Happy Chinese New Year Everybody!! To celebrate, Ambah has made this amazing Dragon Face Paint Design Tutorial below (click on the photos for a close up):

Workshop Dates 2012:

Happy New Year Painting Friends,

So you’re ready to take your face painting passion (obsession) to a new level and are ready to let the world know about your business. Here are some promotion ideas.

Business Cards: you will need some business cards with your details, online companies like Vistaprint offer great rates and options for you to use their templates or upload your own design. Print plenty of cards so you can freely give them away. TIP: some painters include removal instructions on one side of their business card as extra incentive for parents to take the cards with them.

Markets and Local Events: If you have time on your hands it is a great promotional tool to get out there and paint in your community. Painting at markets will allow people in your area see what you have to offer. Generally these are “pay per face” events where you charge the parent for each face you paint, this may not be as profitable as painting at an hourly rate, but it is a great way to get exposure on the days you don’t have bookings.

Special Offers:Promote a special offer such as upgrading a booking, you may wish to offer free balloons or extra painting time. If you are starting out and don’t feel ready to charge the going rate for your services yet you could offer a “Opening Special” with a discount of perhaps 20% to customers. You could promote these offers by an ad in the local paper, posters on local notice boards ads in local school newsletters. Vista print also have postcards available, these are great to send off to potential customers with a special offer.

Internet: What a great tool the internet is, you can do much to create free/low cost promotion here. Start a facebook page about your business, set up a website – even just a simple one will be great for your promotion. Find local businesses sympathetic to what you are offering and offer reciprical links – where you link to their website from yours and they return the favour.  if you are painting at markets or charity events for self promotion ask if they are willing to have a link to your website on their site.

Networking: Painting with other facepainters is great fun, and it can be very helpful to work with each other during busy events. Find local painters you connect with and work out a reciprical arrangement to help each other during busy times.

I hope there are some useful ideas there for you, I look forward to reading your promotion tips in the comments below.

Workshop Dates 2012:

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Workshop Dates 2012:

Check out Ambah’s latest face painting step-by-step tutorial on stars!! They are simple to do but look fantastic and really makes your designs extra special!!

CLICK HERE TO LEAVE A COMMENT OR ASK A QUESTION!

CLICK HERE TO BUY FACE PAINTING SUPPLIES
TO CREATE YOUR OWN STAR FACE PAINTING DESIGNS!!

Hello Painting friends, today I thought I would share some of my tips for body painting, for those of you who are eager to try it out. Click Here to Ask a Question/Leave a Comment!

Design Preperation:

Generally I find that the more I plan and sketch my designs before painting the better the end result will be. Using a template – an outline of the body, I try out different arrangements to see which will flow well before painting it on the body. This gives me confidence to paint quickly, as I don’t need to spend precious painting time working out the design.

Preperation Tips for the Model:

I ask my models to exfoliate and moisturise well for a few days prior to being painted , this helps the paint go on nicely and will also make it easier to wash off after.

On the day of the paint, I ask my model not to wear any perfume or deoderant, as this can interfere with the makeup. I also ask that they moisturise well before the painting time to allow it to soak into the skin.

I ask them to bring old, dark clothes to wear home after the paint.

Cleaning It Off

Generally I suggest the model rub baby shampoo over her dry body while standing in the shower before turning the water on as this will help to wash the makeup off.

Tools & Products

Typically I use the same make up products as I do for face painting, the paint goes along way.

Brushes as per face painting and also I like to use the Mehron  or Mark Reid body brush  to cover large areas for the base. This differs to face painting where we use a sponge. The sponge is less efficient for bodypainting, brushes are definately the faster way to go!

I also use a fixing spray to set the paint after I have finished so that it will stand up to being worn for a few hours.

Underwear

I prefer briefs with a nylon content as the pure cotton ones are harder to paint over – they absorb much more paint and end up a much lighter colour than the body painted areas.

My preference is  seam -free full briefs or g-strings avilable from Target, I also buy strapless bras of similar material for the more modest events. I purchase these in a flesh colour so that it is easy to paint over, black would be too dark for the paint to work, white would also be suitable. Below is an image from a job I painted for last weekend. I used full brief & bra, which are hardly distinguishable from the skin. I pre-painted the underwear as I only had 3 hours to paint both bodies.

Event body painting with bra & brief

TIP: to keep the underwear in place I glue the tops with pros-aid adheisive.

