SHOW and TELL #8 - April - June 2014

Since March is (finally) over, I thought I would start a new thread.

I painted yesterday for hours at my boys daycare.  I couldn't take pictures of the kids but here is a couple staff I did.

First ever attempt at a sugar skull, had to do from memory as my cell had died by that point  LOL!!

Codegirl, AWESOME!  I'm always watching our for where you're at in your practice!  I was actually inspired by your post to try my own first sugar skull today (on myself, because my family is already sick of me!)

I LOVE how it turned out.  Where I would like to see improvement though would be the crisp-ness of my linework, especially doing thin lines!  The spiderwebs caused me a great deal of GRR's.  I'd also like to keep on working on that smooth blending that helps hollow out the cheekbones... Hopefully the sponges I have coming in the mail will help! Since I already have... ahem... very full cheeks, I might never get there!

Also: I took advice I've seen on the forum to use paradise black around the eyes (because it doesn't stain as much!) and quickly abandoned that effort. I like me some Wolfe, and the paradise just wasn't making nice clean lines next to the white!

WELL... here it is!

Mellygee911 - that is freak'n AWESOME!!! I totally forgot about the shading (memory not so good) LOL!! I think you did a great job.

I think I would try using starblends for the shading... I'm back at daycare again tomorrow, maybe that worker will let me try again.

Daw, thanks! Starblends is a really good idea, although I've not gotten the chance to try them out yet! I think there's a shop in town that carries them though, so perhaps I'll sneak out this week and grab a black!

I know lots of people like a pearl white, or starblends white for the base, but I'm quite attached and happy with the full FULL coverage I got here. That being said, I tried the base again with TAG pearl white, and our 13-YO foster child Mitchel was all up in my face asking "ooooh, is that shimmery or something?" so there must be some allure!

Ask the workers! I take full advantage of those situations, and will likely be posting a picture of the 70 kindergardeners I got to practice on last week (once I go through and make sure all the photo releases are in order!) I LOVE schools and daycares for getting my skills up to snuff!

My little cousins came for a 2 day visit. They love it when i paint their faces, I asked them to please pick something 'new' so i could practice new things.

One was more then happy to get a pretty rainbow cat design i wanted to try out.


The other first wanted spiderman, and while i'm all for girls having spiderman i asked her if it would be ok if she picked something i haven't painted 10 zillion times. Then she picked the basic tiger on a sign i had in my living room *facepalm*. She came around though when she saw a minion design I showed her.


Great to practice on real kids in my house once in a while. It would take too much time and money to try and grow my own lol.

oh, I like!! my youngest would love the minions but he wouldn't sit still enough.

Any yes, borrowing children is a lot easier/cheaper than growing your own... and I find that my own are my toughest clients.

Love the minions! I love how you do black lining over the eye with your rainbow kitty, but whenever I try, when the model opens their eye it gets smudged and destroyed! Suggestions? Do you just ask them to keep it closed until you're done-done?

@codegirl - Yeah those minions were not very fun to paint. I really don't like painting cartoons in general. I will not be adding this one to any signs. Maybe slap a high price tag on it in my full designs book, might do it again for $20 hee hee hee.

Mellygee911 - I have TONS of tricks when doing eyeliner that I'm glad to share.
~ I always stress to keep the eyes closed until I say it's safe, and as i'm working putting on more details elsewhere while it dries i remind them constantly "keep em closed!" MOST of all when i go back for a paint refill and they feel the brush leave their face.

~ Some times before I start I will even explain what will happen if they open their eyes too soon. "ok I'm going to but some black by your eye lashes now, but if you open your eyes before it's dry, *pop* you'll get black up here too, and we don't want that " Always point with your hands to your own eye while explaining to show them what you are talking about. Kids aren't stupid, and I find they co-operate more if they understand the reasons rather then "do what i say" with zero explanation. Takes an extra 2 seconds to do but the results are worth it.

~ Always exagerate what a good job they are doing keeping their eyes closed and what a big help it is while they are doing it.

~ If something is taking too long to dry, I keep one of these in my kit

Works great for other things too, just make sure you hold it at the right distance. I had one kid try to stick his hand in it while it was on (correction kids are stupid). They aren't powerful enough to cause any real damage but a good whack can sting little fingers.
Also it's impressive to the parents when i take it out as most painters don't have half the stuff i have anyway, so i always make a joke out of it. "Yes, you know you are working with a professional when..." *blows on fingers, rubs them on vest* lol

Those are my tricks enjoy!

