With Halloween just around the corner, here are three easy face painting designs from self-taught artist Lei Parnes that you can try on your kids at home. All you need is some face paint, brushes and a little eyeshadow, and voila, you’re good to go!
Clown
Step 1: Using a makeup sponge, dab splotches of white on the upper eyelids till just above the brow bone.
Step 2: Take a fine-tipped paintbrush and paint a red circle on the tip of your little one’s nose.
Step 3: Using the same brush, outline and fill the bottom lip, extending the line a little past the corners of the lips.
Step 4: Take some bright red blusher, and using your blush brush, rub in circular motions on the apples of the cheeks.
Step 5: Take some black paint, and draw on eyebrows at an incline just above the white splotches.
Step 6: Using the same black paint and paintbrush, draw three dots in a triangular shape on each cheek.
Step 7: Dot four dots in a diamond shape on the red tip of the nose.
And you’re done!
Sugar Skull
Step 1: Using a makeup sponge, paint the entire face white, save for two circles around the eye sockets and the tip of the nose.
Step 2: Using a fine-tipped paintbrush and black paint, trace the outline of the circles around both eyes.
Step 3: Using the same black paint and paintbrush, draw and fill up a teardrop shape on the tip of the nose.
Step 4: Trace a line across the bottom lip with black paint.
Step 5: Draw vertical lines across the lips as shown below.
Step 6: Using red paint, dab the tip of the brush around the outline of the eyes.
Step 7: Fill in the black circles with black paint.
Step 8: Draw a line extending from the top of the cheekbone that fades off as you reach the mouth.
And there you have it — a sugar skull!
Scary Pumpkin
Step 1: Using a thick paintbrush, paint your little one’s face orange as a base, save for the eye sockets, tip of the nose and around the mouth.
Step 2: Using black paint, trace a circle around the unpainted area of both eyes.
Step 3: Fill in said circles with black paint.
Step 4: Draw and fill in a ‘Batman’-shaped silhouette on the tip of the nose, as shown below.
Step 5: Outline the shape of a grin and fill in with black paint.
Step 6: Draw vertical lines over the whole face, following the contours, to create the grooves in a pumpkin.
Step 7: Using a makeup sponge, strategically dab bright yellow paint between the lines, to give the face depth.
Step 8: Shade around the ‘grooves’ you have drawn using brown eyeshadow and a concealer or foundation brush. Then use a big fluffy brush to blend.
There’s your scary pumpkin!
About Lei Parnes
Stay-at-home mum of three Lei started face-painting just for fun. Her interest was piqued during Halloween 2014, when she did her family’s makeup to go trick-or-treating. She enjoyed it so much that she started the 100 days of makeup challenge on her Instagram page in early 2015. A self-taught artist who learnt everything from tutorials and through trial and error, Lei learnt how to hold brushes and work with the paint over time with practice, and has since honed her skills. She boasts more than 30,000 followers on Instagram who admire her work.
Check out her work here.
