One Stroke Animal Face Painting Techniques with Linnéa Önnerby Novak Masterclass

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One stroke painting is one of those skills that can completely transform your face painting game — and nobody breaks it down better than Linnéa Önnerby Novak. In this masterclass for FacePaint.com, Linnéa demonstrated how to build a whole zoo of animal designs using just a handful of one stroke shapes. From butterflies and flamingos to wolves and dragons, she showed how the same core brush movements can create design after design once you understand the fundamentals.

Linnéa Önnerby Novak is a professional face painter from Sweden and a product developer for Superstar. She is the creator of the popular Flower Bouquet palette, the Transform palette, and the Spooky Split Cake palette — all of which she used extensively throughout this class. Known for her efficient painting style and her ability to make complex-looking designs approachable, Linnéa brings years of experience working kids' events, festivals, and parties across Europe. She is passionate about helping other face painters build confidence with one stroke techniques that deliver maximum wow factor in minimum time.

For this masterclass, Linnéa used products available at FacePaint.com, including the Superstar Flower Bouquet palette (featuring Rose Garden, Spring Leaf, Romantic Lily, Daffodil, Blue Bell, Poppy Field, and Autumn Leaf one stroke cakes), the Superstar Transform palette (featuring Flames and Reptile one stroke cakes), and the Superstar Spooky Split Cake palette (featuring Ghost and Witch one stroke cakes). She worked with Superstar round filbert brushes, angled brushes in half inch, five-eighths inch, and three-quarter inch sizes, and flat one stroke brushes in small, medium, and large sizes.

Understanding One Stroke Brush Types

Before diving into the animals, Linnéa walked through her brush selection. Round filbert brushes are best when you want softer, rounded shapes — perfect for animals like hippos, otters, and teddy bears. Angled brushes give you a very sharp tip, which is ideal for designs that need crisp points. Flat one stroke brushes work well for broad, sweeping strokes used on larger animals like dolphins and wolves. Understanding which brush to reach for is the first step to getting clean, confident one stroke shapes.

Butterfly

Linnéa started with the classic butterfly using the Rose Garden pink one stroke. She loaded the brush with the darkest color on the outside so the brighter tones would sit closest to the eye area. The technique involves painting a guideline first, then building the upper wings with a wiggly motion that ends in a large rounded shape. The lower wings are more rounded compared to the triangular upper wings. She layered a second pass following where the first stroke ended, then used the brush tip to add wing vein lines. The body is painted like an upside-down unicorn horn — starting wide and tapering down — with two simple antennas to finish. Add white details and glitter for the final touch.

Flamingo

Using the same pink one stroke, Linnéa moved into the flamingo. She always starts with the head because its size determines the proportions of everything else. The head is a full rotation of the brush, followed by an S-shaped neck stroke with the lightest color facing forward to create a natural highlight. The body comes next as one big shape, and then the wing is painted on top with a downward stroke that swifts upward at the end. For the feathers, Linnéa demonstrated a technique where only the wider part of the brush moves while the tip stays planted — pressing up slightly to get a rounded feather shape rather than flat squares.

Scorpion

Switching to the Flames one stroke from the Transform palette, Linnéa created a scorpion design perfect for boys. She likes to position it starting on the cheekbone and extending over the eyebrow. The body is made with alternating N and U shapes that get progressively smaller as they move toward the tail. The tail itself uses the same start-and-stop motion, twisting at the end to form the venom stinger. The claws are painted with a back-and-forth technique — one stroke forward, stop, turn back, stop, and turn back again. Small legs are quick one-two strokes on each side. Add highlights and maybe some blood for extra drama.

Dolphin

For the dolphin, Linnéa picked up the Spring Leaf one stroke from the Flower Bouquet palette using a three-quarter inch flat brush. The key movement is pressing hard at the start for a big head, then gradually twisting and tapering to a stop for the tail. She showed it at multiple angles to demonstrate versatility. The nose is painted with the same press-and-stop feather technique used on the flamingo. The fins use a butterfly-like motion — starting at the top, pressing down, then curving into a rounded shape on each side. The arms are quick half-brush strokes, one at the front and one behind the body. She also showed kissing dolphins as a Valentine's Day variation.

