hi. where oh where else can i practise.

Hi I'm grateful for such a brilliant forum. I'm in England and have been practising every night for months. Today I attempted painting at a car boot. I didn't do very well in terms of children. Does anyone else paint carboots. Also is it the done thing to contact face painters and other to help for free. I'm just looking for real life practise. Any thoughts. Thanks in advance.

Personally I would get in touch with all your relatives that have children and either

1. invite them round for tea or some other entertainment and paint their children
2. pop over to theirs, but choose someone with a few kids so you can rotate and get as much practice in as you can.

This is good as you will get children of all ages and if you need, get them to fill in consent/ model release forms.

Secondly I would contact all local churches, I am not a church goer but my local ones were more than happy to have me at their fairs.

If you are willing to work for free, contact local community centers, after school cares and you could even strike a deal with the local car wash!

As you will read elsewhere in the forum, you should draft a list of everything you want to practice and take lots of photos.

I don't know what you mean by "didn't do very well in terms of children" but I was at a vintage market about a fortnight ago and it was dead - I made just over my stall fee - any event can be hit or miss, you may want research your event. I was offered to do a car boot on a weekly basis and they said I could drop by the week prior to check it out (I didn't go as it was quite far off). You could contact people about their car boots/ markets and just go see them before hand to get a feel for it and spot how many children are there.

I would also suggest contacting popular recurring or annual events close to you around 6 months in advance to keep business flowing all year round.

I would be happy to help with any other things, I am from the UK too    Good luck!

I stop by the YMCA near my house and ask when they don't mind me setting up! People there usually tip anyways, and all you need is a simple word board with a few suggestions of the things you'd like to practice. Did that today and it was a lot of fun.

Went to the big shopping plaza nearby and stopped in a few places that I thought could be potential candidates for free face paint- Barnes and Noble has kids events through the Summer, and our movie theater has a kid event twice a week that I've been frequenting. And hey, I get tips AND free movie tickets, and 3 gigs booked so far (:

They've both been really helpful, since everyone in my house is sick of letting me try things out on them, and you can only do so much with a practice head. By the way, those are an option too, but they stain easy and fast and are obviously very different material than skin so it's not the same. But it's pretty handy when I want to practice a design's layout, and for re-painting the same designs over and over again to help get them memorized.

I use my neighbors and kids from our school. I have 2 sons, so I need girl models from time to time. Go to a park and have a sign that says "Free face painting." you will get plenty of takers and mage some business. Bring cards!

You can go to the park tara1977, but please check the laws in your area. I have yet to do this myself so I am unsure but I have heard that sometimes when people go out on the street (buskers, musicians) they need a street traders license, if they don't they can be asked to move but I have heard of people who have had their equipment taken away!!   

I'm not sure if this applies to us, but a check would be a good idea.

Good luck!

Thankyou so much for replying and all of your great ideas. It has given me a much.needed boost. I did a.second car boot on the Sunday and did marginally better. But no to combat the shakey hands. Again many thanks to you all.

When you say shaky hands is it nervous shaking or are your hands just not steady?

If you need to steady them maybe try placing your pinky on the person and use it as a steadying point.

Hi shaky hands due to being extremely nervous. I wasn't aware I would be so affected by nerves. ,Tell me its normal please and will improve. Thankyou for replying I really appreciate all input

I am still very new and the first few faces I am shaky if I think too much about the brush placement. I find the faster I put brush to skin the less I shake. It helps to have the design down backwards and forwards.

Above all remember that you are bringing fun and happiness to a child's face. They will squirm and shift at Inopportune times, but those imperfections make the designs unique to that child.

Breath and remind yourself that you can do this!

I have been painting for three years now (first year solo). I was told once that the first face you put out is always a rough one. My hands shake for the first one or two faces. my way of getting around this is to arrive early to your booking, I aim for 30 minutes, and I paint three designs on my arm - a rainbow/ flower combination, leopard print & swirls or tribal design. This usually takes the edge off and can be a good display for the younger kids, catching a passer by's eye or a talking point as you head for a bathroom break. I can't say the shakes go away but if you convince yourself you've got it when you start a design and throw it out there I think lines are more shapely and overall, the design turns out well.

Thankyou for your replys and brilliant tips all really great things to add to my ever growing knowledge thanks to this community.