Face Painting can brighten an event like nothing else can. And you know that each of your guests will love having a cool, wild, or beautiful painting done on them. It’s like being decorated! People get a chance to be “fancy” for a few hours when they have a face painting.

SPACE FOR PAINTING

The face painter should communicate with you in advance as to their space requirements. At Circus Kaput, we ask for a table or table space, plus two chairs. Table space means that we are happy to be able to use one end of a long table, or a folding table, something like that. We ask for two chairs, one for the painter, and one for the person being painted. All of our painters bring some type of cloth or vinyl with them to cover the table where they will be placing their paints and water.

People like to watch face painting. It is fascinating and amusing to see the change as the person being painted becomes a wolf or gets a rose on their cheek. It is helpful if there is room around the painter for people to stand and watch. If people line up to be painted, you may as well plan to have the line go around the painter where people can see the work being done, because that’s what they are naturally going to want to do.

It has been our experience at some events that an adult sees the line form and the children crowding around, and says “Why does everyone have to stand here? Go play and we will call you when it’s your turn!” We feel it’s kind of a shame that some adults don’t want to let the kids watch. They can “go play” any time, but the face painter is here right now. Part of what you are paying for is the whole activity; guests being able to watch one another being painted and having fun doing that. 

Conversely, we have painted at events where there was zero supervision of the children. Entertainers are not babysitters, and if we are providing an amusement like face painting we cannot also maintain order among an unruly group.  We personally do not mind the children getting very close to watch; But we do not want them to touch or tug the artist, or touch or tug on the person being painted. Besides being a distraction that takes away from the painting, touching or bumping can be a safety concern. When we have a paint brush next to someone’s eye, we don’t want anyone leaning on their chair for fear a sudden push could cause a problem.

DESIGN CHOICES

There are two ways for your guests to choose face painting designs. One way is for the artist to provide some type of graphic representation of what they can paint. Guests can then look through the choices and pick something. At Circus Kaput, we have painters who bring a large board with artwork, a board with photographs of faces they have painted, or a variety of books and binders with design choices. We typically bring a three foot tall foam core board with choices that say “Face painting” in large lettering at the top. That way everyone at the party knows there is face painting and knows where it is located. We also feel the sign adds a little bit to the party décor and atmosphere.

The other common way that face painters work is to ask each child one by one what they would like. There is a verbal exchange where the artist describes some of the choices. For instance they might say “Would you like flowers or a butterfly or a motorcycle?” Or, “Would you like to be a princess or a superhero?” This method works to the advantage of the face painter in two ways. The first is that there is no visual representation of a design that sets an expectation. The expectation is based on words only. Secondly, the painter can kind of choose what they feel like painting and just offer that. Obviously you can see that my preference is to have artwork to choose from. I think it’s classy and professional, it adds a little something to the event, and it keeps the line moving more quickly because people can see in advance what choices are available. That being said, there are certain occasions where no design representation is desirable or necessary.

THE LINE

A professional painter can tell you in advance roughly how many faces they can paint in one hour. Our painters typically paint roughly 20 people an hour. A line may form and hopefully everyone gets a painting. The line has the potential to become unruly if no adult is present to make suggestions. Often excited children are not great at forming a neat line and staying in it when they are eager to see what’s taking place and have their own turn. In our experience it’s super helpful if an adult offers some guidance at least at the beginning of the line formation. After that we can repeat the directions and help them stay cued.

CLEAN FACES

The surprise here may be that there is a section called "CLEAN FACES". Most people have a sense of responsibility not to allow a child with a dirty face to get in line, but rather to clean them off first. But frequently a child reaches the face painting chair with food or dirt all over their face. This puts the face painter in the awkward unpleasant position of having to find something to clean the face with prior to getting to work. It is always helpful to give them a wipe before they sit down. Another thing that can be an issue is sunscreen, too much on the face being painted and the paint will not stick well. 

PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES

Remember that once painted, it’s a great time to get pictures of your guests! Half the fun of getting a face painting is getting to walk around looking different, being “fancy”, becoming someone else for a short time. Be sure to savor this with pictures!