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75+ Cat Face Painting Ideas

Cat Banner for Face Paint Idea Blog
Welcome to the Jest Paint blog post of Cat face painting ideas! My name is Anna Wilinski and I have been painting faces for 34 years now (I started when I was 10) and I personally love painting cat faces more than any other popular design out there! The reason I love cat face paint so much is that it gives you an opportunity to use the structure of each models face and accentuate their best features into a stunning feline.
Cats can be beautiful, silly, fierce, sweet or dramatic. You can mash up a cat face with another theme, like add scales, a unicorn horn, flowers or rainbow colors. I love to change things up with stripes, spots, bubbles, stars, hearts, fuzz, and play around with the eye liner, muzzle size, adding ears, blending the fur colors into the clients hair, and so much more!  No two cats ever will be the same if you work with your clients face and preferences. 

Cat Face Painting Idea #1Anna Wilinski painting her son as a cat


This blog consists of my own video tutorials and images and cat inspiration from incredible face painters from around the world. Take a long look at how they shaped the face and added details to make each cat face paint design a unique creation! Thank you to all of the artists who have submitted images over the years for us to include in our blog. If you would like to submit a cat face paint design photo to be added to this blog please feel free to email me at anna@jestpaint.com. 

Cat Face Painting Idea #2

Elodie Ternois Rainbow Tiger with TAP stars stencil Face Paint idea
Let's start this blog with this adorable pastel tiger by Elodie Ternois of Lodie Up Face Painting! Some things that stand out about her tiger design is that she topped her black stripes with thin blue marks to add highlights and dimensions to the stripes! This softens the black line work and makes it look even more fluid and pastel. Also note the soft highlighting on the bridge of her pink nose. You can do this by painting the nose pink and then adding a bit of white to your pink sponge or brush and tap on a little of the lighter color. To add some magical whimsy to her cat face paint design, Elodie added stars to the background with the TAP Stars Stencil

PRETTY IN PINK KITTY CAT FACE PAINT IDEAS

Cat Face Painting Idea #3

FB Linnéa Önnerby Novak from Linnéas Ansiktsmålning - IG linneanovak  Pearly Pink Cat
This sweet pearly pink Kitty Cat face paint design by Linnéa Önnerby Novak is just darling! The soft pearly white mixed with pearl pink in the center of the face transitions to a darker magenta on the edges. This light to dark transitions makes the face pop out more like a cat face would.
The bright angled white marks around the eyes and mouth is a surefire way to let people know that your are looking at a cat! The tiny black nose outlining the nostrils and fine whiskers also give your cat face paint a dainty look!  (FB Linnéa Önnerby Novak from Linnéas Ansiktsmålning - IG linneanovak)

Cat Face Painting Idea #4 

Claudia Flores - Cat Face Painting Idea

Claudia Flores is a fabulous face painter in Arizona. She painted this bright pink kitty and gave it a wild twist with her sharp almost flame like line work. Don't forget the fangs if you want to make your cat face paint look a little more fierce. I also wanted to mention how much I liked the purple tips on the ears! This is a great way to add more character to your cat face paint. 

Cat Face Painting Idea #5

Anna Wilinski Makeup Artist - Pink cat face paint idea - Tiger 

This fun pink can has some twirls and tear drops on the face to add a whimsical style. The little dots by the inner eyes are a cute way to add details to a cat face. I added a little blue on the black nose to soften it up! 

Cat Face Painting Idea #6

Eva Balogh Pink Kitty face painting with Blue Bow

Eva Balogh painted this soft pink cat face paint with a fun blue bow! 

WATER COLOR FACE PAINTED CATS

The water color technique can be used with face paint. Learn how to paint watercolor style cats, tigers and cheetahs below!

Cat Face Painting Idea #7

Anan Wilinski water color cat step by step

 For this simple cat face paint design I used the watercolor effect for the center of the face, lightly applying thinned out face paint in a variety of colors and letting them softly blend into each other.  I also added splotches and drips of color. It is an artsy way to face paint, and adults will be sure to love it!

Cat Face Painting Idea #8

Water Color Cat in the WInd Anna Wilinski face painting

This water color cat face paint design has some cheetah spots with blue centers. Be careful with what colors you put over the eyes and mouth so that they still pop and don't look dark and bruisy. If you need to, sponge a little wet white over the eye area to soften the other colors on the upper lid if you went to dark. Note how the base isn't exactly symmetrical, this creates a more organic natural water color makeup look. 

Cat Face Painting Idea #9

Graffiti cat by Anna Wilinski
I I used a rake brush to add texture on top of this watercolor cat face paint design. I love the inky blue for line work. This is Fusion Magic Dark Blue because in some lights it looks a little purple. 

