Hello Face Painting Friends,
This month I would like to talk about my experiences with managing lines while Face Painting. Most of the events I paint at I am paid to paint the children for free, so I often end up with a huge line! Sometimes it works out perfectly and my line ends at the same time I am finishing, other times I need to end the line so I can finish on time.
When I first started Painting Faces I would often finish half an hour to an hour over the due time as I couldn’t bear to turn away any children. Now I always finish within 5 minutes of my set finishing time!
To end my line I keep an eye on how long it is, particualarly as it gets closer to my set finish time. I have an idea of how many I will be able to paint in a set time frame, and base ending my line on this. I have had to end my line 2 hours before my finish time before, as it was so long!! Usually I end it at 10-30 minutes before my finish time.
To do this I go straight to the end of the line and ask who is at the end of the line. I tell them that they will be last to be painted today and would they mind holding a sign for me. I have a sign that says: I am last in line for Face Painting today, Please do not join the line. I then quickly mark each person in the line with a line of paint on their hand, to keep track of people who were in the line. This system works fairly well, I still keep an eye on things and occasionally have to tell people that I really won’t be face painting any more faces today. The people with the sign are usually helpful in explaining to those waniting to join the line, and the paint mark on the hand stops people from sneaking in! I always paint an extra special design on the last person for being my sign holder.
Sometimes I have my painting times on display, this also helps people to see that I will be finishing at a particular time.
Other tips to help manage your line:
- Have an “I’m Next” sign for the front person to hold. Good if there are multiple painters and you want to keep it to one line so it moves faster.
-Draw a line for those waiting to stand behind. I keep chalk in my kit to do this
-For Birthday Parties I number each child so they can go off to play and know that they will still have their turn.
-Have a line manager particularly for busy events, including pay per face, a line manager can help the child choose their design before they get into the chair, and keep the line organised and entertained with bubbles or similar.
-Streamline your designs, stick to the designs you are fast at for busy events to keep the line moving. I use lists of ideas for the children to choose from and I can paint a fast or detailed version of the design depending on how busy my line is.
I love your feedback , feel free to suggest your own tips for managing a line in the comments below.
I am running Face Painting Workshops throughout Australia in 2010, see my website for details:
Melbourne workshops include Beginners: tips, tricks and techniques and Jewelery, lace, masks and more – The next Jewlery/lace workshop in Melbourne is March 17 and Split Cakes – see my website for more details about these.
Gold Coast, Queensland Workshops will be July 13– 16th 2010
Tasmania workshops: Launcestern April 21st, 22nd and 23rd, April, 2010
Adelaide, Perth and Sydney Dates are still to be announced.
For more information about these workshops please visit my website : www.ambah.com.au or contact me ambah@ambah.com.au
Happy Painting!
Ambah xx
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{ 36 comments… read them below or add one }
I do the exact thing with the sign and painting something on the kids for identification…I used to just do dots but have found them getting it slightly wet and then transferring it to a freind who really wanted to get painted and then they get in line…when they show the person holding the sign they have a dot, she assumed they had to go to the restroom etc…and lets them in the line. I started numbering them, from number one (who is next) all the way to the last person who is holding the sign…now I know how many are in line and I start the count-down or the count-up depending upon how you look at it….lol. Its not easy to transfer a number as it will appear backwards, unless you’re number 8. As far as I know, the number 8 only shows up once in the counting system. I too reserve something special for the last person who had to be last and also let people know she is last, even though she had a sign all along…its surprising how many people will act like they never saw it! LOL
Brenda Shelton
Hi Ambah, Thank you for the tip on how to manage your line of Children while Face Painting. this is something I imagine could get out of Hand at Times.
i appreciate this hint.welldone .i just write names of children as they come ,i tell their parents to print their name and sign agreement form at the same time so i number the page to the number of children i will be able to paint and once they page is exhausted no more chance.thanx all thesame will try the line manager out.keep it up
I love your suggestions! I have a school event to do next week, and this newsletter came just in time! Thanks so much!
Yay, another Ambah post!
I have heard that doing a generic spot or line on the hand can make it easy for the folks in line to re-wet (with saliva) and transfer to a friend’s hand who wasn’t in line.
I do the backwards numbering thing. The last person in line is #1, then #2 and on up to the front of the line. It has worked the best for me.
