– Keep them in a coupon organizer (accordion style), or in an album like the ones made for trading cards. You can use one slot for each stencil and that way you can find them easily without going through hundreds. You can label each page so you know what stencils are in each one.
Face Painting with Stencils – Instructions and Best Stencils Guide
Face painting with stencils represents a challenge to some while others think it is simply cheating. Here at Jest Paint, we think of stencils as a tool to enhance your work, to help you work faster when you need to, to help you add intricate details to a design so that it stands out, and to help you accomplish shapes and textures that are otherwise very hard to do free hand.
The intention of this guide is to show you how to use face painting stencils in a way that they won’t be seen by others, or by you, as cheating, but rather as a tool for specific purposes. We will also guide you through the huge variety of stencils available out there and recommend a few of our top choices and must-have stencils so that if you are just starting out with stencils you can get yourself a nice set that will get you through most gigs.
Keep reading to find the many uses of face painting stencils, find different techniques, some tricks, and the top stencils that we like to recommend to every face painter.
How to Use Face Painting Stencils?
Using stencils requires some practice, although they can look like an easy-to-use tool, the truth is that you will need to practice a little before you can get a good print. The most common issues with stencils are moving your stencil while you are applying the paint, or the paint being too wet and getting under your stencil. We will cover a few important things that you need to know in order to get a perfect stencil print.
The Best Face Paint for Stenciling
Although you might have read a little bit about this topic in our Ultimate Face Paint Guide blog post, we will cover some extra ground in this post.
“Using the right tools is the most important thing when painting with stencils, if you get the wrong paint or applicator, your stencils won’t come out right”
When choosing a kind of face paint to use with stencils you have a few options. You can use a Glycerin Based face paint like Superstar or Paradise, you can use powder-based face paints like Starblend, or you can use airbrush face paint with an airbrush compressor and an airbrush gun, like Vibe.
“Don’t forget to check our How to Activate Face Paint blog post for more detailed information about it.”
Using Glycerin based face paints is great because you can get a very creamy load that won’t bleed under your stencil. Wax-based face paints tend to have a thinner consistency and they can bleed under your stencil. With the right technique, you can make almost any paintwork, but glycerin-based paints will make it a bit easier.
Using Powder based face paints is another great option. Powders have the great advantage that will not bleed at all under your stencil, but if you cake the powder too thick there will be some fall out when you remove the stencil. Also, when using powders you might need to use a primer first so that the powder sticks better to the skin. You can use face paint, glycerin, or lotion as your primer. Use just a tiny bit, all you need is for the skin to be slightly tacky so the powder sticks.
Using airbrush-style face paints with an airbrush gun and a compressor is a third and very popular option. This is a common option if you are stenciling a full face, doing airbrush tattoos, or even if you are adding textures to a body painting design. Follow the paint manufacturer’s instructions in regards to the right PSI for the paint, so that you work with the right air pressure.
The Best Applicator
This is really a matter of choice, but we will give you a few tips on good stencil applicators and why we like them.
If you are working with water-activated face paints then using a kabuki brush or a small pore sponge (like a latex-free makeup sponge) is a great idea. Either one tends to create fewer issues with bleeding than regular face paint sponges. You can use a regular face paint sponge but you have to make sure it is extra dry.
“Check our How to Use a Face Painting Sponge blog post for more information on sponges and how to use them.”
One of our favorite sponges for stenciling is the Splash Droplet Sponge because it has very small pores and a rounded edge that makes it easy to get a nice even print.
Another great option, if you are working with powders, is a smoothie blender or velvet blender applicator . They are great because they are small enough to be able to choose what areas of the stencil to use and which ones not to, and they are very sturdy so you can press hard enough to get a good print.
If you are using liquid face paints then using an airbrush gun and a compressor might be your best option. Just make sure not to have the pressure too high and to work far enough from the stencil itself so that paint is not pushed under it.
The Technique (airbrush vs sponge/brush)
Having the right technique is just as important as using the correct paint and the correct applicator. There are a few very important things you need to keep in mind when using face painting stencils.
Make sure to press the stencil against the skin firmly at all times. If the stencil is large and you can’t hold the entire stencil down at once, make sure to keep pressure around the area you are applying the paint and as you need to reach for other areas of the stencil walk slowly with your fingers to keep the stencil from shifting.
Always make sure to use a clean and dry stencil. If your stencil is wet or it has paint on the bottom, it will likely smear or stain the design underneath.
If using an airbrush, keep a good distance from your stencil so that the paint is not pushed under the stencil, but not too far that you will get over-spray. Don’t try and get a solid coverage at once, move your airbrush back and forward over the stencil area until you get the opacity you want.
