As face painters, we use a lot of sponges. But what if there was a brush which you could use instead of sponges which used less product and put down a beautiful, smooth application of face paint? Would you give it a try? The answer is that most of us would, and it turns out that such a brush does exist. It's Royal's Moda Pro Sculpt BMX-245 brush, which I recently had the opportunity to experiment with.
This sculpting brush is recommended by Athena Zhe, who has found it to be a convenient replacement for sponges. After trying it out, I have to say that I agree with her. It's easy so easy to use and control the application of face paint with it.
As you'll hear me mention in the video, I do recommend you keep one brush per color or one brush for close colors (such as yellow and orange) to prevent accidentally contaminating light colors with more intense counterparts, for example red and white. (In this way you won't inadvertently produce pink when you want white in a design.)
Just an added tip: I used Brush Bath and water for cleaning in the video, drying my brush on a paper towel or a regular towel, but the box recommends using a gentle shampoo and lukewarm water, after which you would reshape the brush and lie it on a flat surface to dry. Either way, it's easy to clean. You can immerse it beyond the ferule, and the most important thing is to not use hot water or leave it standing in water.
And one final note, in case you're wondering if this brush can be used for split cakes. It's a little wide for a standard 1-inch split cake, but works well when used on a large split.
You can see from the image approximately how much of a split cake it can pick up with a width of approximately 1.25 inches, and what it will look like when applied to the skin.
Beth MacKinney is the owner of and primary face painter for Face Paint Pizzazz in Elgin, Illinois, and her artwork has appeared in The Colored Palette and SkinMarkz magazines. She services the western and northwestern Chicago suburbs, Chicago’s north side, and the Rockford area.
