Leopard Face Painting Ideas
With their graphic, colorful markings, leopards are a popular animal request for face painting. In order to come up with a design that works for you, consider modifying typical elements like color and placement for a design you can use for faces young and old. Leopard markings can be painted on the face and paired with a costume for the ultimate leopard experience.
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Color Ideas
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Traditional leopard colors -- orange, brown, white, beige, tan and black -- will create an authentic looking leopard face suitable for any patron. Mix in some grey and remove the browns and oranges for a snow leopard's face. Or, you can take it further and choose wild colors like pink, blue, green or orange. Begin with a colorful base and apply spots and whiskers over your base. Bold colors are appealing to younger kids. The suggestion of a wacky color scheme might even cheer up a child frustrated by a long wait in the face painting line.
Shape and Placement
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If you are creating a leopard costume and have unlimited time to construct your face paint, you can cover your entire face and neck. However, if you are limited with time, painting many faces or dealing with small children, you will want to come up with a shape to quickly convey the leopard idea in the shortest amount of time. Choose a shape -- it doesn't have to be a strict template, but decide on an area that works for you. Ideas include a band across the eyes, an area around the eyes and across the bridge of the nose or the cheeks with a leopard nose.
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Application
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Work with the skin tone of the individual you are painting and tweak it with washes of color. Use a sponge to quickly cover the area by dabbing paint and blending it as you go. Another idea is to get a stamp in the shape of a leopard spot for quick and easy application. Change the color of the spots by adding variations of brown and black onto the stamp and gently press it into the skin. Add finer details with a brush or pencil for things like the nose, whiskers and fangs.
Other Ideas
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Paint the entire face in your color of choice and design a pattern of leopard spots to cover the forehead and wrap around the face by the ears. This application works well for teenagers and anyone who wants her face to shine through the leopard paint. Experiment with texture by dabbing, dotting, swirling and stippling the paint onto the face for a different look every time or to find your signature leopard face painting technique.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Medioimages/Photodisc/Photodisc/Getty Images