Cat Face Painting Idea #10

Blue Water color cosmic face painting cat by Anna Wilinski

Cat Face Painting Idea #11

STEP BY STEP WATER COLOR CAT FACE PAINTING VIDEO

This is another example of a water color style cat face paint design with darker colors and lots of drips! You can see a tutorial on how to paint this cat below using professional grade face paint. This water based makeup is perfect for the water color look. 

 

 

TRADITIONAL TIGER COLORS CAT FACE PAINTING IDEAS

 

Cat Face Painting Idea #12

Oshi tiger face paint

This basic tiger face has bold stripes and markings around the eye! The tiny beard under the bottom lip looks great with a little bit of shaggy line work. Note the dots on the muzzle for the whiskers going from large to small and all angling in but not going all the way over the top lip. This keeps the cat face paint design muzzle in the face painting design clean. 

Cat Face Painting Idea #13

Anna Wilinski Tiger Cats face painting ideas for 2024

This tiger has a really a bold look with the darker red blended into the orange and those lines up the side of the nose. Every stripe is wiggly and goes from thin to thick and the black eye liner makes it more fierce. I painted the tiger above and the one below, trying to make sure that they looked scary enough for their customers, though I have to say, if you have a good smile it is hard to look scary!

Cat Face Painting Idea #14

Anna Wilinski Wild Tiger Face Painting Idea
This kids grey eyes popped against that yellow and orange! The white beard at the bottom balanced the look with his blonde hair. 

   

TIGER VIDEO TUTORIAL

Watch the demo below to see a tiger face paint design on my son. My daughter is in the main image for some reason on the youtube video. In the video I made one mistake in my eyes, which was accidentally joining the outer stripes on the forehead. For the best look they shouldn't touch where they angle on the bridge of the nose. Avoid painting the stripes on the nose or near the lower sides of the nose. 

Cat Face Painting Idea #15

Painting Angelo as a tiger

 

Cat Face Painting Idea #16

Svetlana Keller Sparkling Faces Board Practice
Svetlana Keller used her Sparkling Faces Boards to work out this bold yellow and red tiger with a bright red lip!  Look how powerful her use of accent dots are and note her tribal like line work around the eyes. 

Cat Face Painting Idea #17

new milena Ptekhina cats tiger face paint design
Milena Potekhina painted this stunning tiger using a black gradient one stroke cake for the stripes. The way she framed the face shows that she has practiced cats a lot and really knows how to make line work flow into the center of the face for the most impact, The soft gold on the lip and fine mustache lines and hairs in the ears balance this look out. 

Cat Face Painting Idea #18

Katie Juul Koyle Golden Tiger Face Paint Idea
Katie Juul Koyle created this fancy Golden Tiger Face Paint design. She blended a little bit of orange on the edges to create contrast. Note her expert flow of stripes around the face and different size dots around the eyes. 

   

Cat Face Painting Idea #19

Side face tiger by Anna Wilinski - face paint makeup

 Half face tigers can save time when you have a long line. The burgundy and orange color pattern flows out into the hair line along with the white muzzle and beard and nostril. This, combined with the flow of the black stripes makes a huge impact.  

FUN CHEETAH CAT FACE PAINT IDEAS

Cat Face Painting Idea #20

Anna Wilinski Purple Cat Face Paint Cheetah

This purple Cheetah cat face paint design has the long lines running from the eyes to the muzzle and lots of black spots highlighted with blue dots. Notice how the large spots are made out of groups of smaller dots and u shapes? I like to make the spots larger on the outer edges and make them smaller and they come into the center of the face. Keep a little space free of dots so that your eyes can settle easier on the design and as to not distort the face too much. I used the BOLT Rainbow Face and Body Brush for this design. 

Cat Face Painting Idea #21

Cheetah Tutorial by Anna Wilinski

I painted this design for you to be inspired. I used some bolt brushes and the Diamond FX Wild Cheetah cake.  Below you will see a 3 minute version and a 30 minute version of the Cheetah cat face paint design can painted on a face. The more time you take the more fur texture you can add and make sure things are symmetrical and neat.

Cat Face Painting Idea #22

Cheetah Girl Face Paint by Anna Wilinski

 

Cat Face Painting Idea #23

Cheetah Face Paint by Anna Wilinski

This more realistic cheetah cat face paint design has a lot of fine whiskers, a shaded muzzle and fine hair strokes on the nose painted with a rake brush. I outlined the eyes in black and then again in white. The tip of the nose is a light pink, just like a real cheetah. (Photographer - Steve Brown)

Cat Face Painting Idea #24

Milena Potekhina Cheetah face paint

This cute Cheetah cat face paint design was done by Milena using her cute cub stencil. If you struggle with little cheek art faces, this one will be very helpful!

