Monday, February 23, 2009

Adding Sparkle To Your Face Painting Design

By Rashel Dan

No special celebration and occasion is without some kind of face painting. With a fun face painting design, your kids can enjoy being tigers, princesses or vampires for the day. If you want out-of-the-ordinary results use other materials besides the basic paint. This article will show you some information about body glitter and jewelry and how to use them to boost your face painting design.

Glitter

Here's how glitter can add a new twist to your face painting design:

-Adding dimension - the sheen created by glitter gives your finished product a rounded effect.

- More interesting - glitter can be used to emphasize a certain spot on the face such as the nose or the eyes.

- Exudes a magical look - glitter is perfect for fantastical themes like fairy and dragon designs.

Here are kinds of glitter for face painting:

- Loose glitter - is best applied while the skin is still moist with paint or water. It can come in a variety of colors, which can be metallic or iridescent. Loose glitter is great for emphasizing certain parts of your face painting design since they tend to have a coarser grain and therefore more reflective effect or "sparkle."

- Gel glitter - is a liquid-type glitter that resembles transparent glue with glitter in it. Use this type of glitter to trace over the fine lines of your face painting design, as it is more convenient and gives cleaner results.

- Powder glitter - are glitters with the fine quality of powder. These grains tend to be so fine that they easily stick on moist skin. It is best to use powder glitter on large areas of the face for that "pearly" effect.

Some tips on how to apply glitter:

- For an all-over glittery effect, dip a moist sponge in some glitter and dab over the face with gentle, sweeping motions.

- When tracing over fine lines, use only a fine brush. Wet the brush with water and pat with fingers to squeeze out excess water. Dip the brush into glitter and sweep over details in abrupt motions.

Adding Skin Jewelry:

Stick-on jewelry can be used with your basic face painting design to add more texture. Skin jewelry is:

- Inexpensive - skin jewelry can be found in a crafts shop, department store or online. They are often made of plastic so they usually cost close to nothing.

- Quick to stick - all you have to do is peel the back of the jewel and stick on the skin.

- Reusable - there are now skin jewelry that can be put on, taken off and then applied again.

- Versatile - skin jewelry come in a variety of shapes, colors, textures and styles.

A beautiful face painting design usually doesn't require expensive material. All you really need to add more dimension and texture to a basic design is by simply using glitter and stick-on jewelry. Proper usage is easy to accomplish and can give you more than just the usual face painting design. - 16651

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