There are plenty of nipple covers on the market. I avoid the silicone kind, as they are really thick and are very obvious even when painted over. I prefer a thin latex kind, made for body painting, or I also use a thin fabric type that I can get from Bras & things in Australia, see the image below. they paint over really well, and are inexpensive. I am sure you would be able to find similar in other countries.

Its nice to bring a dressing gown along for your model to use, and remember to look after them. Allow them breaks, encourage them to drink and eat and make sure they are warm enough.

Now you’re ready to paint!

Go for it and have some fun, you will only learn by trying it out.

The third year of MBAC proved to be bigger and better than ever! With more categories, including brush &  sponge, Amateur, special FX, extreme hair and makeup & face painting. There were around 40 + competitors all painting thier hearts out!

front view: 20,000 leagues under the sea

A theme of “wired for sound” was given to all categories, and we set out to interpret this in our own way. Points are given for originality and interpretation of theme, in addition to composition, use of colour & technique. Body painters are given 6 hours to paint their piece and facepainters 2 hours.  Let me tell you, that time flies by!  The overall standard of work was very high,  I was very pleased to place 2nd.

Mem Bourke travelled from New Zealand to present the big prize: A trip to New Zealand to compete in the New Zealand Body art awards in October 2011. this is a huge event, check out the website here , Artists and Models also travelled far and wide to participate.

The event is well supported by the community, check out the full sponsors list here to see all the wonderful businesses that have supported this event. The Sunday Age photographed the event and you can see some wonderful images online here. Wow I could go on and on, there are so many involved and its hard to mention only a few, Thankyou to Ria, who’s vision, hard work and determination has created a wonderful event for us in Melbourne, I am really looking forward to next year, perhaps I’ll see some of you there? here are some pics for you:  Click on image to see larger view.

Artist: Ambah O’Brien, Model Amanda Law : Concept: 20,000 leagues under the sea. 2nd Place Brush & Sponge

a design incorporating one stroke roses creates an effective design.

Hello Face Painting friends.

I had a lovely job a few weeks ago where I painted a family for a Masquerade Party. I had around 10 minutes per design including talking to them about what they were wearing so my design would complement thier clothes, so these were fairly fast designs…Please note that the family had to travel a way to their event so they left thier clothes and lipstick off until they were there, so they are slightly unfinished.

I have posted some pictures to inspire you with your own mask designs.

Lace Mask-a pretty design to complement a white dress with black sash.

Here are a few tips to help you create your own mask designs:

- Use the figure 8 on its side as guidence, this will give you a good indication of a flattering mask shape that suits all face shapes.

- Use techniques you are comfortable with. This will allow you to confidently create a design on the spot, showcasing your strengths.

- Practice working out designs on your practice head to get an idea of how the shapes will flow on the face.

Filigree Butterfly, a jewel inspired mask

- Have some fun and replicate the outfit worn by the person.

- Add liquid glitter, gems and even feathers for extra glamour.

- Google “masks” in google images online to get inspired by a huge array of mask designs.

- think outside the square – a snake wrapped around the eyes could become a suitable mask.

here are some designs from the family I painted, and a few extra I have painted recently.

I talked him out of a full skull face into something more mask-like

a bright mask inspired by her colourful clothes

WORKSHOPS 2011:
Please sign up here for latest news to recieve occasional updates and details about my workshops, blogs and videos.

Visit Ambah’s youtube channel here.

“Like” Ambah’s face & body art facebook page here for updates.
Visit Ambah’s website here to find out  more about her workshops and tutorials and latest news.

Ambah travels throughout Australia and Internationally to teach. Please contact Ambah if you are interested in workshops in your area: ambah@ambah.com.au

I look forward to hearing your comments,tips  and questions,  please leave  your comments below.
Happy Painting!
Ambah xx

Check out this wonderful rainbow unicorn face painting video tutorial by Ambah below.

Buy Your Face Painting Supplies Online!

Click Here to Leave a Comment or Ask a Question

I couldn’t resist adding this image below from a recent job. I body painted some male models to greet the Ladies as they entered for thier Ladies night – an event for a region affected by flooding. I stayed on to paint the Ladies faces too…..a wonderful, purple themed night.

WORKSHOPS 2011:
I have workshops in PERTH July/August, QUEENSLAND & SYDNEY in September & Melbourne in October
I’m looking for expressions of interest for Classes in Tasmania, please contact me if you are interested.
Please sign up here for latest news to recieve occasional updates and details about my workshops, blogs and videos.
Visit Ambah’s youtube channel here. “Like “ Ambah’s face & body art facebook page here for updates.
Visit Ambah’s website here to find out  more about her workshops and tutorials and latest news.

