Bought a new FatMax... love it, but....

I get a backache when standing (as I do at the market and festivals and outdoor gigs). And I am 5 foot 5 1/2 inches. I posted this issue about 2 months ago, and most follks my height (and even taller) said they did not get a back ache, but I definitely do. When I sit, it is the PERFECT height to work with the FatMax. BUT it just looks so much more interesting when I see face painters standing, rather than sitting. It adds an *energy* to the whole thing! But because of the back issue, I know sit for all birthday parties

It makes a whole bunch of sense about the 3" below the elbow. That DOES seem perfect. Ack.

I also find the FM to be the perfect height while sitting. But, I would like to paint while standing - I think it would be better for my back, and the couple of times I have done it (on my daughter at home), I find it much easier to get the right angles and such.

So, I would like to use my FM while standing. My husband has said that he can attach screw-off legs to my table top that will lift it to whatever height I need. I don't know, I may just try it as is, first.

Just make sure it's super stable on outdoor surfaces.

I'm asking Santa for one this year

okay, would loveeeee this fatmax, but keep thinking i should probably make some money first! LOL plus you all have so much to fill it. I hardly have anything compared to you all. Wondering if i even have enough to go make money! LOL I have a basic DFX pallette and a DFX metallic pallette and a few mini rainbow cakes. No paying jobs yet, haven't gotten enough courage yet to jump out there! Hubby is working on website and I am brainstorming for a board, etc. Geez, too much to think about. Still need chairs, etc... AAAHHHHHH!

HaHa! Who needs all that stuff to paint with? You don't. I got out there with a tiny snaz set & no clue what I was doing. It took me 5 yrs to get all the stuff I have now.

thanks, psalm, that's encouraging, I'm so aprehensive right now it's not even funny. Not sure where to start, when to start, how to start! LOL Pretty usual for me. I've been painting for years, walls, murals, crafts, etc, but just started faces and I really love it, hoping there is a market for it around me. Just want to do something I love. ha ha, me and everyone else, right?

Terntram, where are you in Michigan? I am in Alpena. I am finding there is not much market here. I am having to make my own market as I go. My area is very depressed monetarily, one of the poorest and most unemployed in the state. I know that if I charge the kind of rates that most professional painters charge, I will NEVER get gigs. I hope your area is better. I think once I do more marketing and get myself out there more, I will be able to make more, but not yet.

Terntam,

Most of us started out exactly where you are right now, and it has taken us time to build up our "Dream Kits" if you will. I think many would admit that even now having done this for some time we are still working on our dream kit.

You will go thru the trial and error process sorting out what works and what doesn't, what your don't need and what you just can't live without.

As your skillset improves you will find yourself gravitating more to certain products.

What you have to start is fine and will increase over time.

fluttersby, I'm in the Jackson area, but I'm not too far to be able to travel to Ann Arbor or Lansing area if I charged a little extra. My area does not have a lot of money either, but I'm thinking Lansing or Ann Arbor would be better and I could charge a small travel fee? I'm about 40 minutes from Ann Arbor and the same from Lansing. I'm also about 30 minutes from Chelsea, which also has a little better economy than my area, so... a little travel and I may be better off.
ChangingFaceDesigns, I realize that my kit will change over time, I just see everyone else's and get a little green! LOL

That's great that you are in an area where you can travel for better business. I can travel, that is no problem, but it seems that all around me are more small towns. That is the price I pay for actually wanting to live in a more rural area, I guess. Summer should be better because there is quite a bit of tourism in this area (we are actually a big retirement spot, not many young people). I wish you well with your business.

putting it on a train gets you noticed real quick.

I got a txt at 11pm last night from a fellow FP "can you do a job tomorrow 10-12 please?" so after trying to organise a babysitter and a loan car (we have one between us and my partner needed it for work) with no luck, I lugged the fat max, the baby and everything else I needed to my gig. I love my Bessie even more after today. She was fantastic.

