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Face Painting Tutorial
Finding the perfect Halloween costume is practically essential during this spooky time of year! This is a great time to show off your creativity and come up with the spookiest, cutest or most epic costumes. One way you can create a unique look for Halloween is through face painting. You are a blank canvas and you can transform yourself into practically any character imaginable.
We’re here to help you get ready for Halloween with this Pop Art Zombie face painting tutorial. This cute concept was inspired by @ellie35x, and Christina Mondragon helped us adapt this idea into easy steps so you can follow along. She mainly used Arteza’s UV Face Paints to recreate this design.
Eccentric artists like Andy Warhol defined the world of Pop Art and shocked us with their bold and colorful perspective of the world. We’ll be borrowing their fantastic color schemes and patterns to create a zombie design that will turn heads. Watch the video for a time-lapsed tutorial with subtitles, or follow along with the post below for twelve basic steps that will help you become a colorful undead zombie this Halloween!
Before we start! ☝️
- Make sure your face/body is clean and dry;
- Pick out your Colors;
- Activate the paints with a little water, mixing them to the consistency you need.
Step 1: Apply Paint Around the Eyes
With your finger or a sponge, apply a base of white UV paint around your eyes and any places you want to highlight - these areas will have a soft green glow. You can check how well you covered certain areas by holding a blacklight up to your face.
Step 2: Draw a Line to Section Off the Face and Fill in with Pink
NOTE: Avoid the area where you’ll be adding zombie teeth details on the cheek!
Draw a slightly jagged line starting from your temple, down the bridge of the nose and along the underside of the left cheekbone with pink UV Face paint. Then, use the sponge to fill the lower section of the face. Be careful not to fill in where you’re going to paint in the zombie cheeks. Remember to check the coverage of your work with the blacklight!
Step 3: Draw in Base for Tear and Brain Detail
Paint your eyelids yellow, then add the base for the left tear. You will be adding black details and highlights to this later, so a base of blue in a tear shape is all you need. Over the right eye and above the highest point of pink, draw in a section for your brains. Since Pop Art depends very heavily on bold and bright primary colors, we used yellow for our brains. Add some wrinkles on your brain with black paint, and shade the area to create depth.
Step 4: Draw in White Dots in Grid Pattern and Paint in Eyebrow
Paint a bold, black eyebrow. Make it appear to almost lay flat against the skin by making the edges very straight and sharp. Add in some “guideline” markings at the bridge of the nose and eyebrow with black paint. On the left eye area and forehead, add white dots in a grid-like pattern. The more they seem to be on a single plane and the straighter they are, the more two-dimensional your model will look!
Step 5: Draw in Teeth on Cheeks
With a flat brush, make vertical marks starting from the corner of the lips and heading out toward the center of your cheek. These strokes will be the base of the teeth which we will be shading and blending later.
Step 6: Add Details to the Tears and Eyebrows
Paint in the right tear and add in a bold eyebrow with nose bridge marks. Create a gray shadow around the teeth, then finish filling in the pink area around the teeth’s new gray border. Make sure your coverage is complete by checking the area with a blacklight.
Step 7: Paint in Throat Details and Color Lips
Begin adding the details to your throat by drawing in a trachea (the white sections on the model’s neck) and exposed tendons (the blue sections on our model) around it. These first coats form the base color so we suggest using highly contrasting colors.
Step 8: Outline the Pink and the Tears in Black Paint
Outline the pink area with black paint by drawing a slightly jagged line down the middle of the nose and across the cheekbone. Add in the black outlines and details for the tears. An optional step is to paint winged eyeliner on your eyelids.
Step 9: Add Shadows to Face and Lips
Shade certain sections of your face with black paint, giving depth to the pink area, the teeth and the lips. Bold black outlines help add to the two-dimensional Pop Art feel and give more impact to the overall impression of the face painting. Tip: Blend a bit of black paint with the color being shaded for a lighter shadow inside the outlines.
Step 10: Darken Details on the Throat with Black Paint
Add black details to the exposed zombie parts on the neck. Outline the pink with bold black lines, and begin shading the details to give the paint a more layered appearance.
Step 11: Add Highlights to the Lips for an Added Glow
The final touch is to add some highlights to the face painting. Luscious lips and bubbling tears are what this is all about. Mix some white with the base color, or just use white, and make those high points look drawn in place.
Now You’re Ready to Turn Heads!
This bold and innovative concept is sure to get your Halloween costume noticed. These UV Face Paints are lightweight and breathable on your skin. You won’t experience any “cracking” sensations and won’t have to deal with too much smudging as you rock your new look. There are so many crafty and creative ways to incorporate face paint this Halloween. You can pull inspiration from a variety of artists and spooky characters! Check out our face painter Cristina Mondragon’s website for more inspiration, and pick up your own set of Arteza UV Face Paints now!
