WOW! POW! KACHOW! Welcome to this super tutorial for Superman face painting! This design is one of those that looks more difficult than it is, and it’s sure to get that WOW we face painters crave.
With the help of the video tutorial, written instructions with stellar tips, and a bit of practice, you’ll be nailing this OTJ superhero design in no time!
This video tutorial will give you a great overview of the design before you dive into following along with the step-by-step. Let’s get started!
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Products Used:
- White: Pxp Peter Tronser edition (or your favorite waxy white such as Diamond FX, Wolfe, or Fusion)
- Black: Pxp Peter Tronser edition (or your favorite waxy black such as Diamond FX, Wolfe, or Fusion)
- Red: Superstar
- Dark Red: Superstar
- One stroke: homemade consisting of black, dark blue, mid blue, light blue, and white (Alternate: DFX “Captain Obvious” one stroke)
- Homemade stars stencil (Alternate: BAM 1015 “Diamond Stars”)
- Finger dauber
- Aliyah angled brush ¾ (Alternate: Blazin’ Brush ¾ angled brush)
- KingArt round 2
- KingArt round 5
- Sparkling Faces Liner brush (Alternate: Blazin’ Brush Details brush)
- Cameleon Blending brush medium
- Eyebrow pencil: bourjois dark brown
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STEP 1:
Start by building up the basic shape with a soft make-up pencil. I use micro eyebrow pencils because they’re very precise and easy to erase when I’ve made a mistake.
You could also use face paint in a skin tone or white — just be sure to cover it well when you paint the design or remove it with a damp cotton swab.
When drawing the shape, start by placing two lines along the 45-degree angle starting from the central focal point between the eyes, dividing the forehead across.
Follow the butterfly wing shape back down to the eyebrow.
The logo is pentagonal and starts roughly from the middle of the 45-degree line.
First, draw the outer lines of the logo and follow by drawing the S in the middle.
Don’t worry if it is not perfect right away, there will be face paint on top of it, so there will be lots of opportunities to get it right.
Also, the eyebrow pencil is easily erased with a fingertip if it needs correcting.
STEP 2:
I start by painting the yellow of the logo, so it has a chance to dry before I add the red.
To add a bit of drama to this design, I’ve painted a blue one stroke ‘eyeshadow’ underneath the cloak. You could also use a petal sponge to apply the blue.
Adding blue to the design gives it more balance from a color perspective and is in accordance with the color scheme we associate with Superman.
But you can easily skip this step if a child is very sensitive around the eyes, is very young, or you have little time.
Next, I load a large round brush like a #5 KingArt with some bright red. I’ve used Superstar, but you can use any brand you like.
Start by painting two big teardrops from the outer tops of the forehead along the 45 degree line and let them end in a nice sharp tip pointing in the direction of the central focal point.
The cloak hanging down the cheeks starts with a sharp tip and ends in three sharp tips pointing towards the outer corners of the mouth as well as the chin focal point.
With the same brush and red, fill in the S and paint the outline of the logo.
STEP 3:
Next up is painting shadows. For this design, I simply painted dark red lines under the red ones.
This is an effective way of creating depth in your face painting without taking too much time and effort.
Paint the dark red lines under the red anywhere you’d expect a shadow.
In this case, imagine the light is coming from straight above, so the main shadows will be directly under the red teardrops we’ve already painted.
I’ve also used dark red to outline the cloak extending down on the cheeks and add some lines to show the texture.
STEP 4:
To let the blue play a larger role in this design, I take a bit of the darker tones of the one stroke on a blending brush and paint some strokes around Superman’s cloak, adding some depth and the suggestion of motion.
To attain a more defined edge to the design, I add some thin black outlines with a liner brush loaded with waxy black.
Don’t overdo it, because it will not add much and will cost you extra time.
Also, an outline that is too heavy can ruin your design.
If you’re just starting out, be sure to check out our Beginner’s Guide to Face Painting where you’ll learn what you need in your kit, hygiene essentials, popular designs, first gig Do’s and Don’ts, and more! It’s a must-read!
STEP 5:
I finish this design by painting white highlights with a thin brush (KingArt 2) and also add some stars with a stencil.
This lets the design ‘pop’, and stars are always a safe choice, especially with superheroes.
As you can see my son really feels very cool and confident while wearing this design. I hope you will have success with it too! 😘
Wishing you had more super designs in your face painting arsenal like this? Be sure to check out our Ultimate Face Painting Ideas Guide for more superhero inspiration and tutorials!
Let me know if you have any questions and make sure to tag me in your pictures if you recreate this, I’d love to see it!
You can contact me/tag me on my Instagram: @wies_facepainting.
If you love learning designs from quick videos like this, you’re in luck! We’ve compiled all our short tutorials on our YouTube, and we’re adding to it all the time! 😍
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