Face Painting and Balloon Twisting Blog

Sometimes, you just need to get out and have some fun.

On Friday, November 25th, 2011, Mike Becvar went out as Sir Toony Van Dukes and joined several of his friends from Just Clowning Around of Northern Virginia (JCA) and participated in the Reston Holiday Parade at the Reston Town Center.

Several of my friends from JCA are also balloon twisters and face painters. They have helped me become a better clown, face painter, and balloon twister. Getting together for parades is a way for us to have fun and give back to the community by spreading smiles to large groups of people.

Several years ago, someone gave a presentation on software development. He presented a triangle and said that at each point of the triangle represents one variable: quality, speed, and price. When a client decides they need custom software developed, they need to decide which of the three is most important because changing impacts the other two. If you want something fast, you will either need to pay more money or sacrifice quality. If you want quality, you will either need to pay more or wait longer. If you wanted something cheaper, you will either need to wait longer or sacrifice quality.

How does this relate to face painting and balloons? I have been to many events where kids had to wait in line for an hour to get a balloon or to get their face painted. I was at an event yesterday where one mother said my work was much better than the guy they had at her company’s holiday party. I told her that I wasn’t concerned about speed (length of the line). I was making bigger and better (more expensive and higher quality) balloons. If I was hired for a party and needed to make enough balloons for all of the kids in a limited amount of time, I would make simpler balloons.

As a balloon twister, I can choose to make simple, single balloon creations, or larger, multiple balloon creations. My choice impacts the number of balloons I can create in an hour. If the client wants only the larger, multiple balloon creations, they either need to give me more time, hire additional balloon twisters, or invite fewer kids to the party.

Unfortunately, it is not quite as easy for face painters. Their only option for speed is usually to cut down on the level of detail or not adding glitter at the end. Some people think that offering cheek art is faster because it is smaller, but the truth is that it is more detailed work and as a result can take just as long… Yes, there are stencils and rainbow paints that help speed up the work for some of the cheek art designs, but in general it isn’t much faster.

When I talk to the mother planning a birthday party or the person in charge of a large festival, I try to get an idea of how many kids they expect and explain how long it takes to do something for each child. Sometimes, it costs me the job as they realize they can’t afford to pay additional people and other times they are able to hire my friends to help. Either way, I see it as a win because I am not put into a position where I need to deal with a very long line of customers. I can do events where I can do my best work and wow the customer and their guests.

Since Thanksgiving is just one week away, it is time to pull out your favorite Thanksgiving and Turkey Jokes. Don’t have any, well here are a few of mine…

Q: Why do turkeys always go, “gobble, gobble”?
A: Because they never learned good table manners!

Q: Who is not hungry at Thanksgiving?
A: The turkey because he’s already stuffed!

Q: Which side of the turkey has the most feathers?
A: The outside!

Q: What are the feathers on a turkey’s wings called?
A: Turkey feathers.

Q: Can a turkey jump higher than the Empire State Building?
A: Yes – a building can’t jump at all.

Q: Why did they let the turkey join the band?
A: Because he had the drumsticks.

Q: Why didn’t the Pilgrim want to make the bread?
A: It’s a crummy job

Q: Why did the police arrest the turkey?
A: They suspected it of fowl play!

I think the classics are always a good choice for Halloween. This year, I chose to be Frankenstein. I actually dressed up twice, once the day before Halloween and once on Halloween.

I was at an event on Saturday when two kids said they planned to be clowns for Halloween and they asked to have their faces painted to look like a clown. My friend, who is a clown, was painting faces that day and she offered to make them into her own “Mini Me”. When she was done, they looked great!

There is one face that I will always take extra time painting to make sure it really looks good, and that is a clown face. Being a clown, I want people to like what they see whenever they see a clown. But, I have seen other examples where friends who are not clowns have painted kids to look like a clown. Unfortunately, they demonstrate that they do not understand the key aspects of a good clown face.

The other week, I was at an event where another face painter was telling about her one and only time dressing as a clown for an event. I understand why she used face paints instead of clown makeup, but the description of her face, complete with hearts and swirls got me thinking. All face painters should learn about clown makeup. I have recommended to several new clowns that they get a copy of “Strutter’s Complete Guide to Clown Makeup” which is available from Amazon.com.

I know when I was first designing my own clown face, the two points of reference were Ronald McDonald and Bozo. Both have very large red mouths. For most clowns, a much smaller mouth looks better. Actually, the best mouth is rarely larger than your own mouth. And, most clowns only paint their lower lip red. Otherwise, you get a big red, O, when the clown opens their mouth.

The clown makeup is designed to highlight the natural features of the face. In the circus, it helps people see the expressions they make from a distance. As such, the usual features are the eyes (and eyebrows), nose, and mouth. A clown doesn’t usually have stars or hearts on their faces because those are not part of their natural features.

When I got started doing balloons and face painting, I was at several events where the kids had to wait in very long lines before it was their turn. As a professional, it made me work to get faster, but it also made me realize that it is important to know your capacity.

There have been several times where I have been invited to an event where the planners expected hundreds of kids. I have learned to ask how many kids they expect and will NOT hesitate to recommend bringing in additional support. I am not doing this to help my friends get paying gigs, I am doing this to help myself get future gigs. I have learned that people are much happier when they don’t have to wait in line for an hour. The tips are bigger and more people stop to ask for my business card.

