Stamps/Stencils

I've seen some Face Painter's use stamps/stencils...Is this okay..?

Do you think maybe the customer feels cheated in some way?

But when I have an impatient child and they want something quick, I find myself wishing I had some sort of stamp or stencil.

So Face painters are they a Go or a No?
BTW this does not apply for air brushing of course...

Thanks I would appreciate the feed back

I purchased a few stencils in hopes that I could speed up my painting process. I found that most of the time I spent more time trying to clean up the painted stencil. It always looks sloppy as the edges were always irregular. Perhaps I don't know to stencil properly. So No go for me

Thanks anramire2 appreciate the feedback

I just bought stencils for some of my additional painters to use. I personally do not care for them. But, I don't think it is cheating the customer. You do have to stipple and not use too much water. Then outline and design it to make it look nice. I personally am not much on the stamps with the face paint.

I use stencils all the time and love it. You have to understand how to use them. I then add emblishments like flowers around the design or create a small scene like sky and clouds etc. When I have to do events where there are lots of kids to accomdate then stencils is the way to go. If I don't add emblishments then I can do 60 kids per hour. If I add emblishments I can do around 20 - 30 kids per hour.
I been using stencils for 8 years and all my customer have never complained - quite the opposite they loved how I was able to handle so many kids and give them cool cheek art.

Now I don't charge the same rate as my full face painting that I do.

Kathy

I have a few stencils I use to enhance my designs(like snowflakes, etc). They help with speed, but the design is still mine with a few quick snowflakes.

i have a football stamp which is perfect for very small boy's hands. I use a sponge mop to make a white circle, then stamp in black. takes seconds and they're thrilled.

x

I use stencil often....especially for younger/impatient children. You have to practice loading sponge & stippling to get a nice look with clean edges. I have probably 15-20 for boys and girls. I use them alone or to enhance another design.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with using them.....there are few more I'd like to get actually. SF has new ones I'd like to have.......but alas I have vowed no more purchasing until FABAIC.......smh @ why I ever made that statement

The best place to get stencils are at WWW.trendytribals.com

KathyO - just checked that link and those stencils are really cool. I'd better hang on to my wallet, or it will be empty! Are the stencils very sturdy?

Lyndell44 wrote:KathyO - just checked that link and those stencils are really cool. I'd better hang on to my wallet, or it will be empty! Are the stencils very sturdy?

Very - that is my fav place for stencils (and I have hundreds).

Make your own; get a hot-pen stencil cutter and some mylar. Far easier than with a knife plus you can create stuff that suits you when you need it.

I do use stencil; must admit I really only use stencils for bodypaints, logos, or when I have huge high-volume events like the Rugby 7's where we have 24 countries flags/ team logos to do over and over and over...
And watch out, a lot of competition will not allow stencils.

RE feeling cheated; some airbrush artists ONLY use stencils, its what put me off trying airbrush originally. I found it a bit depressing at the World CHampionships, 100's of airbrush artists and as many seemed to use EXACTLY the same stencils, the art was similar apart from a few who stood out (Alex H, Nick H etc).

I think if customers see its a tool to speed the line (especially at sports events!) they don't mind; or if its a tool to get a prefect circle/ star etc fast.

I must say I'm not keen on the whole 'do the entire face with a stencil' thing. That does seem to suck a bit - OK, yes, it means painters with little talent can whack out decent stuff fast but it takes away all the artistry. And isn't original.

Cat x

I've never had a problem, but I only have a couple of stock shapes I made. (heart, star, jewel etc) Reason being that its too easy to screw up a 5 pointed star or some such. Imagine doing your Wonder Woman circlet, right down to the shading and brightening to give the gold some depth....then you turn around and screw up the star.

No thanks. I'm not proud. I'll use the stamp.

How do you pack and carry your stencils to an event?

I am totally the odd gal out I feel it *is* cheating the customer. If I were the customer I would feel cheated. (ducking!)

I think this is funny..... This is my take on this....

I took my kids to a circus one time, before I was doing FP for income, and they had "face painting" at intermission. My kids wanted to go and ride the elephant etc... so I peeked when we went by. They were charging $15 for a airbrushed background like a freehand circleish single color, and a single colored stencil design. The thing that really cracked me up was that the quality was HORRIBLE, and the ones doing it were the high wire/ trapeze people doing it. You could totally tell they weren't doing it for more than that summer or something. Anyway, I overheard quite a few of the people that had paid for it, and man some of the parents were furious!

I can understand using stencils or even stamps for things like tread marks, scales (on fish) or bricks, you know things that would be repetative... but as the entire design, and especially for the kind of money that some would like to charge, its frustrating to me who takes the time to practice and figure out designs that are more personal to the ones paying me to get painted by me!!

Sorry if this seems like ranting, totally not to, but at the same time, you are taking the easy way out. But to each his own!! You need to do what is best for you I suppose!!!

Good luck with whatever you choose to do!!!!!!!!!!!

I store and organize my stencils in small photo books (like from the dollar store) with pockets meant for 4x6 photos:



I put tabs for each grouping of stencils, then also mark the pages so I can be sure that the number/name/stencil match to find it fast and put it back in the right place.



Stencils for me are mostly used with airbrush.


I don't see a problem with using stencils if (and only if), the client knows that is what you are doing and is ok with it. Client being the individual in your line, as well as the individual/organization paying you (if at an event).

For me, stencils allow there to be many painters, all working from the same posted designs, and all producing roughly the same end result in an efficient timely fashion. Stencils combined, added to with freehand work, or only partially done, (not to mention in many colors) provide a unique request that someone is making. People know what the design is (exactly) to start with so we have a starting place, not an ending place.

I could not paint at the speed we are needed (hired) to with freehand work - most of the time we are hired together with a face painting team doing freehand work - and positioned beside them - we are there to be fast and are doing temporary tattoos. At several events recently we've been asked to also add face paint cheek art (which is a whole separate airbrush rig even if it is the same stencils) to help with lines (in addition to the freehand face painters). They still have lines, but they aren't the 3 hour long type.

I have had two or three children over the years comment about how "easy" it must be because it is stencils, but I don't look at that as any different than the mother who would like to grab my brushes and try painting her child (or decides to walk into a craft store and get some to try). Of course it is easy, except when it isn't.

It's not the few I go through in a matter of seconds each for a few minutes that is hard (when people seem to start commenting how "easy" this is) - it's the squirming/scared/shy child, the tiny space for a huge design, the 4 hours spent trying to get through a hundred in an hour because there are *that* many children wanting *something*, the clogs, blobs, splats, fuzzies whatever.

If you can do a good job at something - then do it! Practice, get it right, make someone happy. That's what I'm hired to do. I might like to think it is my art that is wanted, but the jobs I'm hired to do, the art is secondary (outside of being consistent) - it's the ability to make sure everyone gets something they wanted that I'm asked to do.