Got chewed out for having too long of lines!

I think you have to cover your bases before. If they want you to paint as many as possible, you need to explain to the customer BEFORE hand, that what you can offer is face, Cheek and Eye masks and you just give the kids a choice of favorite color.

"Hi Honey! What's your favorite color? Red? Do you want Swirls, A Dragon or flowers? WOW... that looks good on you! What color glitter do you like, Silver or green? GREAT CHOICE!..."

NEXT.

Now, that is not the way I LIKE to work, and if I was doing an event where they want you to do as many as possible, I would explain that's the way it would be.... AND charge about double normal price since you are going to go through a ton more disposables.

I think when a customer calls, you need to have a set of questions you ask.

Is this a private party or a public event?

Private---> How many kids do you want to get painted? X kids takes X amount of time for partial faces, you have to be X age to get painted, and it will cost $X

Public-----> Ok, do you want it to be free to your customrs, or do you want them to pay something, and for as many as show up? or do you want to give out tokens and limit the number of faces? And how many hours would you like me there?

A- well, I'm not sure.

You: Ok, well if you want it free and open to the public, you may get a LOT of people. Usually what happens, is that business owners get nervous when they see long lines and want me to do a face in a minute or less, and typically a full face takes 5 minutes or longer, especailly if the kids have to decide what they want.

So, the best thing then to make everyone happy and avoid issues is- hire a painter for as many hours as you can reasonably afford without it costing too much. When you advertise it, say that "Happy dale face painters" will be offering face designs from time until time. But advertise for an hour LESS than you want to pay for. Otherwise, people will be arrive to get in line right up to the moment you want to stop paying, and they they'll be mad at you because I have to leave. We get paid by time so if there is a line when we are supposed to be done, you either have to send someone to cut the line for us, or pay for the extra time for us to stay.

If you prefer to pay by face, we will give you as many tokens as you want to give out for faces. They STILL have to be there between certain hours, but we will allot enough time for the number of faces you pay for. The tokens say the date, time and first come first serve on them. No faces after X time. Honestly, this can turn into a real liability for you, so I don't recommend doing it that way, unless you are really sure you can limit the number of kids.

So, if you want speed painting, we would charge $200 an hour or $1200 for 8 hours, have a 2nd painter available if needed, offer up to 30 quick designs an hour, and you advertise it for an hour LESS than you plan to pay for so we can be done without you having to pay for extra hours or have dissapopinted guests.

We do designs with safe cosmetic products, offer all the kids favorite colors, glitter so they sparkle and can get them in and out fast while making them feel like they are the most special young lady or gentleman in the world!

==================

I find that in every business I am or have been involved in, there is a lot of educating customers that goes on.

Would it be possible to have a portfolio of your best work, with a cover that says something like "Full Faces for Parties"? You could direct parents to flip through it while you are painting their child. That way, they wouldn't be showing it to the kids while they are waiting, and they'd get to take a quick two-minute look at your real work while their child is getting the smaller quicker design. You could have a bunch of business cards attached to the book in a little pocket. So the parents would be impressed with your small design, but also know that you can do and are available for party work. And then you'd just focus on making the quick design while giving the child a happy fun time.

When there's a huge line (yesterday, at the pet fair I did), I periodically look up between one child and the next, make eye contact with the crowd, smile hugely and wave with both hands (one usually holding the brush), and say "Hello Line! Thank you so much for waiting! We paint faces here, and ... we also get one of those life lessons in ... ack ... patience!" All said with a grin. Guess what? Everyone grins back, it creates a feel of group solidarity, and I return to the next child's face with the same full attention to making it a special time that they all will get. It makes the line much more fun for them and me, to know that everyone is acknowledged and that each child will be the ONLY child when they finally reach my chair ...

) Joan

I always work with the customer regarding design choices and time expectations. Denise I love your quick designs! I use a standing table mirror that lights up. But now that I read this tread, I think I will be tying it to the table with ribbons so it does not walk away!

Denise Cold wrote:

Denise -
Totally off topic, but do you have a SBS that you use for the skull? It's WONDERFUL and I've been having issues with coming up with a fast cheek skull (as opposed to the usual full face walking dead 6 min face that I currently offer)

You have the choice... if you want THIS job, they want faster stuff. Personally, I CAN do most full faces in 3 minutes (except skulls, those darn things take forever)... BUT if you want to keep this particular gig happy, they want fast faces. That doesn't have to mean cheek art. Glitterfly and I are on the same page with this one, cheek art takes us LONGER than some designs... I can paint a butterfly or spiderman faster than most cheek art junk. For me, the fastest designs are mostly sponged. You can even do a 1/3 face Spider-Man by doing one eye, a little red around it and a few webs.... looks great.