 

Lion Face Painting Ideas and Tips

Lion Face Painting Idea #25

Linnea Novak Lion Painting using Little Safari by Superstar

Linnea painted this cute lion using a Little Dream Color Cake by Superstar called Little Safari. The big round ears and mane help create the lion look. If you want to do a cub just paint a little bang versus a full mane. 

 

Lion Face Painting Idea #25.5

Linnéa Önnerby Novak Lion face Painting
Linnéa Önnerby Novak  Also did this incredible Lion cat face paint design. Look at the subtle shading in the beard and on the nose. Such incredible work!

How do you do a Cat Face?

Cat Face Painting Idea #26

BLUE GREEN TIGER FACE PAINT VIDEO TUTORIAL
 

 

WHITE CAT FACE PAINT IDEA

Cat Face Painting Idea #27

 Susy Amaro ez strokes cat - face painting idea

I love this fluffy white cat by Susy Amaro for a lot of reasons! She used her EZ Strokes cakes in Unicorn and Flamingo to do fast edging with a brush around a white sponged base, and the Flamingo for the ears, nose and lips...and a little blush!

This cat face paint design looks complicated, but with some practice you could easily do it on a child. Note the thick line work on the outer size of the muzzle and how it creates dimension and contrast with the lighter fluffy fringe.

The dark line work around the eyes also draws a lot of attention to the child's eyes, and the dark lines in the ears also help create a well balanced design with a little dark line work from top to bottom of the face. 

The thin wispy mustache hairs and eye brow hairs add more detail and realism to this cute kitty face! Use a number one round or liner brush to create these thin lines.

   

 

CAT MASH UP FACE PAINT IDEAS

Spider Cat Face Painting Idea #28

FB Linnéa Önnerby Novak from Linnéas Ansiktsmålning - IG linneanovak Spider Cat
FB Linnéa Önnerby Novak from Linnéas Ansiktsmålning - IG linneanovak   created cool Spider Cat with red, white and black face paint!

Cattercorn Face Painting Idea #29

Unikitty face paint by anna wilinski
Cattercorn! The magical combination of a cat and unicorn, and I just added some scales on the cheek for even more mash up ness. This face paint idea is really popular with the kiddos!

Rainbow Butterfly Cat Face Painting Idea #30

Sophia Vega - Cat with Rainbow and Roses

Sophia Vega painted this super creative and colorful  Butterfly Cat with Rainbow and Roses. 

Cattermelon Face Painting Idea #31

KatzNC Face Painting Cattermelon Face Paint design
KatzNC Face Painting had fun mashing up two designs in this really cool Cattermelon Cat Face Paint design! Just look at those watermelon ears!

Cat Face Painting Idea #32

Andrea Ka - purple kitty face painting design idea
Andrea Ka added a moon and stars to this cute purple cat face paint design. Anything is possible! Just ask the kids that want a cat what else they like, and if you are daring give the combination a try.

Cat Face Paint Idea #33

Simona Gross Captain America Cat mash up face paint idea
Simona Gross used a star stencil and a lot of red white and blue to create this bold Captain America Cat face paint idea face paint mash up!

Batman Cat Face Paint Idea #33.5

Linnea Novak Batman Cat face painting design
There are not limits! Who knew you could get this creative and make a batman cat mashup?! What would you call this? A Battercat? (FB Linnéa Önnerby Novak from Linnéas Ansiktsmålning - IG linneanovak) 

Tropical Cat Face Paint Idea #34

kiki lee tropical cat tiger face paint idea
Kiki Lee painting this asymmetrical gorgeous tropical flower cat! She even hid some little hearts in the line work. You will find at least 7 of them!

Cat Face Paint Idea #35

Nat Davies gold cat face paint design idea
Nat Davies gold cat face paint with brown out line is really a show stopper! Little hints of teal add just the right amount of color to this pretty design.

Cat Face Paint Idea #36

 
Anna Wilinski Green and Pink Cat Face Paint Design
Anna Wilinski's Green and Pink Cat Face Paint Design using Fusion Colors.

VALENTINE'S DAY CAT FACE PAINT IDEAS

Cat Face Paint Idea #37

Svetlana Keller Valentines day face painting design love kitten
Svetlana Keller's cat face paint design demonstrates how to transform a cute kitten into a Valentine's Day Kitty Cat! The centerpiece is a big heart, and she added little hearts on the sides of the face and nose. Using lots of pink and red will ensure that everyone knows what holiday you are celebrating. 