Jellyfish

Staying with Spring Leaf but twisting the brush so the lightest color sits on top, Linnéa painted an adorable jellyfish. The dome is one big rounded stroke — it does not need to be perfectly round since the skirt will cover the bottom edge. The skirt is a wiggly back-and-forth motion across the base. For the tentacles, the technique involves painting a wavy line, stopping, folding the brush over, continuing, and stopping again repeatedly to create flowing tendrils. She varied the lengths and thicknesses so the tentacles look natural rather than uniform. Linnéa could not resist adding finishing details — blobby jelly-like highlights, rows of dots, and a cute face.

Octopus

The octopus uses a similar tentacle technique as the jellyfish but with a different head shape. Linnéa loaded the Autumn Leaf one stroke with the darkest color on the outside. For a cool, angry octopus, the head is more alien-shaped — big at the top and pinched slightly inward. For a cute version, it is simply round. The eight tentacles should vary in direction and length, with some curling up and at least one going behind the body. She also showed a forehead-only version where tentacles pop up from a water line painted with the Blue Bell one stroke — a quick and effective option for kids.

Snake

Switching to the Reptile green one stroke from the Transform palette, Linnéa tackled the snake. She admitted the head shape has been her biggest challenge over the years, so she has practiced it extensively. The technique starts at the back of the head — pressing big, coming down to a tiny tip for the snout, then returning back and connecting. The body wraps in curves around where a child's eye would be, with the brush twisting at each turn to keep the lightest color alternating naturally. The tail tapers to a sharp twist. She finished with a forked tongue using a press-and-lift motion, plus scales applied with a reptile stencil and some brown tones.

Dinosaur

Still using the green one stroke, Linnéa created a dinosaur that looks like it is peering back at its prey — designed to sit over a boy's eye and forehead. The upper jaw starts at the back with a big round press, sweeps down, then comes back up to a stop. The lower jaw is offset slightly down to create an overbite. The neck is painted from the back of the head downward with a twist, followed by the body and a tapering tail. Small front arms with claws finish the shape. She recommended using a finger sponge with orange and pink tones for the eye area, and suggested blue, orange, and black as alternative color schemes beyond the traditional green.

Hippo

Linnéa revealed that the hippo is her all-time favorite animal — she even has a hippo tattoo. Using the Witch purple one stroke from the Spooky Split Cake palette and a round filbert brush, she painted the snout in a figure-eight or bean shape, pressing and curving around twice before connecting. The head sits on top, slightly larger. The ears are quick half-circle presses where the brush tip stays planted and the wider end rotates. The paws are the same half-circle motion. Small filbert brush details make the nostrils, teeth, whiskers, and eyes quick work.

Otter

For the otter, Linnéa started with the lighter colors first using Romantic Lily from the Flower Bouquet palette to paint the belly in the same figure-eight shape used for the hippo, but inverted. Then she picked up Daffodil for the darker brown outer body, outlining and adding the head, feet, hands, and a little tail. The feet are painted with a down-and-up rocking motion for rounded toes. A water line painted with Spring Leaf completes the scene so the otter looks like it is floating on its back. White highlights around the ears and some whiskers bring it to life.

Sharks (Two Versions)

Linnéa showed two shark designs using the Ghost gray one stroke. The harder version creates a full body wrapping from the forehead around the eye — the body is painted with a sweeping upward stroke that twists into a pointed nose (sharper than a dolphin's rounded nose). The mouth is positioned below with an angry downward curve, and fins are added at the front and back. The teeth, tiny eye, gill lines, and a three-dimensional lower jaw complete the look. The easy version is a front-facing open mouth — a red one stroke (Poppy Field) creates a pointed interior, the gray one stroke outlines the head coming around in a simple arc, and two quick fins plus some blue water make it look like the shark is bursting up from below. Great for speed painting.

Seahorse

Using Romantic Lily from the Flower Bouquet palette, Linnéa created a seahorse with a rounded head shape connected to a curling body using the same press-and-stop feather technique from the flamingo. The belly features wiggly one stroke lines, and tiny arm-like fins complete the shape. Add bubbles, details, and a small eye for a quick and easy under-the-sea design.

