I get some of the strangest requests while face painting when it comes to zoo animals. You never know which one will be a favorite for a child, and the oddest combination I’ve had to date was a request for a manatee, a duck, and a snail (on the same child). If you have a basic idea of what an animal looks like, though, it isn’t difficult to create a simple cartoon which you can quickly face paint.

For this video tutorial, I choose a possum (or opossum, if you prefer that spelling). Notice that I began with two round eyes (I almost always begins with the eyes), added a small circle for the head with a triangular muzzle, and finished up with an oval for the body and two legs (since you couldn’t see the legs on the other side of the branch). All the components were simple shapes. With a little thought, you can apply these to most animals you’re asked to face paint as well.

Materials

• Black, grey, and white small split cake
• 1/2-inch flat brush
• #1 or #2 round brush
• #4 or #5 round brush
• Paradise light brown
• Paradise dark brown
• TAG light green
• TAG medium green
• Diamond FX or Wolfe black
• Diamond FX or Wolfe white

Beth MacKinney is the owner of and primary face painter for Face Paint Pizzazz in Elgin, Illinois. She services the western and northwestern Chicago suburbs, Chicago’s north side, and the eastern and southeastern suburbs of Rockford. Stop by Clownantics.com to enjoy more of Beth’s face painting tutorials.