2nd Festival~ Stupid Mistake!

Okay, so I did my first festival a few weeks ago, and had my daughter collect the money after the paintings and had my tip jar there by her. I got alot of tips, but she said some people didn't pay and just slipped some money in the tip jar... so today I did another festival and I thought I was being smart and had her collect the money first before they got painted and had my tip jar right by me. I got $1.00 tip all day!! 6 hours!!!! I even put in a dollar of my own, you know to make it look like I had gotten a tip! Epic fail!! Oh well, I painted alot of kids and needed the practice. I only charged $5.00 a face, another huge mistake. It takes me 10 min. at least to do one. But everyone was thrilled with the results. I just feel disappointed that I didn't make more money. Any suggestions?

I always take money after the painting. I've tried it both ways and I always get better tips if I collect the money after the painting

In New Zealand tipping is'nt something people do generally..I reckon charge what its worth then there is no disappointment..Work on your speed and your away laughing.....all the way to the bank..

If you feel like you can only charge $5.00 then only do fast faces. I keep learning that lesson over and over. Or at least charge $8 or $10 for the full so there is the option but most people will pick the $5.00...that's what happened to me.

I live in a pretty tipless area. It was pretty funny though, I did a corporate gig in SLC and didn't even think about a tip jar but those folks were insisting we take tips. I think we both cleared an extra $20 without a tip jar. Just 40 miles difference....just a different attitude about it up north.

Oy...Provo. lol.

I never count on tips, especially pay per face.

$5 faces should never take you ten minutes. In my personal opinion, nothing short of a photo shoot picture should take you more than 7. Choose 10 or so designs that you are very comfortable with, speed those up to 5 minutes or less and unless you are dead slow, only offer those designs.

I agree with Denise and perry...if you charging 5.00 they should not be full faces..choose 12 to 15 faces you can do fast and offer thoses..I used Denises 5 dollar and chose. 12 faces at a school and did really well..I also did this yesterday but was paid my hourly rate..it was a big car show here so I used the same fast faces and was able to paint more kids in the alotted time...

At PPF, I typically charge $5 half face and $8 full face. The funny thing is that most people who do the $5 don't tip, or only tip $1. However the $8 ones almost ALWAYS give me $10 and say keep the change. It just makes me laugh! I did get a REALLY cute tip button that says "TIPS make my art possible" (local people - I can sell you one or a few, I bought 30- $5 ea) and that definitely helps. Also, I accept credit cards (thank you Square!) and I say, do you want xx to be your total? They look at me like, huh? But then they usually say "add $1 or $2 for your tip". It works nearly every time! That also helps cover the very minimal charge that Square adds.

Denise, I did an event downtown SLC and didn't bring a tip jar either. People kept handing me money and I just kind of laid it on my table under my brush holder, and ended up with a PILE of money. I think that worked as a visual even better than the jar! LOL. I wouldn't do that normally, but I was slammed and just didn't have time to figure something else out. I was thrilled!

Have a great day.
Amy

I just did our Pride festival, and tips were so so. Next year at pride, I am going to put a sign out that says "Tips are Sexy, How Sexy are you?" got this idea from Pashur, but it takes the right crowd to put it out. Trying to think of what would be more appropriate at a less "out there" festival. Maybe, tips are cool? Anyway, I charge 5 and 8 too. I may be expanding to 5, 8 and 10 (ten for bling and gems) I would find a few 5 dollar money faces...ones that you can do in 90 seconds to 3 minutes, do them over and over again and put them "on special" I would rather do 100 $5 faces fast, than 10 $8 faces slowly, any day! If you have the basic one eyed spider man, and a half butterfly down to 90 seconds each, you can rock the $5 fast face design board, because the other fast faces can be in the 3 minute range, and you will still come out ahead. That is how it works for me.

Thanks for all the advise. I realize now that I am undercharging for my designs. I should be charging at least 8.00. Here is a photo of my board. I only gave these choices....The pink cheetah was the most popular design of the day.
What do you think?

So should I have them pay me directly or still have my daughter take the money, does it matter? Will I get more tips if I take the money? I thought about writing the price down on a ticket and giving that to them to take to my daughter at the end of the table, that way they wouldn't just walk out with just putting a tip in the jar like what happened at the last event....(I think only a few actually did that)

For me only the first row + snake + pirate are $5 dollars, the rest whatever you want to charge for full faces.

That's exactly what I was going to say about which ones are $5 designs.... the rest should be at least $8 or $10. BUT even a $10 face shouldn't be more than 8 minutes to paint, most of mine are under 5 minutes.

I'm with Perry.

I guess it's the cheetaha and tigers that slow me down, sponging and blending. Just can't seem to get any faster....

Yes, you need to work on the speed. You want to spend no more than 5 minutes per design 2-3 minutes is best.

I have signs & a big button I wear about tipping & I keep my tip jar close, but very accessible. My line manager collects the money before the child ever gets in my chair. This speeds up the line as the clients can pay while they're waiting.

Tips are for good service not the act of face painting. If you want to boost your tips you have to boost your entertainment level. Forget the rate you are charging or how long it takes you, speed come with experience and with that comes skills that if you choose you can vary your rate. You'll grow.

I am an advanced face painter who charges $5. at most all my pay per face festivals. And I get tipped all the time from $1 to $20 per face. And never in the many years have I ever put out a tip jar. I am an entertainer and it is an experience in my chair. The time spent there being painted is fun.

