Friday, February 15, 2008

10 Ways to Make Money With Body Painting

10 Ways to Make Money With Body Painting




Are you considering making a living (or at least a little money on the side) doing body painting? Is it even possible to make a living doing body painting? Yes, you can make good money as a 'pro' body painter, and even kids as young as twelve have made good money (like $500-$400 in an afternoon) doing simple painting techniques like airbrushed temporary tattoos at fairs and festivals.

It may be difficult to believe that there are so many different ways to make money doing body painting. I know that when I first discovered the art of body painting, I thought maybe you could make some temporary money at a party or fair. But there are many, many more possibilities, as you will see.

Here are just 10 of the ways you could get paid to do body painting:

1. Doing body painting at parties. You could hire yourself for a night or a day and get paid either by the hour or a flat fee for the event.
2. Painting party-goers before they go to a party or event. Themed or holiday parties would be a good opportunity for this. Make sure you mention that you could body paint their friends, too!
3. As a professional body painter for the theatre. You could do one show for a discount to get in the door and get some recognition, if you don't have a track record yet.
4. Travel with the circus as their 'in house' makeup artist.
5. Become the official body painter for a dance company. Again, you could work for a low fee or even free to get in the door.
6. Face painting alone opens up several opportunities: parties, festivals, fairs, and special events all are possible places for you to set up shop. Just make sure (as with all these options) that you are using proper, non-allergenic paints meant for face painting alone.
7. Special events like graduations, celebrations, fundraisers, and reunions.
8. Sports events: painting fans in their team colors and symbols has had a long tradition.
9. Festivals around the world. There are several festivals specifically for body painting around the world, but there are many more that would be a great place for body painting. Look up the festivals in your area and find out how to become a vendor and what their requirements and rules are.
10. Teach others how to do body painting. You could hold a one-time workshop, give ongoing group classes or even do an online body painting course (as I am doing).

I hope this gives you some good ideas about how you could make money as a body painting artist. Maybe you have even thought of some ways that I didn't include...great! Choose one method, research what you need to do to get started, and go for it!

Bonus Tip:

Here's a secret hint...as you are considering one of the possibilities above. Don't choose what you think would make you the most money...choose what you think you would happiest and best at doing. You will always make more doing something you love doing, in the long run!

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Body Painting - 3 Steps to Find the Best Supplies

Body Painting - 3 Steps to Find the Best Supplies




Ready to get started body painting, but don't know what to use, how to get started or where to find the right supplies? Here's the 3 steps to finding and using good body painting supplies.

Step 1. Know what kind of body painting supplies you need:

There are many kinds of paint out there, and most are not for body painting. If you use the wrong kinds of paint, you may end up with you (or whoever you paint) having a mild to severe allergic reaction to the paint.

A mild reaction could be hives or a body rash. A severe reaction could be difficulty breathing. So don't take this lightly, and get the right paints to start with.

The right kind of body paint is tested for use on human skin and safe to use for overall body painting. They say they are for body painting specifically. Personally I would not go for the 'cheap' good deals on body paint, but would get the best to start with. It's not much more money, and you may as well be safe.

You will also want to get some good brushes and sponges for body painting. You don't need to invest in very expensive brushes, but I would suggest using natural fibers and not the very cheap kinds of craft brushes that will have the hairs falling out as you are using them. Also, cheap stiff brushes will be uncomfortable for the person you are body painting. So get some soft brushes, of 3 different sizes to start with:

- 1 very small with a pointed tip for fine detail
- 1 about a half inch wide
- 1 'fan' brush for blending

You will also want to get some sponges for body painting, in order to put light coats on and also for covering large areas quickly. You can find sponges in the same places you will find body paint. Which brings us to our next 'secret'...

Step 2. Know where to find materials for body painting:

There are two best suppliers for body paints and body painting that I have found.
If you look either of these names up on the internet you will be able to find the right kind of body painting supplies. (You are not likely to find these locally unless you live in a city that happens to have a body painting store or craft store that carries body painting supplies).

Snazaroo is marketed mostly for face painting, and in particular face painting for children. This is because Snazaroo fully complies with FDA and child safety guidelines. This are the only face paint that holds a "child toy safety rating." So if you are looking for the safest paint this would be a good choice.

The other two face and body painting suppliers that have great reputations out there are Kryolan and Mehron.

Kryolan mainly specializes in theatrical and professional body painting supplies, and Mehron is a pro makeup company that also specializes in body painting needs. You will find everything from paints to sponges to paint removal supplies at any of these suppliers, and the best way to find them is online.

Step 3. Know what kind of supplies will best fit your needs:

The main difference between these 3 face and body painting companies is that Snazaroo leans more toward kids and face painting supplies, While Kryolan and Mehron are marketed toward the adult, professional and theatre face and body painting crowd, and you will find a few more, higher grade options there.

Think about what you want to use your face or body paints for. Are you mainly going to be painting kid's faces at a birthday party? Or are you hoping to go into business as a pro body painter for a dance company?

If you're on a budget and want to just get started without investing too much, yet have good quality safe body paints, go with Snazaroo; if you're professional (or want more pro options) and are willing to spend a little more on your body painting, go with Kryolan or Mehron.

So that's it - go take a look and see what supplies would work best for you!

