Newbie Dumb Questions...

Well, I introduced myself up in the Intro section, but I figure all my dumb getting-started questions ought to go here...so here goes...

I'm still very much in the "learning and practicing on myself and my kids" phase. It'll be a while before I even attempt to do anything for pay, but I would ultimately like to team up with a good friend who owns her own photography studio for occasional gigs. I can't seem to find any classes being offered in my area, though, and I can't justify the expense of traveling to a class for a "maybe someday" job...is anyone here self-taught? Am I going to run afoul of the local FP community if I do occasional work for my photographer friend (and maybe an annual fundraiser or two) without formal training?

I ordered a small Snazzaroo palette and some glitter gel today, but I'm balking on brushes. I've got three small-to-medium filberts and a sponge...I definitely need a liner, but do I really need a fan brush, a butterfly brush, round and flat brushes in various sizes, etc? I have some experience with oil painting so I know how those work...but to start with, it seems like with a good filbert, a liner, and a sponge, you can do almost anything in a pinch. What do y'all think?

I've also started to look around at other paints, and I really like the Wolfe ones I have. Most of the others seem to be creamier, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. Certainly they'll blend better, but does anyone here stick mainly to "paint" style makeup (like the Wolfe) instead of "cream" style makeup (like what I think the Snazaroo will be like)? Or am I misunderstanding how different the paints really are? Also, do most pros mix and match brands, or stick to one type?

Finally, looking at Rainbow Cakes and the like, would it be possible for a newbie like me to pick up a few of those in different colors and use them both with a sponge and a brush? I'm thinking it might be an affordable way to get access to a lot of colors to play with, but I can't tell from the videos I've watched what the consistency is like or if it would go on smoothly with a brush.

Whew! Thanks in advance for answering...I have been reading threads for the last couple of days and I had to sign up for an account because y'all just seemed so friendly and helpful!

I haven't paid for a face painting class yet. So, I guess you can call me self-taught. I have watched tons of youtube videos and practiced, copied, etc. I have been painting (mostly with acrylics) on canvas and such as long as I can remember and I plan to take classes as soon as I can get the time away and afford the travel, but I haven't yet. That's because I have only really been in business for about 9 months. Before that I dabbled in face painting as volunteer work, doing my own daughter, etc. I believe in hard work and tons of practice but as far as business you kind of have to get to a point where your painting isn't half bad and from there "fake it 'til you make it."

I think you can wait on the fan brush and butterfly brushes but you will need flat and round brushes. Maybe a 1/2", 3/4", and 1" flat and few sizes of rounds from 0 (for fine line work --- I don't like liners because they are too long and I get less control with them) to #6

I tend to use flat brushes with small one-strokes and sponges with rainbow cakes. In case you are confused, there are basically 2 sizes of "splits" a.k.a. rainbow cakes a.k.a. split cakes a.k.a. arty brush strokes (that's a brand name and you'll sometimes see it as ABC). There's one that's meant to fit a 1" flat brush in one stroke and big ones that are basically the size of a full pot of paint, but split into 2 or more colors. Traditionally, the big split cakes were round cakes actually split into 2 colors or rainbow colors but round like the regular one-color pots. Some companies (like TAG) have gone to rectangular ones, but it's the same amount of paint as a regular pot and will fit a standard sponge.

Hi and Welcome to the forum!!

I have never had any training, there is so much information out there, and in here!
It is quite easy to teach yourself. The best way to get better is lots of practice.
If you are really keen on doing a workshop/class, there is always fabatv. A whole lot of online workshops from the greats.

I have never used any of those fancy brushes, I use mainly round and filbert brushes and I have never had any problems. You do want to make sure the brushes are decent, go to a fine point etc. for good quality line work.

I think we each have our own personal preferences to different brands, I would recommend trying out a few different ones to find what works for you. I personally use a mix of Snazaroo, Wolfe, DFX and Tag. I have no problems mixing and matching.

I love the smaller rainbow cakes, and with those I just use a brush. I am not sure if using a rainbow cake is the most economical way to do it, once you get started and become hooked you are going to be wanting more paint. The consisency is the same as the larger cakes of paint.

I guess I would say that as far as face painting goes I am self-taught... I learned from a couple of excellent books "Making Faces" by Sian Ellis-Thomas and the book published by Grimas "Make-up Voor Professional en Hobby". I was a professional make-up artist when I started but face and body painting are VERY different.

There are a lot more books around now than there were when I started (including mine )

The key is practise, practise, practise.

Snazaroo is a good beginner brand... no matter what people say. All brands work, all brands have their own way of working and it has a lot to do with personal preference.