Pick things that you sponge the background and do a few quick detail lines, bam some glitter and you're done!

Awesome advise! Im amazed at the wisdom from you guys! (Denise,Joan, Leaping lizards) Leaping Lizards, I was not doing ANY educating up front and I think that will make a huge difference. I think I needed it clear in my mind also. THANK YOU THANK YOU!

"Tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes."
Anne Shirley- from the Anne of Green Gables series

Perry... I agree about the cheek art stuff. I do better if it's a combo sponge and one stroke. The "cheek art" usually needs a lot of line work and details and I like doing it. That's why I hate sponge Bob and race cars etc. You have to do exact work. A butterfly, I have the freedom to create and who is to say that line wasn't supposed to be crooked? Mistakes are easy to either leave or change or cover up with a star burst!
Soooo... when everyone is talking about 'mask' what type of mask are you referring to? I have a fairly mask with base color and swirls, a batman mask that is heavy color and exact lines, or are you just referring to doing things around both eyes?

That skull is popular with boys and if I have time I'll add some tribals to "tattoo" it up a bit. I purposely made this board really simple and then I'll add stuff if it's not too busy. I can add flames to the dragon, flies and a lilly pad to the frog, web to the spider, the scorpion can have something in his pincers, and the shark can have Nemo fish. On the girl designs I can add eyeshadow and lipstick or even a jewel.

The only one I don't like is the unicorn. It has too many brush changes but that is invariably the one that is chosen most.

D.

Don't be discouraged!

you can still make quick faces with a wow factor! Even advertising your "Wow faces" somewhere so those customers can see what you can do at private parties

Grab some rainbow cakes and one stroke cakes and do quick faces with those. They always get wows! A snake with a few highlights is only 1-2 minutes or less!

If you invert a heart (one that is done by pressing your brush down in a vee, or like flower petals) you have a very quick no fuss 'nose' that can also be used on the ends of the crossbones. I usually round the bottom of the jaw and paint three lines to mimic the teeth. Sorry if that seems obvious, but it seemed to speed my skulls up by not over thinking them. At a Christmas corporate event this year I added Santa hats to my cheek art skulls. It was quite a hit with the kids and the parents loved them.

Like Perry said too, a Spidey that looks great and is quick just covers the eye area. I shamelessly used Perry's torn Spiderman as inspiration for this pic that only took me 6 mins. (which is super for me, lol)! I could be made faster by not coloring in the eye area and skipping the white altogether. Check out my inspiration in Perry's gallery

Sorry 'bout that. I have to relearn how to post pics every time, lol!

[[b]Misha, cute pics! Thanks Denise, LL & all of you for your input. I've been FP since Oct & just landed a w/e job @ a local bounce house/birthday party business. If they hire me for a party, I paint whatever they want in the allotted time for $50/Hr. They have 4 private rooms. Otherwise, I'm out in the main play area & customers pay $6/face at concession stand...$4 to me. These kids get to choose from 2 "quick design" books, 1 each for boys/girls. I DO tell parents "For this venue, they only want me to paint simple designs, but I have a book w/my usual work, avaiable for parties." My business cards are passed out to all. I've already done a private party off site booked the very 1st w/e I worked there. If there's not a long line, I do a little more. I remember Lisa Joy Young saying "you need 3 versions of each design, depending on how long your line is...(at events like this)." Working from 12-4, I called a FP friend to share the job by alternating. Seems to be working out. Remember what others have said on FPF...practice again & again until you know the design by heart & can reduce your time. I feel when I work at this job I'm doing that. Then I can be more creative at the jobs generated from this one! Good Luck!

This is a great thread. Lots to think about. I agree with most of the reasoning on both sides of the debate and therein lies the conundrum! I guess it comes down to examining our goals for doing what we do at whatever stage in our business we're in, because for me, that's shifting.

I need to generate more income from my business. So, given my demographics and all, where's my niche? Well, in my small town, it's both sides of the spectrum - private sessions and parties where I can exercise personal creative freedom and "free" open-to-the-public face painting provided by corporate sponsors. I also do corporate gigs where they are willing to pay me for my time and/or for numerous artists in order to provide full faces to their customers or employees families, such as company picnics & parties. AND I donate my time several times a year to the Farmer's Market to raise money for local farmers, the food bank, and a crisis center in town. My fear about doing FREE face painting and quickie designs was that that's what I would become known for. But, with a little public awareness raising, I have managed to land plenty of birthday parties, block parties, business and community events from my presence out there.

