110 kids in two hours

Now we all now that's not possible, but parks and rec wants me to paint at their summer camp farewell party, and asked to "scale down" my designs to paint as many kids as possible. They know 110 kids in two hours isnt going to happen, and they know I am not staying over my agreed two hour time slot. She is thinking time, I am thinking amount of paint. My question to you is, in a case where I can't paint my usual large designs, should I not use a menu at all? So that was kids aren't disappointed that they can't have what's in the book or on the board? I thought it might be a lot less hassle to simply do a "Ok what would you like?" kinda thing....

Thats what I did for a mad 2hour gig where the people supposed to be painting in the afternoon didn't turn up and I got them all in the evening for that time. Just asked them and they weren't to many different ones. rainbow butterflys for the girls skelton/ vampire for boys spidy and I can't remember what else.Deffinatley not my best wrk but the organiserd were happy.

The only problem with "OK, what would you like?" is that it takes a bit of time. It is so much more efficient to just have a few choices on a card that they can just point to.

You're probably right, Geekophile.... maybe even just a word list, like others have suggested to me before.

I am beginning to think any event involving parks and rec is going to be utter madness.

You can take one sheet of cardstock and put 6-10 SMALL 2-colour designs on the page. They point to which one they want and tell you what colour. The times that I have had a card like that, I call it my $2 designs. It goes fast and they pick fast.




a one colour design that outlines a muzzle and whiskers and nose.... a quick teardrop crown on their forehead... hope this helps

Been there!!! in fact this weekend, I was booked for a bday party, that was supposed to have 125 people... when they first asked for a quote, they told me 20-30.... I about flipped... But I told them 2 hours wouldn't be enough... I didn't do a menu board, luckily once one kid got a design they all did almost the same thing... at least the girls did... a couple groups of about 5 got the same design... but it was utter maddness.. not to mention they spoke spanish of which I know very little!!! So I was even more lost... I ended up doing some with a 2 second heart, or 30 sec flowers... did tons of people, but they were pretty nice. gave me a good tip at least.

So good luck!!!!!! I know our parks and rec are not real nice, and take advantage of anyone they can, learned that a long time ago!! I am very specific with a contract if I work with them. I know that some of the people on here have done stamping type thing, color, stamp, color, stamp.... lol... been there done that too... lol...

Uh, Yeah! Parks and rec is a free-for-all! (I don't even like to take my kids to their events sometimes because they just get steamrolled by all the other hoolagans.) What you can do if you want to still show-off for potential private bookings, is make up a collage of your better work with buisness info and have that displayed as well. But make sure you have a larger display that says "Today's Choices" so there is no confusion. I would try to paint or draw the designs before the event- even if it's just on a paper template. My board would be (simple, simple) rainbow butterfly, rainbow-shooting star, and a split-cake tiara for the girls. For boys, Flames, snake, and maybe that monster eye thing.

holy hannah! Madness!

I agree with the others - keep it to a few designs, maybe three of each type (boy/girl) - very simple designs!

Good luck (a lucky-monkey for good luck )

ooo toughie!! gets lots of rest and have your drinks nearby and easily accessible!
Good luck!!

Thanks everyone, Perry those mini designs rock, thanks!
I am so over parks and rec at this point. I am gonna try to avoid them like the plague after this unless I can do PPF through one of their events.

WOAH! Yeah, that'll wear you down fast! I just did 110 kids but it was 3 hours, and non-stop. I mean like not-even-getting-up-to-pee kinda non-stop! I'd tell them first of all, you can only do as many as you can do in that time and they shouldn't get their hopes up that you won't get everyone done. Unless they want to extend the time or let you bring another painter. Then I'd only offer maybe a couple girl and couple boy designs that are like 2-3 colors max. Heart, peace sign, Snake, balloon, star....maybe a baseball or basketball, or a simple flower. If you're gonna be that busy it would be nice to get permission to put out a tip jar too! Definitely have some kind of menu board though, otherwise you may find yourself wasting time rattling off what you can paint and waiting for each kid to choose. Best of luck to you! Don't forget to stand up and stretch now and then! :-)

Personally I would pass on the gig. Tell them to get some volunteers.

Here is why I wouldn't do it:

1) I've got no interest in stressing myself over their ignorance of what is humanly possible
2) If I "dumb" down what I do what good is it to my reputation?
3) If I do dumb it down people will expect that I will do that for their event with 200 in ONE hour!!
4) I'll get calls from all the idiot groups who want 110 in two hours and want the exact same level of work... no thanks.
5) If anyone DID take a card after seeing what was being produced I'd have a heck of a time justifying my rates to them.

That being said... I agree with only providing about half a dozen choices, make them super easy for yourself.

Good Luck!

Ohhh I might luck out, they are saying thunderstorms for that day. Come onnnnnn lousy weather on Wednesday! *crosses fingers*

I"m with Shannon.
I hate this kind of gig - whenever they request speed painting I tell them I'm not one and they should keep looking.... it's not fun for anyone when you are so rushed.
That said I think we have all been there or need to go there to experience it before you say no to a paying gig.... you may like just whipping up little rainbows for the kids.... never know. Good luck and may the painting force be with you.
hehe xx

I think once you get into it it can be quite exciting. Just limit the designs to ones you know you can do quick and easy.. maybe not even give them a choice.
It is possible to paint quick designs that are still cool, especially if you use a split cake! I would do a one eyed butterfly, flowers, rainbow with stars....