Ambah travels throughout Australia and Internationally to teach. Please contact Ambah if you are interested in workshops in your area

ambah@ambah.com.au

I look forward to hearing your comments,tips  and questions,  please leave  your comments below
Happy Painting!
Ambah xx

Once you have gathered a precious collection of brushes for your face (and body) painting it is important to take good care of them. properly looked after, your brushes will serve you well and will last a long time.

Here are some tips for brush care below, I look forward to your tips too.
Click here to Leave a Comment/Ask a Question.

Keep your white white! I use a seperate brush for painting with white, this saves me from trying to wash all of the black or colour out of the brush before using the white. I save time this way and I also keep my white bright instead of grey. I also keep a brush (in a couple of sizes) for black and another for colours.

Regularly wash your brushes with soap or brush cleaner to help them stay in good condition. You can rinse them in 99% alcohol to steralise them – they will need to air dry. Sometimes I use brush shaper on my clean brushes to help the bristles stay in good shape. I dip the brush in and arrange the bristles and leave to air dry. The bristles will remain stiff and hold thier shape, the stiffness disapears the next time you use the brush.

Storage. I like to keep my brushes in a “brush wallet” I can stand it up ready to use at a job, then fold it for storing the brushes when not in use.

Click here to Leave a Comment/Ask a Question.

self standing brush wallet for use and storage.

At a recent workshop I took this picture of a participant’s great idea for her brushes while working; she has stretched netting over a container holding it in place with a band. its a great way to have your brushes ready to use at a job, keeping  them seperate.

"brush cup"

Important: Please don’t leave brushes standing bristle down in water! They will bend and will never be the same again. Also if you have wooden handles these will become swollen causing the  paint to crack and chip off.

Click here to Leave a Comment/Ask a Question.

WORKSHOPS 2011:
I have workshops in Perth July/August, Queensland in September & Melbourne in October
Tasmania dates also to be announced.
Please sign up here for latest news to recieve occasional updates and details about my workshops, blogs and videos.
Visit Ambah’s youtube channel here. “Like “ Ambah’s face & body art facebook page here for updates.
Visit Ambah’s website here to find out  more about her workshops and tutorials and latest news.

Ambah travels throughout Australia and Internationally to teach. Please contact Ambah if you are interested in workshops in your area

ambah@ambah.com.au

I look forward to hearing your comments,tips  and questions,  please leave  your comments below
Happy Painting!
Ambah xx

Hello Face Painting Friends,

Often I am asked to paint for fundraising events and/or volunteer for a good cause.

I find this to be an interesting dilemma and thought I would post my thoughts on this topic, and I look forward to hearing your ideas and thoughts too, as I know many of you have come up with great ideas already. CLICK HERE TO LEAVE A COMMENT

There are so many wonderful causes out there, and I find it a pleasure to support these through what I love to do – face painting.

I have several levels of volunteering or sponsership that I offer, and I find I need to strike a happy balance as it is not economical for me to dedicate too many of my weekends toward volunteering when I need to keep these days clear for my customers too. (Read on Below…)

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Benefits: In addition to feeling good about supporting a cause, face painting at these events can be a great way to promote yourself. This is particularly good if you are starting out and your business is a bit  quiet to begin with, by painting at as many events as possible you can hand out cards and begins to establish yourself. I usually volunteer  to support my  favourite causes.

At the start of each year I decide which organisations I would like to support and  how. Generally I have some that I support each year. I lock in those dates and keep myself available for them. These dates I usually paint at for no cost to the organisation, sometimes they may charge the public and keep the proceeds for thier fundraising. Throughout the year I am asked to contribute to other events and I may or may not be able depending on my other commitments and interest in the particular organisation. I find I feel less guilty about saying no, when I can tell them that I have already allocated my annual volunteer hours for the year and am unable to fit them in too.

Charging: Some face painters have a special fundraiser/charity rate. They offer a discount to organisations that have less funding. This could be any discount you like eg: 10, 20 or even 50% off your normal rate.

If you are happy to volunteer your time but would like to cover your expenses, you can offer a rate for that too; to do this you will need to work out what it actually costs you per hour to face paint. Looking at all of your costs over a year and dividing them by the number of hours worked will help you to work this out – the real costs can add up when you are including materials, travel, insurence, training ect.

Sponsorship: there are two aspects to this: if you are volunteering or offering a reduced rate, you are in effect sponsoring the event. In return you can request some reciprocal benefits such as a website link on their site, your name on promotional material or anything else that seems approriate to the organisation and event.