You will need a few more brushes, probably ... for practise you only need one of each though.

And yes, a split cake can easily be loaded onto a sponge or brush.

The forum shop sells my other book "Your Face or Mine."

Hey Jayelle, welcome aboard!

As Shannon mentioned, all brands work, but all brands work differently.

I started out with snaz. I still use the snaz black and red (although they melt in the heat and I don't use them for linework (ever), they make excellent supermen and batmen), but I found that I didn't love certain qualities about snaz paint. I prefer DFX and TAG b/c they don't have strong perfumes (Paradise is lovely but heavily scented), they have a wide range of colors and 'extras' (pearl, metallic, neon, etc), reasonably priced, they don't melt as fast as Snaz on a hot day, and the DFX is the only brand with 3 neon colors made with FDA approval.

But to each his/her own.

With regards to brushes, I have a number of liners, flats, a few rounds, and a lot of angle brushes. I think I've used my filbert once. I prefer using other types of brushes. That's a personal decision that I made. When I make my butterfly (like the one on my avatar) I recently learned to use a angled chisel brush instead of a round brush. Tons of people on this forum prefer the round or the liner.

To each his/her own.

As for rainbow cakes, they are an excellent way to experiment with color, but don't expect that you can use the tiny slice of blue instead a 'dolphin' ABC in order to paint an entirely blue batman mask. A split cake can be easily loaded with a brush or sponge (brushes for roses, small butterflies, dolphins, etc & sponges for full face butterflies, rainbows, etc). Rebecca from ABC has a ton of photos in her gallery that you can look at for ideas.

Hope this helped!

You guys are all so helpful! Thanks for the suggestions...keep 'em coming

jayelle welcome to the forum...there is so much in the forum you can learn from...keep practicing your basic line work..and read the forum daily..you will really get some great info from here...

again welcome

barb

I think that all the FPers I know are self-taught for the most part. The key is to practice a LOT, but videos and books certainly help! I've taken one workshop, just recently, and it did help me step up my skills a bit - and it was a ton of fun! - but I could have continued on successfully without it.

I find that a round brush is fairly essential - I use a #4 almost exclusively, even though I have a bucket of brushes. I also prefer to use a #0 instead of a liner for fine lines.

I also mix and match my paints. I use mostly Snazaroo for bases, and DFX/TAG/Wolfe for linework; I like the consistency of each of those brands for those uses. It is worth trying out at least a couple colours from each of the different brands to see what you prefer.

I will often use a brush to use just one colour from one of my large split/rainbow cakes, but only for details. Like the other said, it's not practical for covering large areas. I personally am having trouble getting the hang of using a flat brush and doing one-strokes but again - I know that I have to practice, practice, practice!!

I have taken a few classes, but I think most of us started with just books and online videos and pictures.

I use nothing but Snazaroo. I've tried a few others but I'm allergic to many of them and can't stand the smell of the others. The main difference with Snazaroo from the others is that you need to use a little more water and work the water into the paint more before you take the paint to their face... the others, you just put the water on it and it activates more quickly. Many people end up with blotchy and watery results from Snazaroo because they didn't work it into the right consistency first.

The first things to work on are sponging a good base colour for butterflies, tigers and puppies, and working on swirls and tear drops. Those will make the biggest differences in your painting.

Hi!! and Welcome, since I didn't jump in on your other thread

I'm pretty new too, but I'll throw in my two cents from a newbie perspective

First off my fiance said right from the very beginning, you're not buying more paint untill you make money from it! *doh* So I had to be very selective on what I purchased and how much I spent.

jayelle wrote:is anyone here self-taught? Am I going to run afoul of the local FP community if I do occasional work for my photographer friend (and maybe an annual fundraiser or two) without formal training?

I would say that the majority of people on here are self taught! I have ZERO art background... can barely draw a stick man, but my face painting is becoming beautiful and people around here love it. Not to mention, I'm in Northern BC, Canada, and I think the chances of anything coming within 12 hours of me is probably pretty darn slim, so I'm all on my own!!

jayelle wrote:I ordered a small Snazzaroo palette and some glitter gel today, but I'm balking on brushes. I've got three small-to-medium filberts and a sponge...I definitely need a liner, but do I really need a fan brush, a butterfly brush, round and flat brushes in various sizes, etc? I have some experience with oil painting so I know how those work...but to start with, it seems like with a good filbert, a liner, and a sponge, you can do almost anything in a pinch. What do y'all think?

Sponges - Dollar store... round craft sponges. Cut them in half they're a treat. Or car wash sponges, or any multitude of different places you can get good sponges for pennies, no need to scrimp there!