In all cases, EDUCATING your client in advance as well as educating your LINE is essential for immediate satisfaction to customers as well as for future business. SELL YOURSELF. "I love doing full fancy faces and even body art, but unfortunately I can't do that here today." sad pouty face, then turn on the big smile like a light just came on...and very enthusiastically proclaim, "But, if you invite me to your next birthday party, I can do some really special and fantastic faces for you and your friends!" "You can look at my birthday party book if you want." Switch it up for teens and adult audiences. "Oh, man... When I do a Girls Night Out, we go all out and do some gorgeous glamour or rock star eyes... sometimes we do shoulders, backs, necks, and... well, we can get reaally crazy sometimes. hehe"

If you make a habit of handing out a card to EVERY customer that comes through your chair and you have at least one good full face photo on that card, you're going to get calls and/or visits to your website. "Here's instructions on how to care for your skin when you're ready to remove the make-up." or "Hold onto this and give it to your mom or dad. It's got really important information on it about your face paint."

I landed a sweat gig recently from a person who got one of my cards TWO YEARS ago at a company picnic event in the park. Did some really fast work there, but also turned out a couple of full faces. I like to end my gig with a really big bang, so I'll say, "Well, I'm about out of time, folks. My last two models are going to be my Grand Finale. Let's go out with a bang!" Spend the last 10-15 minutes on these and make them really count. Hand them each 5 cards and say, "Please pass these out to the first 5 people who ask you where you got your amazing face painting done." They always respond with, "OKAY!" Sometimes they offer to pass out more than 5 cards. And there you have your walking billboards.

So, 2 years ago, I did this very thing. I'm packed up, on my way to the car and someone that had seen my Grand Finale work,chased me down and says, "Our family is over there on the other side of the park and we're wondering if we can hire you right now to do some faces." I was reluctant and just wanted to go home, but they said, "We'll pay you $10 per face, is that enough to keep you here?"

So here it is 2 years later - they are from out of town - 64 miles away - but were so impressed with those $10 faces that they saved my card, paid for my travel time, and passed out 50 of my cards to "shakers and movers" as they called them, who were at their event, plus they said they want me back for at least 3 more parties they have planned in the next few months, plus some other annual events that their friends coordinate.

All because of those last two "Grand Finale" faces at an otherwise "quickie design" event.

So... I look at the potential of these "quickie design" type gigs. I ask myself if I can utilize this gig to increase my future earnings. If not, then there better be another compelling reason for doing it or it's not worth the grief.

I've been thinking about how to maximize the potential at these type of gigs. An idea I came up with is sort of along the lines of a Face Paint LOTTERY Game.
I'm thinking if it's a long gig, then maybe I'll say something like, "Okay folks, Free Face Painting means really long lines. As a result, unfortunately we are limited to really fast designs today so you all don't have to wait 2 hours to finally get your turn, know what I mean?! HOWEVER, I can't paint all day and not do some superly awesome full face designs!... So tell ya what I'm gonna do. Every hour I will do 2 special full face designs at random intervals. And here's how it works ~ Whoever happens to be next when the alarm on my phone goes off, they will get the special full face treatment!! I get to choose the design and you will not know what it is until you look in the mirror, okay? It'll be a special surprise. WooHoo!! Let's get started!" Then with some dramatic flair, set the alarm for 20 minutes and put it face down on the table next to you. When it goes off, cheer and make a big deal out of it. "And the winner of the first full face design of the day is..." "Close your eyes and you'll be in for a BIG surprise!"

Okay... now I'm jazzed and gotta go make some signage that explains my new Face Paint Lottery Game.

I have my PPF festival menu board that has everything. I also take that one to birthday parties, but not to my "free" gigs. I have a board with my most practiced QUICK designs for "paid by the hour" free gigs that I can whip out fast.. I make really good use of my starblends or Ben Nye Lumieres too at those type events by not having to dampen a sponge, or spray the cake with water. All my line work is done with either white or black diamond fx, and a glitter liquid bling here and there. Finish it all off with a poof of fairy dust and a white starburst here and there... and lipstick if I'm on a roll.

Oh, my.... please forgive me for my crazy long ramble. This is what happens when I pull an all-nighter and use way too much coffee to get me through the next day.

Sheesh. Going to sleep it off now and hope that my sanity returns in the morning.

Manja, it was all relevant and good information. I like your lottery idea enthusiasm and love your grand finale plan.

Good information here, folks. Lots of food for thought.

My thoughts on the matter are simple......

If you are paid to do a job....do it.

My contract asks:

How many kids will be attending?
What hours are you booking me for?

My next party is in a mall and their answer to these questions were
100+ 1pm - 4pm

That means that I will have to paint my arse off with designs that are fast!!

I accepted the job and by no means would I feel it appropriate to take 6 minutes per kid. I do fast paintings with impact.... A rainbow across the forehead and down the cheek really is bright and has a good impact and is super quick. I also have my business cards out for parents to take that show the more detailed faces that I do... sometimes kids ask or those and I tell them that I do those faces at birthday parties but I have to be quick here because there are so many kids.......

