Who else is excited about the new Lion King movie? I am sure we will be getting a lot of requests for Lion King designs when the new movie comes out. For this tutorial I wanted to share a cool Timon cheek art design with you - this one is perfect for kids (or adults) who don't want a full face design.

Supplies

Arty Brush Cake by Sillyfarm - Aussie Mermaid

Arty Brush Cake by Sillyfarm - Mermaid

TAG neon orange

Superstar Minty 215

Diamond FX Black

Diamond FX White

Bad Ass Mini Stencil No. 1217

Blazin Brush by Marcela Bustamante Round #4

Cameleon Angle Brush #2 (3/4")

Sillyfarm Paint Pal romantic rose angle brush 1/2"

 Step 1: The Basic Outline

If you are like me, painting character designs can be a bit of a challenge. I like to use a small round brush and white to draw a thin outline of the character first to help me with the placement and shape. If you make a little mistake here it is easy to wipe off and paint this step again. Also, it can be helpful to break down the character into shapes. In this case I imagined two triangular shapes when I was painting the head and used those as my guideline. 

Step 2: Fill in the Colors

For this step I used a 1/4" angled brush and a #4 round brush and filled in the different colors. I used a flame one stroke for the hair and filled out with different shades of brown for the body. For the arms I double loaded the angled brush with a light and a darker shade of brown but you can use single colors for this step as well if you like. This is not perfect - as you can see there are a few little mistakes here and there, but those mistakes will be covered with the line work later so it doesn't have to be perfect at this stage.

Step 3: Stenciled Background

You can skip this stage if you like and just move on to the next one with the leaves - but I do like to add some more texture and background to my designs when I have the time to do so. For the pattern here I used one of my favorite stencil sets, the Half Ass BAM organic collection. I usually use finger daubers for my stenciling so that I have more control over the placement of the pattern. I picked up a couple of colors from a leaf colour one stroke and added some texture around the character. The design is already really starting to look lush and almost like a jungle. If you are uncomfortable with painting leaves you can always skip the next step, add some outline on this version here and still have a very cool design.

 Step 4: Leaves

For this step I used the same leaf one stroke and my favorite 1/2" angled brush from Blazin Brush and added some tropical leaves. The advantage of this stage is that not only does it makes your design look even more green and lush, but it's also a very good way of balancing your design. In this case I am placing the leaves on the bottom and the top to help curve the design more and have it directed towards the focal points. In this case the focal points are on the chin and in the center of the forehead. I also try not to let the leaves overpower the main character - they are just there to fill out the space and add a little bit of extra detail to your design.

Step 6: Line Work

Using my small round brush from Blazin Brush and DFX black, I then painted the outline of the design. I also added some black line work to my greenery. Adding a little bit of dimension to the leaves make them pop and stand out a bit more - and it also makes the design look more balanced when you add black in those areas as well, and not just on your main character.

Step 6: Optional Details 

You can leave this cute Timon cheek art design like it is - or you can add a few more details to give it that little bit of extra! For this step, I stenciled some diamond stars, added a little bit of white highlighting here and there - and some bright yellowdots to brighten it up even more.

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial - can't wait to see your version of this :-)

Kristin Olsson has her background from the art and design world and has been working as a professional face painter since 2016.

She has won numerous face painting competitions and has been published in various face and body painting magazines.

She is a FABAtv instructor, holds workshops around the world and is also a certified tutor at the International Face Painting School.

You can see more of her work on her Instagram and Facebook pages.