Cat Face Paint Idea #38

Gaby Renteria Valentines day face painting design

Gaby Renteria created this cute Valentine's Day cat face paint design with a cute bow and heart nose and lip highlight.  The edges of this cat face painting design were done with pink and red 1 stroke, but you could just base the face in white and pink and then edge it with red on a flat brush creating zig zag fringe. 

Cat Face Paint Idea #39

Gaby Renteria Valentines day face painting design cat

Gaby Renteria  used  cute stencils to filling the the colored spots of her pink cat face paint design, and added hearts above the eyes and a little one on the nose and lip to make this a Valentines day face painting design. This cat makeup is perfect for kids and adults. 

 

WINTER AND CHRISTMAS CATS FACE PAINTING IDEAS

Looking for face painting ideas for the holidays? Paint your cat face in blues and white or add some snowflakes, holly or a Santa Hat  to add a Christmas or winter twist!

Cat Face Painting Idea #40

new milena Ptekhina cats white kitten face paint design
This sweet Christmas kitten by Milena Potekhina is a pretty design with a simple white base, light outline and bold eye liner! The Holly and Snowflakes gives this little white kitty a holiday twist for a perfect face paint design this season!

Cat Face Painting Idea #41

Anna Wilinski face paint kitty cat ideas

The cat above uses soft Fusion colors and a TAP Stencil for texture. The cool colors give it a snowy feel. 

Cat Face Painting Idea #42

 

new milena Potekhina cats snow kitten face paint design
Milena Potekhina added roses with a stencil, and a forehead design that resembles a snow flake to create this beautiful snow kitten face paint design.

Cat Face Painting Idea #43

Anna Wilinski Blue Frozen Cat face paint makeup idea
Here I used Fusion Frozen Shimmer face paint and Art Factory Blue Lagoon Festival glitter to created this icy blue cat design!

Cat Face Painting Idea #44

Karen Carr Chojnacki frozen cat
Ren, from I Love Your Face, face painting came up with this pretty snow tiger! She used snow flake stencils as a back ground pattern over a pearly white base and then used a Superstar Petrol Blue color for the stripes. 

Frozen Cat Face Painting Idea #45

Ruth Deet Makeup Artist - Frozen Cat Face Paint Makeup Snow Kitten

When your Frozen Princess also wants to be a kitty cat, why not? Ruth Deet painted this stunning little kitten with pretty blues and white snowflakes. She added some bling to give her cat a sparkling crown. 

Cat Face Painting Idea #46

Frozen Blue Cat Face Paint by Anna Wilinski - Makeup Idea
Superstar Shimmer Colors were perfect for this winter cat. I added some Art Factory Blue Lagoon Festival glitter  to my hair to mimic ice and snow.
 

ST. PATRICK'S DAY CAT FACE PAINT IDEAS

 

Cat Face Painting Idea #47

St. Patrick's DayCat Face Paint Idea by Anna Wilinski
Above and below I had fun using metallic greens and golds to create St. Patrick's Day themed cats. In the top design I added shamrocks with the TAP Shamrock Stencil. You can put a leprechaun hat on a cat, or gold glitter, even a rainbow to get the theme going!

Cat Face Painting Idea #48

Anna Green metallic cat face paint idea
This green and gold cat some cirque feel to it due to the fantasy style markings. 

TROPICAL RAINBOW CAT FACE PAINTING IDEAS

What happens when you try to use almost every color in the rainbow? Do you want a bright colorful cat to grab attention and spread happiness?! Below are a lot of colorful kittens with fantastic face paint colors. I hope that you like these face painting ideas for your next gig!

Cat Face Painting Idea #49

Anna Wilinski Tropical Cats Face Paint Ideas
Mother and daughter bright and bold tropical face painted cats!

Cat Face Painting Idea #50

Leanne Courtney's Neon Kitten
Leanne Courtney's Super bright Kitten with a little ketchup! She added some flowers and sparkly lips, and look at those curly whiskers! This face paint idea would definitely be a hit will little girls!

Cat Face Painting Idea #51

Anna Wilinski Tropical Cat Face Paint

This tropical color was really fun to paint. I sponged on each color one my one and flowed them into the center of the face. When sponging on colors make sure to not blend any together that will make a new color that you are not hoping for. Greens and oranges can make brown etc. I went heavy on the eye liner for this wild cat face paint look...and I really didn't want to wash it off at the end of the night. Oh, note on my forehead how I added fine lines on the stripes to give a more furry effect!

Cat Face Painting Idea #52

Pastel Cat Face Paint - Anna Wilinski 

I edged the face with rainbow cakes and added very thin dark purple line work around those strokes to stylize the strokes.  This more sheer look is a little more subtle and might be a good choice for someone that doesn't want a lot of make up on for their cat look.

PAINTING COOL COLORED CATS! 