If using a sponge or brush, make sure to always paint inwards, from the edges in, rather than outwards, so that you don’t force paint under the stencil. Use slow and gentle moves. You can gently pat the skin if you are using a sponge, or move your brush in a circular motion if you are using a kabuki-style brush.
In this case, it is also important to make sure the paint is almost dry . Before applying the stencil test the sponge or brush on your skin. It should feel almost dry and tacky. If your sponge or brush has too much water, squeeze all the water out, or go over a dry towel with the brush or sponge to remove excess water.
If you are using a smoothie blender with dry powders , then make sure to get a good load of powder on your smoothie, but not too thick that it would create fall out. Make slow and firm short strokes with your smoothie over the stencil to get the powder to stick to the skin. Remember, using a primer is recommended when working with powders.
What to Use Face Painting Stencils For?
As we mentioned at the beginning, there is a lot that can be done with stencils and the only limit is your imagination. We will cover the main things that most face painters do when using stencils, but you can come up with your own ideas once you learn how to use them.
Creating Textures
There are many stencils that have different textures, like animal prints, squares, circles, lines, and more. These are great for adding textures to your butterfly wings, tiger faces, lizard and monster faces, etc.
These textures make your design stand out and look extra detailed while not a lot of extra work is required to get there.
Adding small intricate details
Sometimes you just want to add some cute stars, hearts, or flowers to a design, by the edge of it, or by the corner of the eye.
Stencils can be very handy for that since they give you a fast way of adding a cute detail that looks sharp and stands out. You can check out some cute flower stencils in our shop.
Making quick Cheek-Art designs
Sometimes you just need to bust through a face painting line or paint something quick in a little one that won’t stop moving. Cheek-art style stencils are perfect for that, they look cute and intricate enough yet they are super easy to apply.
You can visit our animal stencils section for some ideas.
Full Face Airbrush Designs
Many artists working at festivals like to do full-face designs using full-face stencils and an airbrush. This is a great way of making fast yet great-looking designs, which is ideal in a festival setting if you are getting paid by the face. Using full-face stencils also allows you to have uniformity. Sometimes you have a group of 3 or even 6 artists working at the same booth and people expect the same quality of work regardless of the artists that end up doing their face. So, having full-face stencils is a great way of achieving that without hours of training to match a particular style of painting.
ShowOffs has an entire line of full-face – face painting stencils that is great for this kind of situation.
Airbrush Tattoos
Another great option for festivals is airbrush tattoos. Airbrush tattoos are very popular with all ages, and they can easily be done with an airbrush compressor and an airbrush gun.
You can choose to do simple check-art style designs on the upper arm, hand, or face, or go with the more realistic style tattoos using stencils like the ones by Tattoo Pro.
DIY Halloween Face Paint Templates
Are you ready to take your face-painting skills to a new level? These fail-proof Halloween face paint templates will have your friends wondering if you grew up traveling with a circus! Great results are really easy to achieve, even if it’s your first try.
Forget about messy wet paint—we’ll be using eye shadow, eye liner, a pinch of glitter, and a few basics shapes that are provided in the free downloadable PDF templates. Just about everything that you need for this project is probably already inside your makeup drawer. If not, a quick trip down the cosmetics aisle will complete your face-painting kit.
Let’s get started!
Lion Cub
Pair with: Lion Costume
- Black Eye Shadow
- Dark Brown Eye Shadow
- Gold Eye Shadow
- White Eye Shadow
- Black Liquid Eye Liner (or eye liner pencil)
- Lion Face Paint Template (download here)
Step 1: Apply white eye shadow in an hourglass shape to create the lion’s muzzle. Start on the forehead, go around the inside corners of the eyes, and around the nose. Use the top of your child’s mouth as the base of the hourglass. Leave a spot open on the tip of your child’s nose for the lion’s nose.
Step 2: With your child’s eyes closed, cover the area outside the hourglass shape with gold eye shadow, going around your child’s eyes and then covering the rest of their face. Don’t go quite to the edge – leave roughly half an inch or so around the edge of your child’s face for the lion’s mane.
Step 3: Outline the gold eye shadow area with dark brown eye shadow to create the fluffy lion’s mane around your child’s face. Use short, inward “fur” strokes with dark brown eye shadow to blend the mane with the gold eye shadow area that’s covering the face area. For added effect, blend the brown eye shadow into your child’s hairline. Finish by fluffing out your child’s hair with stiff hairspray.
Step 4: Apply black eye shadow to the tip of your child’s nose, following its natural shape.
