Face painting is a unique craft! It’s where we can combine a love for creativity and transformation with the joy of bringing happiness to others. Could there be a better job?
If you’re yet to make the leap to start face painting as a business, we’re here to tell you why you should with our top 10 reasons to become a face painter.
1. Bringing joy to others 😃
This has got to be the top perk of being a face painter!
The big reveal. Seeing the wonder and amazement cloud their eyes before that huge smile spreads across their face – it’s just pure magic! 😃
If we could bottle and sell that ☝️ feeling (both theirs and ours upon seeing their faces!), we would be multi-millionaires!
But we do this for the joy and love, not the millions of dollars! 😉
2. Unleashing your creativity 🦄
Whether you follow a design board religiously or craft faces from a state of flow and intuition, face painters are immersing themselves in their creativity. 🎨
The beauty and challenge is that each face is a unique canvas that allows you to experiment with colors, shapes, and techniques.
3. Flexibility ⌚
As a face painter you can choose when to pick up the paints. Face painting can be pursued as a part-time hobby, a full-time career, or a side gig.
You get to choose your jobs. Do you want to just paint at kids’ birthdays a couple of weekends of the month? Or do you want to target corporate clients or adult parties with a glitter bar add-on?
It is totally up to you how you run your business and what you choose to offer. Rarely can we have that much flexibility in a job.
4. You don’t need to spend a lot to start earning 💵
You might think that buying the most expensive brushes and paints is what will make you a pro in no time. So it might surprise you to hear that even the most talented artists have really struggled to convert their art onto the face – especially the face of a wiggly 4-year-old.
Tools do not make the artist! BUT, they right tools will help you on your way to becoming one. Check out our Essential Face Painting Supplies blog for the must-haves to add to your toolkit!
Luckily, as a face painter you can learn all of the base skills, techniques and key designs in a very short time with only a little financial investment.
Our Professional Course will teach you everything you need to know to become a successful face painter from what to buy, how to use it and, of course, how to create the most popular designs. You will also walk away with a portfolio of designs ready to showcase to your future clients.
It is all online with high-quality, detailed instruction and is self-paced for you to get through in your own time. And the best bit – you don’t have to wait to finish it to start earning. Your confidence and ability will soar with each lesson and you can start earning money whilst you study.
Compared to other professions that require months to years of learning at a high cost (tens of thousands of dollars for the university, for instance), you can get up to speed pretty quickly and cheaply as a face painter while already making money in the profession.
And the bonus is you just keep getting better and better the more that you paint!
Just check out these recent graduates from the International Face Painting School’s Professional Course. By investing in their education, these artists have moved from amateur to pro in mere months of self-paced study. The results truly speak for themselves.
When it comes to buying physical products — less offer more to begin with! This does, of course, depend on your ability to curb your inner “buy me” voice!
But as a rule of thumb, once you’re trained, you only need a good set of brushes, some professional paints, and a few other supplies to get yourself off the ground.
As you grow, you can gradually invest in more products and expand your kit, setup, and branding.
5. Continuous Learning and Growth 🪴
The face painting industry always evolves with new techniques, designs, and trends. This constant evolution ensures that you’ll never stop learning and improving.
There are plenty of workshops, tutorials, and resources available to help you hone your skills and stay inspired – like our own Ultimate Face Paint Ideas Guide: Best Face Paints for any Occasion.
However, there is almost too much information spread across a range of platforms, and it’s easy to get lost.
Do you want regular, reliable and relevant educational face painting content delivered directly to your inbox?
Don’t Miss Out: Subscribe today to receive our newsletters filled with expert tips and tricks, fresh face painting ideas, fresh face painting ideas, step-by-steps, and more.
6. No day is ever the same 🦹
Say goodbye to the same daily office and banter, and take your craft wherever the next job takes you!
One day, you might be painting quick little cheek designs at a busy mall. The next you might be at a small and intimate birthday party unleashing your creativity on a group of friends.
We’ve even seen face painters booked to paint at events held in castles, traveling face painters who paint wherever their wheels take them, and of course the face painters working at high-end attractions like famous Zoos, theme parks and even Disney Land!!
Could you even work in a more magical place?
Check out our favorite character face paints here.
With you and your paint kit, you really can work anywhere. And with each unique soul we get to interact with and paint, a new experience of connection is made. 💫
7. Being the highlight of the event 🤩
If you’ve not had an event yet, you may not know that when you arrive you are often the number one attraction!
Kids will be lining up before you even unpack.
But don’t panic – read our blog post “First Time Face Painting: Tips & Tricks for Crushing it as a Pro” to ensure you are ready to rock that first gig.
The joy and happiness our work spreads at an event is contagious. Even at the busiest events, it’s hard not to leave with your cup overflowing (after a little sit-down and decompression time, that is).
8. Promote Positive Self-Expression & Imagination 🥰
Face painting transforms people and encourages them to express themselves in fun and imaginative ways and you’re the source of the inspiration. 🦁
Face painting is an inclusive activity for all ages, genders, and ethnicities, allowing everyone to embrace their own creativity and personality.
As face painters, we can be the voice of the inner child, reminding parents that any design is suitable for any face – boys can be pink kitty cats, girls can be Spider-Man, and glitter is for everybody!
9. Be Part of a Supportive Community 🫂
There is nothing quite like the face painting community – both online and in person.
The International Face Painting School Open Group on Facebook has over 30,000 members (and growing!) engaging daily in shared learning, collaboration, and encouragement.
Need to know where to get supplies in your area, want to connect with experienced painters in your area, looking for online or in-person training? You will find all of the answers within our supportive and inclusive community of face painters.
The Get Supplies section of our website is a great place to start.
You can also find a wealth of information in our blogs including amazing guides like our Mastering One Strokes guide and blog post Top 10 Designs You Need to Know.
10. You can make money! 💵💶💷
When we first start out, we tend to question our worth and the value we can offer our clients.
So we can easily be suckered into the painting for “exposure” trap i.e. painting for free!
First, read our blog post “How much to charge for face painting (real prices)” to find out why face painters should NEVER work for free!
Then, set your rates properly and start making money today!
If applicable, offset your expenses with your income to lower your taxes and reap the benefits of working for yourself.
Sign up for our FREE Line Work Course to see your linework improve in just 3 days! 🤩
There are thousands of face painters worldwide that face paint as their primary or only income. It is doable.
Yes, it takes some time, investment in yourself, learning to run your own business and taking the leap of faith in yourself.
But you can do it!
“The dream job” is within arm’s reach.
Bonus Reason – You could get paid to travel the world! 🌏
Not only can you get paid to be a face painter but for those with ambition and desire, the face painting rockstar lifestyle awaits! 🤩
You could be the next Nick Wolfe, Elodie Ternois, or our very own Olga Murasev – making significant additional income as a face painting instructor.
When Olga first started as a self-described “average face painter” in the poorest country in Europe, she had little money or resources to work with. What she did have was an eagerness to learn, a desire and passion to teach, and the motivation to make this a fruitful career.
Within just 1.5 years, Olga traveled around the world, teaching workshops in the US, Australia, UK, Germany, Austria, Israel, Russia, Italy, Switzerland, and many more countries.
And in just 2.5 years from first picking up a brush was able to buy her first ever car (a small one but a new one!).
Instructors have extra privileges and more income opportunities, including teaching at the Summit, holding private workshops, and being paid to travel abroad to teach at conventions — providing substantial additional income besides their face painting gigs.
Talk about career progression goals! 💪
🤩 The first step to success is reading our comprehensive blog: How to Become a Face Painter and Get Paid.
