How to Face Paint a Panda

Face paint a cute cuddly panda face.

Panda bears have striking white and black markings and simplistic features and make cute face-painting designs. Their distinctive physical characteristics are easy to reproduce through face art. Panda-bear face painting designs are sometimes requested by children at events like birthday parties, fairs, festivals, or as part of Halloween dress-up celebrations. Learning how to paint a panda face can expand your face-painting repertoire.

Things You'll Need

• White, gray, black, and pink water-based face paint
• Water
• Face-painting sponges
• Soft-bristled wide brush
• Soft-bristled medium round brush
• Soft-bristled small round detail brush

Instructions

1. Prepare a face-painting sponge with black water-based face paint by dipping the edge of the sponge in water and then rotating it in paint. Paint the area around the child's eyes black. With a white-loaded sponge, paint the rest of the face white. Use a sponge loaded with dark gray to lightly dab from the base of the nose to the corners of the mouth and down the edge of the chin following the laugh lines on the cheek side on both sides of the face. This gray area shades and accents the muzzle of the panda bear.

2. Load a soft-bristled wide brush with black paint by dipping the brush in water and then rubbing it in paint. Paint black around the eye so that it is a solid black color and so that it has a clean black edge. Form the circles around the eyes into ovals that slant outward onto the cheeks just like the black around a panda's eye. Paint a hollow arch above each eye on the forehead, still using the wide brush.

3. Use a medium round soft-bristled brush to paint the nose and mouth black. Load the medium round brush with pink and paint in the hollow space in the arches on the forehead.

4. Use a small round detail brush to paint a black line from the edge of the base of the nose to the curve of the mouth and down to the base of the chin following the laugh lines on both sides of the face. This outlines the muzzle of the panda bear.

5. Paint a black line going from the mid-base of the nose to the mid-top of the top lip with the small round detail brush. Paint four black dots on either side of this line. Use the small round brush to paint short flicks of black hair at the base of the arches on the forehead going downward to accent the panda's ears.

Tips & Warnings

• Water-based face paints are hypoallergenic, but some people with sensitive skin may experience a burning sensation upon application. If this occurs, remove the paint from the face. In order to avoid skin irritations, like rashes or pimples forming as a result of wearing face paint, have the subject remove paint with soap and water thoroughly before he goes to bed. If face paint gets into the subject's eyes, have him rinse his eyes with water.

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