4 Ways to Learn How to Face Paint

4 Ways to Learn How to Face Paint

by Heather Green

There is no better time in entrepreneurial history to pursue your passion. As little as 30 years ago, entrepreneurs were heavily dependent on mailers, skeptical about Google Adwords and were just feeling confident to work on their own personal websites. Fast forward to present day, there are so many resources at your fingertips, there’s no excuse as to why you cant learn a new trade, expand your knowledge and grow into your passion.

I learned to face paint by sitting next to my aunt and mentor. She told me follow what she was doing, and I was terrible. I had no idea about brush control, focal points, or what designs kids would be asking for. I was 14 years old, and had no art training. After several months of painting alongside my aunt I finally began to learn tear drops, how to apply base coat with a sponge and how to paint Spiderman. Once I started feeling confident in my art, I wanted to learn more. Lucky for me, it was around that time that my mentor started the Face and Body art International Convention (FABAIC). She introduced me to some of the best face painters and body artists in the industry- Jinny, Nick & Brian Wolfe, and Mark Reid. They opened my eyes to the possibilities of face painting, and I have been hooked ever since. Back then, there was a slow learning curve. I had to wait all year for FABAIC in order to take new classes, or I had to beg my aunt to let me tag along as she traveled to conventions. Lucky for me, she traveled a lot and let me mooch off her connections. I remember her telling me, that if she took me along I had to promise to always pay it forward. And thats how my Silly Heather Channel and FABAtv came to be.

If you are wanting to learn to face paint, looking for ways to improve and grow your skills, or are looking for a colorful career change here are 4 ways to learn to face paint…

Youtube:

I started the Silly Heather Channel 12 years ago. It really seems like yesterday, that I set up my point and shoot camera and made the world's worst video. I uploaded it to Youtube without even filling out the title. I had ZERO idea what I was doing, but I knew I needed to pay it forward. I started receiving comments and feedback asking for other videos. I had no editing software and I didn’t even own a tripod. I would film videos and share them, hoping that they would help someone somewhere. 12 years later, Youtube has grown to be the 2nd largest search engine in the world. It is a MAJOR resource for any and everything, it has helped entrepreneurs become millionaires, and I can attest to it being one of the main reasons my business has grown to where it is today. Youtube is an unlimited FREE resource to learn everything from how to remove popcorn ceiling to lots of amazing face painting skills. The upside to Youtube is that there is a wealth of free knowledge. With the advancement of technology, the quality is only getting better and millennials are super creative with their content. They motivate large corporations to utilize social media and video platforms to engage customers, and it has changed the way entrepreneurs are able to reach new customers. The downside to Youtube is its VERY easy to fall into a rabbit hole of videos. One minute you are watching Shawna Del Real paint beautiful roses and the next minute you just learned how to perform a root canal. Youtube has algorithms to suggest new videos based off your search history and because, Youtube and Google knows you well, they know how to keep you engaged and busy. So, if you are going to solely rely on Youtube, make sure you stay focused and create a playlist to avoid getting too distracted.

I have compiled a list of some great channels to subscribe to on Youtube to help get your foot in the door and to help encourage you to pick up your brushes.

Silly Heather: Naturally I am biased because I want to promote my own channel. Not because it's the best but because it's mine- I put a lot of work and I am very proud of my channel. I have over 350 videos on how to face paint, how to do airbrush tattoos, holiday face paint ideas, and more. I am grateful for the platform to help as many artists as I can. If you haven’t done so already please subscribe to my channel and let me know your suggestions. I am always happy to help. #payitforward

Sophies Tips: If you are looking for an amazing well rounded channel you are going to love Sophies channel. She has amazing face paint videos, helpful advice, classic face painting designs and lots to learn. I definitely recommend her channel.

Ashlea Henson: I call her the Queen of Clean. Not only is she an amazing artist, she does a great job explaining her face painting techniques and her filming/editing is so clean. She has a great channel with popular face paint designs and face paint quality lessons.