Cat Face Painting Idea #53

 Practice Green Cat on Sparkling Faces Board

 I love love love green, yellow and blue cats! I don't know why I have such an affinity to them, but I do! I was practicing an asymmetrical tiger above with the Diamond FX Large Dragon Fly Rainbow Cake

Cat Face Painting Idea #54

Claudia Flores - Cat face paint idea with TAP Stencil

 Claudia Flores painted this super cute blue and green cat and accented it with her wild line work, tear drops and a curly bang! She also added a stencil pattern and glitter to take it to another level. If you like the stencil work, she used TAP Stencil Ornate Sun

Cat Face Painting Idea #55

Blue tiger face paint - Anna Wilinski on Angelo
I had a go at a blue and green tiger with scales. Angelo chose the TAP Organic Scales and the Abyss Blue Art Factory Glitter

Cat Face Painting Idea #56 

Anna Wilinski Face Paint Design of a Green And Blue cat on Oceana

My mother always told me that sometimes simple is better. I tried to come up with a cat face painting design that was very crisp and clean and came up with this bold cat face.

I first sponged on lime green, then teal and then white. I outlined the face in a brush loaded with purple and magenta and really accented the high cheeks with a loop on each side of the muzzle.

I painted the nose magenta, the lip light blue with glitter and did a blue outline around the eyes for a subtle yet kind of aquatic look. Adding tiny white highlights on the nose and the inner edges of the line work made everything POP!

Cat Face Painting Idea #57

Angelo as  blue and green face painted cat - Makeup Artist Anna Wilinski

This Green and Blue cat was done with Fusion split cake 1 strokes. I then went over them with black line work and white dots and whiskers. 

Cat Face Painting Idea #58

Anna Wilinski's Shimmery Face Paint Cats
Here are two playful cats with whimsical features! Both are painted with pearl paints and have a lot of flow. 

 

 

 Cheek Art Cat Face Painting Ideas 

Cat Face Painting Idea #59

Milena Potekhina Cat design using stencil

Milena created super cute cat stencils for face painters! She has a few different heads, and you get to paint the body how ever you want. This yellow kitty cat stencil is so adorable, I just can't take it!

 

Cat Face Painting Idea #60

Milena Potekhina Cat / Tiger Face Paint Using Stencil

This is her little tiger cub stencil! Milena outlined it in teal to really make it pop!

 

How do you Draw a Beautiful Cat Face?

Cat Face Painting Idea #61

Milena Potekhina Cat Blue and Green Design using stencil pattern

This enchanting cat by Milena Potekhina has such a pretty cool toned base with gems and stenciling using her Milena crown stencil 051.  She edged the ears with a black and purple split cakes like this TAG Black Iris 1 Stroke

 

Cat Face Painting Idea #62

Oceana Tiger Simple by Anna Wilinski

Sometimes keeping the design really simple and putting all the focus on the child's eyes and smile will be enough to create a really pretty cat face. This design has a very smooth well blended base with light colors around the eyes and crisp clean outer line work. The black lips are painted with just a curved triangle on the top lip and a large lower lip to accent the smile going up. When you paint the whole top lip a dark color you care accenting a downward turn of the mouth, so I usually put very little paint on the top lip. I used Fusion Orange Zest and FUSION Body Art Bright Yellow for the base.

Cat Face Painting Idea #63

Anna Wilinski Cat face painting idea

This cat face paint design also follows the ideas above with smooth blending and fine clear line work. I added glitter to the face to add a little detail and sparkle. I love the FUSION GLITTER PALETTE for this. All of the colors are matte Fusion Colors. 

Cat Face Painting Idea #64

Anna Wilinski painted this bright cat with Face Paint
I painted this pretty cat with bright colors and lines the face with a small angled brush. I used a little bit of Festival Glitter to add some details. I painted the whole upper eye lid black and then painted an angled swoop above each eye to get that cat eye effect. 

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT PAINTING CAT FACES

How to do black cat face paint?

Painting a black cat can seem like a big challenge for a face painter when they get the request for the first time. I recommend starting with white around the eyes and mouth and the bridge of the nose and then blend black in from the out side of the face into the middle. This way the face won't look flat, the lighter color in the middle will give the design some dimension. You can also paint your black cat with silver muzzle and eyes if you don't want to use white. This will give it a fancy look. Black Panther can have silver or blue highlights to add dimension. 

Cat Face Painting Idea #65

Black cat face painting design by Anna Wilinski
Note how the pink nose and white hairs really pop on this fancy black cat. I wanted to draw out this woman's pretty features with the white highlights. 

Cat Face Painting Idea #66

Anna Wilinski painted as black cat

How do you face paint a tabby cat? What pattern is a tabby cat?

