Scary Animals Face Painting Techniques with Linnéa Önnerby Novak Webin

Ready to make your face painting designs a little more wild? Linnéa Önnerby Novak returns for her tenth webinar with us, bringing four scary animal designs that'll have kids roaring with excitement all year round - not just at Halloween! From slithering snakes to creepy-crawly spiders, these designs combine simple techniques with dramatic effects that work perfectly for both beginners and pros.

About the Artist

Linnéa Önnerby Novak is one of our most beloved webinar instructors, having shared her expertise in ten different face painting classes with our community. Known for her approachable teaching style and clever design adaptations, Linnéa brings years of professional face painting experience from Sweden. She's mastered the art of creating designs that look complex but are surprisingly quick to execute - perfect for busy face painters working events.

The Slithering Snake

Starting with a design that's "not super scary" but definitely eye-catching, Linnéa demonstrates a hypnotic snake that wraps around the eyes in a figure-eight pattern. Using just single colors - yellow for the base and green for the body - this design proves you don't need fancy split cakes to create impressive results. The genius is in the placement: the snake's mouth area sits perfectly where kids can move their own mouth, bringing the design to life!

Pro tip from Linnéa: Keep two sets of round brushes - one exclusively for white paint to ensure your highlights stay crispy clean, never gray. This small investment in extra brushes makes a huge difference in your finished designs.

The Striking Scorpion

Inspired by Svetlana Ivanova's work, Linnéa puts her own spin on a scorpion design using a custom one-stroke she created in fire-flame colors (red, black, and yellow). The curved tail and segmented body come together quickly, but it's the addition of rusty red blood effects that transforms this from cute to creepy. Using a stipple sponge with dark red paint, she creates texture that suggests this scorpion means business!

The panther-like segmented back and strategic white highlights give this design dimension, while the blood spatters can be adjusted based on your audience - minimal for younger kids, more dramatic for those wanting extra scary.

The Hungry Shark

Taking inspiration from Sue Chiamaro, this shark design creates the illusion of Jaws emerging from the water right on the face. The clever use of white paint for the underbelly, combined with a blue split cake for the body, makes this design pop off the skin. Starting under the eye and working down, the triangular white shape becomes the shark's distinctive belly.

What makes this design brilliant for working events? You're not painting the entire shark - just the dramatic moment of it breaching the water. Add some foam effects with a sponge and white paint, throw in some strategic blood drips, and you've got a design that looks complex but takes just minutes to complete.

The Creepy-Crawly Spiders

Linnéa saves the best (or worst, depending on your arachnophobia!) for last with two spider variations. The forehead spider, inspired by her Dutch friend Annabel, starts with an orange and gray web background using stencils. The key to making spiders look realistic? All eight legs should originate from between the head and body, not randomly around the body.

Her climbing spider variation shows the arachnid scaling up the cheek, complete with the distinctive red hourglass marking of a black widow. Using Starblend powder with a dry brush to add shadows creates an unsettling 3D effect that makes the spider appear to hover above the skin.

Technique Highlights

Throughout the webinar, Linnéa shares invaluable techniques for elevating your scary animal face painting:

Strategic Placement

Each design works with facial features rather than against them. The snake's mouth aligns with the child's mouth, the shark uses the natural eye area for drama, and spiders can climb from various starting points depending on face size.

Blood Effects Done Right

Using rusty red (or red mixed with black) and stipple sponges creates realistic blood that's scary without being graphic. The key is restraint - a little goes a long way, and you can always add more for older kids who want extra scary.

Shadow Magic

Dry-brushing Starblend powder toward the center of designs creates shadows that make flat paintings appear three-dimensional. This professional technique takes seconds but adds incredible depth to your work.

Speed Without Sacrifice

Every design shown can work for line painting. Skip outlining if you're pressed for time, use one-strokes instead of layering colors, and remember that symmetry isn't always necessary - especially for climbing or moving creatures!

Perfect for Year-Round Use

While these designs shine during Halloween season, Linnéa emphasizes their versatility throughout the year. Boys especially love these creatures at birthday parties, festivals, and fairs. The snake works great at zoo events, the shark is perfect for beach-themed parties, and spiders are always popular with kids who want something "cool" rather than cute.

Working with Different Age Groups

One of Linnéa's strengths is showing how to adapt each design for different ages and fear tolerances. Younger children might get the cute snake with googly eyes and no blood, while older kids can handle the full black widow with red markings and shadow effects. This flexibility means you're learning four designs that can become eight or more variations depending on your audience.

Materials That Make a Difference

Quality face painting supplies truly shine in these designs. The Kraze FX split cakes create beautiful color gradients in single strokes, while Superstar's shimmer paints add an extra dimension that regular paints can't achieve. Linnéa's use of professional brushes - particularly the Filbert for smooth curves and round brushes for detail work - shows how the right tools make challenging designs achievable.

Join Our Face Painting Community

This webinar is part of our ongoing series bringing world-class face painting instruction directly to you. With over 160 webinars in our library and growing, you'll find inspiration and education for every skill level and style preference. Whether you're painting at weekend birthday parties or working major festivals, our community supports your growth as an artist.

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