Yeah unfortunately I agreed to the gig a month ago and she just told yesterday me how many kids are gonna be there. Let's just hope for rain.

I have to say "no" as well. The quality of work that I would be able to produce is not what would pull in the events. Eventually, when these organizations keep hearing "no" from the professionals, they will either rethink their strategy and adjust their budget or stick with the crappy volunteer painting. I've said no to the same company for 2 years in a row and this year they contacted me with a request for 4 hours of painting...that's more like it. I also insist on a guestimate count before I agree to a booking and make it clear to them that there WILL be unpainted children because I won't paint the same quality of crappy designs that the volunteers can offer. Honestly, when we do that (unless they look like Daisy's designs) we put ourselves into the same category as the volunteers...only we have more expensive supplies. No Thanks!

The problem is I ALREADY committed to it, LONG before she dropped the "110 kids" bomb on me.

I understand the problem. But if I have learned anything from the seasoned painters here, NEVER commit until you have all the facts, not to mention have things in writing!!!

I have been thinking about this, you can also do stencils, and instead of doing just one color, use your split cakes. Bring an assistant, and let them do that part, then you just do some "detailing" with black or white. You can also get some of the water tattoos, and offer them one or the other...painting or temporary water tattoos.

I'm not saying it can't be done with super simple designs, but I am saying that your probably gonna be stressed out big time!!!

I wouldn't do stencils... if the paying customer sees that, they'll think they can do it themselves if it's just stencils. You need to at least show that your level of skill is required and appreciated by the patrons.

I did 50 kids in one hour once I offered a snake, rainbow, flower and spider.( Painted it on a paper) They sucked in my opinion but the kids loved it and the organizer was happy too. I still charged my usual rate because an hour is an hour. But I also let the organizer know that the designs were going to be so basic you could do it yourself with a crayon and its not what I usually provide. I guess they just wanted someone who could paint a quick one rather then a parent who could artistically do the same but couldnt do it as quick. These kind of events are not enjoyable and not what I like to do either. But i think if you hand out business cards then if they see your work they will still get pictures of what you are capable of and they wont want you at the higher hourly rate for crappy art... I would think.

I just made this post- http://www.facepaintforum.com/t7060-really-fast-under-30-seconds-designs

I just did a large event- school opening and remember I am still new. I offer only 3 designs (all which I could do in less than 3 minutes each) and had good success, I also had my husband there giving out my fliers to show I can do more than just these 3 designs. I really wanted to do quality work- so they'd potentially hire me but it had to be fast. Plus with 3 designs, less time for the kids to him haw over which one.

I also checked out Ashley's post above and those are even faster! Honestly what takes the longest is them deciding on what to choose.

I love this place so much. I just got a request for a quote for '150-200 kids' in 3 hours, with not much other info about what the event is, although she is from a Country Club. I was floored thinking this might be impossible, but with Daizy and Ashley's designs they shared, I am willing to try to work something out with her instead of crying in confusion. lol. Here is the email I sent her. Hopefully she is seriously overestimating the number to be painted, and will understand there won't be any fancy masks or tiger faces with this kind of gig. Let me know what you guys think of this. I will let you know what comes of it. Thanks for all your priceless advice and suggestions. Makes putting my foot down a little easier because I know I'm not just being nervous or paranoid, that it REALLY is unrealistic and stressful. EMAIL BELOW:


"I would love to have some additional information about this event, if you don't mind:
What type of event is it?
Is it indoors or outdoors (where I would be painting)?
Is 150-200 children TO BE PAINTED is an accurate estimate, or is that the total number expected to attend?
What type of face paint designs are you hoping for?
A very important thing to consider here is that the more elaborate the designs, the longer they take. Typically around 6-10 minutes per child for the butterfly/princess masks, etc. If you are okay with them having something small done (a heart or skull or flower on their cheek or arm) it would be possible to have each child done in a few minutes or less than a minute for something very simple, but even so it may take longer than 3 hours for that many children to all be painted.
If you feel the number of children to be painted possibly being close to 200 is accurate, in 3 hours that would mean having less than 50 seconds per child (included in that would be time for them to make their decisions, tell me what they want, get in and out of the chair, look in the mirror, etc.) which is just not very realistic without sacrificing quality. In order to keep things moving as quickly as possible, I would need to provide a 'line manager' to help the kids form a line, view the options, and make their choice BEFORE sitting down, so that as soon as they sit I can paint, and on to the next, and keep it moving right along. The line manager would be included in my 3 hour fee.
I would definitely LOVE to help you out with your event. I could bring a minimal list of the simplest/fastest design choices, to make things move along quicker. I just don't want you to have an unrealistic expectation of what is humanly possible in that time span. If you would like I can email you some additional examples of what kind of designs I could offer for this event (I have attached one sample). If you have your heart set on more elaborate or bigger designs as seen on my website, the best options would be to either A) add 2-3 more face painting hours to the event, or B) hire additional painters, or C) both! I understand those may not be feasible, so I am willing to do what I can to help you work something out so that all the children are included and happy!"