Kids might ask you for a tabby cat at a party. I had to learn what that meant since I wasn't very cat savvy. I read online that they have a kind of m pattern on their forehead made of 4 marks, bright edging around their eyes, sometimes stripes around their eyes and lots of markings on their whole body, be it stripes, spots or blotchy patterns. Tabby cats are usually very playful and I knew one that loved to play with my dog Olaf. Tabby cats can be grey, orange, brown. 

Cat Face Painting Idea #67

Constance Johnson-Holmes Wild Cat Face Paint Idea

Constance Johnson-Holmes Amazing Tabby Cat / Tiger

How do you paint a cat's nose on your face?

There are many ways that you can paint a cat nose. Generally cats have very small noses that connect to a crease that goes down to the upper lip. The most basic technique is to paint a little triangle with the point pointing down, or a little heart. I like to paint the bottom part of the nose and make sure that the paint stays low on the bulb area of the nose. The bigger the nose the more it might look like a wolfe or puppy. 

        cat noses face painting

Angelo getting  cat nose painted on him

How do you paint a cat face for beginners?

Here is a very basic step by step for a beginner cat using a one stroke cake. This makes the processes faster and creates smooth blending of the colors.
Step 1 - Load your sponge with white face paint and dab over the muzzle, nose and tops of the eye area, like two triangles above each eye. Angle them out a little to the sides of the face. 
Step 2 -  Load a large flat brush with a few colors from your 1 stroke cake and outline the white triangles, make an arch on the forehead between the ears, and underline the eyes. Keep the dark color on the outside of the face and the lighter color facing in towards the eyes. 
Step 3 - This is an optional step where you lightly sponge yellow on top of the nose area.
Step 4 - Outline the muzzle and paint the bottom tip of the nose. Try to make your muzzle line very thin or paint them thick on the top lip and then thin out as you sweep them up around the white and come to a point on each side of the nose.
Step 5 - Paint some thin to thick stripes on the cheeks and forehead, having them radiate around the face and angle into the nose or eyes. Outline the outside of the mask alternating from thin to thick lines to scruffy hair if you want to. Outline the eyes. A small line above each eye that flicks out towards the side of the face will give the cat eye look.
Step 6 - Finish the ears with a line and shag around the white triangles where the white and orange meet. Try your best to make them symmetrical. To finish things off add a red  lip outlined in black and some lines and round dots on the muzzle just as I did in the picture below. If you wanted the face to have more coverage you could flip the brush over the cheeks and add a second layer, this time having the light color face out to create a light fur shag look around the face. 

Cat Face Painting Idea #68

Tiger Step by Step - Face Paint by Anna Wilinski

How do you Paint a Cat Face on a Child?

#1 Make sure that the child wants to get painted and is comfortable while being painted. 

Painting children's faces isn't always easy since many of them tend to wiggle, look down at their lap, talk, move their arms around and squish up their face. Getting your child to relax before painting them is very important. Yelling at them to hold still will only make them more nervous and could lead to them crying or backing out. We want this to be the best experience possible for a child, so often offering a small reward, like a yummy snack helps, and showing them the mirror periodically to keep them patient during the process also helps. You don't want them to hold the mirror or it will get in the way while you paint. 

Kids looking in mirror while getting face painted

Make sure that you are at a height where you can see there face easily. Do not push their head back with your hand on top of their head so that you can see their face. This hurts the neck a lot, if you don't believe me ask someone to do it to you. If you need their face to tilt up so that you can see it better,  gently tilt up their face with your finger under their chin, or find a lower chair for your self or a higher chair for them to sit in.

Playing relaxing music and having a pillow that they can rest their head back on helps me a lot when I need to paint my kids. I play pan flute music that has no lyrics for them to sing along to, because that will make it hard to paint a singing kid. 

 Another tip is to have everything ready before you start painting them, and have a wet soapy paper towel or rag available to wipe off any mistakes. Make sure to wipe off the soap from their skin with a wet towel and pat it dry before continuing to paint. 

#2  Map Out the Cat Design with White Face Paint 

Analyze the Child's face and map out the design very lightly in thin white face paint. This will help with symmetry if you take a moment to put the muzzle lines, ears and sides of the face. If stand back and look and see that some things are lopsided you can fix it with the white and then going in for the bold colors.

#3 Gently Sponge or Brush on the Base Colors

Make sure that you have enough water and paint mixed together so that the paint easily comes off the sponge onto the child's face. You don't want to bother the child by having to press hard to get the paint out of the sponge. If it starts to run out of paint just reapply more paint, you can add more water by dipping the tip of the sponge or brush quickly into the water cup and then adding more paint.