P.S. "Yes, you know you are working with a professional when... they didn't get the constancy of the paint right and they have to use a fan to help it dry. >.< "

Thank you CodeGirl for keeping this thread going.     I've been doing the Show and Tell for 1 1/2 years and haven't been able to be on the Forum as much these days, so I've been 'failing in my duties'   and would hate to see this thread fall out of use since it has been such a help for people new to the forum (and new to painting) where we could cheer each other on    (and sometimes some not so new share designs too)

I get to pop in now and then and have seen some fantastic stuff by all of you, but haven't had time to comment in ages   (my husband is a tax consultant and I work with him during tax time.) Anyway...
CodeGirl, Very pretty sugar skull...and your first attempt!! you're on your way for sure when you can do it from memory!

MellieGee,  Wow, I think you are coming along Very nicely with your lines! What did you use for the purple? If only our family could love being painted as long as our love of painting lasted!

Forest Fairy, your rainbow cat is so pretty! and you did such a great job with the stencil!  Your minions are so cute!! such nice detail...too bad they take so much time to paint, 'cos I think those would be so popular with kids.

This must be the Canadian Show and Tell      I just noticed all of you are from Canada!
As Fessie says, "HAPPY PAINTING!"

PS Maybe you've all done this already....but it's great to invite the new people in the Introductions thread to come to THIS thread to share some of their work (especially if they are shy about posting)...that's helped keep it alive for a long time, and it's always nice to have new people joining in the fun.  

Forest Fairy: Thanks for the tips!! I was convinced that other painters painted the eyeliner, and it just magically stayed un-smudged and that I was doing it in the wrong spot! Your post really helped quell that fear (but not entirely, I'm so insecure about eyeliner, I never even wear it on my own face with makeup, because I just can't seem to get it right!)

Valerie: Thanks for the compliment! It's TAG Berry Wine. It may look slightly darker than it would in a swatch because I had blended the black into it, and it was in the shadow of my eye socket. Initially I had looked for a darker colour in my kit, but I'm glad I went with the berry wine because anything darker would have just looked like a slightly tinted black socket!

I've got a pearl teal in the mail right now that I can't WAIT to use for my next sugar skull!!

wow - all these designs are so awesome!
here is one I did recently that was super fast and easy, yet pretty (I would normally add lipstick too, but my daughter detests having her face painted now! lol)

Another "Canadian" show and tell eh

love the flower design <3

I was at the daycare today for a bunch of hours (need to work on speed). Here is what I did to a staff member

Love all the new pictures! Keep it up!

Nadinesdreams: Your daughter is beautiful!!  Love the swirly rainbow eyes

Codegirl: fun zebra!  If you're open to suggestions, I might try some highlights in silver to really help things pop!  

This week, I tried a few masks, a swirly butterfly-esque design, and another sugar skull (I was going for scarier while still feminine... and I'm not sure what's happening with neck wrinkles just there! Sometimes a fantastic camera is just TOO fantastic :p)

Hi everyone! Love all the designs from the past few days! ^^

Forest-Fairy: That rainbow cat is one I'm going to have to try out as well ^^
And those minions would probably be a hit here too, I could try them out on my arm maybe...

nadinesdreams: your fast flower design looks really pretty!

Mellygee911: Lovely masks! I also quite like your butterfly-esque design, very crisp black lines I can only envy
Sugar skulls aren't really a thing here in Belgium, I see them often on Pinterest and here of course, I've never had a go myself.

There are so many things I want to try out! o_O
Every time I log on here, I have a notepad besides me where I jot down "things to try"... It's getting really full

Today I practiced flowers (again) and had a few arms full of swirls and teardrops, and then I tried out a butterfly I found in Illusion: on the inner edge are supposed to be little teardrops :p but on Plastic Fantastic all my flowers and teardrops fail miserably, my brush just slips and it looks awful

Well, I just went ahead and tried out those minions.
Took me ages!   I quite like how the top one turned out though.
Just out of curiousity, Forest-Fairy: how much time did you use for your minion design?
 

Well hey now Bountie, I don't think you can only envy my linework!  I hear linework on practice heads is insanely hard, but your butterfly looks just fantastic!!  I LOVE the thin, whispy swirls at the top and bottom of the wings... I can never get anything to look that delicate!  Beautiful colours and blending as well!

