Hello from Boise Idaho!

I have been thinking it may be time to finally introduce myself, seeing as how I've been a member of this forum for about a year now .
My name is Stacia, I live in Boise Idaho with my Husband and our 4 year old son.
When I joined this forum last year I had planned on getting started right away, but life got crazy (I won't bore you with the details) and I couldn't justify spending any money on supplies. Well, I'm finally ready to REALLY get started. I've always had an interest in anything artistic, but I've never had an opportunity to make money at it. I'm not saying I'm gonna be any good at it, but I'll give it my best effort.
I've watched lots of YouTube videos, read lots of good tips here, browsed all of the websites that sell supplies...and now, I'm FINALLY only a few short days away from ordering paints, brushes and sponges. I'm so excited! I'll have about $200 to spend for now, and I'm still not 100% sure what I'm ordering. So I'll ask all of you pros, what would you order if you were me and had my budget?

Hi Stacia,

From one Newb to the other, Welcome. I also joined a little while ago and decided I should make more effort to contribute.
First of all I have lots of supplies. I have put just about everything I make back in to my business. I wanted to be able to offer many choices for parties. I now face paint, glitter tattoos, and our most costly addition, we got an airbrush kit. I love it all, but mostly paint faces.
After ordering many brands, and colors. I mostly use my pearls an metallics. I prefer D/FX, Wolfe, and Tag. And I recommend making your own split cakes. It's super easy you get exactly the colors you want, and it doesn't really matter if your cakes have a few slices out of them. Also D/FX or Wolfe Black and White for line work.
If you order here on a Tuesday its super possible to get it by Friday. I got the Professional face painter bag (I think it comes with orders of a certain size) with my order 2 weeks ago, and it might seem silly, but It made me happier than the paints.
Any way thats what I have to offer. Good luck, and have fun.
Laurie

HI.

I'm not around much these days myself... Life keeps getting in the way... *smile*

I'm certainly not the most well informed - I just started in March m'self.

My thoughts on what is needed to start out -
* TAG - primary and secondary colors. It's a lot like DFX for less money. Metina sells it here!
* DFX for Black & White - lines and details
* Paradise black - for lines for kids faces. It doesn't seem to stain as badly. (paradise does smell like sunscreen.. which some people don't like)
* Snaz - sparkle colors - one or two to use for light bases.
* Holographic cosmetic glitter - I don't know the name of it.. Metina sells it here. It reflects whatever color you put it on - it's great!
* DFX - Neon rainbow - 1 large and 1 small.


DFX/TAG can seem tight to feel on the skin (from what kids have said), so - I've started using more Paradise/Snaz for base colors.

I buy my brushes at Hobby Lobby. They go on sale every 2 to 3 weeks. I buy several packs then.

Good luck!!!

Welcome to the forum. I grew up in Boise ID! Hope you have fun shopping!

welcome

Welcome!

Thank you for the warm welcomes and great advice

Welcome!

Welcome to the forum and have fun!

Welcome Stacia! Hope you enjoy your purchasing - don't stress it too much...
I started about 8 years ago with about 10 Snaz colors and a small art/tackle box that we bought in Philly. At that time I was totally on my own, no real direction - just some mentoring from a local clown/face painter. But I made do for about 4 or 5 years with this really basic kit.
Now I have really stepped up my business and like some of the others, I use DFX or TAG for my linework and have been using Kryolan for most of my bases. I do like the Kryolan, smells good and really gentle (IMO). I just invested in some metallics by Snaz and cut them up for my own babycakes. Love them! It was pretty easy and I can't wait to start using them.

Good luck with everything!
-Jen

Welcome to the forum.
I'd say get DFX white & DFX black & then go w/ a Paradise, Snazaroo or DFX palette(maybe a combo of different brands palettes till you know what you like). Then a few Mark Reid brushes & a bag of sponges(cut them in halves & quarters). This should get you started. Wait on splitcakes & learn your basic brush & sponge techniques 1st. Also, some ivory soap & rubbing alcohol for cleaning your brushes. A mesh bag for sending your sponges through the wash. A camera to capture all the pics of your work(even take pics of what you don't like... it'll show your progression).
Have fun!

Hi and welcome....I like wolfe black and white although DFX is also really good too. I like DFX white better and wolfe black better I don't know why. Metina ships very quickly. I like snazaroo for my base coats. It is more "kid" friendly and blends awesomely. Good brushes are a must. And the ones at Hobby Lobby are great. I like Mark Reed and Leow Cornell brushes a lot too.
You don't have to spend a lot to get started. Just make sure to have some basic colors like yellow, orange, green, red, blue, purple, pink and then black and white. I would suggest a dark and light brown of you can so that you can cover footballs, and puppy faces.

Thank you so much for all of the great advice! I couldn't wait to get started so I ran to Michael's with a couple of coupons and grabbed the Snazzaroo kit, which should tide me over till I place my orders and wait for them to arrive. Here are my very first attempts:

[img][/img]

What do you think? Please be 100% honest, I can take (and need) constructive criticism

I just realized you can't really see the butterfly in that last pic, here's a better one I think...
[img][/img]

I love the butterfly...very nice!