Make your own Facepaint Stencils

If facepaint isn’t something you’re used to, using a stencil can make it much easier. It can also make it much less messy – especially if you are working with a child who won’t keep still!

Now, our Snazaroo kits come with their own stencils and designs included, but if you have a different design in mind or just change your mind at the last minute, making your own stencil gives you a little more flexibility.

There are several tutorials online that suggest using specialised Mylar plastic or other plastic film to make these stencils. For a small stencil, even transparent acrylic film can work well, or if you don’t want to reuse it just go for the basics and use card or paper.

Whatever material you use needs to be flexible so it can follow the shape of the skin you are painting. If it needs to wrap around an arm, rigid plastic is not the best choice. It also needs to be something that can come off skin easily and without irritating it. I may mention a certain lady who stuck sticky-back plastic on their son’s forehead to mark out the bat symbol they wanted to paint…

So to make a Faceplate stencil, you will need, sellotape, scissors, paper, and the material you want to make the mask out of.

1) Design or download and print out the image you want for the face paint.

2) Once you have the image on paper, check it against the size of the person’s face to make sure it fits, and resize if it needs changing.

3) Once the design is finalised, attach the sheet to the material you want to make the mask out of and cut it out. If you are using card or paper for the mask, you might just cut it out directly. Otherwise, it might be easier to lay it on a cutting board and tape the sheets together so they don’t move.

4) Place the stencil on the face, attaching it tightly to the skin with tape or another chosen fixing. Be careful to make sure the divisions between sections are clear and tight to the skin or your brush might go underneath them and blur the lines.

5) Paint.

6) Remove the stencil carefully: pulling it up slowly from one corner  and check your work.

 

If you haven’t done this before there are a few tips to make things easier:

– Don’t make one whole-face template. If you are going for a larger design, it will fit the curves of a face better in pieces.

– Foreheads and the sides of faces are generally easier to paint as they have larger flat areas.

– If you are a first-timer, go for a stencil without small or fiddly gaps between parts of the design, it makes it much easier. Three tiger stripes on each cheek is easier than a filigree butterfly.

And finally remember to have fun and if everything goes a bit askew, the Snazzarro face paints in store wash off with a little soap and water. No makeup remover required!