Big Nose Buddies farm series: horse tutorial

The Big Nose Buddies series continues this week with a great one-stroke horse design which is simple to do and should be a hit for your farm-themed events.

Materials

Black, grey, and white small split cake 
Green and light green small split cake (TAG)
Yellow face paint (TAG) 
Orange face paint (TAG)
Purple face paint (Paradise)
White face paint (Wolfe)
Black face paint (Diamond FX)
1/2-inch flat brush
#5 round brush (or small filbert)
#2 round brush 
Sponge

Tutorial

Begin by loading your 1/2-inch flat brush from the black, grey, and white split cake and make an oval between the eyebrows in the center of the forehead. Use the light edge of the brush to fill the center of the oval, and if you need to blend it, dab a sponge over the area.

Use the same brush to add a curved bump on the top of the oval for the upper portion of the horse's head. Load a small filbert or a #5 round brush with yellow to create a hat on the head of the horse. 

Use a #5 round brush and orange to add a press petal flower to the hat, and add two small green leaves with the same brush. For the ears, again use the #5 brush and make the top with the grey from your split cake. Add small white teardrops to the underside of the grey strokes for the interior of the horse's ears. Sponge some lime green over the eye area to prepare for the next step.

Load the 1/2-inch flat brush with light and medium TAG green and make some jagged strokes back and forth, angling out away from the center of the forehead for grass. Blend this with the lime green you already applied with a sponge. 

Use your #2 round brush and black to add outlines to the horse. Don't forget to have some of his mane sticking out underneath the hat. 

If you have time, add a criss-cross design to the hat with orange and place purple and orange starbursts and dots in the background.

Finally, add white highlights throughout the design to make the image pop, and enjoy your friendly farm horse.

Beth MacKinney is the owner of and primary face painter for Face Paint Pizzazz in Elgin, Illinois, and her artwork has appeared in The Colored Palette and SkinMarkz magazines. She services Elgin, Illinois, the NW Chicago suburbs, and northern Chicago, as well as the eastern suburbs of Rockford. Stop by Facepaint.com to check out her other face painting blog posts and tutorials.

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