I'm with Turntam! I am definately envious in a HUGE way....especially drooling for the split cakes!!! I'm right goofy over how many awsome split cakes everyone has in the fantastic FatMax! (I also asked for santa to bring me a FatMax but that may not be possible this year)

My portfolio of a whole 4 faces are done only with 12 snazaroo color cakes and I think I am trying to run before I can walk. I am still sooooo new but I just want to play with EVERYTHING! And I'm having a 6 year old 'but I want that and that and that and that' moment!

You guys are just truly amazing with these clean and full set ups and all this knowlege!
Thank you so very very much for sharing!

5 years into the game and I still find myself picking up great tips. I wanted to post on this thread and by accident I hit the tab for page 1 instead of 6.

I didn't know I was on the wrong page so I started scrolling down and cam upon a post (I think it was Terina's) where she had a mini "cheat sheet" if you will of all the faces she offered insdie her tackle box.

Can I just say I love that..... I have several beautiful color photo collages that I use for an "on hand" visual reference of my work to show people when trying to book a job instead of always sending them to look at the website.

I did not want to have 2 large boards in my tent set up 1 inside and 1 out. Now I can just have the 1 large photo board outside the tent and the mini 1 inside my laptop cases.

love love love it.......problem solved

This is what I use, $6 pencil holder with a flat bottom, less than $10 for the shower caddy, about one dollar for the pink cups and lotsa money for the paint and brushes!


It really holds a lot of stuff.

I love it , Laurie. You think like I do. I am at the point right now where I would just rather spend the money on paints and things I absolutely need, although I do love the Fatmax setups. I see the need for it in the future, but not now. If I get ahold of even fifty dollars, I am in the forum shop buying paint!

risa and i work out of ours

it does take getting used to a new set up;)

http://www.colorfulfaceart.phanfare.com/2240259

I am so ready for a FAT MAX! Bring it on!! I can just picture it very similar to my current table setup. I always keep walking room around my chair (I'm a little old school - like to move around the client, helps too being a lefty).

I'm a little concerned however, at the amount of paint some of you carry around. Just how many shades does one need? I have 2 laptops with allocated spots and a few loose pots. I mix any other shades required by myself (perhaps that is how i learnt?)
I plan to line the lowest section to use as a bin? I'm always trying to find a quick dumping area for my wipes and papertowel, snack rubbish... the idea of removing the liner at the end for one trip to the waste is quite ideal for me. I assume the lower section is the right width/height to slide the laptops in?

One caution on the Fatmax that I haven't seen mentioned.
The Fatmax REALLY jars things around, when you drag it in and out of the vehicle, up and down stairs or even a threshold. Much more than my old wire cart. In the last month I've opened it to three disasters inside - I went and did the Velcro in the laptop cases, but it really needs a sheet of foam in there. My *brand new* Sillyfarm laptop now no longer closes, so I had cakes broken and spilled. A glitter didn't get closed firmly (I had transferred my glitter and powders to a flat pack with pry-off lids) and once my removal oil top snapped off and there is still 'liquid wrench' in there that I haven't been able to get cleaned.

IOW, if you are used to packing things flat, your setups might not survive a change in orientation. I'm just going to have to go back to the drawing board. The Mehron case with the foam insert is fine. Those greasier paints stay firmly in their tubs. My Snaz and my DFX, in the shallower dishes, won't stay put and I go MENTAL when crumbles of a really intense color like navy blue, get in my yellows and pinks. I'm going to find containers to pack them flat. Same with my powders.

I was so disappointed, I don't paint a lot by any means - and spent my spring break painting for tips in our hotel - hoping to get oriented and such. Got to my first job this weekend and I nearly cried - paint and glitter EVERYWHERE, and I couldn't set up in time to have everything in its muscle-memory place. Luckily, expectations for face painting around here are so low, I could do it with my eyes closed and they'd still be happy. LoL.

ponygirl wrote:
IOW, if you are used to packing things flat, your setups might not survive a change in orientation.

My current set-up involves a few plastic bins and a mega-sized rolling military duffel bag (that likes to tip over a lot.)
I found that using a stretch headband wrapped around my 'bead box' and laptop case will keep them closed. And I use a folded towel inside the laptop case to keep my split cakes from moving around.

