Painting with a shaky hand?

Hi all,

I'm fairly new to Face Painting, though my parents have been running a Face Painting business for a long time. I'm trying to get into the business, but I find myself at a disadvantage, I have shaky hands. They aren't terribly shaky, but they are enough to make it a bit nerve wracking when I'm trying to do lines and small details. If I can brace my arm or elbow, I have great control, but the problem I'm having is I'm using a tall directors chair and at times there is no support. I've tried resorting to the death grip on my wrist, but that only helps a bit. I also make sure to avoid caffeine of show days.

I was curious if anyone else out there has this issue and if they found any tricks or tips that helped them. Right now, I'm at the point where I'm trying to figure out how to create some sort of bracing system I can attached to my directors chair, but that feels like a great deal of work for an issue that might have easier solutions. I'm open to buying new equipment as well.

Thank you,

- Lance

i don't have shaky hands per se, but when holding a brush in midair with one hand and trying to paint a child's face with all its contours, eyebrows, blinking eyes, and wiggles, suddenly support becomes the most important thing!

have you tried bracing your painting hand by placing your pinky finger on the child's face? it doesn't provide super control, but it can help a bit.  

the only problem is sometimes you end up almost poking their eye or nose when you are painting near them.

another solution is to avoid designs with too many tiny details or straight lines. straight lines are the bane of my existence, lol.

otherwise, if you find you get much better control with something to brace your arm, go for it.

One trick I have found is to add a sliver of black to my one stroke cakes. This way it outlines as I do the design. Also, I will add a black sliver to a solid cake. For Wonder Woman, I added a black sliver to a solid yellow cake.

Thank you for the advice. I'll give these a go.

I'm also starting to feel more comfortable with my brushes, which seems to add to the control I have. I think I was so focused on perfect lines that I wasn't allowing the brushes to flow in their movement.

Remember when doing your line work that variations in the width is more interesting than trying to keep it all exactly the same width--and your hand will be more relaxed (less apt to shake).