The other aspect of sponsorship is that you are sponsered by a business to face paint at the charity event. This has happened for me a number of times, I usually invoice the buisness directly, so they get to claim it as an expense and the charity is sure to promote the business as a sponser of their event.

I look forward to hearing about your Charity face painting.
CLICK HERE TO LEAVE A COMMENT/ASK A QUESTION!

You can also visit Ambah’s youtube channel here.

Face & Body Painting Workshops with Ambah 2011….

“like “  Ambah’s face & body art facebook page here for latest news updates.

Visit Ambah’s website here to find out  more about her workshops and tutorials and latest news.

Ambah travels throughout Australia and Internationally to teach. Please contact Ambah if you are interested in workshops in your area ambah@ambah.com.au

Happy Painting!  Ambah xx

Get Your Face Painting Supplies Online Here!

Hello Face Painting Friends,

I have a fast design tutorial to share with you, its a flower fairy that can be painted quickly for busy events, or added to to make more elaborate. The flowers could also be painted on a cheek, arm or neck line for a more grown up effect.

BUY FACE PAINTING SUPPLIES HERE!
CLICK HERE TO LEAVE A COMMENT/ASK A QUESTION

You can also visit Ambah’s youtube channel here.

Face & Body Painting Workshops with Ambah 2011….

“like “  Ambah’s face & body art facebook page here for latest news updates.

Visit Ambah’s website here to find out  more about her workshops and tutorials and latest news.

Ambah travels throughout Australia and Internationally to teach. Please contact Ambah if you are interested in workshops in your area ambah@ambah.com.au

Happy Painting!  Ambah xx

Get Your Face Painting Supplies Online Here!

Hello Painting Friends,

The Australian Body Art Awards (ABAA) was a great success last month – it is always wonderful to be surrounded by Face and Body artists. I enjoyed teaching, competing and learning. I was also delighted to win First place in the Special FX Body Painting competition. The prize for that event was sponsored by bodyfx.co.nz  inspiring  me to create a turorial video using their special FX. I have also used the skin pallette, available from here, in this video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Also, below the video are some images of my work from ABAA, click on the images to enlarge.

You can also visit Ambah’s youtube channel here.

Face & Body Painting Workshops with Ambah 2011….

“like “  Ambah’s face & body art facebook page here for latest news updates.

Visit Ambah’s website here to find out  more about her workshops and tutorials and latest news.

Ambah travels throughout Australia and Internationally to teach. Please contact Ambah if you are interested in workshops in your area ambah@ambah.com.au

Happy Painting!  Ambah xx

Get Your Face Painting Supplies Online Here!

Hello Everybody,

Wow can you believe it’s February already!  This month I am very excited to be an instructor at the Australian Body Art Awards Convention. This event began last year as a Face and Body painting competition, held in Melbourne, Australia, and has grown this year into a bigger competition with more categories to enter and a 3 day convention with additional pre and post convention classes being offered by a host of talented International Instructors including: Yolanda Bartram, Lucy  Bruillard and Christina Davison. Check out the website link below to find out more about this huge event for Australian Face and Body Painters. Come and visit if you can join us to either enter a competition, watch the awards or participate in one of the many classes on offer. I hope I get to meet some of you there.

I love all of the feedback and responses I get to my posts, and I really enjoy hearing about how you all do things, I have learnt from some of your tips and I am sure many others have too. This month I have decided to open up a topic that is usually a big discussion in my beginners class, the issue of Hygiene when face painting. I will post some of my tips on the topic and would love to hear your thoughts and ideas too.

common sense: plays an important role in hygiene matters. as I am sure most of you are aware that it is important not to paint over broken skin/cold sores to minimise the spread of contageous conditions. Even if the parent assures you its ok! discreetly offering to paint on the arm or elswhere instead so that the child still has a design without feeling embarressed is a tactful way to manage these situations.

regular kit cleaning: so that the paints are wiped clean, my brushes and equipent are regularly cleaned, steralized and air-dried. Throw out broken and untitdy items. This not only is essential for professional presentation, but it is also more hygienic and parents will notice that you take care.

sponges: Personally I like to use a fresh sponge per child. I find the benefit not only in presenting a hygienic approach, which parents have commented favourably on, but that it suits my technique too. I like load up my sponges with colours suitable  for the particular design and find that they end up with lots of colours on them anyway so I couldn’t really re-use them if I wanted to!

antibacterial gel: its great to have this on hand, regularly cleaning your hands with this between children will help to minimise the spread of bacteria.

I look forward to reading your ideas and comments.

