Month: June 2012

Ever since my eyes have been opened to the possibilities of stencils as being a true artists’ tool as opposed to a non-artist’s shortcut, I have been itching to stock my virtual shelves with BAMS.  For those of you who are unfamiliar, BAMS stands for “Bad Ass Mini Stencils,” the brand name for some professional airbrush stencils that have become wildly popular with face painters and body painters alike.  (You may recall seeing my first attempt at using BAMS in this blog post last fall)

I am now carrying a selection of the individual BAMS for $4 each,  and have an exclusive package deal that you can only find at Paintertainment…the Animal Set, which includes 5 animal patterns and saves you $2.00 versus purchasing them individually.

For the really serious painter, I also carry the holy grail of stencil sets…the BAM Complete Set (45 stencils for $130) as well as the all new BAM Expansion Set (36 stencils for $104).  I’m also offering the ULTIMATE set, which includes both the Complete Set and the Expansion set, 81 stencils total, for just $224…That’s a $10 savings!!

These little stencils are the perfect convenient size for face painting, are durable and washable, and can easily be organized together on a ring by utilizing the hole on the end of each stencil.

We carry a variety of sponges that work great for stencils as well.  The Kryolan round sponges can easily be cut into half and be used as two.  Our Snazaroo petal sponge set is great as well, and makes it super easy to dedicate certain sponges to certain colors.  I personally prefer to use the sponge daubers, as the wood handles keep my fingers cleaner.

Anyway, I thought I’d put together a few photos to give you an idea of what you can do with some of these stencils.  I myself am still getting a hang of the paint-to-water ratio to use with stencils, so pardon the sloppy ones…

Leopard print – Yellow base, black stenciled, and brown added with a brush.

Using a metallic on top of a flat color really makes reptile skin pop!

Don’t be afraid to use your brush to add highlights and shadows after stenciling.

This stencil could also easily be used for tiger stripes if you use orange instead of white!

Giraffe spots…Kryolan interferenz bronze stenciled on top of a pale yellow

No one says you have to use only one color on your stencil!

In addition to the mini stencils, I’m carrying a couple other new stencils made by the same company.  These are just a little bit bigger in size, but still perfect for face painting.

Boys love the look of a tire track across their face (below, $4.99), and the brick pattern (above, also $4.99) is a fabulous background for lettering and graffiti type designs.  Pair it up with a rubber pore sponge or stipple sponge to get an amazing textured effect as well!

Getting the hang of stencils can be tricky and frustrating at first.  Too little water, and you don’t get crisp lines.  Too much, and your design bleeds. But once you play around with them and get a little practice under your belt, you will find yourself adding some absolutely stunning detail to your designs in a fraction of the time it would have taken with a brush!

Today I had the opportunity to do one of my favorite parts of my job…belly painting!  It was a gorgeous day so I was able to paint out on our deck, and the whole family came along to play outside and watch Mommy’s belly transform!

Above is the hand drawing of the design to be done.  I always Photoshop together images for the mom-to-be when I do a belly painting, so that she knows exactly what she’ll be getting that day.  We did a little back and fourth to tweak this one, which is packed with all kinds of great personal meaning for Mom and Dad!

Progress Shots! I start with a Mehron Pro Pencil to draw the design first while mom stands, then I have her sit while I paint the rest in.  This ensures that the design won’t look distorted when she stands afterwards for photos

I used my new Wolfe black and white which were awesome.  The black is SO black, and the white worked great on top of it for lettering, which I did with a Wolfe #1 brush. 

The other colors are done with Kryolan Aquacolor paints. I painted the sand using the metallic gold paint in my Wolfe FX Metallix palette, and then topped it off with some yellow glitter.  I love the effects you can get by being intentional about where you put the glitter.  Laying down the glittery sand first and then painting the foreground made it nice and crisp and added to the sandy beach look.

Mom can finally see her design right-side-up!

This little cutie just couldn’t stop kissing Mommy’s tummy all afternoon!  So sweet! He left with a glittery forehead! 😉

I have had this cool oval frame for a while now, waiting for a belly painting to use it for a prop.  Now I just need to get the hang of how to position it, but it was fun to play with!

Another close-up

Such a sweet couple!! Now the question is, who had more fun…them or ME?!

If you’re interested in booking a belly painting for yourself or as a gift to a friend who’s expecting, be sure to visit my belly painting page for more examples and lots of FAQ’s!

Thanks for stopping by!