Hey everyone! In this face painting tutorial, we’ll show you how to create beautiful butterfly designs on the face. Whether you're painting for a special event or just having fun, these simple steps will help you create a stunning butterfly from start to finish. Let's get started!
Starting with the Baby Butterfly
In your flower designs, you can always add a baby butterfly! Imagine a cute butterfly emerging from its egg. Once the baby butterfly is born, it turns into a caterpillar.
We love caterpillars—they’re fun and full of personality! Use a filbert brush to load up some bright, fun colors. Create a trail of beads, going up and down. Make the front bead a little larger. Add little feet if you want, and don’t forget the antennae because butterflies love their antennae!
Then, put a tiny happy face on your caterpillar. You can also add some line dots going up or down. This baby butterfly is now a cute caterpillar!
Understanding Butterfly Wings
The butterfly journey begins! To make your butterfly’s wings look realistic, we first need to understand how the wings work. Butterflies and moths have large, gorgeous wings, and we get to play with them in this design.
Step 1: Start by an “X”
Start by drawing an “X” shape on the face. Each quadrant of the “X” will represent one wing. You’ll need to clean up that “X” afterward.
Step 2: Adding the Butterfly Wings
Now, let’s add the wings. Start by drawing one wing in the top section of the “X.” Then, reverse your hand and draw the next wing in the bottom quadrant. Repeat the process on the other side.
Step 3: Adding the Butterfly Body
Add the body of the butterfly using the edge of your brush. Once the basic structure is in place, it’s time for some fun line work to make the butterfly’s wings look even cooler!
Step 4: Adding Glitter for Extra Sparkle
To make your butterfly pop, grab some chunky glitter in a cream base. Take your primary wing color and apply the glitter on top. You can use color-specific glitter for the wings, and feel free to add extra sparkles around the butterfly. It’s a quick and effective way to make the design shine.
Playing with Different Techniques
Let’s add even more creativity! We’ve used light colors inside the wings and dark colors outside, but now we’ll reverse that! Start by putting the light colors on the outside of the wings.
Step 1: Adding the Butterfly Wings
To shift the “X” we created earlier, rotate it in space so you’re looking at the butterfly from the side. This allows us to tuck one wing behind, creating a beautiful profile butterfly.
Step 2: Filling Empty Spaces
Sometimes, when painting a large butterfly, you may end up with empty spaces. Simply fill in those areas with a layer of your one-stroke color, and add more fun details to the wings.
Step 3: Adding Some Details
Let your brush go crazy and experiment with wisps, curls, and intricate line work. Add a dark edge and a small body in the center of the butterfly. Flip your brush and use the light edge to add white highlights.
And add long teardrop shapes to the wings. Start with large teardrops, then layer smaller ones over them. This technique will help give the wings dimension and flow.
Every wing should begin and end with a teardrop. Once you place your teardrops, you can connect them with delicate lines. This will create a beautiful, flowing butterfly wing that looks cohesive.
Step 4: Bringing in a New Color for Variety
Let’s change things up by introducing a new color to cool down the butterfly’s warm tones. Grab some cool blue and green, and touch up certain spots on the wings. This adds variety and gives your eyes a break from the warm colors.
Next, add some white accents inside the wings to lighten the design even more. You can add as much or as little as you like, depending on your style.
Step 5: Adding the Final Sparkles
Of course, no butterfly design is complete without sparkles! Grab your glitter palette, choose colors that match your butterfly’s theme, and add some glitter for a final pop. You can use pink, gold, green, and blue glitter to add a shiny finish to your butterfly and rose.
Don’t overdo it—just add small glitter dots around the design for a fun, sparkly touch.
Butterfly and Rose Face Paint Design
We’re going to create a beautiful butterfly and rose design, with a special technique to make the butterflies blend into the rose seamlessly, almost like camouflage. We’ll add sparkle at the end for that perfect finishing touch!
Step 1: Designing the Butterfly and Rose
We’re going to have the butterflies dance around the rose. By using the same brush for different parts of the design, we create a cohesive look that helps everything blend together beautifully.
We’ll start with cool rainbow colors like blue, purple, and a touch of green. The butterfly design will be the same as before, but this time we’ll change one small detail to showcase a new technique and enhance the colors together.
First, add the top wing, followed by the bottom wing. Let’s even add a little extra movement with a new wing detail. Right now, the butterflies are placed next to each other, but to create depth, I want this butterfly to be in front. To achieve this, I’ll pull a little of the wing to make the rose fade behind, allowing for more space to add those delicate feathery details.
Step 2: Adding Details to the Butterfly Wings
Next, we’ll grab a short shader brush and load it with a mix of green and purple. This green-purple color, with a white edge, will help brighten the design, especially for the inside of the flower.
Step 3: Adding Details to the Rose
Start by creating a small bump, then shift the brush slightly and make a “U” shape. Complete the design with small circles around the bump to form the center of the rose. By positioning the rose's center toward the butterfly, you help keep the focus tight.
For the complete rose tutorial please click on this link>>
[Easy Flower Face Painting Tutorial: Simple Brush Techniques for Beginners]
If you notice that the center of your rose is slightly off, don’t worry! Simply add one more petal to align the center perfectly. Remember, it’s never too late to fix something in your design. If you feel something isn’t right, just keep working with it—it’s not finished until we add the sparkle!
Step 4: Adding More Depth to the Butterfly and Rose
Now that the butterfly is painted with warm colors.
Let’s add a bit of white next to the green. This technique works beautifully for “ghost roses,” which feature stunning white details. The green won’t muddy up the design and will help make the butterfly and rose look even more vibrant.
We’ll follow the same butterfly shape and line as before, adding shading to give it more complexity. The extra green mimics the natural leaves around a rose, making everything feel more connected.
Step 5: Final Butterfly Details and White Highlights
Let’s now add the final details to the butterfly. Use your line brush to draw a small body and antennae. If the wings seem a little crowded or unclear, you can break up the design with a few white lines to make everything pop.
I like to use light touches here rather than overdoing it. Trust your instincts—stop when it feels right. The design is finished when you’re happy with it, so listen to your inner artist.
Step 6: Finishing Touches and Sparkles
To complete the design, we’ll add a little white around the rose to integrate it smoothly into the overall design. Now, it’s time for the most fun part—sparkles! Grab your glitter palette and choose colors that match your butterfly and rose. I recommend using pink, gold, and blue glitter. Apply the glitter just where it will pop and add that extra shine without overwhelming the design.
Conclusion
Now, you’ve created a beautiful butterfly design with fun details and sparkling accents! Whether you're painting for a special occasion or just having fun, these steps will help you make stunning butterfly face paint designs every time. Keep practicing and don’t forget to have fun with the process!
By Fairy Fox Design