Do you do face painting?

[LaBelleDameSansPatience]

I do face painting at local fetes and also for DD and her friends, using large pots of flat paint from Amazon and make up sponges and ordinary paint brushes.

The trouble is, I find it really hard to get the flat matt background with the paint, or to blend the background colours smoothly. The paint always comes out blotchy and if I go over it to try and smooth it, the sponge pulls off the paint underneath. Are there any techniques you could share?

(The fine lines with the paint brush always come out rather well, IMHO!)

I find it goes blotchy when my sponge is too wet or when I smear it around. It works best with a barely moist sponge, dabbed on rather than rubbed.

I've also found that make-up sponges don't work as well as a slightly coarser, bog-standard baby sponge. Cut the sponge into wedges, rather than using the whole thing.

And let the first layer dry a bit before dabbing on an extra layer to cover any gaps. Gradually build it up in thin layers (not easy to do with a queue of impatient 5yos!)

dab,dab,dab,dab the sponge instead of dragging it. And, I second the cutting the sponge into a wedge and having it barely damp. Skoosh the cakes of facepaint with misted water five mins before using them will help too.

Will try this - thanks!

if you do a search on youtube you'll get loads of ideas and hints and tips. Most of it is to do with having decent paint - snazaroo are ok, but wolf fx stuff is great - the white will go over the top of anything - nice.