Well, tonight I did Chili's restaurant and I made a board with a lot of Denise's quick art type designs. All was well.... then I had the same 6 kids that kept getting back in line wanting different stuff. I told them they could be painted only once and they went to the manager and asked if she would talk to me. She told me to just do it. I did.... then they returned for a third round. (now my nerves are being tried. They are dropping quarters into my tip jar. Arrrggg!
If it wasn't for the incredable staff getting painted and tipping me well, I wouldn't have made anything in tips tonight.

I love the idea of the grande finale. I'm going to try that one tomorrow night!

Lorie, I keep forgetting to use starburst. They really spoof-up a design. I'm making a note to self to use some star burst on my quickie designs tomorrow night.

if I'm getting paid by the hour and they wanna wait in line again, I am not responsible for making sure other people have a turn... I do the line and they waited again. At the same time, you need to work at an appropriate speed to get through your line at an appropriate rate... if you're not busy, glam up those full face tigers. But if your line is crazy, quick quick quick

I also tend to turn down jobs like this. I'm blessed to be in a position to do that.

I'm relativity fast (2 minutes for a basic butterfly/4 minutes for a basic tiger) I just won't do stars & hearts. They can get teens or grab some employees for that at a much cheaper rate. I explain to the client that my draw is the high level of art & originality I give. I will WoW their clients. If that's what they want I'm the perfect match for them. I will also offer a 2nd entertainer who's just as fast & good, to help move the line. I have a board w/ my fastest designs or best of all a WordArt board so I can adjust the level of painting to the event.

Doing quick hearts & stars has never gotten my future gigs & I never want to be known as just another face painter that does the quick cheesy stuff. I'm really trying to make an impact on my area that face painting can be awesome & to expect more. The quick stuff is counter productive to my business goals.

And... No I can not paint 600 kids in 1 hour
Yes... I was once asked....

LoriSamson wrote:Well, tonight I did Chili's restaurant and I made a board with a lot of Denise's quick art type designs. All was well.... then I had the same 6 kids that kept getting back in line wanting different stuff. I told them they could be painted only once and they went to the manager and asked if she would talk to me. She told me to just do it. I did.... then they returned for a third round. (now my nerves are being tried. They are dropping quarters into my tip jar. Arrrggg!
If it wasn't for the incredable staff getting painted and tipping me well, I wouldn't have made anything in tips tonight.

I love the idea of the grande finale. I'm going to try that one tomorrow night!

Lorie, I keep forgetting to use starburst. They really spoof-up a design. I'm making a note to self to use some star burst on my quickie designs tomorrow night.

Yikes, 3 posts in a row... but I missed this one:-)

I tell the children one design per child please. I want to make sure everyone has a chance to get painted & if I paint you several times someone might go home without getting painted. Lets be fair, OK? Thank you! I also have it on my signs that I post. My sign also has my contact info & the time I'll be ending at. I also put out as many number cards as I can do in a 2 hour period when I do restaurant gigs. One per child, not one per family (as that can get pretty overwhelming). I'm thinking of taping a card to the table that says "Number Cards Are All Gone. Sorry." or something like that. I hate it when people beg to be tucked in between those that got their card....

I think there are plenty of fun things we can do besides hearts and stars in 3 minutes or less

Just sayin'

But I totally agree... if they want the rubberstamps or "600 per hour" kind of thing, I also suggest they take the money they'd pay me and and hire some teens instead or find some volunteers.

As for repeaters... I don't do seconds at events that I'm donating my time/materials too. But if I'm being paid by the hour, I tell them that as long as there is a line and kids who haven't been painted yet, they have to wait for seconds so EVERYONE has had a chance. So, I'll sort of look around and put it on them - "Could you look around for me... has everyone else had their first chance yet?" If so, then they can get back in line. No one has complained if they can't get seconds because they can see others haven't had their firsts yet.

For the kids that come back for me, I just state that everyone has to be painted first and then I'll do them again, if I have time. Now, this is usually for birthday parties. If there is more then 20 kids, then I usually don't have time to paint them again.

If a child is willing to stand back in line in a public place and has money or tip, I see no reason to paint them again. They are paying even if it is a quarter

I made up my quick board for a gig today. It was a girls carnival at a girls school. I could do all the designs in 2 minutes or less. I painted 90 girls in 3 hours. I think that is about as fast as I am willing to go. Still, there were lines, and of my senior girl helpers suggested that I do some hearts or leave out some details. Um, from what? If we just slapped on the paint, would they really want it? Two minutes is slow? You just can't make some people happy.