Bonus Tip: Get some baby wipes (natural ones, not the perfumed ones) to remove the paint quickly and easily.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Using Liquid Latex As Body Paint

Using Liquid Latex As Body Paint




The main advantages of using liquid latex over other kinds of body paint are duration and durability. Other body paints tend to rub off and smudge against fabric, often leaving dirty and possibly even stained clothing. Once liquid latex has dried on the skin it does not present these issues. Clothing will remain unblemished by the latex for as long as it is worn. Whilst perspiration and body heat may encourage the latex to separate from the skin slightly, the latex will not smudge or run but remain intact until the wearer removes it by simply tearing or peeling it away from the skin. Again, this does not leave a residue on the skin like many other body paints. Depending on your activities and the thickness of the applications, latex should last many hours before it begins to separate from the skin. If latex is painted entirely around body or body parts it will continue to cling to the body and can still be worn for an unlimited time. Generally, it can be worn out for an entire day or night, can be worn in water, and will last many hours through photo shoots, performances and many other activities.

There are however some minor disadvantages, nothing that should discourage the use of latex, more the need for a little common sense and preparation. Before applying latex to the body it is necessary to patch-test a small area of the skin to check for any allergic reactions. It is quite rare, most people are not allergic to latex, but a small percentage of users have reported skin irritation after coming into contact with this kind of body paint.

On occasions where liquid latex has been applied to the skin over hair it can be both difficult and painful to remove. Wet latex will bond permanently to hair as it does to fabric. The only way to remove latex with hair stuck to it is to pull it off, which of course also rips the hair off the skin. Anyone who has experienced body waxing will be familiar with the level of discomfort. The best preparation when applying liquid latex is to first remove hair from areas of the body to be painted. However, it is not always necessary as liquid latex can be removed from moderate amounts of body hair with little effort and minimum discomfort. Body hair may also be trimmed very short instead of shaving.

When buying liquid latex it is important to read the label and avoid any brand that does not specify 'for cosmetic use' or 'suitable for use as body paint'. Liquid latex is used in many other industries and you need to make sure you buy latex that does not contain toxic chemicals. Purchasing from a reputable body paint supplier is the safest way to ensure you're getting non-toxic latex suitable for skin application.

For the reasons stated above, children should be supervised by a responsible adult at all times when using this type of body paint.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Body Painting Promo Girls - How to Make Money Getting Your Body Painted For Beverage Promotions

Body Painting Promo Girls - How to Make Money Getting Your Body Painted For Beverage Promotions




Major Beverage Manufacturers are getting creative and are body painting attractive promo girls to boost their sales. Painting their brand's logo on a sexy promo girls body has been boosting their brand's image like no other marketing tool ever used.

Miller lite Girls are getting their bodies painted and getting more attention for the Miller lite brand than ever before. Have you happened to see how beautiful a girl looks after she has had her body painted?

Body Painting an attractive promo girl with a hot body is able to stand out among all the advertising noise in the market place. Marketing companies are getting creative by painting their logos on a girls breast to grab the attention of the beverage manufacturers targeted audience.

Beverage Manufacturers have to pocket out $1000 minimum to get a great body paint artist to paint their promo girls. I had 2 Miller lite girls at Dinah shores in Palm Springs and they had their bodies painted to resemble a Miller lite body. The art work was amazing and not to mention the girls bodies really made the body paint artist look really good.

The Miller lite promo girls received $300 per hour for this one weekend event. I have since seen many companies use hot body painted models to gain the attention of their consumers whether at a car show, trade show or a new club grand opening.

These Beverage manufacturers are budgeting millions of dollars towards this type of advertising.

They see the return on investment as an unmeasurable success. I did a casting in Hollywood for 4 girls to get their bodies painted for a major liquor and I had over 200 girls show up. The amount of beautiful girls in Hollywood that wanted to have their bodies painted was astounding. I even had girls that wanted to get their bodies painted for free.

If you would like the opportunity to have your body painted for a major liquor company and make up to $300 per hour, you must have a great body and be willing to expose your body to a crowd or people.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Butterfly Face Painting Designs - Body Painting Tips

Butterfly Face Painting Designs - Body Painting Tips




If you are planning to put some paintings on your body then butterfly face painting designs offer one of the excellent choices for you. Butterflies are one of the most attractive figures to choose because of the unlimited choices for its pattern; aside from the beauty it creates with its attractive mixtures of colors.

Moreover, butterfly face painting designs are also very simple to create that even beginners in body painting can do it with ease; using basic color combination to produce unique patterns. Aside from butterflies you can also choose other figures like various animals that include tigers and lions, birds and dragons, cats and dogs, bugs and insects, sharks and fishes, and so much more.

One of the most important things that you must bear in mind when doing body paintings is to blend the figures with the type of person wearing them. To give you some examples, when creating the art for children, it is best to choose designs that appeal to them like their favourite animated cartoon characters. For boys, they would love to wear various designs of cars, robots, pirates, and other stuffs for boys. On the other hand, girls would prefer to wear something that exude beauty like flowers and fairies, rainbows and butterfly face painting designs.

Additionally, the pattern should also be based on what the person intents to convey. If the individual is wearing body paintings to scare people then you can choose monsters and other Halloween figures; if they are wearing the paintings on their faces to add beauty then you may choose flower, birds and animal designs.

Regardless of what pattern to choose, it is essential to create designs that are well suited to the type of personality of the person wearing them; as well as choose designs that make them very comfortable in placing them on their face. Some people may feel uncomfortable in certain patterns that they will use it for only few minutes and eventually erase them; while people who are very proud and comfortable with the patterns on their faces wear them for much longer time.

Hence, before you start creating paints on faces, it is imperative to ask first the person on what design to use that will make them very comfortable. In most cases, men and women vary on their choices because men want something masculine; while women tends to choose something that radiates beauty like butterfly face painting designs.