How to Paint a Dragon Face

Learn to paint a face as a dragon.

The dragon may be mythical, but it's magical characteristics make it a popular face painting request. A dragon face is both beautiful and scary, which has an allure to people of any age or gender. Dragons can be colorful and intricate with scales, horns, fangs and flame throwing potential. Although the dragon appears complex in design, with some basic brush and sponge work you can create this mystical creature in all it's shimmery glory.

Things You'll Need

• Face-painting sponges
• Green, light blue, dark green, blue, black, white, red and orange, water-based face paint
• Water
• Soft-bristled small round detail brush
• Soft-bristled fan brush
• Soft-bristled medium round brush
• Green, gold, silver or multi-colored loose face painting sparkles

Instructions

1. Load a face-painting sponge with green water-based face paint by dipping the edge of the sponge in water and then rotating it in paint. Paint the entire face green. Lightly dab a light blue-loaded sponge on the cheeks and bridge of the nose.

2. Load a small round detail brush with dark green by dipping the brush in water and rotating it in paint. Paint small, horizontal, upward-facing C-shapes all over the face as scales.

3. Use a fan brush to paint purple hair coming in from the edges of the face. This is done by pressing the fan brush on the hairline and pulling inward an inch toward the nose and lifting upward to end the stroke. Repeat this stroke all along the hairline, jawline and bottom of the chin.

4. Paint lips black using a medium round brush. Paint a horn above each eye on the forehead by pressing the brush on the forehead and flicking upward. Lift the brush as you flick so that the stroke ends in a point. Still using a medium round brush, but loaded with white, paint a downward, inward pointed curved stoke about an inch long coming down from each corner of the mouth. This is the same stroke used to create the horns only upside down. These white strokes form the dragon's sharp fangs

5. Use a small round detail brush to paint hair coming down from the horns by painting short blue downward flicks. Paint a blue line going from the mid-base of the nose to the mid-top of the lip. Paint a line on each side of the face going from the base edge of the nose to the corner of the lip following the laugh lines. Put a line on either side of the face in between the middle blue line and the blue line which followed the laugh lines to form five lines between the nose and upper lip looking sort of like a five-haired mustache.

6. Paint short red lines coming horizontally out of the corners of the mouth as fire. Paint orange lines beside the red lines to accent the flames. Sprinkle loose face-painting green, gold, silver or multi-colored sparkles on the face.

References

• Leslie Wandell; Professional Face Painter and Owner/Operator of Face It Transformations; Kingston, Ontario
• Carrie Whalen: Professional Face Painter and Owner of Young Artists of Kingston; Kingston, Ontario

Resources

• Snazaroo: The World's Favourite Face and Body Paint