Level Up Your Butterfly Designs Webinar with Claire Huskisson

Butterflies are one of those designs you just can't escape in the face painting world — and honestly, that's a good thing. It doesn't matter what new fad comes along; butterflies stay a staple. Whether you're slammed with a long line at a busy event or you've got a few extra minutes to add some wow, a butterfly can flex to fit. In her return visit to the FacePaint.com webinar series, UK artist Claire Huskisson walked us through five butterfly designs — from a speedy line-buster all the way up to a spooky Halloween mashup — plus a whole stack of practical pro tips along the way.

Meet Claire Huskisson

Claire has been face painting for fourteen years and has taught at the London Face Paint Jam. By day she's a secondary school drama teacher, which might explain how warm and easygoing she is on camera. You'll find her work on Instagram as Aurora Face and Body Art — look for the little butterfly next to her name. Butterflies have always been one of her favorites, and that love comes through in every stroke.

Products Claire Used

Want to paint along at home? Here are the key products from the class:

• Fusion Body Art Thin Strokes One Stroke Palette
• Fusion Body Art Candy One Stroke Palette
• Diamond FX Black
• Diamond FX White
• Sparkling Faces Practice Board (by Svetlana)
• King Art round brushes (a #1 liner and a #4)
• Angle brushes in 3/4", 5/8", and 1/2"

Start With the Building Blocks: C Shapes and S Shapes

Before diving into any butterfly, Claire's advice is simple: warm up. A few minutes of line work at the start of every practice session loosens up your wrist and gets you painting cleaner lines. The two shapes that do all the heavy lifting here are the C shape and the S shape. Aim to start thin, end thin, with a little thickness through the middle. Once those two strokes feel natural, you'll spot them hiding inside nearly every butterfly you paint.

The Fast “Bubblegum” Butterfly

This is Claire's go-to when the queue is long and the kids are wiggly. Start with a single color laid down with a half sponge to rough out the butterfly shape, keeping the top wing big and the bottom wing much smaller (ideally not reaching past the nose, or it can drag the paint down the face). Then it's just C shapes and S shapes with a 5/8" angle brush and a one-stroke to build the wings, finishing the top wing right at the top of the eyelid. A quick teardrop and a thin S for the body, and you're done. It's big, bright, and kids love picking their own color — a true line-buster.

The Rainbow Rose Butterfly

Got a little more time? Jazz it up. Claire started this one with a multicolor petal-sponge base — and here's a great tip: spray the sponge rather than the paint, so you can control where the water goes and keep the colors from muddying. Flip the petal sponge and use the pointed edge for the upper wing, just skimming the top so you don't press over what's already down. Then a smaller angle brush picks up the darker edge of the cake for crisp outlines. Add a couple of one-stroke roses (all built from those same C shapes) and a little green foliage, and you've got a design that reads as elaborate but only takes a couple of minutes because it's all painted in one loaded pass.

The Monarch Butterfly

A monarch came in as a webinar request, and it's a fun variation. No pre-mixed cake with white, yellow, and orange? No problem — Claire showed how to build it on a petal sponge from single colors: yellow in the center, a touch of white at the tip, and just a little orange on the outer edge (it should read mostly yellow). Dab, don't swipe, or the colors muddy together. Then black does the rest of the work with a round brush and a liner. One thing Claire flagged: don't overwhelm a monarch with a hundred thin black lines. Be deliberate. On a face, black goes on very easily and can get messy fast, so a lighter touch reads cleaner and still absolutely says “monarch.”

A Quick Cheek Butterfly

You'll always have someone in line who wants something small — “just on the cheek,” or “not too big.” Claire's answer is a half butterfly, painted as if it's turned on its side. Same S-shape, C-shape logic with a half angle brush (one of the most-used brushes in her kit), a slightly hidden back wing to add depth, then an outline in whatever color you like. It's a lovely, fast line-buster once you get the hang of it.

Super-Fast Arm Butterflies

When someone begs for “just a quick butterfly” with thirty seconds to spare, this is the move. Using a filbert-style brush loaded white with a dark blue double-dip, Claire pressed petal shapes into a butterfly form, added a little liner-brush body, and that was it — essentially a flower in the shape of a butterfly. Double-dip designs work a bit more smoothly on skin than on a board, and you can cluster two or three curling around the eye and over the forehead for a pretty, scattered effect.

Bonus: A Halloween Spider Butterfly Mashup

By popular demand, Claire crammed in a spooky one. Load a petal sponge with green, white, and purple — and pop the white in the middle, because it acts as a separator so clashing colors don't muddy where they meet. Outline the wings in black just like the monarch, turn the lower wing teardrops into spider webs, and swap the usual butterfly body for a tiny spider. The great thing about mashups, as Claire put it, is that you can do anything. If in doubt at Halloween, add spider webs!

Claire's Best Pro Tips

• Paint curved lines, not straight ones — the face is rounded, so straight lines can look off.
• Read your model's face: tiny foreheads and low hairlines call for smaller designs so your lines stay crisp.
• Go easy on the black for little ones — it smudges quickly.
• Practice boards save your skin and show how a design reads, but skin (a thigh or arm) is better for practicing true texture, and double-dip flowers behave better on skin.
• And of course — we never recommend painting on anyone's eyeballs!

Butterflies really are endlessly adaptable, which is exactly why they're worth mastering. Work through these five and you'll have an option for every situation, from a thirty-second arm design to a full-face showstopper. If you enjoyed this session, keep an eye on our upcoming face painting classes — there's always more to learn, and we love painting alongside this community.