My current estimate is that a face painter can paint a child’s face in 3-5 minutes. I know several face painters who can do it faster, but that is a good starting point. Kids can slow the line down by not knowing what they want or by not wanting to hop out of the chair when they are done. Based on 3-5 minutes per child, a face painter can paint between 12 and 20 faces in one hour. I usually say 15 faces is a good average. This means that a three hour event with about 100 kids would require at least two if not three face painters to meet the demand. (Not all kids will want to have their faces painted.) I try not to get too involved with cheek art. For the most part, I don’t think it is any faster unless it is just a simple rainbow. Since cheek art is smaller, it is often more detailed.

I usually consider balloons a little easier. I can do 25-30 one or two balloon creations in an hour. When doing fancier designs or larger balloon sculptures the numbers drop. But, I will still try to bring in the support needed to meet the expected demand.

If for some reason, I am unable to bring in additional help for a large event, I look for ways to decrease the demand for balloons or face painting. Just about everyone will get in line when things are free. If the kids need to use tickets to go on rides or play games, I can decrease the demand by suggesting that the kids also need to use tickets to get their face painted or to get a balloon. Now, the kid needs to decide between another ride or a balloon.

At a recent event, we had four balloon twisters. The previous year, there were only two balloon twisters at the event and people waited in line for 45 minutes to an hour. Having the two additional balloon twisters was a great help. People still waited 15-20 minutes in line, but we were able to take a little more time interacting with each kid and gave them the balloon they wanted. Yes, it cost the event organizers more money, but in the end, people were much happier.

I started learning how to twist balloon in 2008 when I attended Mooseburger Clown Arts Camp or Moose Camp. I bought my first bag or two of balloons before going to camp and watched a few videos on YouTube, but I had no idea what I was doing. When I got started, I didn’t like balloons and had so many things I wanted to learn that it wasn’t a priority.

It took me 18 months to get to a point where I felt comfortable doing balloons and felt that I knew enough balloons to be able to offer it as a service. OK, I didn’t put much effort into balloon the first year… I was taking magic and unicycle lessons and going to face painting jams. Suddenly, something shifted and I began to focus on balloons and stopped working on magic and the Unicycle. I still wanted to learn face painting, but realized it was so much easier to practice balloons (I don’t have kids to practice face painting on).

In March 2010, Balloons By Mike was created. I had been advertising balloons on my clown website, Sir Toony Van Dukes but realized I didn’t have to be dressed as a clown to do balloons. Now, 18 months later, I am booked more for balloons than for clown or face painting. I have friends who are much better at balloons, but I think I am catching up.

Each month, I host a face painting and balloon jam at the Cici’s Pizza in Chantilly. It is normally on the 2nd Monday of the month, and in
October, the official jam will be on Columbus Day, Monday, October 10th. Since Columbus Day is a Federal Holiday, I plan to start the jam early… 4:00pm.

This month, we will share ideas on designs for Halloween.

Note: The theme is more a conversation starter for the dinner period of the jam. It is not a lecture but an open opportunity to ask questions of the group or share what has worked in the past. come with your questions and ideas… Bring your ideas and an open mind for the discussion.

Arrive when you can… I will try to arrive around 4:00. The jam continues until Cici’s closes at 9:00pm. You can come as early or late as you like.

The jam is open to face painters and balloon twisters of all skill levels.

October Face Painting and Balloon Jam in Chantilly
Monday, October 10th
Jam from 4:00 – Close

CiCi’s Pizza Buffet
14392 Chantilly Crossing Lane
Chantilly, VA 20151
703-961-9100

Kings Dominion (http://www.kingsdominion.com/) in Doswell, VA is looking for vampires to help them make their world record attempt on Friday, September 30th.

Their gates will open at 5:30 pm for FULLY DRESSED Vampires and the official count will begin at 7:30 pm under the Eiffel Tower. FULLY DRESSED Vampires will also get regular general admission for only $19.99 per person!

To be considered a FULLY DRESSED Vampire, you must wear . . .

MEN

• Black cape
• Black trousers
• White shirt
• Black, Grey or Red Vest
• Black, Grey or Red neck frill or neck tie
• Black shoes
• Vampire teeth

WOMEN

• Black and/or red colored dress
• Dark eye make-up
• Red lips
• Vampire teeth
• Black shoes

The current record of 354 people is held by the Loveland Road Runners of Northern Colorado.

It is almost that time of the month again… Each month, I host a face painting and balloon jam at the Cici’s Pizza in Chantilly. It is normally on the 2nd Monday of the month, and in September, the official jam will be on Monday, September 12th.

This month, we will share ideas on making something special for the birthday child. What do you do to make the balloon of face painting design a little more special for the birthday child. Note: The theme is more a conversation starter for the dinner period of the jam. It is not a lecture but an open opportunity to ask questions of the group or share what has worked in the past. come with your questions and ideas… Bring your ideas and an open mind for the discussion.

Arrive when you can… I try to arrive aroudn 6:00 for dinner. The actual jam portion of the night begins around 7:00 and continues until Cici’s closes at 9:00pm. You can come as early or late as you like. The jam is open to face painters and balloon twisters of all skill levels.

September Face Painting and Balloon Jam in Chantilly
Monday, September 12th
Buffet from 6:00 – 7:00
Jam from 7:00 – Close

CiCi’s Pizza Buffet
14392 Chantilly Crossing Lane
Chantilly, VA 20151
703-961-9100

Looking for pictures from past jams or a place to communicate with the other local face painters and balloon twisters? Check out our group, “Chantilly Face Painting and Balloon Jam” on facebook.