Anna Sponging A Base

Smooth Tiger face paint base on Oceana by Anna Wilinski

#4 Use Powders if the Child is Sensitive to the Wet Paint on their Face

Some kids do not like a large wet brush or sponge filled with paint on their face. Kids with sensory issues may not like face painting for this reason, so it is good to have a back up plan with a set of powders for your base. I use Starblends and Mehron Intense Powders and Ben Nye Lumiere and Rainbow Palette for powder based face painting. You can apply them with smoothie blenders, which are like huge eye shadow applicators. 

Applying Mehron INtense powders to Angelo's face

 

 #5 Add line work with a round brush

Use a small round brush ( #3 or #4) to paint the muzzle, nose, and stripes. See more information below about how to paint tiger stripes. 

Angelo getting a muzzle

You can add ears to the cat face on the forehead, and paint shaggy fur to edge the design by making long and short v strokes around the edges of the base paint. Have the v's flow in the same angle for a nice look. They will usually point downward on the cheeks with a little curve to them.

Adding line work to tiger face makeup by Anna Wilinski

Cat Face Painting Idea #69

Angelo getting fur painted on his face

How do you Paint Tiger stripes on your Face?

Look at images of tigers and tabby cats for ideas on how these stripes flow around the faces of these real felines. Use those just for inspiration because the human face is shaped a little differently and you might need to simplify and adapt, or even stylize the stripes to give them a different feel. 

Angelo tiger - Anna Painting stripes on his face
In my opinion, tiger stripes are best when working your lines from thin to thick. They can be very organized and all flow together and look similar or they can be more organic looking or tribal like the grumpy cat below. Make sure all tiger stripe lines come to a fine point for a professional look. 

Tiger Face Painting Idea #70

Tiger Stripes Face Painting
There are people who will just want tiger stripes. You can work them around the eyes like this, almost giving a butterfly wing form. 

Tiger Face Painting Idea #71

Tiger Makeup Face paint by Anna Wilinski Fusion Body Art
The stripes above are kind of like wishbones, or v's with the point of the v aiming into the center of the face. 

Cat Face Painting Idea #72

Tribal Cat face painting idea with flame colors by Face Painter Anna Wilinski
If you struggle with stripes you can use stencils to make it a little easier. They won't flow fully with the face, but on small faces a stencil like the TAP TIGER STRIPES will do the trick! You can use black face paint or black pressed powder to apply them. 
Adding stencil stripes to face painting
 

How do you Draw a Kitten Face for Kids? 

Cat Face Painting Idea #73

Hello Kitty has been a face painting staple design for decades. Below you will see a super speedy 1 minute version of the design. Filling the whole upper face in with white will take it up a notch. 

What is the best professional face paint?

If you need to paint a cat face for Halloween or any other event, choosing safe face paint is the most important step you can make. I am linking a video that we made all about face paint safety for you to watch. At Jest Paint we sell only high quality face paints that have been tested and used for years and years in our industry for use on the skin. 

We sell pearl, matte, and neon colors in a variety of brands and bases. You will notice a neon warning on any product that we sell, since the neon pigments have not been tested by the US FDA for use in cosmetics, but they have been tested by independent labs according to the manufacturers. We hope that the FDA will make it a priority to test them soon. You can learn more about neon face paint by visiting this blog post All about Neon /UV "Face" Paint Regulations

How do you paint a Fast Tiger Face on a Kid?

Well, painting fast might mean a floppy ear or sidewise smile, so I recommend allotting at least 3 - 5 minutes to paint a fast but nice tiger face on a kid. The demo below shows you how fast you can go if you were pressed for time. Just some cute ears, nose and muzzle is perfect for little ones, or even adults. Use 1 stroke split cakes to add multiple shades at once on the face and save even more time! Painting fast tiger face paint designs is great for a play, at a zoo, or for a quick Halloween look. Make sure that the child is comfortable and that you can see their face easily from all angles to make the job go by faster. 

Cat Face Painting Idea #74

 

 

 What is a Fast Cat Face Painting Idea?


Using bold contrasting colors to create a fast cat face paint that pops! I like to mix warm and cool colors on the face, so the eye areas might be cool while the forehead and cheeks are warm.

Cat Face Painting Idea #75

Step by Step Rainbow Cat Face Paint by Anna Wlinski

Check out this step by step video tutorial below to see how I painted a cat face in a little over a minute on my daughter. I would have loved to have more time to tie everything in together in the center of the face and add more stripes like the step by step above, but this gives you the gist on how to paint a fast cat face. 