CLICK HERE TO LEAVE A COMMENT/ TELL US WHAT YOU THINK!!

Get Your Face Painting Supplies Online Here!

Happy New Year Everyone!!! With Valentine’s day barely a wink away I thought I would make a romantic video design for you. This design is suitable for all boys and girls, just change the colours, add some flowers/stars & you can make it different for everyone! This design is made easy with your mini split cakes and a large flat brush – I used a 1″ flat brush in this video, a 3/4″ flat brush will be perfect too.

Workshops and Classes: I am currently planning my workshop schedule for 2011, see below for the dates & contact me to register your interest in a workshop near you!

Face Painting Supplies Available Here!

Click Here to Leave a Comment/ Tell Us What You Think!

Face & Body Painting Workshops with Ambah 2011….

“like “  Ambah’s face & body art facebook page here for latest news updates.

Visit Ambah’s website here to find out  more about her workshops and tutorials and latest news.

Please visit the Courses page to view current workshop details.

Ambah travels throughout Australia and Internationally to teach. Please contact Ambah if you are interested in workshops in your area ambah@ambah.com.au

I look forward to hearing your comments,tips  and questions,  please leave  your comments below

Get Your Face Painting Supplies Online Here!

Season’s Greetings everybody, I hope you are all enjoying the Holiday season face painting as much as I am. I am particularly enjoying painting Rudolph on lots of boys and girls faces, it is so cute on them!

I have made a video tutorial for you with a Rudolph design to try…

Face Painting Supplies Available Here!

Leave a Comment to Let Us Know What You Think!

You can also visit Ambah’s youtube channel here.

Face & Body Painting Workshops with Ambah 2011….

“like “  Ambah’s face & body art facebook page here for latest news updates.

Visit Ambah’s website here to find out  more about her workshops and tutorials and latest news.

Please visit the Courses page to view current workshop details.

Ambah travels throughout Australia and Internationally to teach. Please contact Ambah if you are interested in workshops in your area ambah@ambah.com.au

I look forward to hearing your comments,tips  and questions,  please leave  your comments below

Happy Painting!

Ambah xx

P.S Leave a Comment to Let Us Know What You Think!

Here’s a design for the boys! This Ice Pixie can be a fun addition to your christmas theme designs & you can use it all year round. Happy painting this festive season!

Buy Face Painting Supplies Here!

Click Here to Leave a Comment!

To Achieve This Design Get These Supplies:

• Metallic Face Paints
• Glitter Gel (Liquid Glitter)
• Tools (Sponges & Brushes)

P.S. Click Here to Leave a Comment
& Let Us Know What You Think!

Hello Everybody, Thanks for all of your great feedback everybody, I have made my first, of many to come, youtube video!! I had so many requests for a split cake leaf tutorial that I have made one for you. You can use the Diamond FX Mini Jungle Split-Cake to create this design.

To Start Painting One Stroke Leaves Today
Click Here to Get Your Own Diamond FX Mini Jungle Split-Cake!

Click here to Leave a Comment & Tell Us What You Think!

To Start Painting One Stroke Leaves Today Get Your…
Diamond FX Mini Jungle Split-Cake AND
1 Inch Flat Brush Here!

Hello Everybody,

I am  a big fan of one stroke face painting with split cakes, it makes face painting so fast and beautiful! It’s great to see you can now buy the Diamond FX Split Cakes on here. Today I have  put together two flower step by steps for you to try, using the (one stroke) Mini Split Cakes and a 3/4 Inch Flat Brush.

The first design, Frangipani, can be painted using the DFX Mini Sunset Split-Cake, just use the side with the white for this design (don’t pick up the violet). You can also use the DFX Mini Jungle Split-Cake for the leaves in both designs. You can use the DFX Mini Party Split-Cake for  the rose design (don’t pick up the violet).
Click Here to Leave a Comment and Let Us Know What You Think!

Get Your Own DFX Mini Sunset Split-Cake Here to Paint this Design! Products Used in the Frangipani Design:
DFX Mini Sunset Split-Cake, DFX Mini Jungle Split-Cake, 3/4 Inch Flat Brush

Get Your Own DFX Mini Party Split-Cake Here to Paint this Design!

Products Used in the Rose Design:
DFX Mini Party Split-Cake, DFX Mini Jungle Split-Cake, 3/4 Inch Flat Brush

Click Here to Leave a Comment and Let Us Know What You Think!

Click Here to Leave a Comment and Let Us Know What You Think!

