Ever tried painting Spin, a.k.a. ‘Black Spider-Man,’ or the popular Miles Morales? For face painters like us, it poses a unique challenge.
Painting red lines over a black background is not ideal when we want a quick and eye-catching design…
So, what’s the solution?
This article offers a clever and easy-to-implement workaround. Keep reading, and you’ll be smiling the next time you’re tasked with the Black Spider-Man design!
Let’s get started!
Materials:
- DFX blue sponge – trimmed
- Eulenspiengel clown white (or other glycerin based white like Paradise White by Mehron or Line White by Superstar)
- DFX Red
- DFX White
- DFX Black
- Liner brush no.1 Sparkling Faces (Alternative: Blazin’ Brush liner no.1)
- Pointer Brush no.4 Sparkling Faces (Alternative: Blazin’ Brush liner no.4)
- Art Factory Filbert Brush ⅜”
- OOH stencil – S10
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Step 1
White base. Using one side of the sponge loaded with glycerin white, we create the classic Spider-Man eyes shape on the eyelids and with a small peak above the eyebrow.
These shapes will be placed at a 45° angle and will go no further down than the outer corners of the eyes.
Step 2
Red outline. Using a slightly big round brush we will outline the white eye shapes in red! We are using a larger round brush so we can do this step with only a few brush strokes!
Each eye outline is in fact made out of 2 large teardrops – they connect at the top of the eye shape and the teardrop closer to the ear is extending towards the focal point from the top of our model’s head.
The thin ends of these 2 teardrops will be oriented towards the inner and outer corner of the eye.
Step 3
Red base. Yes! You read it correctly. We will use the regular red base we are all already used to for Spiderman designs.
For this, we load the filbert brush with red and connect the red outlines through a bridge shape stroke done with the full width of the brush.
This way we will already cover a large area of the forehead in red. We want a quick design so the fewer strokes we use, the better.
Just pay attention to the top of the mask. There should be a gap left between the eye outline we just made and the red base we’re painting now.
Also, let the eye outline be the highest point of the design, so even the center of the base we’re painting now should not go higher than the eye outline which frames the forehead.
By the time we fill in the entire base with red, the paint left on the brush will be of a dry consistency and we will be able to fade it away nicely towards the nose.
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Step 4
Spider web. Here is my super trick! Usually we paint the actual spider web, but for this trick to work, we will actually paint the negative space of a spider web. In order to do that, we use a stencil.
I modified a side of my stencil to have fewer lines by simply cutting off every other piece of the spiral using a sharp cutter. Of course this step is optional!
This time we are not using a finger dauber for stencilling as we want to cover a larger area in a short amount of time, so we will work with a normal sponge loaded with black.
Place the stencil between the eye shapes having its bold edge lower than the edge of our red base.
When applying the black, we will go over that bold edge and frame the entire spiderweb nicely.
Be careful and work as clean as possible around the eye shapes but don’t worry if it is not perfect – we will take care of the details in the next step!
Step 5
Black outline. Using the large brush again, this time loaded with black, we will outline the eye shapes and the spider web for a neat effect and to make the red stand out even more.
For the eye shape outline we will use a thin to thick to thin kind of line for a better flow. And we can say it’s ready!
I would personally stop here as I love the deep colours effect and somehow this version is closer to the Spin character, but if you want to, you can add white highlights in the next step!
Step 6 (optional)
White highlights. This step is completely optional, but if you choose to add the highlights, make sure the red and the black are completely dry before applying the white strokes.
I made the mistake of using too big a brush for the highlights (a round no.3) – yes, we all make mistakes like this! I’d recommend using your favourite liner or small round brush for this step, mine is a Sparkling Face liner no. 1. Load the brush with creamy white.
If there is too much water in the white paint, it will re-activate the red and they will mix in an unwanted way.
If the paint is too dry, we will not be able to obtain clean and delicate strokes.
If you’re a beginner, don’t hesitate testing your brush on your hand before starting to paint on the face.
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WOW! Our super design is complete!
Have you imagined a Spin design can be done this easily? And even better…this fast? Now you know a super trick!
Be prepared to calm down the worried kids that will see you’re starting to paint a red Spin and teach them that it’s always good to trust the process!
Additional info:
Oh no! The next kid it’s a girl who wants to be Spin’s friend – Ghost? Don’t worry! We’ve got you covered! Check out this Ghost Spider Tutorial by Simona Rad for a matching themed design of the very popular new Spider Girl.
Whether you’re painting Spiderman, Spin, or the Ghost Spider, we hope you like these simple, easy, but high quality designs!
Don’t forget – we need to practice a design several times before being able to paint it in record time during an event!
Because of the similar elements, these designs will all get faster the more you do any of them. Now, that’s a speed win!
If there’s anything on your mind, don’t hesitate to ask. Should you choose to dive into the excitement and experiment with this amazing design, feel free to tag me.
I’m excited to see the unique creations you come up with! You can contact me/tag me on Instagram: @radsimona17
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