Spring Butterfly Face Painting Designs with Kathy Vergara Webinar

If you've ever been at a party where every other kid asks for a butterfly, you know the challenge isn't painting one — it's keeping things fresh when you're on butterfly number fifteen. In this face painting webinar, Kathy Vergara (also known as Kathy Alessandra) shares a collection of spring butterfly designs that range from quick half-face options to detailed full masks, proving that the humble butterfly is one of the most versatile designs in your toolkit.

About Kathy Vergara

Kathy Vergara is one of FacePaint.com's original webinar instructors — the OG, as Blake Cabot put it during the face painting class. Based in New York, Kathy is known for her approachable teaching style, her ability to create stunning designs at party speed, and her refreshingly honest commentary on everything from product choices to the challenges of naming designs on the fly. She brings years of professional face painting experience to every class, with a talent for breaking down techniques so painters of all levels can follow along.

Products Featured in This Webinar

• Silly Farm Juicy Fruit Rainbow Cake
• Fusion Body Art Prime Paraffin White
• The Face Painting Shop Half-Inch Angled Brush
• Blazin Brushes Round #3 by Marcela Bustamante
• KingArt Round #2 Brush
• Silly Farm Paint Pal Beautiful Butterfly Brush (3/8")

The Designs: Four Spring Butterflies

Kathy walked through four distinct butterfly designs during the class, each with its own personality and speed. Whether you need a one-minute half-face for a busy line or a show-stopping mask design, there's something here for every situation.

Ghost Butterfly and Teardrop Butterfly (Half Face)

Kathy kicked things off with two half-face butterfly designs side by side. The Ghost Butterfly is a delicate design built on a sponged background using the Silly Farm Juicy Fruit rainbow cake. The key is keeping everything light and airy. Kathy used a custom split cake she made by combining Fusion Body Art Paraffin White with a gold shimmer, creating a gradient effect on the wing outlines that avoids harsh, blunt edges. Attendees loved this gold-and-white combination — as one viewer put it, they'd never thought to use gold instead of all white and couldn't wait to try it. Wyndy Olson called it out in the chat as an interesting tip she'd never seen before, and it quickly became one of the most talked-about takeaways of the class.

For the outline work, Kathy used The Face Painting Shop half-inch angled brush, pressing down with the full brush for the main wing shapes and then transitioning to just the tip for the delicate trailing lines. She emphasized using very little water on the sponge — just enough to activate the face paint — since it's always easier to add more water than to take it away. This design takes about one minute for a half face, or around three minutes for a full symmetrical butterfly.

On the opposite side, the Teardrop Butterfly skips the detailed outlining and relies on clean teardrops and straight lines for a quick but elegant look. Using yellow as a complementary accent color pulled from the same Juicy Fruit split cake, Kathy added dimension and balance. This is an ideal option when you're pressed for time at events — the teardrop shapes give the butterfly personality without requiring the precision of full outlining.

Flower Butterfly Mask (Full Face)

The third design was a full-face butterfly mask combined with floral elements — and it was a clear audience favorite. Kathy started by sponging a light, pastel rainbow blend across the face in an S-shape, keeping the colors soft and the edges undefined. The sponge work creates that airbrushed background feel that Kathy prefers over using split cakes alone for backgrounds.

For the flowers, Kathy used a flat brush triple-loaded with multiple colors plus a dip of white on the corner for vibrancy. She demonstrated both larger flowers using a petal brush technique and tiny baby flowers using a small Loew-Cornell round brush — perfect for flower freckle designs on little ones. Green leaves were added using a tiny flat brush loaded with white and green, with a touch of dark green on the corner for depth. The body was outlined in burgundy rather than black to keep the design feeling light and springy.

At party speed, this design takes about five minutes. Some painters noted it might be too time-intensive for high-volume gigs where you need 15-20 designs per hour, but for private parties and special events, it's a real showstopper. The chat lit up when Kathy finished this one — Fiona Brown called it beautiful, Ana Daniels added a string of sparkle emojis, and Donna Harcourt admitted the missing body had been driving her crazy until Kathy added it at the end. As one survey viewer said, the way Kathy started designs simply and then added layers to take them to the next level was especially inspiring.

Color Bomb Butterfly (Full Face)

The final design of the evening was named by audience member Irene — the Color Bomb Butterfly. This bold, colorful piece brought together all the face painting techniques Kathy had been teaching throughout the class. She added dots, starbursts, and additional line work to create a vibrant, eye-catching butterfly that lives up to its explosive name.

This one was a hit with viewers across all experience levels. Multiple attendees called it out as their favorite, with one describing the rainbow color combination as especially striking. The Color Bomb demonstrates how layering simple elements — sponged backgrounds, split cake wings, dot work, and starbursts — can build into something that looks complex but is actually very achievable.

Pro Tips from the Class

Throughout the webinar, Kathy dropped practical advice that face painters at any level can use. When working with sponges, keep them almost dry — a very small amount of water is all you need to activate the paint. For symmetry on full-face butterflies, work one element on both sides before moving to the next step, rather than completing one entire side first.

One standout technique was Kathy's method for adding a third color to a tiny brush without disturbing what's already loaded. She uses the back end of the brush to activate paint in the cake with water, then dips just the corner of the bristle side into the pre-activated color. This keeps the existing colors on the brush intact while adding that extra dimension.

Kathy also shared her approach to matching designs to clients — she prefers matching face paint colors to outfits rather than working from a set menu. When a client sits down unsure of what they want, offering to create a custom design that coordinates with what they're wearing almost always gets an enthusiastic yes.

On the topic of butterflies for boys, Kathy keeps it simple and judgment-free — if a boy asks for a butterfly, she paints a butterfly. The chat was fully on board with this approach, with Robin Cohen summing it up perfectly: boys who ask for a butterfly usually want a regular butterfly, just like girls who ask for Spider-Man want a regular Spider-Man. For those who want something more angular, Yvette Gittens suggested using Spider-Man or Batman colors, while DJ Bachman pitched "a butterfly that's been in a battle" — proving there's no shortage of creative directions to take it.

One more bonus from this class: left-handed painters were thrilled to watch Kathy work. Susan Purcell, Lisa Hill, and Fiona Brown all celebrated having a fellow lefty demonstrating techniques, and Kathy has a dedicated left-handed face painting masterclass available for those who want to dive deeper.

Making the Most of Butterfly Designs

As Kathy shared, butterflies are incredibly versatile. You can mix them with cats, unicorns, masks, and flower crowns. She recounted a party where every single child requested a butterfly, and she challenged herself to make each one completely different — proof that there are endless variations within this one design category. That kind of creative flexibility is exactly what makes butterflies a staple for face painters working spring events, birthday parties, and festivals.

Whether you're looking for a quick one-minute design for a busy line or a detailed five-minute showpiece, these spring butterfly techniques from Kathy Vergara will help you paint with more confidence, speed, and variety this season. Several attendees painted along live during the class — including one painter in Massachusetts who was working through a blizzard and another who had to pause to feed a baby and deal with the dog — proof that you can squeeze in practice anywhere.

Watch the full face painting webinar above and paint along with Kathy to practice these designs at home. And don't forget to check out the products she used — they're all available at FacePaint.com.