Hello Everyone, I am excited that I have finally branched out into the big world of you tube videos…..I have made this one for you using images from a step by step design of a lacey mask – this is great for teens and adults:

Click Here to Buy Your Face Painting Supplies

Click here to view the embedded video.

lace mask face painting design

Hello Face Painting Friends,

I have had a very busy month this July teaching Face and Body Art workshops in Melbourne, Gold Coast and Darwin, Australia.

workshop demonstration designs painted by Ambah

Teaching is wonderful, I get to meet new people, visit places I haven’t been before and my students always teach me new things too! I find that when I teach my students how to paint something they mix the techniques they have learnt with thier own creativity and individual style to give it thier own “flavour”

Teaching also inspires me to continue to improve and upgrade my skills to keep the workshops fresh and relevant to our ever evolving industry. I also love to teach the techniques that really work for me in busy job environments – line busters! designs that I can whip out to keep the long line moving along, as this is what the majority of my face painting work involves.

CLICK HERE TO LEAVE A COMMENT & ASK QUESTIONS OR
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT WORKSHOPS!

I would love to hear your tips for keeping the line moving during busy events…….I like to have a list of ideas for the child to choose from, rather than a picture board, this enables me to paint the quick or details version of the design depending on how busy I am.

The list suggest simple themes, such as fairy princess: rainbow, flower, ocean, ect they choose the design and variation and I get to create something just for them, within the time frame I have.

Queensland Workshop

I have some workshop images to give you a taste of the beautiful work my students created, to the left is a pile of heads from the face painting day in the Gold Coast, we were practicing scary boy designs! with Lovly Erinn a real model among the practice heads….

The final workshop for Gold Coast was the Body Painting day, I was so impressed by the beautiful work. The theme reflected the previous day’s jewellery and lace workshop.

Body Painting Day in the Gold Coast

I have included 4 images, although there were so many lovely designs it was hard to pick just 4.

Karin’s design is her first ever body paint, also there is a beautiful image of talented Milana’s work .

My final Destination was Tropical Darwin, for some warm workshops.

I was teaching community organisations, and had the pleasure of introducing many new people to the wonderful world of Face Painting.

My final image is a montage of some of the many demonstration designs I painted at each of the classes in Melbourne, Gold Coast and Darwin.

Phew a busy month!

workshop demonstration designs painted by Ambah

You can also visit Ambah’s youtube channel here.

Face & Body Painting Workshops with Ambah 2011….

“Like ” Ambah’s face & body art facebook page here for latest news updates.

Visit Ambah’s website here to find out more about her workshops and tutorials and latest news.

Please visit the Courses page to view current workshop details.

Ambah travels throughout Australia and Internationally to teach. Please contact Ambah if you are interested in workshops in your area ambah@ambah.com.au

I look forward to hearing your comments,tips and questions, please leave your comments below

Happy Painting!

Ambah xx

P.S Buy Face Paints for your Face Painting Kit!

Hello face painting Friends,

Today I am going to share a step by step design that is great for older children & teens. Click Here to Leave a Comment or Ask a Question!

Designs on arms and legs are always poular with this age group – especially in summer!  They love it when I include their or thier friends name. This design has stars, but you could easily add hearts, flowers, spiders, dolphins or anything else to the boarder, and have the back ground and name in a different colour – there are many possibilities with this theme.

ARM GRAFFITI – rainbow name:

Click Here to Leave a Comment or Ask a Question!

Step 1: Swipe a rainbow across the area, pat gently to blend the colours and make it nice and bright.

Step 2: Write a name, in caplitals or lower-case letters, fancy or plain!

Step 3: Add some stars and outline in Black

Step 4: Decorate around the edge with swirls and teardrops.

Step 5: Add some white dots to the design, use some black to add lowlights to the swirls and tear drops – this helps them stand out. glitter the design!

Viola – a  fast and impressive arm design.

Click Here to Leave a Comment or Ask a Question!

You can also visit Ambah’s youtube channel here.

Face & Body Painting Workshops with Ambah 2011….

“like “  Ambah’s face & body art facebook page here for latest news updates.

Visit Ambah’s website here to find out  more about her workshops and tutorials and latest news.

Please visit the Courses page to view current workshop details.

Ambah travels throughout Australia and Internationally to teach. Please contact Ambah if you are interested in workshops in your area ambah@ambah.com.au

I look forward to hearing your comments,tips  and questions,  please leave  your comments below

P.S…Buy Face Paints for your Face Painting Kit Right Here!

I had some fun painting special FX with my son recently, we are helping out with a school project for my nephew. It’s certainly something that the boys (and girls too) really love!

