What jungle would be complete without a colorful parrot? Since jungle themes are common in birthday parties for children, it's a good idea to have a few of these quick designs in your repertoire, and this friendly parrot is just the fellow to bring smiles to both parents and kids. 

Materials Need:

• Red face paint (Paradise)
• Orange face paint (TAG)
• Yellow face paint (TAG)
• Blue face paint (Paradise)
• White face paint (Wolfe)
• Green face paint (TAG)
• Black face paint (Diamond FX)
• #2 round brush
• #5 round brush
• Small filbert brush
• Sponge
• Cosmetic grade glitter

Tutorial

Begin by using your #2 round brush and white to create an outline for the shape below between the eyebrows. The beak will be a curved upside down triangular shape, and the eyes will be semi-circles from either side of it. After you have your basic shape, fill in the colors as shown below, beginning with white and ending with red using either a #5 round brush or a small filbert. (The reason for working in the order of white to yellow to red is so that you are less likely to get red into the lighter colors accidentally this way.) 

Next, use the filbert or the #5 round to create several teardrops in yellow on the cheekbone. Repeat with the blue, overlapping the yellow as shown in the photo. Make sure your teardrops are not parallel, but come together toward a central point. 

Use red to connect the wings to the head of the bird. 

Sponge orange over the eyelid area, blending into the red to soften the edge of the design around the eyes. (Add a little cosmetic grade rose or red glitter if desired for sparkle.) Using the #2 round brush, outline your parrot with black and add details to the feathers and face. 

And as a last step, add white highlights to the parrot and colorful dots and starbursts in the background. 

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 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.