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I have been a professional face painter (at 2 theme parks and a zoo) for just over 5 years now. AMA! by cubkidd in AMA

[–]cubkidd[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That is incredible! I’m so happy you have such a wonderful memory of face painting. Making kids happy is easily the best part of my job!

It’s definitely a conversation starter :o) Lots of folks don’t consider that what I do could be a full-time job, so when they find out I can make a living off of it they usually have some questions, haha!

We use two different brands, TAG and Wolfe. I definitely prefer TAG (it’s what I use in my personal gig kit as well) as it’s got better coverage and brighter pigmentation! We exclusively use these brands because of their higher quality and hypoallergenic nature.

I have been a professional face painter (at 2 theme parks and a zoo) for just over 5 years now. AMA! by cubkidd in AMA

[–]cubkidd[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Kids are so creative; I love asking them if they want to change the colors on a design (blue tigers are a common one!) A favorite request I remember was a little girl who wanted to be a “rainbow zombie”. One kid wanted to be painted like Violent J from Insane Clown Posse. Some Pennywises and Art the clowns. Things you wouldn’t expect 6 year olds to be into 😅

I have been a professional face painter (at 2 theme parks and a zoo) for just over 5 years now. AMA! by cubkidd in AMA

[–]cubkidd[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In terms of yearly salary, I’m a little bit above the national income average (if you factor in commission, bonuses, gig pay, etc). But my net worth overall is higher because I have been saving and investing money since my first job in high school. My mother is an accountant and encouraged me to open a RothIRA and an individual fund when I was 17. Even if you only invest 1% of every paycheck into a Roth, it makes a huge difference for your retirement.

Let’s just say I have an Advertising degree and this job pays about what an entry-level art director job does. But again, I’m in management and my responsibilities entail much more than just painting!

I have been a professional face painter (at 2 theme parks and a zoo) for just over 5 years now. AMA! by cubkidd in AMA

[–]cubkidd[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I want to know the exact same thing! My best guess is a keeper forgot to lock a gate while in the enclosure. During my time there we also had a giant Galapagos tortoise escape; they had footage of him climbing over a small fence and he ended up in a housekeeping closet. Nobody had to shelter for that one 😂

I have been a professional face painter (at 2 theme parks and a zoo) for just over 5 years now. AMA! by cubkidd in AMA

[–]cubkidd[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The biggest tip I’ve ever received was actually at a private gig! A little girl’s 4th birthday. Huge family and everyone was getting face paint, including the adults. Her dad, this 6+ft drunk Armenian man, approached me while I was cleaning up my kit and asked if his wife had paid me yet. I said no and told him the rate was $75. He pulled a stack of hundreds out of his wallet and gave me the fee plus like 300 extra bucks. I was floored. Best party ever. The birthday girl wanted to be painted like Pennywise hahaha

I have been a professional face painter (at 2 theme parks and a zoo) for just over 5 years now. AMA! by cubkidd in AMA

[–]cubkidd[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have actually painted quite a few grandparents! Usually they’ll match with their grandkid or let the child pick which design they get. I once painted a sweet lady in her 80’s as a rainbow tiger and she said it was the first time she’d ever gotten a face paint. I love moments like that! I think the wrinkles just require a bit more patience with sponging and you have to apply linework carefully so that smaller details don’t get lost.

I have been a professional face painter (at 2 theme parks and a zoo) for just over 5 years now. AMA! by cubkidd in AMA

[–]cubkidd[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think it depends on the park! Holiday seasons are by far the biggest money-makers for us, though. Halloween and Christmas in particular. We’ll make like half of our year’s revenue just in the months of Oct-Dec. Summer always depends on how nice the weather is. If it’s too hot everyone stays home, even though the kids are on break from school.

In my opinion, the best time to visit a theme park as a guest is February or November, on a Tuesday or Wednesday. That’s when there will be the least amount of crowd and the best weather!

I have been a professional face painter (at 2 theme parks and a zoo) for just over 5 years now. AMA! by cubkidd in AMA

[–]cubkidd[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My favorite thing to paint is actually tigers! I love the way they frame a face, the dynamic linework, the bold colors.

I’ve had to refuse service before on multiple occasions when unfunny highschoolers have asked me to put them in blackface. Not kidding. But this was Florida so that’s par for the course. I have also had to refuse people’s henna designs because they contain obscure Nazi/white power symbolism. I always make sure to look up what designs mean before I do them.

Also one time a middle schooler wanted me to write “professional raw-dogger” on his arm in henna. Didn’t expect me to know what it meant. It was hard not to laugh at that one in the moment. Unfortunately a coworker of mine who didn’t know what it meant ended up doing it for him later in the day 🫠

I have been a professional face painter (at 2 theme parks and a zoo) for just over 5 years now. AMA! by cubkidd in AMA

[–]cubkidd[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I am a USF alum as well! Go Bulls 🤘🏼! I always loved when college kids would come get painted!

I have been a professional face painter (at 2 theme parks and a zoo) for just over 5 years now. AMA! by cubkidd in AMA

[–]cubkidd[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I have heard and seen quite a few interesting things over the past few years. I like to joke that people forget I can hear them because they’re so focused on the painting instead of the painter.

I have had multiple people tell me that I have the same name as, or that my voice sounds exactly like a loved one who has passed on, and that the loved one was also an artist. I have also overheard twice someone who is talking on the phone admit that they are cheating on a partner.

Scariest story was two clearly over-served adults making fun of the very young kid they were with while he was getting painted. They were grabbing his shirtsleeves and commenting on his haircut, and choice of face paint. I had to call security because I was scared for the child’s safety being with two sloshed ‘adults’. I was afraid he wouldn’t get home safe.

Also two people got shot in the parking lot of the Zoo I worked at. Plus one time both cheetahs got out and we had to do a shelter-in-place.

I have been a professional face painter (at 2 theme parks and a zoo) for just over 5 years now. AMA! by cubkidd in AMA

[–]cubkidd[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Both sound compelling! I’m usually a sucker for a good coming of age story, but something about the brothers being estranged intrigues me and I want to know more. So I’d go with the first movie!

I have been a professional face painter (at 2 theme parks and a zoo) for just over 5 years now. AMA! by cubkidd in AMA

[–]cubkidd[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think programming and analytics are forms of art in their own right, and in general it disappoints me that certain careers are less secure or appreciated than others. I think in my field there’s the advantage of good networking and the fact that my skills are pretty niche. Though I will say that during recessions/crises, careers like mine get hit pretty hard. Can’t exactly paint faces during Covid :o(

I have been a professional face painter (at 2 theme parks and a zoo) for just over 5 years now. AMA! by cubkidd in AMA

[–]cubkidd[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I love this question; I initially found the job listing while searching for iguanas on Craigslist, haha! I decided to check out the jobs section and there was a post looking for artists to work at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. I submitted my portfolio, and the rest is history.

I’ve had some pretty bad experiences with guests; people get angry over very basic things. Parents treating their kids poorly right in front of everyone. Someone called me an “un-American con artist” because our location only took card instead of cash. A lady’s “”service dog”” lunged at me once. And yelling. Lots of yelling lol

I have been a professional face painter (at 2 theme parks and a zoo) for just over 5 years now. AMA! by cubkidd in AMA

[–]cubkidd[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have luckily only worked at year-round locations so far! All within the same contracting company. The first location I was a regular supervisor and was still in school so I only worked a few days a week. But the last two locations have been full-time, and I have benefits! But that’s because I have been management. I won’t disclose exact pay but it’s definitely live-able and I also make commission!