I get quite  a few requests to paint bruises and cuts on boys and girls when face painting and I thought I’d share some ideas with you. Modelled by my son Felix.

Bruises:

this can be used for black eyes and bruises on the body.

1. Wet the sponge and squeeze out the water so it is slightly damp. The paint is best applied only slightly wet so it goes on lightly.

2. Dab the end of the sponge in the purple, dab under the eye, so it looks like bags under the eyes, also dab the outer corner of the eye and a little over the top.

3. Use the other end of the sponge and dab yellow on the brow of the eye and under the outer corner, this is to make it look puffy.

4. Dab some red onto the sponge and add a little under the bottom of the eye, and the side of the nose.

5. Lightly add some black over some of the purple areas

6. Ahhh beautiful! A shiner.

Click Here to Ask a Question or Share Your Ideas!

Experiment with the wax to create wounds any where, slash wounds, bullet holes, try having a nail or object sticking out of the wax!!

1. Roll the wax and sit on skin, dip your finger in water and smooth out the edges to blend into the skin. Also use the spatula and your finger nail.

2. Use the spatula to cut a groove into the wax. Paint a thin black line in here to make the cut look deeper.

3. Get some cake blood on the sponge, a bit wetter than for the black eye, and dab lightly onto the wax and around the wound a bit. You can also sponge some on the skin to create a graze.

4. Add some black lines to the graze. Use the liquid blood to ooze from the wound and graze….

1. Flatten a small bit of tooth wax.

2. Dry your tooth with your finger and squish the wax onto the tooth.

I used snazaroo products for the special FX, the water based wax, blood and cake blood are wonderful. I used my standard paint kit for the black eye.

Click Here to Ask a Question or Share Your Ideas!

P.S.

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One of my favourite canvasses to paint on is a lovely round belly of an expectant mother. Often the little one inside let’s you know they are there with a few wiggles and kicks! its really beautiful. Whether you have ten minutes or an hour to spend here are a few tips to help you and I would love to hear yours as well.
(Click here to leave a comment and share your tips and thoughts!)

-Talk to the mother to be prior to your session and find a design theme that reflects her. I have a folder with a collection of images I am inspired by to show a mum who needs some ideas.

- Use the natural shape you are presented with : the belly is round so go with it and incorporate a round design : fish bowl, spiral, soccar ball, eye ball, pumpkin, mandala, or curve the image around the belly.

-Plan some quick designs to have up your sleeve in case you get the opportunity to paint a mum at a face painting job, base these on designs you use for face painting so you are used to painting them fast.

-Make sure the Mother is comfortable, and change positions regularly for longer sessions, have her sit for a while then stand, ect. Have plenty of pillows to tuck around her. It is nice to do it at her house.

-I like to have the mum to be wearing a plain colour, usually black, for the pictures to help the design stand out, wrap tops are a great option.

Click here to share your tips and thoughts!

- When planning a session it is good to keep in mind the optimum time for painting is around 8 months.

-it can be fun to paint the Siblings and Father and include them in the photos.

-Be creative, the larger  area allows you to explore people painting in a different way, and create a beautiful keepsake for the family.

P.S….Buy Face Paints for your Face Painting Kit Right Here!

Hello Face Painting Friends,

Today I am posting a step by step design for you. It is a dinosaur mask that is very popular with the boys – and occasional dad too.

This was first published in issue 11 of Illusion Magazine.

Illusion is a magazine especially for Face and Body Artists, I have contributed several step by step designs to past issues & have just designed a special one for their upcoming book: Illusion and Friends (2).

(Click Here to Tell Us What You Think!)

I am a fan of it as it covers so many aspects of our industry, with plenty of Step by Steps by many different Artists to try out, reader’s pages, buisiness tips, great interviews on Artists and much more for all levels….

I find myself regularly flicking through old editions and gaining new inspiration from them……and no I’m not getting paid to write this   …there are other great publications relating to our industry too, including:

www.americanfacepainter.com published quaterly, this magazine features step by steps based on a particular them each issue.

www.brushstrokesmag.com an online publication with great step by steps, interviews, reviews and more.

And of course www.facepaintingtips.com which has fantastic ebooks that you can download instantly with fun step-by-step face painting designs!

Leave a comment to ask Ambah any questions!

P.S What are your favorite face painting books/ebooks/magazines/ezines?
Click here to Let Us Know

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“Helping You Paint with Your Favorite Face Paints!”
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Today I am going to talk about how I seat my model for Face Painting. I notice that all of the painters I work with do this a bit differently, so I look forward to your comments about what works for you.

