Are you looking to wow people at the next Cosplay convention? Do you want to take your costume to the next level? Then this is the blog for you!
At Jest Paint we are specialists in everything face and body art and we have some amazing tips and tricks to help you make your cosplaying look even more amazing using face and body art supplies.
What Face Paint Should I use?
We strongly recommend for you to use only cosmetic grade face paints as these are the safest for your skin. Stay away from brands that pop around just for Halloween time, or cheap products you can find on Amazon as you have no assurance of the quality and reliability of those products, and usually you will have no customer service after a purchase.
Using brands like Fusion Body Art, Superstar, Paradise by Mehron, Diamond FX, Wolfe FX, Kryolan will give you the best results.
Water activated face paints are the ones easier to you and the ones that will give you a much more detailed look.
If you want a more sweat and water resistant finish you can either spray the final design with Ben Nye Final Seal or any other makeup sealer, or, use alcohol based face paints like ProAiir.
Are Acrylic Paints Safe for the Skin?
No, they are not. They have some really harsh chemicals, including heavy metals that can damage your skin permanently. Stay way from craft supplies and always use cosmetic grade products.
What is The Best Glitter?
Lucky for you there are thousands of great glitter brands like Amerikan Body Art, Glimmer Body Art, Vivid Glitter and more. They are all amazing brands that use cosmetic grade materials to produce their glitter. You want to always look for polyester glitter, and preferably fine glitter cut into an hexagonal shape.
Don’t use craft glitter as that is made from metal, it is really sharp and can damage your cornea if it falls on your eyes.
What Adhesive can I use for my accessories?
Always use skin safe adhesives like spirit gum (for a very long lasting hold), or ProsAid base adhesives like the ones offered by Amerikan Body Art, Ybody, Glimmer, etc.
ProsAid based adhesives are very safe as that is a medical grade adhesive, it is really easy to apply and easy to remove with just soap and water or an alcohol wipe. Spirit Gum has a much stronger hold but it is also a lot harder to remove, so we don’t recommend using it unless you have to apply a large appliance to your face/head/body that weighs a lot.
What are the Best Face Painting Brushes and Sponges?
In regards to brushes, if you are working with water activated face paints it is always best to use synthetic bristle brushes with a medium to short handle for better control. You can find those at every online face paint store, or at some arts and crafts stores. Just make sure you buy high quality artists brushes and not classroom brushes that have hard thick bristles as those will not work.
You will need a Round #4 or #3 brush, a ¾” flat brush and ½” filbert brush to start with. The round brush is for details, the flat brush to create straight wide lines or cover a large area of skin with face paint, and the filbert brush is especially good around the eye area as its shape fits the eye lid perfectly.
As far as sponges go, we suggest buying those at face paint stores as they have specialty sponges designed for water activated face paints. You don’t want to use natural sponges or makeup sponges as those absorb a lot of water and do not release the product well.
Here are Some Face Paint Ideas for you
Sometimes you need inspiration for your character, or even a tutorial! Like for you there are hundreds of thousands of tutorials, blogs and videos with face paint ideas for you to choose from.
You can turn into a cartoon, like Shrek, or a super hero like Spider-Man, a princess like Elsa, or turn into an animal like a tiger, a cat or a dog! Face Paint gives you endless possibilities to become anything you want, you juts have to let your imagination fly and look for inspiration and face paint ideas on the internet.
Now that you know what face painting supplies to use for your cosplay character it is time to start thinking about face paint ideas and get your artistic skills flowing!
Have fun and enjoy the journey.
