Many books are available on crafts and painting and ideas for fun things to do with kids. But face painting is simple and always a winner, especially with younger children. The only drawback is that they have such a hard time deciding upon just one!
There’s a book called ‘100 Things for Kids to Make and Do’ that has several ideas for costumes and face painting. Most of the time a face painting pattern is not actually something of material substance, but a set of directions and photographs of the steps and finished artwork. It’s just easier, I suppose, to think of them as patterns. Many kids crafts books will have at least a small section with a face painting pattern of some sort. The more complicated face patterns will come in handy when you need the step-by-step directions. Good directions will keep it simple, showing individual photos of each layer as it is applied.
Halloween is probably one of the most popular times to paint faces, especially the whole face painting. The choices are wide, including such as:
Vampires, clowns, witches, Winnie the Pooh, ghosts, pirates, genies, dinosaurs, bumble bees and bunnies. Many parents just can’t resist painting the ever popular Winnie the Pooh. A ghost is low-cost and simple for those who are strapped for cash at Halloween, needing only white paint (maybe a little black circle around each eye if you want a better effect to emphasize the holes. Many parents just can’t afford the costumes or simply don’t want to invest in something that will be outgrown before the next year’s event. This makes face painting a great choice. You can paint the right face and wear one of your own outfits to make it work!
A bunny face is a simple face painting pattern to follow as well. The most relevant feature would be the buck teeth, followed by the whiskers. If you want a mouse pattern, this is easy to follow. Use a dot of paint to accent the nose. Place tiny dots atop each side of the top lip, apply whiskers coming away from the dots towards each cheek area. If you want a little more pizzazz, add darkened eyebrows, maybe creating funny shapes for them.
An unusual pattern that isn’t overused here in the United States is the panda face. It’s best when used with a base of white over the whole face, big black spots surrounding the eye area, a black spot covering the end of the nose, black lips, and a black line from the base of the nose to the top lip. Then dot some small black spots over the lip area under each nostril. Add a set of fake ears and you’re good to go!
There is a wonderful children’s book by Don Bortolloti which provides excellent close-ups of tiger faces you can use as a pattern.
But remember, whole face painting is not the only face painting you can do. Sometimes all you need is a small picture on the cheek for just the right effect.
