If you’re here because this cute cheetah caught your eye, I want to tell you a secret — you aren’t the only one who will think so!
This simple and cute cheetah design for all wild-cat-loving kids will delight your clients too! Read through the steps to catch the tips and tricks that make this easy design so WOW.
Materials:
- Superstar white #161
- Ivory: Superstar “Almond” #016
- Light Brown: Superstar Mocca (Alternative: Superstar “Pecan” #031)
- Medium Brown: Superstar “Chocolate” #024
- Dark Brown: Superstar “Dark Brown” #025
- Petal sponges
- Sparkling Faces brush round 1 and 3 (Alternative: Blazin’ Brush Round brush #1 and #3)
- BAM stencil 1001 (Discontinued. Alternative: BAM stencil 1002)
By the way, if you are looking for the best face painting supplies, you may find it helpful checking out our specific recommendations for best paint, brushes, stencils and more! Check out our “Face Painting Supplies Guide”!
STEP 1:
Using a glycerin based white and a petal sponge, I created the muzzle and ears. Next I sponged the middle section of the face with an ivory colour. Using a glycerin based face paint makes it easier to blend the different colours together and has a softer feel to the skin. The petal sponge is quite small, which makes it easier to build up the shape of the mask.
STEP 2:
To define the mask’s shape, I used superstar mocca on the edges. I use the edge of the sponge to shape the ears, which are rounded and end along the nostril – the outer corner of the eye line. The cheeks follow a rounded shape ending in the corners of the mouth. I also added a light dab of mocca on the tip of the nose and blended everything with the ivory colour.
STEP 3:
To create cheetah spots, I used a stencil and a petal sponge loaded with superstar chocolate. Be sure to use a somewhat dry paint consistency to avoid bleeding the paint underneath the stencil. I released pressure near the edges of the stenciled area to create a faded effect and made sure to stencil some spots on the edge of the mask as well to create the illusion of spots continuing beyond the mask edges.
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STEP 4:
For line work I continued to use glycerin paint and I used dark brown instead of black to maintain a softer look. (Waxy paints are in general more suitable than glycerine ones to get crisp and sharp tipped lines). I painted the nose by laying the brush flat on the side of the nostril and ended in the middle by pushing it upwards.
The spots over the eyes I painted as two reversed teardrops and I painted the eyelids ending in a sharp tip pointing towards the end of the brow along the eyeliner line. Make sure your paint is not too wet when painting in the eye area to prevent it from seeping into the eyes!
I painted my son and as he’s pretty used to being painted near his eyes I also gave an outline underneath his eyes to frame them and to give the design extra dimension. You might want to skip this part if you’re in doubt a kid will accept being painted in this sensitive area.
For the bolder lines and teardrops I used my round brush size 3, the finer lines were painted with a size 1.
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STEP 5:
I painted the furry outline with short flicks of my brush (round 1) in an irregular pattern. Lastly I painted the muzzle area with a connecting line to the inner corners of the eyes and three lines from the sides of the muzzle to the middle of the line that separates the muzzle area. You could also paint spots, but if you are looking for speed, this is a very effective way to give the impression of these spots.
The lower lip was painted last to finish the design.
Always make sure kids don’t lick their lips right before you paint them and to use the right consistency of paint here.
If you love quick designs, boy designs, wild cat designs, or face painting of any kind, you can’t miss our ultimate inspiration guide. We scoured public and private collections of face paint art to bring you The World’s Best Face Painting Ideas For Any Occasion!
And the design is finished! Let me know if you have any questions and make sure to tag me if you recreate this, I’d love to see it. And don’t forget to roar!!!
You can contact me/tag me on my Instagram: instagram.com/wies_facepainting
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