Butterfly Face Painting Tutorial

In this tutorial I am going to show you how to paint a realistic and beautiful butterfly with face paints.

The material and tools are very important, you'll need to visit a good art shop and invest in a collection of good brushes. You will need 1 medium round sable (about a size 6), 1 small round synthetic water colour brush (size 2) and 1 long haired acrylic Rigger brush (any size, smaller the better). Along with a set of face paints you will also want to have some cosmetic glitter, a couple of water pots, a mirror and some face wipes.

The first step is to paint a white background for the butterfly, this helps brighten the overlaying colours, using the large sable brush. Keep your paint  fairly thick and ensure the wings are not touching each other. Then begin to build up the layers of colour, beginning with the palest. Switch to the smaller brush for the final red details.

Now use the rigger brush to put on the fine details in black. First the body and antenna, then the viens in the wings. This is done by putting a black edge on the wing tip with the med No. 2 round, then use the rigger (with no paint) to drag the paint down into the wing. The shakier your hand the better.

Finish it off with some swirls, dots and glitter. With a little practice these can be done in just a minute or two and you can cover a party with butterflies within half an hour or so!

Many thanks to my beautiful and brilliant model Beth x x

Tips for Success

When you are doing this at a children's birthday party the kids will often cluster round you or queue up, this is not ideal for you and it can take an hour to do everyone and that will mean they spend most of the party in a queue rather than running around playing. You can manage the flow of children and ensure you get a break if you need to by having a list for the children to write their names on and then call them out in turn. If you are at a public event and there is a never ending flow of children with a queue that just keeps getting bigger then you will be needing a sign which can be hung on a child's back like a ruck sack which says 'I'm the last one today'

Health and Safety

 Never paint on irritated skin or eczema sufferers. Professional face painters are trained in ways to avoid the spread of germs and are insured in the unlikely event of an allergic reaction. If you are doing face painting for fun then you can cover yourself against most contagions simply by avoiding eyes, noses, mouths and hands - the areas which harbour germs! This design is specifically created with health and safety in mind. 1 in 100,000,000 can produce an allergic reaction, this is not your fault it is just bad luck but parents can become very upset about it, here's what to look out for. The child's skin will begin to itch, this will often cause them to scratch and smear the paint, this is a good early warning sign. If you see little ones with smeared faces, have a closer look at it to see if the skin has become red, inflamed or blotchy. If so, they might be having a reaction and a spoonful on Benylin cures 99.9% of these cases in minutes. The next thing to do is remove the paint but be very careful of baby wipes, they often contain all sorts of nasty preservatives and are not as PH neutral as you may think. Skin which has flared up will become even more sensitive than usual, the safest thing to use to remove the paint is a cool damp cotton cloth and tiny bit of baby shampoo. This advice comes from the Snazaroo safety guidelines website, visit it here for more information.

Next week I will share some easy quick and safe ideas for boys, what this space.......