Kids of all ages love to have their faces painted (especially the younger ones!), so its the perfect thing to learn how to do if you have young kids or youre planning to have a birthday party for your children.

With this in mind, Ive prepared a few tips for people just starting out in face painting. Here they are:

1) If youre painting a design that needs a large area to be covered with paint, use a sponge instead of a brush. Why? Because applying the paint with a sponge means it will dry quicker. Its a good idea to have a few sponges set aside if you need to use different colors, because this means you wont have to try and clean the sponge for each colorwhich would take time.

2) Always let the first color dry before you start painting on a second! If you forget to wait for it to dry, they colors will most likely mix and youre going to have to start from scratch again.

3) Make sure you know what you want the finished face to look like. Dont mak it up as you go along. You need to be able to paint faces rather quickly, as if you have children, you already know that kids arent always very patientand they may get bored or restless if youre thinking on what to paint next.

4) If youre not good at painting freehand yet, dont be afraid to use a stencil. You can get stencils of stars, hearts, flowers, and all sorts of things. These are perfect for stencilling onto a cheek. Youll need stencils of different sizes to accommodate different face sizes.

5) If you want something faster than stencilling, why not try temporary tattoos? Make sure the persons skin doesnt react badly to it first, by asking them (or their parents)or testing it on a small area first.

6) If you have a line of kids ready to have their faces painted, ask them to be thinking about what they would like a few minutes before its actually their turn. You dont want to be delayed while each kid thinks of what he or she would like painted on their face.

7) Remember to have a mirror with you at all times so you can show the person what you have painted, and to make sure theyre happy with your work.

8) Professional face paint and stage makeup can be quite expensive, especially if youre planning to paint a lot of faces. You can make your own simple face paint with cheaper ingredients. A quick search on Google will find you plenty of ideas that you can use to make your own face paint with. Bear in mind this wont be as good as the professional face paint, so if you can afford it I would advice you to get the professional stuff.

They you go, thats my 8 tips a for professional face painting! I hope you found them useful.