But I am happy to announce that I am jumping on the FatMax bandwagon and ditching the giant camo bag and my folding camp table. I LOVE the idea of a quick and easy setup especially using the foam board as the table top. I'll be working on my new kit tonight. LOL I'll have to take before and after photos with how long it takes me to set everything up. It should be a drastic difference.

ChangingFaceDesigns wrote:Terntam,

Most of us started out exactly where you are right now, and it has taken us time to build up our "Dream Kits" if you will. I think many would admit that even now having done this for some time we are still working on our dream kit.

You will go thru the trial and error process sorting out what works and what doesn't, what your don't need and what you just can't live without.

As your skillset improves you will find yourself gravitating more to certain products.

What you have to start is fine and will increase over time.

Too True!!! I can't believe how many 'set-ups' and 'kit' changes I've made since I first started painting. I started face painting at small Renaissance festivals and tried to keep everything all - natural - so in 2004 my set-up was a wooden microwave cart with a board across the top and a market umbrella attached to the front. Moving it from one place to the next was a nightmare. That and I had too much stuff with me. I've been trying to scale down and find my perfect kit since. [img][/img]

Lauri Strandell wrote:This is what I use, $6 pencil holder with a flat bottom, less than $10 for the shower caddy, about one dollar for the pink cups and lotsa money for the paint and brushes!


It really holds a lot of stuff.

I can totally appreciate the compact nature of your kit Lauri, but I'd have to wonder how much time it takes to spread out and unlid all of that stuff? I know that in some of the places that I've painted, pots of paint would've grown legs and walked off if I had it laid out like that.

I didn't get Fat Max, but I did get the Plano box that Suzy has. It's taller than the Max and I can work well with it standing up or sitting down. As far as jostling things around...I haven't let go of my l of magnets, so I just put some covered metal sheets in the bottoms of the drawers/compartments that house my paints and viola! My paint stays in one spot! I love that I just open the top lid and I have about 18 colors waiting for me, ready to use. I drop a hatch and 3 drawers full of goodies are waiting to be used to embellish. I'll take pictures tonight to show.

It is funny how we all keep evolving... I think the change just keeps things real for most of us, lol!

I read the magnet thread with GREAT interest. Everybody has their pet peeves - and for me, I really like my stuff to stay still while I'm rubbing on it. I've got Velcro for some of my paints, but they still rock back and forth (Princess and the Pea, anyone??) Lady Jayde, do yours stay pretty much put?

I went and found the cheapo watercolors at Party City. I thought they would be a bit bigger...there are some I think new, larger compartment trays at Joann Fabrics when I went today. May have been bigger than the watercolor containers, I'd have to go back to be sure (but five hours of errand running in 88 degree weather with no A/C did me in).

As for banding and strapping...and putting things in between...I'm spoiled. The Snz pro kit is really cheap plastic, but darn that plastic cover stayed put! I tried all sorts of stuff - velcro, large rubber bands - can't get that Sillyfarm laptop to stay closed properly. And I have to really fly between jobs - I know I'll put the foam in backwards, LoL, and have a crying jag. I had enough trouble figuring out where to stash the Snaz plastic cover during jobs. Would always get heart failure thinking my hostess had chucked it.

Love the brainstorming!!

My paint doesn't move much at all actually. It did when I put the "magnetized" cakes right on the metal and I wasn't having that! So I covered the metal sheet with a stretchy fabric (kind of like the material they use for those fabric book covers?) and it provides enough friction that the cakes don't spin...plus I have my paints in such close proximity that they can't move much without risking melding molecular structures...

OK great! Was anxiously awaiting your reply, my Lady. Hopped out of bed before the kiddos, ran to hardware store for magnets, found they slipped all over the flashing I have...considered painting with rough paint, and shimming the sides of paint containers with non-slip rubber stuff.

Fabric sounds mucho easier.

Back to finding a way to make a non-lethal unicorn horn. See attached pic of my latest little devil - her name is Easter Lily but since she trampled my 125lb 12 year old son yesterday, maybe Dance with the Devil would be more appropriate. Must find mini-horse-whisperer!!