Brushes - THese do NOT have to be expensive, one of my favorites at the moment is a #4 round that I got at the dollar store of all places. I do also have 2 loew-cornell brushes that I got at Michaels when they had their "Buy 1 get 1 for a penny" Those were a splurge, I think $10 or so for both. But I really like the softgrip brushes at Michaels. They are only 4-5 bucks each and nice to hold and easy to use.

I would say, get yourself a large flat brush (I have 2 a 3/4" and a 1/2") a couple of rounds in different sizes, these are your go-to brushes for teardrops lines and sooooooo much else. I use a #1 a #4 and a #6 the most, but a #4 and a #1 will get you started. that combined with what you already will have will be a good start and you *might* spend $20

jayelle wrote:
I've also started to look around at other paints, and I really like the Wolfe ones I have. Most of the others seem to be creamier, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. Certainly they'll blend better, but does anyone here stick mainly to "paint" style makeup (like the Wolfe) instead of "cream" style makeup (like what I think the Snazaroo will be like)? Or am I misunderstanding how different the paints really are? Also, do most pros mix and match brands, or stick to one type?

I started with a Snaz mini palette I picked up at Michaels for way too much money, to see if I'd even like painting. My next investment was two Paradise palettes. They're cheap, 20-25 each, and I got the basic and the pastel and have only just now (since October) started to have to replace colors. Honestly I LIKE the paradise for most of my faces. I have some DFX (same as wolfe) I have a rainbow cake and a black and white that are recent aquisitions, and here's my biggest thing about them.

I can wear a full face of paradise all day and hardly notice, it sits on the skin, it blends beautifully, and the best part is I don't feel "burnt" when I take it off. I've used my DFX for full face, and after an HOUR I had to take it off. It feels very heavy on the skin, like you're really wearing a full face of paint, and I can imagine that would be pretty uncomfortable for a kid.... The DFX DOES do fantastic lines and details, I LOVE it for that. and the colors in my rainbow cake are so vibrant. But my skin hates DFX (I still have red "burned" eyelids from painting I did two days ago) so for me, I'll stick to paradise.

With that said though lots of people really like the WOlfe/DFX and use it exclusively. I know alot of people that use Snaz only, there's a whole mix of opinions

jayelle wrote:
Finally, looking at Rainbow Cakes and the like, would it be possible for a newbie like me to pick up a few of those in different colors and use them both with a sponge and a brush? I'm thinking it might be an affordable way to get access to a lot of colors to play with, but I can't tell from the videos I've watched what the consistency is like or if it would go on smoothly with a brush.

I only have one rainbow cake so I'll only mention this in passing. I only JUST bought my first rainbow cake. I felt that a better way to get a variety of colors was to buy a couple palettes. more flexible. Though I have used my cake with a brush, works best with a flat wide brush to pick up multiple colors, it's pretty hard to pick up *just* one color IMO. Not to mention you pay a premium for rainbow and split cakes, and if you use one color more than the rest then the cake is pretty useless :s

jayelle wrote:
Whew! Thanks in advance for answering...I have been reading threads for the last couple of days and I had to sign up for an account because y'all just seemed so friendly and helpful!

Welcome and it's a great bunch here, I've learned TONS from everyone. Hope you will too!

Trina

I started out doing cheek art, then got all bold and started doing full face.
The "trick", if you can call it than, is just learning which part do paint first.
once you have that down, you're good to go.

a great way to get "out there" is to offer to do some kids birthday's for people you know. nothing better than kids to practice on.

I did invest a few bucks though, in a maniquin head - the kind that people use to learn to cut hair with. the material these things are made of make it easy to paint on, then wash off. I use this as a display piece as well as to practice on.

Trial and error is the best teacher.

I was going to make this giant post but after reading everyone's.... I agree lol.
Everyone likes different paints for different reasons. Personally TAG, DFX(Wolfe) and paradise are my favorites. Snazaroo is easily my least favorite.


As for split cakes I made my own.
There are several threads where people go step by step on how to make them.
However, if you are not

I think a round is a must. If I had to pick only one brush to face paint with forever, i think I would go with a #4 round. I have been painting only about 5 years now, and I just started experimenting with other brands of paint. I mainly use snazaroo, but I am branching out because I love the paradise white I ordered recently. So I would advise buying a few different brands so that you don't get stuck on using one, it was hard for me to use others because they work so different. I think using a rainbow is a great way to try different colors, and frankly I love how easy a rainbow tiger and butterfly make my life on a busy day. Also I can hit the road with a rainbow, black, white and round brush and do a variety of faces.