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Once you've done a bit of practicing, and your confidence has been built up, you're ready to make some money.

Don't wait until you feel like a great artist. And don't think you have to be the best face painter in town to start charge for your work.

If the children are happy when you've finished painting something on their faces, the parents won't mind a bit paying a fair price for your effort.

Nobody's going to want to see your resume or get reference. Show a few samples of your work and you'll undoubtedly have customers.

Charging by The Cheek

The easiest way to start out is with a small cheek art painting, such as a rainbow, balloons or spider. The simplest way to charge is by the item. The customer will pay the same fee whether you take 5 minutes or 15 minutes and you won't feel rushed.

It's often okay with a beginner to take their time to get a nice job done and make a little less per hour, knowing that they'll get faster with time and make a higher hourly rate then.

Let's say you can paint a nice rainbow on a cheek, arm, neck or leg in 15 minutes. If you charge $3 for this work, you'll be working at the rate of $12 an hour. Once you can paint the same (or improved) rainbow in 10 minutes, you'll be working at a rate of $20 an hour.

Not bad for such a fun profession!

Add an extra 25 to 50 cents to replenish paint supplies.

Charging by the Full Face

Full face art requires more skill so you can make more money on each customer. Use the formula from above to determine how much to charge:

If it takes you 30 minutes to finish a full doggy face, then charge $8 to $12 for this work. Then you'll be working at the rate of $16 to $22 an hour.

Because you're using more paint on a full face than on a small cheek art piece, add an extra dollar for replenishing supplies.

Charging by the Hour

There may be times when you want to charge by the hours. For example, if a parent asks you to attend a child's birthday party to perform your crowd-pleasing art, you may agree to stay for 2 hours for $30 and paint as many children as possible in that block of time.

If the parent wishes you to stay longer, let there be an understanding that you charge $15 (or whatever) for that next hour, too.

It's wise to know how many children are going to be there and divide your time equally, starting with the birthday child.

Charity Contributions

For a charity event, occasionally the face painter will waive the fee on behalf of the organization. Sometimes the charity pays for fees and supplies.

Keep good records, though. Know how many children you painted and what you would have been paid if you were at a craft show.

The organization can use this information as an "in kind" contribution as credit when applying for grants. And you can use this figure as a contribution or cost on your taxes.

(Besides, some people need to see the figures before they realize a volunteer is a valuable person. Some people think if they didn't pay, then it's not worth anything. Let them know -- with money figures -- that you are worth plenty!)

Work For Tips Only

In this case, there is no fee paid by the client or organization for your services, however you are permitted to put a Tip jar near your table or booth to encourage tipping.

This is appropriate when a non-profit organization has asked you to donate time, but this is not YOUR organization - not your church or fire department.

Or you may want to use this method of compensation when you're just starting out. You may not be confident enough with your skills to know what you're worth.

If this is the case, use the tip jar. You'll gain enough money to buy more painting supplies plus some. And you'll gain experience and confidence.

Some of the best tips are not money. Often a parent or child will give you a verbal tip that sparks your imagination. And you'll get insight into what children are wanting in face painting these days -- what's hot and what's not. These tips are very valuable.

If you feel you did a pretty good job on a face, BE SURE to take a couple of pictures for your portfolio. This will generate more business in the future and be at your fingertips if you need to remind yourself how you accomplished something you thought came out good.

So, what do you charge? You are valuable. A face painter has a skill people want. Don't be charge too little, even in the beginning. Be fair and everyone wins.

Face painting is a fun money-making skill You'll never know how far you can go with this until you give it a try!

JoAnne Westcott is a face painter and the author of the ebook, Easy Face Painting.

Even if you have no experience at all with face painting, JoAnne will get you up and running in record time.

Just follow her pictures and instructions and you'll have a money-making skill you can profit from year-round!

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