Cat Face Painting Idea #76

Painting the base of a cat face paint design

Cat Face Painting Idea #77

Oceana the Tropical Tiger painted by Anna Wilinski Make up idea
Tropical Cat Design by Anna Wilinski on Oceana. This is my favorite cat face I have ever painted. The blue outline on the tropical colors and the fun flowers make me happy!

Kitten Face Painting Ideas #78

Purple Cats by Anna Wilinski
These Kitten twins with black eye patches were a delight to paint. 

Kitten Face Painting Ideas #79


Anna Wilinski Jest Paint Cat Looking Out Window- face painting cat makeup

Mermaid Cat Face Painting Ideas #80

Blue Cat Face Painting by Anna Wilinski - cat makeup
I used a TAP stencil to create this mystical mermaid cat. 

Wild Cats Face and Body Painting Ideas #81

Love Cats Face and Body Painting Makeup by Anna Wilinski

These two felines are giving a bit of Thunder Cat vibes! I had a lot of fun painting them for a special shoot. 

Wild Cats Face and Body Painting Ideas #82

Tiger Body Painting by Anna Wilinski

This wild tiger took the streets to protest something...I just can't remember what. 

Sugar Skull Cat Makeup Ideas #83


Sugar Skull Cat - By Anna Wilinski face painting

By adding deepened skull eyes and face shape, I gave this cat design some sugar skull vibes. 

Tiger Face and Body Painting Ideas #84

Leannes Flaming Tiger One stroke design 

Leanne used her Flaming Tiger Fusion cake for this soft pretty tiger design.

Tiger Face and Body Painting Ideas #85

Tiger with Blue Eyes by Anna Wilinski - Cat Makeup 

Add some blue eyeshadow and dots to your regular tiger design to make it a little more wild!

Black Panther Painting Ideas #86

Adriana J Venegas Beautiful Disaster MUA

Butterfly Cattercorn Face Painting Ideas #87

 Cattercorn by Linnea Novak Face Painting

This is a fancy Butterfly Cattercorn by Linnea Novak. Look how creative you can get with your Face Painting! She even put in a rainbow and rose!

Sun Flower Cat Face Painting Ideas #88

Claudia Flores Orange Cat Face Painting

Claudia Flores painted this power punch of an Orange Cat Face Painting design! She added a flower stencil and notice how she made sure it matched the child's clothing?

LOVE Cat  Face Painting Ideas #89

Linda Zafaro Face Painting - Wild cat

Linda Zafaro Face Painting created this pretty Wild cat in Love!

Rosy Cheetah Cat Face Painting Ideas #90

 

Eva Curia Mendo Cat face painting makeup ideaEva Curia Mendo painted this super pretty cheetah with purple and light blue and added a pink rose between the ears with  1 stroke cake. I like how she added an arch of glitter around her cat face painting and did the swirls in the ears. Super cute!

Cat Face Painting Ideas #91

Rachel Green face painting lady cat design

Rachel Green, The Face Painting Lady painted this pretty sunset colored cat design and outlined it in white for extra pop!

Mermaid Cat Face Painting Ideas #92

 Claudia Flores Mermaid Kitty

Claudia Flores used scale stencils and a shell stencil centerpiece to create this pretty pink Mercat with sea green eye shadow!

Spotted Cheetah Cat Face Painting Ideas #93 

KatzNC face painting cheetah makeup

KatzNC face painting of a pretty cheetah. This simple makeup design has a lot of impact! 

Pastel Cat Face Painting Ideas #94 

Anna Wilinski Cat with stars peach and yellow and teal Face Painting 

I used Fusion Face Paint in Marigold Yellow, Coral and Paradise Turquoise to paint this soft little kitty. I used the TAP stencil, STARS, to add fun details and I used a rake brush to paint the soft white shag on the edges of my face. Notice how the shading in the ears with tiny hairs and super fine whiskers make a big difference. 

How Can I become a Face Painter?


If you are interested in face painting for a hobby or a profession, you can learn more basics about face painting by reading this blog post. 

How to Face Paint - A Face Painting Guide for Beginners and Parents

You will find tons of tips and tricks about running a face painting business here. How to Start and Run a Face Painting Business - The Complete Guide

Cute Tiger Cat Face Painting Idea #95 

Anna Wilinski tiger face painting design 

You can take a very similar design and change the whole feel of it by adding fangs, changing the base color or tweaking the strokes to make it look fiercer or friendly. 

Cute Pink and Purple Tiger Cat Face Painting Idea #96 

Purple and Pink Cat By Anna Wilinski

Cute  RAINBOW Tiger Face Painting Idea #97

Cute  RAINBOW Tiger Face Painting on Anna Wilinski

We hope that you have been inspired by all of these incredible cat face painting ideas submitted by our Jest Paint Community! If you have any questions or comments please leave them below. 

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