If you are thinking about getting a few face paints or putting together a small kit, but are overwhelmed by all the options, then this post is for you.
There are so many different brands, pallets, cases and types of paint, it can be really confusing. A lot of painters start out by practicing and using Snazaroo’s mini party sets. These sets are readily available for around £15. They are great if you want to get a feel for face painting, but the small volume of paint included in the kit does not last very long.
You can find awesome little Snazaroo kits here (please note this is an affiliate link and should you purchase the kit a small percentage of the cost will be returned to me, with no extra cost to you)
I originally started with one of these to practice with, I then picked up the colours of the rainbow along with a black and white and made my own mini kit. I repotted the paints from the small kit and from the larger colours, made rainbow cakes and popped the remaining individual colours in to a small craft box. These can be purchased from craft stores and places like Home Bargains & Poundland.
Once I started getting invited along to paint at parties and events, I realised I needed some good quality paints and a range of split and rainbow cakes. For this I purchased the Diamondfx palette shown below.
I then also purchased an empty palette and cut in to the individual paints to make my own one strokes. I used this, along with a large split cake, at my gigs the summer I first started. This was my basic working kit.
I then went for years without painting (life, university and work took over). When I finally decide to put together a face painting kit and kick start Cosmic Faerie I purchased quality brushes and slowly started to buy individual paint, one strokes and rainbow cakes. I then set up all of this in a DJ Hero case.
If you’d like some information on how I converted my case check out my blog post here
For my latest set up, I have invested in a CraftnGo. I love it as it is colourful and bright and fits in perfectly with Cosmic Faerie colours and branding.
To round up, the items below are a great place to start if you’d like to invest a little more than a small Snazaroo palette, but do not want to buy everything in sight (but let’s face it most of us do as there as soooooo many pretty colours!)
- A good black and white for line work- Diamondfx is perfect for this
- Some basic colours, blue, green, red, yellow, orange, pink & purple. (I have never purchased large brown or grey paints, as I have found a lot of the designs I do don’t require them much. When I do need them I mix my own from the colours I have available). You can purchase these in a kit such as the one I used to start
- Stencils. Don’t go mad, just a few basics to help enhance your designs such as stars, snow flakes, skulls or hero logos are helpful.
- A water pot (a dual or triple water pot is helpful although not essential)
- Good quality brushes. Some people love brushes and collect loads, but I find that have around 8 or 9 brushes I use regularly. It is good to practice with different sizes and shapes, but you only need the basics to get started. For ages I used the DiamondFX round brushes that came with the palette. Saying that, I must admit purchasing a few high quality brushes has really helped me to improve my painting. A round 1,3 & 5. A ½ inch flat brush and a ¾ inch flat brush & a petal brush. Lowel Cornelle and The Face Painting shop’s brushes are my favourite.
- Sponges. I pick up baby sponges from my local Wilkos, Tescos or Savers. They are around 50p each and I cut them in to 4 pieces. The rounded edge fits perfectly in to rainbow cakes.
- Some basic one strokes and rainbow cakes. If you have limited funds try just a few to start with. These ones are always helpful: a rainbow, a green for leaves, Reds and yellows for fire and one stroke Spiderman designs, a blue for the sea and Frozen designs, shades of pink to use for creating roses, and a typically ‘girly’ colour that can be used for Princess crowns and unicorns. If you already have single colour paints you can make your own split cakes, there are lots of tutorials on YouTube that will show you how to do this. If you’d prefer to buy your one strokes ready-made, Global colour make some brilliant palettes that contain all of the above combinations and extras. .
I hope this has helped! Feel free to comment with any queries or questions you have.