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Ready to master scary animal designs that are perfect for Halloween and year-round face painting? Join Linnéa Önnerby Novak for her tenth webinar as she demonstrates four spine-tingling creatures that kids absolutely love. From slithering snakes to creepy-crawly spiders, you'll learn techniques that work beautifully on the job while adding just the right amount of "scary" for different age groups.
About the Artist
Linnéa Önnerby Novak returns for her tenth webinar with FacePaint.com, bringing her signature style that perfectly balances cute and creepy. Known for her ability to create designs that work for both younger children and those wanting something more frightening, Linnéa has become a favorite instructor in our face painting classes community. Her previous webinars have covered everything from space designs to underwater themes, always with practical techniques perfect for working face painters.
Snake Design: The Hypnotic Serpent
Starting with a design that's "not super scary" but perfect for smaller kids, Linnéa demonstrates a unique snake technique using only single colors - no split cakes required! Using a yellow Filbert brush, she creates an infinity shape around the eyes, building the serpent's coiled form. The design cleverly incorporates the mouth area, allowing kids to "hiss" and interact with their face paint.
The green overlay creates depth while maintaining simplicity. One of the best tips? Making the eyes slightly mismatched - one bigger, one smaller - adds personality and makes the snake less intimidating for younger children. Brown spots and optional red hypnosis spirals complete this versatile design that boys especially love.
Scorpion: Fire and Danger
Inspired by Lana Face Art's work, Linnéa puts her own twist on this scorpion design using a custom-mixed one-stroke in red, black, and yellow - creating a flame-like effect. The technique focuses on creating a stretched, segmented body rather than round shapes, making it look more realistic and menacing.
The curved tail (or stinger) uses simple N-shaped loops, while the segmented back adds authentic detail with just a few black lines. The addition of Superstar's rusty red paint for blood effects transforms this from a simple animal design into something perfect for Halloween events. The stipple sponge technique for adding "battle damage" is particularly effective and quick for busy face painting sessions.
Shark Attack: Rising from the Deep
This clever shark design, inspired by Sue Siamaro, creates the illusion of a shark breaching through water. Starting with a triangular white base under the eye, Linnéa builds the design using a blue split cake with darker tones on the outside. The positioning makes it appear as though the shark is emerging from beneath the surface, with only the upper body visible.
The technical trick here is the white foam effects created with quick, flicky brush movements. These serve double duty as both teeth and water spray. For those wanting extra scary factor, adding red "fresh meal" effects around the mouth and in the water creates a more dramatic look suitable for older kids and Halloween events.
Spider Designs: Two Creepy Variations
Linnéa saves the most requested scary animal for last, presenting two spider variations. The first, inspired by Dutch artist Adabelle, features a forehead spider with orange and gray shimmer web background created using a circular spider web stencil. The key technique? All eight legs originate from between the head and body, not randomly around the spider - this anatomical accuracy makes it more believable.
The climbing cheek spider variation demonstrates how to create movement and dimension. Using Starblend powder with a dry brush for shadows creates a 3D effect that makes the spider appear to be actually climbing up the face. The black widow marking adds an extra element of danger that older kids particularly enjoy.
Pro Tips for Scary Animal Face Painting
Throughout the webinar, Linnéa shares invaluable working tips:
- Keep two sets of round brushes - one exclusively for white to maintain crisp, clean highlights
- Use stipple sponges rather than regular sponges for blood effects to create more realistic texture
- When painting on eyebrows, use a pushing motion rather than dragging for better coverage
- Alternate legs when painting spiders (right-left-right-left) for better symmetry
- Add shimmer paints selectively to create dimension without overwhelming the design
Adapting Designs for Different Ages
One of Linnéa's strengths is showing how each design can be modified for different comfort levels. The snake can be friendly or menacing with simple eye changes. The scorpion and shark work without blood for younger children. The spider can be cute on the forehead or terrifying crawling up the cheek. This versatility makes these designs perfect additions to any face painter's repertoire.
Essential Products for These Designs
- Kraze FX Split Cakes - Perfect for creating multi-tonal effects in single strokes
- Loew-Cornell (King Art) Round Brushes - Numbers 2 and 3 for precise detail work
- Filbert Brushes - Natural round shape ideal for snake bodies and curves
- Superstar Rusty Red - The go-to color for realistic blood effects
- Superstar Graphite Gray Shimmer - Adds metallic dimension to spiders
- Spider Web Stencils - Quick background texture for spider designs
- Starblend Powder - Creates professional shadow effects when applied dry
- Stipple Sponges - Essential for textured blood and battle damage
Perfect Timing for Halloween Success
With Halloween approaching, these designs offer the perfect balance of speed and impact. Each can be completed in minutes, making them ideal for busy October events. The techniques translate well to other scary creatures too - the snake technique works for dragons, the spider leg placement for other insects, and the shark's water effects for any ocean creature.
Whether you're preparing for Halloween events or looking to expand your year-round animal repertoire, these scary creature designs deliver maximum impact with professional techniques that work reliably on the job.