For birthday parties, I also do a numbering system and the parents appreciate this as the kids can then enjoy the actual activities at the party : )
~Michelle Heffner
Bright & Shining Face Painting
Columbia, MD
Hi Ambah:
These suggestions are great and I learned something new! Keeping the line maintained is so important. I learned it the hard way in my early days of face painting. I, too, would end up painting well past my time. One time, I was still painting while the party was ending!
Now, when the line just starts to fill, my assistant will number the hands. After a certain number I stop painting. At parties if there are a few left who want to be painted, I check w/my customer. I always tell my customers in advance that my parties fees are for up to a certain number of kids. Over that amount, is a small fee for each additional kid. This works out if I don’t have another gig.
Hi Ambah
I liked your suggestions..and will be painting a line on the last 5 or 10 children waiting in line before I will be stopping. Usually we put a sticker on the last 10 children but many times they pass it on to another child that comes by. Painting a line is a great idea.Thanks Have fun
Annabinky@optonline.net
Hi Ambah
Thanks for the helpful idea’s. Here in South Africa most corporate companies organize parties for the under privileged children and the companies often hires us for face painting and no matter how you explain that you can only paint a limited amount of kids you often end up with too many kids and too few face painters so to cut the line is sometimes really hard. Sometimes at some events they supply us with somebody to do crowd control but if they don’t, you have to work it out yourself. I like the idea of a sign for the last customer and the paint on the hand. I will try it out. One thing we always do is to do simpler designs for those types of events.
Thank you so much.
Sarah
Similar to one of your ideas, I have a set of numbered stickers for each event, at the end of the session everyone has been kept in strict order and I know how many faces I have painted.
Hope this helps someone.
Lynda (from England)
Thank you for the tips on line management. I use some of them already, and will incorporate some of the rest. One approach that has worked for me at birthday parties has been to hand out plastic coins with a number on them to each of the children. ( I also paint a number on them as well, because they sometimes lose the coins.) When their number is called they can come to have their face painted. The children can keep the coin as a gift. I buy them cheaply at a party store by the huge bagful, and I put little round white stickers on them to write the numbers on. This works well with a group where the number of children is set. It probably will not work in a large venue however. Hope this helps. Sally
The idea is wonderful but not sure if a child or adult would be quite happy holding a sign for a long period of time. I do have a sign on my table and pick my last person but more often the parents stand in line anyway and ignore as their child is pleading for face paint or balloon art.
And they start…”she is so upset and crying would you please just this once”?
or “I have been standing in line for a long time”, even though they were told beforehand that the line stopped in front of them.
It is a fine line (no pun intended) as you deal with parents and children as they are not aware you have other engagements and would love to do everyone but often I have a basket of inexpensive treats and coloring pages I give out to help sooth the crowd that stays in line in hope that I can do 25 (one more) or so balloon or face art.
I use the same idea ( a sign) the last person in line only I have ribbon forming a loop that pops over the head of the last one , therefore anyone stepping up can see it and know what the answer is. I think your idea of putting a line of paint on the hands of those in waiting is excellent, as you know for sure no one is cutting into the line. I know I will use this terrific idea THANKS
Betty
I wrote my reply and submit it and I hope it went through .
Betty
I just perused your information it seems wonderful and esp if you aren’t charging for the fifty tips — Love ya!!
Love it, love it, love it!
These are all VERY good ideas that I intent to use. Thank you for sharing them.
The front of the line sign is something I never thought of and I will be doing it from now on.
It is truly one of the worst feelings to already be out of time and have to say no to someone. Even if they haven’t been waiting, and I am already in the middle of packing up, as soon as I say “Sorry I’m all done for today” they begin to cry and look at me as if I am the meanest person on the planet. So a friend suggested that I keep some stickers on hand to give out until I am out of there.
While I learned the importance of “capping” the line early on in my face painting career, I still run into problems at parties. Even when I number the kids, it takes time to go and extract them from the bounce house or wherever they may be. Also, it seems like kids below a certain age have a crying spell every 20 minutes or so, and it is always a dilemma as to whether to move on to the next kid until they finish crying or wait so the line doesn’t get all out of whack. Recently, my #2 kid was impossible to find until he popped up while I was painting #12 and demanded to be next. Well #13 was not having it and I had to play referee. Without an agreeable parent to help, even the best system can breakdown when dealing with other people’s children.
