Design Displays

Hey gang,

I'm trying to develop how to display my designs. I know some of you say not to have one and use your creativity but i'm not to that point yet........My first gig, I did all cheek art because there were so many kids and had to do them quick, so I just drew some quick designs on paper with markers and laminated them.

How do you display your designs? Do you draw them out, or take pictures and then display them?

I have a b-day party this weekend with 15 kids for one hour so wanted to try and get away from just doing the cheek art stuff.

Thanks for any and all advice.

Just have a written list of the things you paint well and can do without reference pictures.
Spiderman, tiger, butterfly, bamtan, monster, fairy,princess. etc.
That way you can vary the colours, make them mask style etc and are not stuck with doing them the same as the photo.

Look at the Snazaroo site for their best cheek art or girl or boy designs! Good luck!

Lyn

I agree with just writing down the names of the designs.
Otherwise it depends on weather you have pictures for everything or not.
I used to use ( and still do for big events) a board that I covered with thick black speaker material with a staple gun, and then I lamenated the pictures and put sticky dots on the back. That way if a design is taking too long or I run out of a particular color or rainbow cake I can just take that design off the board. Make sure the board is heavy or has some way of not blowing over.
Make sure you put names of the designs under the pictures so the kids know what to ask for. Also put the pictures in groups of price.
Ba aware though - you will probably need to have double copies and keep a book close to you with the pictures or put the board somewhere you can see it - Some kids expect it to look EXACTLY like the picture - which it NEVER does. I know some people put up signs that say each design will be as original as the face it's painted on - or something like that to stop complaints of it not looking exactly the same.
It really sucks all the creativity out of it when you have to paint exactly the same tiger or butterfly or spiderman over and over and over.
That's why a lot of us have stopped using design boards.
Hope this helps you.
And good luck!

Oh, I never worry about them looking exactly the same... everyone's face is different and every work of art is an original! The only time I had a child a little disappointed that it didn't look the same was when I was doing a fair with Glitterfly and she asked me to paint her exactly like her friend and they both pointed to a picture of Glitterfly's design... I couldn't/wouldn't paint it the same if I tried... so she got MY version of a jaguar which isn't better or worse, just different.

I used to put all my 4x6 photos with holes punched through the lamination hung on a string (for parties I just threw all the photos out on a table or the ground) and they pick from there. Now I have them all printed on some small banners from Vista Print (vertical) and hang them from the front of my tent. I wouldn't recommend it right from the beginning as your pictures will probably change a lot in the first year or so, but I think I can keep these going for a while before I need to change them up again.

Lucky you Perry - you've never had the perfectionist kid who keeps coming back so you can 'fix' it....... even when I think what I did was better!
I have had the 'I want the same as she is having' thing when working with another painter, but I just told them it will be my interpretation of it and they were happy - probably helps that they could only see each others and not their own at the same time.
I did a birthday party where All the girls wanted the same one eyed leopard design ( thanks Michelle) I talked them into different colors and different eyes so they weren't all carbon copies. The mum ( client) was not impressed - she started to think that was all I could do!

I have a pocket organizer from school aid(a teacher supply store). I only use it for festival work.

you might be surprised by what you can do without a board, i've just done my first gigs without one and they actually went well I am gonna put together a little clearfile for the students that really struggle to decide, but most just wanted designs that I'd already practiced which was good

I find that if I don't put up some designs, then I all want the same things... something they had painted on their face before by some other painter. I have some really unique designs on my samples that they wouldn't think to ask for. My dragonfly crown is REALLY popular, but who would come up with that off the top of their head?

I have recently been working without a display (I was moving and had it dislocated) and it work really well. No problem with the butterfly not looking the same as the display and I have a lot more different request instead of just the ones I have up. And often they ask what I can paint, where I can give suggestions that I think would look good on them. Plus more often than before they tell me just to paint something and surprise them.
So now when I have found my display, I don't use it. It is a lot more fun without =)
(jobs with many children I will have it with me, since it is a bit faster)

I guess my concern with doing without is that i'm so new so I don't have that freeing feeling just yet. For those of you that have a display, I guess my question is do you have actual pictures of your designs or sketches? I don't have a lot of kids near me to practice on so I don't have lots of pictures. I'm thinking I might have to just go the sketch route and laminate them. I would love to eventually go without designs or just use them as backup for kids that can't decide, but for now I need to use them as a crutch so i'm not asked to do something I don't know how to.

I use laminated pictures, not sketches. If you can't get someone else to paint the design on, just paint it on yourself and take a picture. You can eventually replace it with a picture of a cute little kid.

I use actual pictures

I tried doing sketches and found it difficult to recreate the effect of paint on skin with paint on paper, plus using white paper makes it look even weirder.
I use a photo album with trading card protector sheets and resize all my photos so that they fit inside. I just paint myself or my boyfriend coz trying to deal with photo release forms and all that is a pain.
I would love to have just a written list or nothing at all but I find that kids have a really hard time making up their minds if they have nothing to go off of, and people like to see what they are getting into before they are painted by a stranger. Finally, not all kids can read and some just like to point to something they like.
Beware of kids man-handling your albums though, mine is only a couple weeks old and it's already starting to show wear. Use something that's durable!

I have a clear vinyl shoe hanger from Lowe's that supposed to hang from the back of your door. I hang it from my tent, backwards, so the pics show from the flat side. (pic is in my gallery) and the pics are easy to change out.

This is what I use for festivals & PPF events. I usually don't use a board. I use photos kids I've painted(some things are painted on me). It hangs from my ten(but I've not figured a good way to keep it from flapping around in the wind). There is a stand I can put it in, but I don't want another thing to carry.

http://www.schoolaidscatalog.com/classroom_management_pocket_chart-p-49701.html

Psalmbook wrote:(but I've not figured a good way to keep it from flapping around in the wind).

This is what I have on the 4 corners of my banners and I tie the string in a "X" pattern to the sides of my tent. Wroks great even on windy days and the adhesive is super strong.

A set of 4 goes for $3.99 USD

http://www.vistaprint.com/clear-adhesive-hangers.aspx?xnav=LeftItem&xnid=Signage&dng=1134929

CreateFaces wrote:

Psalmbook wrote:(but I've not figured a good way to keep it from flapping around in the wind).

This is what I have on the 4 corners of my banners and I tie the string in a "X" pattern to the sides of my tent. Wroks great even on windy days and the adhesive is super strong.

A set of 4 goes for $3.99 USD

http://www.vistaprint.com/clear-adhesive-hangers.aspx?xnav=LeftItem&xnid=Signage&dng=1134929

I just got 4 of those w/ my banner & never thought to use them on my display! I'll have to order some w/ my next Vistaprint order. Thanks!

Psalmbook wrote:This is what I use for festivals & PPF events.

Can you post a pic of this in action? I'm trying to figure out the pocket size.

I never got a pic of my festival set up(totally forgot). I don't have any PPF events sent up right now & never use the display for parties & smaller events(too much trouble).
I put 5X7 photos in the pockets & tape them in so the wind doesn't get them. Last time I used it I filled 1/2 w/ photos & 1/2 w/ henna designs. I like that I can switch the photos out for different holidays.
A good easy low cost option is to get a science project board, paint it black & put on Velcro. You can then Velcro the backs of your photos & change out your pics when you want.