Big busy gigs.

I had a gig today and had about 100 kids to paint in 2 hours.

I felt sooo rushed, and hated that I had to compromise my quality in order for everyone to get a turn.

Is there anyone else in my shoes? I did a couple of hideous faces which I wish I could have wiped off hehe.

What do you tell the kids when the idea they have is going to take you far too long?

Thanks

I've been thinking about these sort of gigs and how I would handle it..my thoughts are giving them say 8 options,,4x girls,,,4x boys etc....easy fast and out of there...... I think for girls I would do cheek butterfly,,,small eye design flowers,,,rainbow swipe(dots,hearts),,and a winged heart or peace sign..boys I would do a simple super hero eye mask,,,couple of lightening bolts on side of face, simple tribal eye and bruised eye and claw marks,,or a monster eye.. I really struggle with quick designs as well because I love detail...so I quess it comes down to knowing what you can do really fast and only offering that. I am realizing quickly that at fairs and festivals I can only make as much money as fast as I can paint and I am changing my designs to match...My $3 designs must take under 2 mins,,5 designs 2 - 4 mins...$7 4-6 mins and $10 I am trying to get them done in 8mins or preferably well under.. I am pretty much getting there.. I love that fairs are the best practise you can get to pick up speed.. .. Good luck for your fast paced gig...

Build in a second painter you like to work with! You both get paid, it--- & you have the fun and inspiration of working together. It's a win-win.

I have a list of Wordart that I use for gigs like this. My board consists of Butterfly, Princess, Pirate, Tiger, swirls & twirls, puppy, bunny, kitty, wild beast(dragon eye), flowers, spider dude, bat dude. I only do these for paid events & they MUST provide a line manager or pay for my child to be a line manager(preferred). Their job is to hand out cards, keep the line from bumping into my butt, change my water, etc.

I do very basic faces(base for butterfly, outline w/ a lining paint & a few dots). I try to use my 1-3 minute designs only(I can do a basic tiger & have it look good in 3 minutes).

Yes I was thinking of training my mum up to help me or alternatively I am meeting another fairly new lady ( new to fp) for coffee on tuesday so if we get together for a jam perhaps I'll ask her if she wants to help on big gigs. I log the board idea . How do you'll put a board together? Do you put pictures up aswell ? What do yOu mount it onto? And what wording dO you use eg 'to make sure everyone gets a turn these are the faces I am painting today' ? Also re the 2nd painter, how do your prices change? Sorry for typos I'm on my iPhone typing this in bed hehe. Thanks fo all your help!!

Also. I was so busy yesterday, it was impossible to use a new brush for each child. I was busy trying to wash them out between kids and my water was getting filthy very quickly! How do you manage that side of it without having a 'helper' with you? I was going not to bad until a kid kicked my table while he was climbing onto the chair and subsequently sending my brushes into orbit!!

Wow! 100 children in 1 hour. Is that even possible?

Had a gig today and knew time was going to be an issue. I mainly paint, twist, and play games when I do a birthday party. I pre-twisted a huge bag of balloons so I could have more time to paint and play. It worked great. A few children had some very time consuming ideas so I suggested some quicker designs. I also will hand a child a brush with paint and ask them to paint a heart or star while they wait. The moms usually love this and get involved too.

I took a class with Nora Susko from Texas and she had great ideas how to speed paint. Limit the number of choices and group them together. Tiger, Tiger, Tiger, Butterfly, Butterfly, Butterfly. It's tough to speed children along but you can do it politely and effectively. Good luck!

Classic clown it was a netball presentation day and there were a hundred kids there with a time frame of 2 hrs. I knew it wouldn't be done! Impossible! However I thought that Id cOme here for some pointers to get the line moving as quick as I can for next time. 2 weeks ago I did 85 kids in five hrs, 100 in 2 is dreaming lol I think you're right, limiting the design is the key - love the brush idea too bu the way

Honestly, you guys who take on these jobs are crazy. IMO

Sure you can modify your designs to either only display those you can do in a few minutes or limit the choices... But, realistically I don't think there is anyone that can paint 50 designs in an hour that anyone would consider, well, good.

I TELL THE CLIENT how many I can paint in an hour. I offer two options: regular full face display that average 12-15 per hour OR Fast Faces of quick full faces, masks, etc. that average 15-20 per hour.

If they want more people than that painted additional painters are available for an extra fee.

If they want everyone painted the client has to realize that simply insisting you dumb down the designs is not going to make it happen. There is a certain standard that I expect to maintain for my professional reputation and a nose and whiskers just isn't going to cut it.

If they want ME then they want what I paint, not assembly line slap it on to get through the queue basic stuff. If they insist that all they want is a little something, the kids won't care, etc. I will pass on the opportunity.

For me, it's when I have a 2 hour festival/school carnival. It's set as a 2 hour event. The client knows I can only paint 15 kids an hour, but often I get on a roll & have no idea that I've painted so many. At my carnival last weekend I tried using numbers like I do for restaurants(bad choice I won't do that again for a carnival... it just didn't work. Great for restaurants, but not carnivals). Anyway, I found out I could paint 60 kids(maybe more like 55 since not all my numbers came back) in 2 hours.

For the wordart boards, no pictures. Kids will fixate on the photo & that's all you'll paint. Also, keep your fancy photos hidden or the kids will fixate on them & ask for them. Make sure they can only chose from the board. No special requests. Wordart is great because you can change the design for each child(you don't get board painting the same thing over & over). I also do not ask what color they want. I just match it to their clothes & keep going.
I don't do this type of painting for events that are over 2 hours long & they hire me for just 2 hours. If I'm hired for 2 hours for a 5 hour event, they get only 15 faces per hour as I've quoted. But, if it's an event that I'm there for the full time, I'll try to get as many in as possible & if they pay for it I'll bring extra painters.

I had told the event organizer how many I could do and given there wa an air brush tattooist there too we agreed that whilst I wouldn't be able to paint everyone it would be another option for the kids. You're completely right, I'd hate to slap it on and ruin my reputation that I am only just beginning to establish!