Before the party starts, I let the host know that I can paint a certain number of kids within the time they have contracted me for and give them an option (if more guests show up or they show up late) to permit me to stick to the time and turn the guests away, or agree to being billed in 15 minute increments until the guests have been accommodated. Keeping in mind that future business often comes from other guests, I would prefer to make everyone happy, but too many times I have worked well past my contract without being paid for the extra time. As much as it is hard to “Stick to Business” during a party, I must remember that parties ARE my business, and every business must have a plan.
If anyone has any suggestion for me for what I could possibly change, I am all ears.
Ambah,
I use those techniques as well. My “last in line” sign has a rhyme (so people tend to read it out loud and even repeat it and smile), lots of decoration to draw attention (which is hilarious if the last person is someone’s father), and hangs from the neck backwards (on their back) so people getting in line see it.
Also, it’s unfortunate but yes, you really do have to paint something on the hand of those in line, because they let people cut, then you feel obligated to keep painting after closing time. But I’ve seen people wet their hand and press it against another kid’s mark just to be in line. Watch out. We all LOVE face painting!
Good Idea For the Queue!!
Thank you Ambah,
Most of my work is clowning at birthday parties with face painting added in. I love the idea of giving the children a number as no matter how many times I say you can go play, I will paint everyone. they still feel the need to stand in line when they should be having fun.
Super ideas, Thanks
Celine (UK)
Dear Ambah: When I have to do “Line Management” at an event, I have printed out some small tickets that I cut out, embellish and number ahead of time. (They also have my name and telephone number on them.) If they keep them after they have been painted, and try to hand them to anyone else, I can spot the numbers that are out of sync immediately. I hand them out, along with the “I Am the Last In Line to Have My Face Painted Today” sign that is hung over the back of the Last In Line Today person.
Happy Painting!
Lisa Leyes
FacePainter at SickKids Hospital 5a/b, Toronto, Ontario Canada
Great post. I really love your tips
I mostly do face painting at a theme park so they have to pay first before they get in line. I think the next sign is a great idea because in my limited space kids tend to crowd around the table and it’s hard to tell who is next. Sometime a stop to use the ladies room can be a problem but most people are returning customers and understand the call of nature and will wait for me.
Hi, great ideas, Some handy tips
How do you hang the “End Of Line” sign on the back of the last person in line? Wouldn’t it be risky hanging something around a kid’s neck?
I personally would not hand a sign around a child’s neck, you just never know if any child could come and grab it. Lordy.
I also use a sign on my table and it states a approximate time I will be stopping and also have a vest for the last child in line. I make sure my stopping time is 30 or so minutes before I actually have to stop to finish the line. I also announce it periodically. Again I have small prizes for the children that will not be able to get their face done.
If I am working at a community event, I ask the coordinator (days or weeks ahead) if there older, responsible high school students who need to complete volunteer community service hours, or perhaps scouts who are working on projects. Oftentime I have been able to utilize these teens as ‘line managers”. I also use the “i’m the last person . . . sign. I have the child or parent hold the sign, & this has worked well. I use picture-type “ABC” flash cards when working a birthday party or reunion.
HI Ambah,
I appreciate the tip. I am a new and infrequent facepainter, as I have another full time job and got into it as a side activity. I have only done it as an artist paid by the hour by the establishment to draw people to an event. But we do have a contract for a specific number of hours and that is all I get paid. I have not had to charge per face. I do love it and when I retire I want to pursue it more fully. In the mean time… I have carried a roll of numbered tickets to the event and have them on the table with a sign saying “Take a Ticket.” I tell people they can walk around and come back when they are ready and if I have passed them up in number they will be next. I take the ticket when I paint and this helps me to count afterward how many I have painted. This system helps to manage the line, but it does not help me to finish on time, so I am happy to learn of your (and many other’s) method. I always seem to stay late finishing that one last kid who has waited forever. I can’t bear to say no, but also feel that is not fair to me. Thanks.
Ambah
Love the ideas about ending the line. I have been painting until the end so no children are left out.