As for sugar skulls... make them a thing! If painters in your area aren't doing them, I only see that as you having a monopoly on the market! I think people don't necessarily need to know the context and culture behind sugar skulls to appreciate them.  I saw a picture of a sugar skull, thought it was SUPER COOL, and wanted it.  It's not super quick, but I could see it being a huge hit for halloween appointments and private parties!

PS: LOVE! The minions!

Thanks for the feedback Mellygee ^^ That's nice to hear

I will definitely give those sugar skulls a try! I do love Halloween, so having an extra design up my sleeve, so to speak, would be great.

My last practice thingie of today is a tattoo like heart... I got stuck in my head with that Nazareth song for some reason, so I figured I'd try and make something out of it...



Enjoy your sunday evening (10 pm here) and see you soon ^^

that winged heart is awesome, expecially the drippy bits.i love how you swirled the linework too.

my goodness everyone is so talented on this board. Here is what I was working on today, the first is inspired (copied) from Cameron Garrett and the other is the first design that I designed without copying anyone.

Still need more linework practice... specially on myself

Love seeing every ones different styles and designs on here!  You are all super talented  
I Did another "Frozen" Inspired design on my neighbors granddaughter the other day - I really like the way it turned out...  Probs not the fastest design ever but would be good for smaller groups.

Newbie here, my little sisters are currently on school holidays so they've been my guinea pigs. They haven't got sick of me yet(touch wood), heres a few faces I've been attempting

I'm very new to face painting I've only been doing it for a few months, well longer than that but if you add up actual time that painting took place it's only a few months. Anyways, I thought I'd share some of my current work so hopefully I can show improvement now that I'm practicing more.

A couple things I messed with this week...

Mario Ghost face:


PacMan/ghosts face:

Valerie A - Thank you! I think next time tho i won't have the stencil pattern go over the ears, because i felt like putting stars there when i thought about it. It was a good practice. Have to work on making shorter fangs. Yeah the minions are a bit of a pain, would NOT do that design for some one not directly related to me lol. Thinking about changing it up for a more public design. Thinking just one on the cheek, and painting only the upper part. Maybe peeking over a wall or something would be easy.

Mellygee911 - you are most welcome. I don't put eye liner on just any kid, you definatly have to make a call when they are in your chair if you think they will follow instructions. I always talk to the model and describe what i'm doing as painting along the eye lashes can tickle. But never tell them that or else they think about it tickling! I just say very casually like it's not a big deal "and now we put some paint beside your eyelashes" works great.
Love your masks btw! most of all the red and green one! I like the dot detail going around it. Might have to steal that one lol

nadinesdreams - LOVE that! so pretty! also love you snow flake crown looks like a good fast one!

codegirl - very neat, good coverage with the white

Bountie - The rainbow cat was a joy to paint! so easy too. it was inspired from a few designs i saw online and i combined the elements i liked from each design. love the butterfly and your minions look great! Sorry for the late reply. They took be about 5-10 min or so, not longer then that. My cousin was lets say 'easily distracted' so i had to work fast. The younger of the two that i did the rainbow cat on was much more calm and easier to paint.
Love the heart you painted too! Most of all the swallow tails at the bottom

nikkili26 - wow what vivid color!!! LOVE the flowers at the bottom of the butterfly too.

Natasha. - nice, cute, pink, and not too much. Great choice for a mom that doesn't want a big design on her girl. Cute little girl with flowers too!
Nice zombie/dead girl, but if i may... a few things to make it REALLY pop, add a bit of purple to your black mix it in and it gives a great bruise tone and adds more depth to the eyes and rotten mouth area. Also ad just a tiny bit of yellow in with the white in some places to give that subtle sickly look. It doesn't even have to be that apparent, but the eye will notice it and give it more dimension. Even some deep modeled purple around the hair line for a nice rotten look.
Here are 3 different examples of my work that show what adding some subtle purple and yellow can do.
Link 1
Link 2
Link 3
Give it a shot and you'll see the zombie look sky rocket into being something truly disturbing.

glamorface - very neat swirly eye! if there is anything i need more practice at it's that swirly stuff. I'm great at copying, but suck when left to my own devices. :/

FacepaintingByTanya - OMG i love the Boo! Any more pictures of it?!?! Show me Nao!
Too me a sec to see the pac man, but what has been seen can more be unseen. (also pacman is going to die if he eats those ghosts without a power pill! No pacman, don't do it! :p)