Some designs for my first gig - constructive criticism please! *Updated with pic*

Hi all
I have my first gig in a few weeks (unpaid, just practising at a friend's birthday party). I'm going to have about 5 boy designs and 5 for girls. Here are a couple of the boy designs I've got so far. Please cast your critical eyes over these and offer any suggestions






I'm sure a lot of you will recognise the dragon! I liked it a lot and thought I could use it as is. I might change it around a bit later when I'm more confident. I also plan to do a snake (as per the fabulous youtube tutorial!) and maybe a pirate.

Thanks for your thoughts!
Erin

I love them! The only thing I would suggest with the tiger, is to watch out for 'spiderman' eyes, I only paint the white above the eye... Everything else is brilliant though! Good luck!

Cute. Kids are going to love them! All are great designs.

The only tip I have for you is to follow the advice of Maggie Plummer, who mentioned she tests each child for their eye sensitivity before applying any paint. use a damp sponge/brush (just water) and get them to close their eyes and dab their eyelids a few times. See how they react... do they relax, or get worse!

I do this all the time now (esp with boys) and I adjust my design if I can. I let mum know that some children's eyes are 'sensitive' and I avoid the area. eg, just outline the shape around spiderman's eyes with black/white accents. I guess I'm saying just be prepared with an alternative to covering the eye.

I think your tiger face/mask is really cute, the nose could be a little smaller, try to stay at the bottom tip of the nose, here is an example....Oh and I love your dragon, I haven't tried that one yet!

Here's my half face tiger, yes... it's a copy of face1painter on youtube, but I like it anyhow...

The nose is a bit messy, but that's what I meant about they eyes...

I dont' think I could add to the fantastic advice that's already been given, but I do want to re-state that you should def. stay away from outlining the eye for the tiger or just don't make it a solid line. Other than that, I'd say you are well on your way! Have fun and let us know how it went!!

I was just going to say, the tiger will be picked by a bunch of the girls too, so you might try this one in pink and purple... add some lipstick, a jewel, some glitter or a flower and voila...you have three or four more designs, and some girls just want to be a regular tiger too! Same for spider man...hot pink and some lip stick with a glitter poof...you get the idea. Just a little encouragement that in those three designs down so well, you have the jump off point for so much more! Great work!

I think they are really cute..I especially like the spiderman...that i may have to try myself...I usually try to do a one eyed spiderman for "time crunches" but I always feel like I cheat the kids....kinda like I dislike doing cheek art...I am always trying to get new boy designs and I love love the whole mash concept instead of trying a full face. Thanks for the inspiration. They look good!!

I really love that tiger! The only problem I see is the hairline. When painting on a bald head like that, the outline you have might be hard with the actual hairline of the kid. I am always having to adjust my designs because they end up going into the kids hair!

Ditto, I have done kids that have really small foreheads. Maybe only 1 1/2 from hairline to eyebrows and it can really mess up your plans. I now try to do a mental check list of: hairline, eye sensitivity, sores, & lips. I still forget sometimes but I'm getting better.

Constructive criticism: Tiger agree with above. Spiderman, not bad but would look a little better if you took the mask a little lower on the cheeks so your lines could flow onto the eyes. Would connect the web at a point between the eyes (the lines on either side of the center could connect to center line between eyes).
Dragon, awesome as is. Just my opinion.

I think they are great, especially for first, and you got some great advice. My advice would be since you are doing this for free, make sure that you have permission for photos (have your friend ask parents ahead of time "My friend is an up and coming face painter and is trying to build her portfolio..." ) and then have the designs and do a different one on each kid or at least a different way (I love the pink tiger idea.) They are nice enough that the kids won't be disappointed.

How many kids do you expect? You've got full faces and they are probably going to take you about 8-10 minutes each. If there are a lot of kids coming, this would be a good time to work on quick designs and then do full faces when you have time to do them well enough for your board pictures.

D.

Thank you all so much for your advice! I knew you guys would be able to help me sort out my designs. I'm going to try to fix these designs up tonight using your suggestions. Thanks!

Would love to see pics.

I think they look great! I love how clean and bold the lines are. The dragon is awesome! Been meaning to try that one myself! I agree about spidey. The linework looks a little square. think of the nose as the "center" of the spiderweb. Lines should actually start at that point and then go outward. Don't be afraid to even curve with the shape of the face. The "swoops" outlining you have done with it looks cool on the bald practice head, but again, might get lost in translation with an actual hairline. Generally, you will see there is no need for a black outline around the hairline. good luck! You are lightyears ahead of where I was when I started doing parties for family.

Ok I had another go at the tiger tonight and tried to take on board your suggestions. I'll play around with the hairline when I can practise on an actual person but this will do for now. I still put a bit of black around the eyes as I like them to be a bit defined. What do you think?
Old vs New:

I'm only new to this (so feel free to disregard my opinion!) - it looks PERFECT now. Love it. The change around the eyes is a winner!

Much better! I love it!

Yeah!

these are just great, keep at it and you'll be a pro in no time

I love that change!! Nicely done!

The first was good but this is great! I really like the eyes better. Your lines are nice and clean. I have caught myself holding my practice head while I paint to get clean lines. The only problem with that is the kid isn't going to let me hold their head in my lap or flip them upside down to get clean lines. I have to make myself not hold the practice head and leave it on the table. I'm thinking part of my problem is not using really good brushs to get my paint to flow on a smooth line. I wanting to purchase some in about a week (lack of funds). Right now I have face painting brushes I bought at the hobby store and some One Stroke brushes I've had for years and God only knows where the rest came from.

Here's my latest attempt at Spiderman...

Old vs New:

Great improvement! It flows so much better now!