Fox

The fox is designed as a full-face mask using the Autumn Leaf one stroke. Linnéa painted the ears first using the same butterfly ear technique, then swept around each eye and down to frame the face. The fox has a very pointy nose, so the two eye strokes connect together at a sharp angle in the center. The cheek ruff uses a back-and-forth scalloped motion, and the forehead fur is built with a big U-shape framed by smaller strokes — almost like a Sonic the Hedgehog silhouette. A tiny black nose and outline details finish the design. She noted the ears and technique are identical to how she paints cats.

Dragon / Monster Face

For the dragon, Linnéa used the Flames one stroke and designed it as a full-face mask positioned around the eyes with the mouth area left clear. She framed the eyes with angular strokes — intentionally not fully rounded, to keep the expression angry rather than confused. A U-shape connects down from the nose, and wavy horn-like shapes extend from the top and sides. She added pointed tips along the edges for a spiky look. Gray horns were painted using the Ghost one stroke from the Spooky palette. Flames were added separately on the arm area using a round-stop-go-back rhythm with the Flames one stroke — varying the sizes and directions so the fire looks natural. She recommended painting flames on a child's arm so that when they hold their hand to their mouth, it looks like they are breathing fire.

Unicorn (Ears and Horn)

Linnéa noted that the full unicorn horse design is really Elodie Ternois' specialty, but she demonstrated her approach to quick unicorn ears and horns. The horn can be done two ways: a simple twist where only the tip of the brush rotates while building layers that get progressively wider, or a more detailed version using the same N-U-N stacking technique from the scorpion body. The ears use a butterfly-like stroke — up, back, and back again to create a pointed ear shape. An S-shaped mane stroke and some double-dip flowers or crystal gems complete the look in rainbow colors.

Cat

Linnéa painted a quick sleepy Garfield-style cat using an orange-yellow one stroke and a round filbert brush. The technique is simply a round head, a curled body, little paws, and ears — with the eyes closed in a sleepy expression. She pointed out that cats are sleepy most of the time, so a sleeping cat is both realistic and very fast to execute at events.

Wolf

The wolf is a full-face design using the Ghost gray one stroke and a flat brush. Linnéa used both sides of the flat brush to create the muscle shapes around each eye, then built the muzzle area below. The top of the head uses fire-flame-like pointed shapes, and the ears are painted like butterfly wings with the lightest color on the inner edge. The cheek ruff uses a scalloped one-two-three-and-back motion with a sharp rounded connection point. Angled eyebrow strokes add attitude. She suggested adding yellow or UV-reactive eyes for a Halloween glow-in-the-dark effect, plus white highlights and some blood splatter.

Teddy Bear

Using a brown one stroke and the round filbert brush, Linnéa created an adorable teddy bear — one of her Valentine's Day favorites. The body is a round shape filled with lighter tones sponged in the center. Two round ears sit on top, and the paws stick up at the bottom. Instead of a traditional solid outline, she used tiny short lines around the edges to create a fluffy fur texture. White highlights, hearts, and sparkles make it Valentine-ready, though she noted it also works beautifully for baby showers in pink or blue.

Bat

For a Spider-Man-style bat design, Linnéa used the gray one stroke and started with a round head, then quick straight-line ear flicks. The wings are built from the center outward — first framing the eye area with strokes that stop at the outer corner, then connecting the outer wing shapes with pointed edges. Filled in with detail work and white eye accents, this makes a fast Spider-Man companion design. She also mentioned having a cute bat version in her separate Halloween webinar.

Spider (Two Versions)

The easy spider is a round body, a tiny head, and eight legs painted with a one-two-three rhythm on each side — plus two fangs and cute eyes. For a more three-dimensional version, Linnéa painted a perfectly round body in any color (blue, green, or red are popular for boys), then outlined it in black with a round brush. The legs are painted as teardrop-press-and-down shapes that look like they are crawling. She recommended adding shadows with a dry brush or eye shadow underneath and behind the body for extra depth.

This masterclass packed an incredible number of animals into two hours, all built from the same core one stroke movements. Whether you are painting at a birthday party, a festival, or a Halloween event, these techniques give you a huge menu of quick designs once you master the basic shapes. Practice the fundamental press, twist, stop, and sweep motions at home on a practice board, and you will be amazed at how fast these come together on a real face.