Thanks
Betty
Excellent I will be making signs today so I do not have to deal with the people who argue about it, you can’t argue with a sign.
Thanks Ambah – great tips. I facepaint for our fete and it gets really hectic. Another idea I had was that if you have a lot of children choosing the same design you can line them up and paint them all at the same time!
Well I made the signs and absolutely love the effectiveness of the “I am Next In Line” sign… HOWEVER… I was doing a party last week and at about 15 minutes before my time was up, I put the “I’m The Last To Be Painted Today” sign on a little boy (who was happy to wear the sign). Several minutes later the party mom approached me say “people are very upset that you put that sign… Can you just keep your designs simple and make sure you do everyone?”
I was so annoyed that she was trying to now dictate how & what I painted. I wanted so badly to tell her that maybe next time she should consider buying some rubber stamps instead of hiring a face painter. Instead, I firmly stated, “I’m sorry if the children are upset, but I do 2-3 minute designs and I have already exceeded the number of kids I guarantee per hour, plus I started 15 minutes earlier than I was scheduled because I could already tell that not enough time for the number of guests, but I wanted the children to have an “experience” and get something they would enjoy. Unfortunately, I will not be able to stay any longer.”
I guess no matter how much we try to be efficient and professional; some people are just going to take advantage. Needless to say I was given the stink eye the entire time I was packing up and all the way to my car.
The very next day I got a call from one of the moms who were at that party. She though I did a great job and handled myself appropriately, which I needed to hear because I wasn’t at all comfortable with being the villain that I was made me out to be for standing my ground. I did her twin sons party the following weekend and the “other mom” was there. She never said a word to me, but I was so validated by the fact that one of her guests hired me, that it didn’t matter. This party was the opposite. She booked more than enough time and I was able to do very elaborate designs and really interact with the children. When it was time for me to leave, the kids all ran up to give me a hug and I got a nice tip. So hopefully, the other mom was able to learn where she went wrong so she doesn’t have children crying at her kid’s next party.
Hope this story is something worth reading for any of you who have been in similar situations.
Raquel in Florida, USA
So sorry about the rudeness of the host at your party. I know it happens no matter what you do but I think you handled it beautifully.
What really gets me is the grown ups want face art too and there you are with a full line and 30 minutes to go and you have to tell them “I will if I have time after the last child”, but you know you won’t and then there are several adults wanting face art, whew, a mess.
thankyou everone for all of your wonderful comments and suggestions, I have got some new ideas to try too now!
xx
Thank you!!!! Ambah….I love your work….you make it look so easy.
please send me some tips on how to load my brush with paint correctly or what sort of sponges are better to use, I’m getting nervous…..
I’m having my 1st facepainting session (for fundrasing) at the end of May10..
and if you ever do a workshop in Sydney….pls pls let me know.
Many thanks
Sara
The biginner.
I have a question: Does anyone have any good methods for keeping the children in line from crowding in too close? I have a hard time keeping the children from getting under foot, and from clinging to my table and the high chair. I am almost to the point of bringing a portable baby gate. Any suggestions would be very welcome. Sally.
I have the same problem. A lot has to do with asking for assistance before hand by your hostess ( person that hired you). I always let them know that there will need to be someone to monitor the children for the face art line and that to please communicate with the invited guest the time allowed for face art but when doing large crowds like fairs, festivals it is quite a different story I suggest if you can have an assistant to help with the line do but if you don’t have an assistant then a large sign with and a vest for the last child if appropriate. Don’t allow children to lean on your tables and crowd you if possible.
I had an event in Atlanta and no matter that I covered all my basis signs, treats, crowd control the parent and children were all over me and did not listen and kids leaning on my table as very loud music was playing some could not here me and here getting rude with me.. I just stopped
stood up and quietly folding my hands and dropped me head for a moment til everyone looked at me like “What is the clown doing”?
I got my mike and very kindly stated I would need a even line and 3 ft of space to continue for the safety of the children and to move faster and I did not move til this was done and very kindly I began to continue….
When I am holding the brush, I feel like a superhero! Anything is possible. Kids get a bit unruly? “Excuse me, all fun kids….facepaintings are ONLY offered to WELL BEHAVED kids. Get too sassy and you are out of luck! The one or two crazy one calmed down. The rest let me know that they were being real good!