Face Paint with Stencils: Instructions and The Best Stencil Guide

Painting faces with stencils represents a great challenge for some, while others think that it is simply cheating. Here at Jest Paint we think of stencils as a tool to enhance your work, to help you work faster when you need to, to help you add intricate details to a design to make it stand out, and to help you achieve shapes and textures that are just right. otherwise they would be very difficult to do by hand.

The intention of this guide is to show you how to use face paint stencils in a way that is not seen as cheating, but rather as a tool for specific purposes. We’ll also walk you through the wide variety of templates available and recommend some of our best options. If you are just starting with templates you must have a nice kit for your events.

Keep reading to find the different uses of the stencils, you will find different techniques, some tricks and our best templates that we would like to recommend to each face painter.

How to Use the Face Paint Stencils?

Using templates takes some practice, although they may seem like an easy tool to use, the truth is that you will have to practice a bit before you can get a good job. The most common problems with stencils are moving the stencil while you’re applying paint, or the paint being too wet and seeping under the stencil. We’ll cover the most important things you need to know to get a good squad job.

Best Face Paint for Stamping

Although you may have read a bit about this in our blog post Best Art Makeup Guide – Brand Comparison, we will cover a little more in this post.

“Using the correct tools is the most important thing when painting with stencils, if you use the wrong paints or applicators, your stencils will not come out right”

When choosing a type of face paint to use with stencils, you have a few options. You can use a glycerin-based face paint like Superstar or Paradise, you can use powder-based face paints like Starblend, or you can use airbrush face paint with an airbrush compressor, like Vibe.

Using glycerin-based face paints is great because you can get a very creamy load that won’t seep under the stencil. Wax-based face paints tend to have a thinner consistency and can leak. With the right technique, you can make almost any paint work, but glycerin-based paints will make it a little easier.

Using powder-based face paints is another great option. Powders have the great advantage that they won’t seep under your stencil at all, but if you apply the powder too thick, some dust will fall when you remove the stencil. Also, when using powders, you may need to use a primer first to help it adhere better to your skin. You can use face paint, glycerin, or cream as a primer. Use just a little bit, all you need is the skin to be slightly tacky for the powder to adhere.

Using airbrush face paints and a compressor is a very popular third option. This is a common option if you are doing a full face stencil, or airbrushing tattoos, or even adding textures to a body paint design. Follow the paint manufacturer’s instructions for the correct PSI for the paint so that you are working with the correct air pressure.

The Best Applicator

This is really a matter of choice, but we’ll give you some advice on good stencil applicators and why we like them.

If you’re working with water-activated face paints, using a kabuki brush or a small pore sponge (like a latex-free makeup sponge) is a great idea. Either one tends to create fewer problems with paint seeping than regular face paint sponges. You can use a regular face paint sponge, but you need to make sure it is extra dry.

One of our favorite sponges for stenciling is the Splash Droplet sponge because it has very small pores and a rounded edge that makes it easy to apply evenly.

Another great option, if you are working with powders, is a smudging brush. They are great because they are small enough that you can choose which areas of the template to use and which not, and they are very sturdy so you can press just enough to get a good impression.