Ariel Paints: I got the chance to meet Ariel at FABAIC and she blogged a little while there. I loved to see her energy and willingness to help. It made me curious about her channel and I am so glad I did. Her channel is full of great how to’s, face paint product demos, and testimonials. You will learn a lot from Ariel and you’ll be really happy you subscribed

Lisa Joy Young: Lisa took a little break from face painting videos, and now she’s back. She will be teaching at Kapital Kidvention in Jan 2020 and lots of people are excited. Lisa has an amazing channel with so many great face painting tutorials, she also does giveaways and contests and her designs are timeless. You are really going to love her channel and her face paint style.

Painted Imagination: This is a new channel, but for those advanced face painters you are going to flip over Liz Scott’s channel. She has been doing transformation makeup videos, on herself and they will make your eyes water. She painted herself as Chris Brown, Drake, 50 cent and more. Her blending, contouring, shading and placement is so helpful to help you learn advanced face painting skills and improve your art.

Denise Cold: Denise was one of the first painters to help me overcome my fear of painting roses. Her channel gave me confidence to practice and to think outside the box with my arty cakes and one stroke techniques. I remember practicing her Calalily design for 3.5 hours one night. I was mesmerized by her techniques and now she is one of my favorite artists/instructors ever.

Yonaimy: If you are looking to learn to face paint and you speak Spanish, then you are in luck. Yonaimy’s channel is awesome. Not only can you learn how to do balloons, she is also a great teacher and face painter. She covers everything from line work to the cutest butterfly balloon . I am always inspired when I watch her videos.

Shawna Del Real: One time I hired Shawna to do my make up for a photo shoot in LA. She transformed me into a photo ready goddess and then saved my butt when my photographer cancelled :/ I started following her channel around that time and I realized she is a renaissance woman. Make up, fine art and face painting fabulosity is her super power. Her channel has some great videos and easy to follow instruction.

Olga Face painting School: She was born with skills to pay the bills. Olga’s channel has grown leaps and bounds and her face painting tutorials are off the charts. Whether you want to learn to create a realistic tiger or how to paint a fairy crown, you can learn it on her channel. Olga, specializes in realism and because of that her tips and teachings will help you improve your face painting almost immediately.

Flor Moreno: We recently collaborated with this amazing artist from Mexico to create a special line of Arty Cakes inspired by her amazing art. She has a fabulous channel too, to help artists of every level.

There are zillions more channels I can recommend. Flor Moreno, Sophies Tips and the list goes on. That’s the hardest part, finding time and focus, to work Youtube into your daily routine. If you are on a budget or are unsure if you want to dive into face painting, Youtube is a no obligation way to get started.

Conventions!

18 Years ago Marcela (my Aunt) and Cynthia Keeler started the Face & Body Art International Convention because they felt the clown conventions they had been attending, were lacking a face painting focus. At that time, body painting was still seen as a “saucy” art and they weren’t sure how it would be received by the face painters. 18 years later, I joined the team and we produce the world's largest face painting and body art convention in the world. FABAIC is held every two years in Orlando, FL over Memorial day weekend. Imagine 500+ of the worlds best artists and enthusiasts coming together to paint, share, learn, shop, network and enjoy our craft. We plan the event from start to finish with you in mind. Our goal is that everyone who invests and attends, gets triple their monies worth. We have over 80 classes, parties, jams, practice sessions, competitions and lots and lots of fun. If you want to learn in a creative hands on environment, FABAIC is the place to be!

Because we moved to an every two year format, it gives you a chance to save and make plans to come.We know its an investment, but no where else can you learn from over 50 of the world's best face painting, body art, henna, airbrush, balloon, and business instructors and make life long friends that help your business and skills grow like at FABAIC. We just opened registration for 2021 so if you want to get on the payment plan now its a good time to start for as little as $28 a month :) We also have young artists program where we teach the future face painters in their own classes.