You may be onto this and be an entertainer, but I find these days most new painters are not. So boost this skill and you'll see tips. You must talk to the children, explain what you are doing as you paint, joke and kid, smile, smile, smile and be upbeat and professional. But be fun!

I go over a variety of rules and guidelines with my staff about how they need act. And a good deal is on how to make the experience for the person in the chair memorable.

At only two festivals you are still learning. The tips will come. As for payment best to get paid first or as they are climbing into your chair. As when you are done the ahhs begin and another is clambering to climb up, this can get confusing. So be paid soon can be helpful, but again I don't count on or seek tips, so Dawn makes an excellent point. Collect after.

If you are charging $5 if you give change in $1's you are more likely to be tipped. And it can help to collect after - but you must do this. As they want to tip you not your helper. The act of tipping can be personal to many people you need to acknowlegde the tip in a way a helper can not. And many like the kids to hand you the tip - another way to make a child feel special - again that is entertaining.

And overall remember you work for the fee of the face art, tips are extra and not to be banked on. If you feel you are not taking in enough raise the price of the face painting.

a face painting mom wrote:Trying to think of what would be more appropriate at a less "out there" festival. Maybe, tips are cool?

My tip jar says, "TIPS" in big letters and then "Never expected, always appreciated." I generally do pretty good on tips at events where I am painting for "free" because the event has paid me to be there and only okay on tips at PPF/private parties. However, I really believe what my tip jar says. I don't expect tips because my prices are where I want them. Thus, I really do appreciate it when someone sees fit to give me a little extra.

Who B What E wrote: I guess it's the cheetaha and tigers that slow me down, sponging and blending. Just can't seem to get any faster....

Do you have split cakes specifically for these designs? I have a Tiger, a "girl" Tiger with some pink in it, and a generic big cat cake, all of which I made the way I want them. When I use Starblends for the eyes/muzzle and the split cake for the rest, it goes much faster.

Thank you all for the wise advice! OtterGirl, yes I do work with a split cake for some designs and it does go faster. I do have trouble with getting a sharp point on my tiger lines, what is a good brush for that, I've tried all sizes, but they just don't seem to give me that nice clean point that I want. I tried twisting my brush in the paint too which helps...

Sweet Loretta, I like the advise about being more of an entertainer, I have been a cosmetologist for a long time, and a makeup artist for Joppa Minerals, I know how to be very professional but need to work on being more fun. I'll get there, I'm still a newbie!

2 things for points. First, how firm is your brush? I like a nice stiff brush for line work. I use the Lowell Cornell synthetic ones, and I really like them. After you clean your brushes, load them with brush soap to keep the points nice and sharp. This will help them last longer and perform better.

Second, I find that if I start moving my hand before I actually touch the brush to the skin, my lines look nicer. From there it's just a matter of lifting off at the end with a little flick. Also, watch the paint consistency. If your paint is too thick, it will never make a nice point.

For the record, I think. You tiger stripes look great.

Thanks OtterGirl! What size brush are you using for stripes? I use a #2 or #4. Also, do you leave the soap on the brush until you use them again?

Trouble blending rainbow cakes? If you dont have one in the colours you need to complete your design i suggest making one
You really only have one eye design on there. I say make at least half your board eye designs like a monster eye (so half of the mask you have on there) and a rainbow with some clouds & starbursts instead of all the other details you have.
I can see you put a lot of work into your puppy for instance, but for line work I suggest you use a white starblend for the base and a one stroke for the outline, it's real fast and still looks really good.
There's nothing wrong with wanting to do a good job, but there needs to be a balance between the definition of a good job and economy (time, money and efficiency)
All the best!

I came to say what Loretta said... Just face painting probably won't get you a lot of tips.. unless you're incredibly fast or you go above and beyond.. did you give glitter/glitter gel? did you add jewels? highlights?

To be honest, if a waitor were very slow with your order at a restaurant, would you give them a good tip? Probably not. You definitely need to work on your speed, no more than 5 minutes a face unless it is super fancy.

Typically at festivals(I rarely do ppf) I average about 1-2 minutes per face.. but I've also had 8 years of practice to get that fast.

May I ask why you decided to do festivals already when you're still such a new painter? Not that you shouldn't jump in with both feet.. but you're putting yourself in a situation where speed is a major factor... ppf is all about getting as many people done and making as much money as possible.

As for your daughter collecting the money, that should still work fine, just do it after the person is painted, you could say something like "Thanks so much for letting me paint you! You can head on over to ___insert name___ and she'll help you with paying."

That's what I do... as soon as I'm done, I look at the parent and say, "Pay the tiger man!" My husband or son works the line and I paint them up like a tiger so even with 100 people in and in front of the tent, they can still find him LOL! If they're going to tip, they usually hand the child the tip to make them feel special and I make a big deal out of accepting it... really makes the child feel like they did something special

Good topic! I liked reading all the responses and having it branch out for more information! I am a complete newbie as well, with two ppf ($ festivals and 1 complete freebie. With the festivals I did not have a tip jar, but I received tips handed directly to me. I didn't realize I was actually doing what Sweet Loretta mentioned as entertaining! In my area, I don't think they were exposed to people who did as much as I did??? I heard a lot say I was the best they had seen, which boosted up my confidence a little. For the freebie, I did put out a tip jar (without signage) and after a while, my husband put a dollar in it to start. I got a dollar here and there. The funny part about it, I received tips from people that I didn't expect - and those with the squiggly worm kids where I was going ABOVE and BEYOND did nothing! Not even a gracious nod from them, only telling the kid to say, "thank you" to the lady. LOL.