face Paint
• Elegant Princess Crown Kids Face Paint
• Thrilling Face Paint Tutorial: Transform into a Triceratops
• Kids Tiger Face Paint That Will Have Any Child Roaring With Joy
• Mythical Magical Mermaid Face Paint

Everything You Need to Start Face Painting

• Face paint - Available in paste and liquid forms
• Makeup brushes - Ideal for achieving small, precise artwork
• Makeup sponges - Best for achieving a full coverage face paint look
• Cup of water
• Face washer

How to Apply Face Paint

In order to recreate one of our face paint ideas, it's important that you understand the basics of how to apply face paint. From preparation to face painting techniques, follow along with our helpful tips to master your face paint application.

1. Start With Your Preparation

This involves both preparing your workstation for your makeup session as well as preparing the face as a blank canvas for your face paint look. Start by making sure you have everything you need laid out in front of you. Then you can move on to the skin preparation. Make sure the skin is clean and free of any dirt, makeup or oils. If the skin is dry, we recommend applying a moisturiser to prevent the face paint from cracking in dry spots.

2. Activate Your Face Paint

At Spotlight, you can find a variety of face paint in different forms. Some face paints available here may need to be activated with water in order for you to be able to work with it. You can either first wet your brush or sponge before dipping it in the face paint, or you can lightly spray your paint with a spray bottle, turning it into its liquid form.

3. Apply Your Face Paint

The application of your face paint will depend on what you are making. To create a base of face paint, use a sponge and a gentle dabbing motion to apply large areas of colour. For more detailed work such as creating lines, swirls or finer details, use a brush to apply your face paint, making sure to keep your brush strokes smooth and light. If you're using a stencil to create your designs, make sure to hold the stencil firmly against the skin. Allow your sponge and face paint to dry slightly before dabbing over your stencil to prevent face paint from leaking outside the stencil.

Face Paint Ideas You Can Recreate

Before your next party, it's a good idea to master a few different looks. You could even print out a photo of each look so kids can look through the face paint ideas available to them. Here are a few of our favourite face paint ideas you can recreate for your child's next party. You can also check out our collection of free face paint projects for more inspiration.

Explore our Face Paint Projects

Face Paint Ideas For Little Superheroes: Spider Mask Face Paint

A classic superhero that any child is sure to love, learning how to make this Spider Mask will have you prepared to create a fan favourite for face paint ideas. Kids love superheroes and they love feeling like superheroes even more. This Spiderman face paint project is the perfect finishing touch to any Spiderman costume and will have kids feeling like their favourite web-slinging superhero. Starting with red face paint as the base, carefully create the outline of the mask to then fill in, avoiding the eyes. Using a thin brush and black face paint, draw around the outside of the mask shape. Add the finer details of a thin spider web using black eyeliner. Learn how to recreate this look and have children excited to become this iconic web-slinging character.

How To Face Paint A Butterfly, Rainbow and Flowers

Bring a whimsical charm to your children's celebrations with our Rainbow Flowers and Butterfly Face Paint project. Using a rainbow and pink face paint, this look dedicates one side of the face to a bright pink butterfly, with the opposite side showcasing a colourful rainbow for a cheerful face painted look. Pair this look with any butterfly, rainbow or even fairy costume for a delightful dress-up ensemble.

Magical Unicorn Face Paint

A face paint look that makes a child feel magical is always a fan favourite at a kid's party. Our Unicorn Face Paint Project is a great way to make kids feel the magic of face paint. This project involves using a BYS face paint kit to create a colourful look, accented by a bold black outline that allows the colours of the artwork to stand out. Add this project to your list of face paint looks to master and you'll be ready for your next face painting session.

Download the Unicorn Face Paint Project

Elegant Princess Crown Kids Face Paint

The perfect accessory for any princess is, of course, an elegant crown, so why not create a face paint look resembling this classic accessory? Using a variety of colours, our Princess Crown Face Paint tutorial guides you through creating this look, fit for royalty. You can even add glitter gel and body gems for extra sparkle!

Thrilling Face Paint Tutorial: Transform into a Triceratops

Help your child transform into a roaring Triceratops with this face paint tutorial. The perfect accessory to any dinosaur costume, this face paint tutorial will have any child ready to celebrate with a Jurassic charm. Using a range of different coloured face and body paint, this tutorial highlights how you can create all the finer details of the dinosaur look, including adding painted horns and other accents to resemble the scales of our favourite prehistoric creatures.

Kids Tiger Face Paint That Will Have Any Child Roaring With Joy

Animal themed face paint looks are a classic staple for any face paint session. Learning how to master a few animal themed face paints, such as our Kids Tiger Face Paint Project, is sure to have you prepared for your next party. It's also a great finishing touch to any child's animal themed costume. Recreate this look with a BYS face paint kit, black lipstick and a black eye pencil for all the smaller details that bring this look together.

Download the Kids Tiger Face Paint Project

Mythical Magical Mermaid Face Paint

Include a magical touch to your repertoire of face paint looks with this Sparkly Mermaid Face Paint Tutorial. This look is inspired by the mystical and alluring beauty of mermaids with their colourful scales and sparkling details. With a range of hair glitter, body and face paint and shimmer, you can create the perfect sparkling look. This look extends from the face down to the neck and shoulders for a captivating look inspired by fictional mermaids. To create the scale effect, we recommend using a wig cap, dabbing paint through the netting to create colourful scales. Complete this make-up by adding face gems for the perfect finishing touch.

Learn How to Face Paint With Everything You Need From Spotlight

Bring a colourful charm to any child's birthday party or add the perfect finishing touch to their Book Week or Halloween costume when you learn how to face paint. With a great range of face paint and face painting accessories, you can find everything you need to master the art of costume makeup right here at Spotlight. Shop the range in store or online and start practising today!

For more face painting inspiration, don't forget to explore our collection of free and ready to download face Painting and Special Effects Projects for helpful step-by-step guides on a variety of creative looks!

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