It's an amazing program that has molded and guided young artists to pursue the arts and make their own money. Learn more about FABAIC and register at www.fabaic.com If you can’t attend FABAIC, the great new is there are LOTS of other local conventions. Here are a list of a few:

Face Painting Convention - St Louis, MO https://fpbaconvention.com/

Prismatica: CDMX Mexico City www.prismaticaMX.com

UK Face & Body Art Convention: http://www.facepaintingconvention.com/

Kidvention ( East & West): www.kapitalkidvention.com

ACE Convention: Austin, TX www.austinconventionforentertainers.com

EFABE: European Face and Body Art Event https://www.efabe.eu/

I highly recommend attending a convention. Magic happens when you are surrounded by motivated, creative people. Not to mention you get to meet so many great teachers, who you can ask questions, learn from, and practice in real time.

FABAtv:

When I started my Youtube channel, there was a 6 minute time limit on videos. I loved making videos, but I was so limited. In 2010, while pregnant with my son, I realized I was going to have to pump the breaks on traveling and teaching, and wanted to maximize my face painting video presence. A friend said, you should make your own Youtube channel and people can subscribe and watch.

That was how FABAtv was born. I had a vision to help face and body artists learn at their own pace, from the world's best, in the convenience of their pajamas. I enlisted the help of my friends and talented instructors, like Nick and Brian Wolfe, Jinny, Matte Arfanotti, Marcela Bustamante, Melissa Munn, Onalee Rivera, Denise Cold, Acacia Tanner, Lenore Koppelman and so many more. I got to work on an online face painting school where you could join the family and learn anytime, anywhere from the best. Fast forward 8 years later, FABAtv now has over 400 classes covering every topic of face & body art- Including face painting, business, marketing, henna, airbrush, balloons, glitter tattoos, techniques and so much more. Its the ONLY program of its kind and I am so proud that this amazing resource is available to help artists grow. If you are new and want to get started on your face painting journey, I can suggest a course track on FABAtv to help you maximize your time. I would start with Marcela Murad: 100 Tear Drops Fresh Paint: By Heather Green Mark Reid: Mastering Your Lines Estefa Pinares: Brush Basics then I can recommend the next set of classes to learn, and grow with. FABAtv was more than a dream come true for me, I am most proud of the fact that our classes help the industry grow and help artists reach their potential. I also get a chance to reward the instructors for their contributions and selflessness. We pay royalties to instructors for views and its our way of helping support art and paying it forward. If you want to learn, grow and be inspired on a daily basis I encourage you to join the FABAtv family. You can subscribe for as little as $25 a month* and you will have access to over 400 classes, with a new class every Monday. Learning has never been so easy.

The Face Painting School:

Some artists are so amazing, you know from the day you meet them that they are special. Olga Murasev started sharing her intricate world of face art on forums and across Facebook and she blew everyone away. We invited her to teach at FABAIC and on FABAtv and she quickly earned a name as one of the world's best. As a classically trained artist, she shared very important technical face painting techniques and was able to teach artists these skills. A few years ago she launched the Face Painting School. The Face Painting school differs from FABAtv, in that she designed a very detailed learning curriculum and program where, once you finish you receive a certification. This is a great program for those artists that are 100% committed to learning, and growing their craft. There is a certain expectation to take it seriously and you WILL see the results if you follow the program. Olga spent a lot of time designing tools to help you learn, practice, and work towards success. I encourage you to check out the program and see if it is for you. While FABAtv has a little more of an open learning format, you might prefer the structure of Face Painting School.

Which ever road you decide to take, I heavily recommend investing in yourself. It's easy to expect full time results doing part time work. A lot of artists like to brag on being self taught, or being naturally talented. I applaud them for their skills, but the best thing you can do for your artistic heart and mind is continue to feed it with love, inspiration and colorful fuel.

I have made the BEST friends, learned the most by being involved in all of the above, and have been able to reach new artistic levels. I did not start this journey with great artistic skills, I was a finance major in College and studied a lot of math. Art didn’t come natural to me, but my love for people and creativity inspired my journey.

If after you read this lengthy blog, you have questions about products to start with, need more advice on FABAtv classes, or want to know about a convention in your area PLEASE reach out to me. I am here to help and want to help you find your passion. I am so grateful that my family supported my vision to pursue a career in the art world and I want to pay it forward.

I hope this blog inspires you to log on and start learning how to face paint. I have found that when you give your dreams wings, its amazing the places they will take you.

Happy Painting friends

-Heather