I generally like to stand while I paint, while it can be a little tiring, I find that I have great stamina after years of doing it and can stand for very long periods. Sometimes I use an adjustable office stool, on wheels, if I am going to be painting for a very long period or for several days at the one event.

I like to stand as it means I can move around a bit while working, I like to stand to the front of the model and also to the right side of the model to make painting that side of the face easier ( I am right handed) This is why I use the stool with wheels, so I can move around the model. I generally use the stool for painting small children and stand for the older children and adults.

I seat my model on a tall directors chair, I have them sit close to me, right at the front of the chair. I have a little step that I have them put their feet on, adults too!  The step is also for them to climb up to the chair with out me needing to lift them, If they need lifting I ask the parents to do it as I want to look after my back. Really little children can’t reach the step with their feet, that’s fine, most can.

(Click Here to Leave a Comment and Tell Me
What You Think About Seating Your Models!)

Once they are seated with their feet on the step, I ask them to put their hands on their knees. This position keeps them very stable and still. Having the hands on knees also helps the child to relax and let their head go back for me to paint them. If their hands are elsewhere eg. behind them, I notice it is much more difficult for their head to relax back.

This position really works for me, sometimes I have to remind the child while I am painting them to do one of the things (feet firmly flat on the step, hands on knees)

I took a picture over the weekend of a child “in the position”. You can see my set up too -  I fit all of my gear into a Fat Max, which I use as my table, once packed up I only have this pull along and carry  the tall chair  – very portable!

P.S Click Here to Leave a Comment and tell me what you think!

P.P.S Buy Face Paints for your Face Painting Kit Right Here!

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.

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Hello Face Painters,

With Valentines Day drawing close I have a Step by Step design for you. I actually paint this design all year round, Heart Princesses are alway popular!

Click Here to Leave a Comment and Tell Me What You Think! Thanks

Click Here to Leave a Comment and Tell Me What You Think! Thanks

I hope you all have a very romantic, and creative Valentine’s day.

xxx

P.S.Buy Face Paints for your Face Painting Kit Right Here!

]]> http://www.facepaintingtips.com/blog/2010/02/08/valentines-day-heart-princess-face-paint-design/feed/ 26 http://www.facepaintingtips.com/blog/2010/01/06/happy-new-year/ http://www.facepaintingtips.com/blog/2010/01/06/happy-new-year/#comments Wed, 06 Jan 2010 01:08:40 +0000 Ambah http://facepaintingtips.com/blog/?p=1041

Face & Body Painting Workshops with Ambah 2011….

“like “  Ambah’s face & body art facebook page here for latest news updates.

Visit Ambah’s website here to find out  more about her workshops and tutorials and latest news.

Please visit the Courses page to view current workshop details.

Ambah travels throughout Australia and Internationally to teach. Please contact Ambah if you are interested in workshops in your area ambah@ambah.com.au

Hello face painting friends,

I was most excited when Philadelphia invited me to be a regular contributer here. I will be posting monthly chit chat about my life & experiences as a Face & Body Painter. I am more adept with a paintbrush than a keyboard so please bear with me as I warm up to my regular posts….

Christmas has well and truly begun! I have painted at several christmas events in the last week, making great use of my split cakes – these really make face painting so much faster. I had been using split cakes here and there over the last couple of years but I have to say meeting and learning from Rebecca of Arty Brush Strokes in Febuary this year has revolutionalised split cakes for me.

Rebecca comes from a Folk Art background and applied the flat brush techniques to face painting with amazing results and since then split cakes have really taken off! Rebecca has collaborated with Heather Banks to produce arty brush cakes, a collection of split cakes in striking combinations to be used for all kinds of creations, they have also put out a DVD.

Earlier this year I had the pleasure  making a video for Heather, featuring split cakes – I use a “filbert” shape brush in this to demonstrate one of my most popular eye designs. you can check this out here:

Click here to view the embedded video.

I have developed many of my own split cake designs and am always looking for inspiration for more, I have quite a repitoire of super-fast designs for christmas that I have been using for the busy christmas events. They are so fast, yet people just go “wow” over the designs – I almost feel as though I am cheating!

Working with the flat brush does take a little getting used to, so I have started to teach split cake workshops where I go over the fundmentals of using the flat brush and share some of my designs.

I have a picture here , my son as a christmas elf, painted for our Family Christmas card.

Happy Painting!

Ambah O’Brien
www.ambah.com.au

P.S Click Here to Leave a Comment for Ambah!

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