Asked to donate my time for local baseball team...

So I have been back and forth with a lady that is in charge of the Funtainment for a somewhat local baseball team. I would get tickets for the family to watch the game after my 2hours of work when it starts.

She wants me to donate my time, and since I mentioned that the professional paint that I use can be costly, I would need to make sure I get money for the paint I use.

Her newest email to me today is: "Unfortunately, we are not able to charge our fans for any face painting or balloon twisting but you are more than welcomed to put out a tip jar. I am budgeted to pay a face painter a flat fee of $30 per game. Please let me know if this will work for you."

I would like to get the exposure since I am fairly new, but not at the cost of me losing money to stock up on paint or product if needed. Any advice would be greatful:) Thanks.

Well, if you will get something out of it, maybe give it a shot once or twice. Let her pay the $30 for materials and put out a tip jar with a sign saying you are working for tips. Maybe even a suggested amount.
Personally, I don't work under those terms, but I'm pretty well established and I would totally have done it when I was first starting out.

I've found that when doing free painting to get noticed, you need to really communicate with the person getting painted or the parent of the child being painted. Don't just assembly line paint and don't let children come in line to get painted without the parent coming too. You need to be able to talk while you paint. Tell them who you are, where you from, how much you love painting,your website, talk, talk, talk. Sell yourself! Timeshare gives out free stuff, but guess what? You have to hear the sales pitch to get it. When the person leaves your chair, they should be able to say who you are. Just passing out a card, normally don't get it.

Meemee is absolutely correct!

yep...give them your business card, tell them they have to get their parents to sign the back of it so you'll know they asked if they have any allergies and it's okay to get painted.


they always come back so excited, and usually the parent will tag along, or call you on the phone to find out what's going on......

kids will remember you name, so as long as you find a way to bring it into the conversation every few seconds, they will be repeating it to everyone...


$30 a game WILL cover the cost of materials....if they continue to book you for every game.

I'd definitely do it-you could have a whole new pallete after just a few quickie sessions.

you figure, if the budget is usually $30....then their other face painters PROBABLY don't have the type of paints that you have.

so they will be blown away when you whip out your rainbow cakes....

To control cost, I'd only take a tulip white, tulip black, a neon rainbow and a patriotic rainbow... you can do all kinds of stuff with those without dipping into the rest of your kit.

I disagree with Nikki ^^. At events where I was being "tipped" I've found signage and amount of "stuff" gives the impression that I'm not a hobbyist and that the painting is a worthwhile way to spend their money. Having 4 cakes is not as impressive to a parent as watching someone whip out a laptop full of cakes, a brush holder with clean brushes, crisp business cards, a clean black towel, and a professional chair. I'm not saying that you need to bring every rainbow under the sun along with every type of glitter ever created, but 4-5 cakes is not enough.

tulip paints actually cost more than dfx, tag,paradise, and wolfe. and they stain the skin really bad...we can thank suzy sparkles for taking the plunge for us regarding tulip face paint...she did some test swatches on her self and it took several days for her to get the stain out of her skin. I think she was able to take the paints back to where she got them...I do have the tulip white and black. but I never have used it on anyone one..and will only use it in a pinch.

Barb...Good to know. I don't have any but always good to know to stay clear..haha:)

Thanks for all the advise. It is helping a lot!

I can communicate pretty well for a shy person, but once I get into painting I find myself pretty quiet. So I do need to work on that. I find myself being a mirror to the persons personality and if they are talkative, or upbeat more than me, I will match it...But goes the same if they are quiet, and down, I tend to mirror that:( I got to stop that..haha.

rthling...That's something my fiance was saying as well. Put a sign saying "Working for Tips". But he was getting more complicated saying tip is nessesart for full face or multicolor. Although multicolor is not hard with split cakes!

Well, I did go through with doing it this Friday from 430-7pm. More so for the money cus I was out of work for 2 weeks due to surgery. Just got back to work today...yay! MONEY...lol. But I will see how it goes. If it goes well, then I might make it a regular thing.

rubyzcreationz wrote:

I can communicate pretty well for a shy person, but once I get into painting I find myself pretty quiet. So I do need to work on that. I find myself being a mirror to the persons personality and if they are talkative, or upbeat more than me, I will match it...But goes the same if they are quiet, and down, I tend to mirror that:( I got to stop that

That sounds so familiar!!! For me, that is a point of improvement too!

I would do it, every chance to get your name out, is worthwile! Who knows what it might bring you. I would take flyers with you, so that you can pass them out, that might help to get clients as well...

barb, the tulip colors do stain...but the black, white and silver don't stain at all. I use them for freebies only because they are cheaper for me to purchase-$2 for a cake...maybe it is a regional price, so I take back that bit.

tamariel wrote:Having 4 cakes is not as impressive to a parent as watching someone whip out a laptop full of cakes, a brush holder with clean brushes, crisp business cards, a clean black towel, and a professional chair. I'm not saying that you need to bring every rainbow under the sun along with every type of glitter ever created, but 4-5 cakes is not enough.

hey, I think you've got a great point! maybe that is why I have so much success...lol, I never thought about it, but that is exactly what I do when I set up....I LOVE my laptop!
I have a paint brush roll too that I spread out so even the brushes I'm not using are displayed in an organized way.
I also have a little holder for my business cards to keep them displayed and secure...and something else I do is I have 3 hand held mirrors....really helps keep the kids occupied...especially when they want to come back to look at themselves again afterwards.




Ruby-sometimes the easiest way to keep talking even when the kids are quiet is just to describe what you are doing. like "okay, now I'm going to make the flowers on your eyes" or even just making little sound effects...like "boing boing boing" as you dab on the sponge....the kids love it.
You can even introduce yourself to each child...create a little bonding moment-and they'll remember your name easier.



I like the idea of a sign saying "Working for tips"...I saw a thread on the forum about "upgrading" or "upselling" the face painting design...like they started out with a basic version, and then added a little more to it for each price level-the $5 design, the $10 design and the $15 design....maybe you could do something like that...like basic stuff for free, and the ones who tip you, you add a little extra something special?

I would definitely recommend included a suggested tip amount. Many people don't know the appropriate amount to tip and will just give $1 even for a very complex, full face. I once had a parent tip only $1 for both kids. A better option is a sign with Suggested donation: $5