Considering making a living (or at least a little extra money) doing body painting? Is it possible to make a living doing body painting? Yes, you can make a lot of money as a ‘professional’ body painter, and even kids as young as twelve have made a lot of money (like $500-$400 in one afternoon) doing simple painting techniques like airbrush temporary tattoos at fairs and festivals.
It can be hard to believe that there are so many different ways to make money doing body painting. I know that when I first discovered the art of body painting, I thought maybe I could make some temporary money at a party or fair. But there are many, many more possibilities, as you will see.
Here are just 10 of the ways you could get paid to do body painting:
1. Do body painting at parties. You can hire for a night or a day and receive an hourly payment or a flat rate for the event.
2. Paint partygoers before they go to a party or event. Thematic or festive parties would be a good opportunity for this. Be sure to mention that you can also body paint your friends!
3. As a professional body painter for the theater. You could run a program for a discount to get in the door and get some recognition, if you don’t already have a track record.
4. Traveling with the circus as an ‘in-house’ make-up artist.
5. Become the official body painter of a dance company. Again, you could work for a low rate or even free to get in the door.
6. Face painting alone opens up several opportunities: parties, festivals, fairs, and special events are all possible places for you to set up shop. Just make sure (as with all of these options) that you’re using suitable, non-allergenic paints designed for face painting only.
7. Special events such as graduations, celebrations, fundraisers, and reunions.
8. Sporting Events: Painting fans in their team colors and symbols has a long tradition.
9. Festivals around the world. There are several festivals specific to body painting around the world, but there are many more that would be a great place for body painting. Find the festivals in your area and find out how to become a vendor and what their requirements and rules are.
10. Teach others to paint their bodies. You could run a one-off workshop, run ongoing group classes, or even take an online body painting course (like I’m doing).
I hope this gives you some good ideas on how you could make money as a body painting artist. Maybe you’ve even thought of some shapes I didn’t include… great! Pick a method, research what you need to do to get started, and off you go!
Bonus tip:
Here’s a secret hint… since you’re considering one of the above possibilities. Don’t choose what you think would make you the most money…choose what you think you would be happier and do better. In the long run, you will always earn more by doing something you love to do!