Step 5: Apply black liquid eye liner using short, inward strokes to accent the lion’s man around your child’s face, on top of the brown eye shadow.
Step 6: Outline the hourglass shape using black liquid eye liner. Use short, quick strokes at the top of the hourglass, and draw a small, inverted v-shape at the bottom of the hourglass (just above the lips). Use brushy strokes for an added fur-like effect.
Step 7: Using black liquid eye liner, draw a small v-shape on the outside corner of each eye, lines under the eyes, fierce eyebrow lines (following the shape of your child’s eyebrows), and a small black line under your child’s mouth to finish the muzzle.
Step 8: Using black liquid eye liner, add three dots on either side of the bottom of your child’s nose and three quick strokes on either side of the muzzle for the whiskers.
Step 9: Draw the outlines for fangs at the corners of your child’s mouth and fill in with white eye shadow.
Step 10: Finish it off by using short, quick strokes with black liquid eye liner to add fur-like embellishments. Add as many as you like!
Jack O’ Lantern
Pair With: Pumpkin Fairy Costume
- Black Eye Shadow
- Brown Eye Shadow
- Green Eye Shadow
- Orange Eye Shadow
- Black Liquid Eye Liner
- Green Ultra Fine Cosmetic Glitter
- Orange Ultra Fine Cosmetic Glitter
- Jack ‘O Lantern Face Paint Template (download here)
Step 1: With your child’s eyes closed, create a triangle over each eye using black eye shadow. Create another small triangle on the tip of your child’s nose.
Step 2: Use black eye shadow to create the jack o’ lantern’s mouth. Extend the mouth of the jack o’ lantern about an inch on either side of your child’s mouth. Add three small squares above your child’s mouth for the jack o’ lantern’s teeth.
Step 3: Apply orange eye shadow to the rest of your child’s face. You can use the orange eye shadow to refine the shapes of the eyes, nose and mouth (try doing that with paint!).
Step 4: Use black liquid eye liner to outline the eyes, nose and mouth to sharpen things up a bit.
Step 5: Draw a line around the pumpkin and the lines inside the pumpkin using brown eye shadow.
Step 6: Rough-in the area for the stem and leaves with green eye shadow. Go over with black liquid eye liner to outline and refine the shape of the stem and leaves.
Step 7: Dampen your fingers and gingerly apply orange glitter over the face of the pumpkin. Apply green glitter over the stem and leaves.
Butterfly Fairy
Pair With: Butterfly Fairy Costume
- Pink Blush
- Pink Shimmer Eye Shadow
- Purple Eye Shadow
- White Eye Shadow
- Pink Liquid Eye Liner
- Purple Liquid Eye Liner
- White Liquid Eye Liner
- Cosmetic Rhinestones/Gems
- Eyelash Adhesive
- Butterfly Fairy Face Paint Template (download here)
Step 1: Apply pink blush to your child’s cheeks.
Step 2: With your child’s eyes closed, apply the wing shape above your child’s eyes using white eye shadow (extending beyond the eyes on the sides).
Step 3: Outline the top and outside edge of the white wing shapes using pink shimmer eye shadow, meeting in the middle between the eyes.
Step 4: Apply an oval shape in the middle of your child’s forehead using pink shimmer eye shadow. You could use a teardrop, diamond, star or other favorite shape as well.
Step 5: Draw embellishments around the inside corner of the eyes, above the eyes, and the outside corner of the eyes using purple liquid eye liner. Don’t worry if the shapes don’t match perfectly on either side of your child’s face—asymmetrical, organic shapes will pull off the look just as well.
Step 6: Use pink liquid eye liner to outline the oval shape on the forehead and trace the other embellishments for added effect.
Step 7: Use white liquid eye liner to trace the other embellishments and shapes for added effect.
Step 8: Using white liquid eye liner, apply white dots around the oval shape on the forehead and white dotted lines under the eyes for dainty, fairy-like look.
Step 9: Apply a small dot of eyelash adhesive in the center and above the oval shape on the forehead as well as the outside corner of the eyes. Let the adhesive set for 10-15 seconds and then apply the cosmetic rhinestones/gems.
Tips & Tricks
- Place one hand on top of your child’s head or under their chin to hold them steady as you work.
- If you accidentally smudge an area with the wrong color, it’s an easy fix. Just go back over it and mix with the original color.
- Large applicators will make the job much easier! You could also use makeup sponges, cut into quarters, or whichever size suits your design.
- Substitute your own colors to match your child’s specific costume.
- Apply with a soft touch – you don’t have to use much pressure.
