Children enjoy dressing up and re-enacting their favorite storybook characters any time of the year. Halloween can be an especially imaginative time because children can dress up like the things they may fear the most, such as witches and trolls. You can make face paint at home from liquid tempera to help your child express his creativity and have a memorable night.
Gently remove the foam on top (the liquid that remains is glair) Mix 1 part glair with 1 part earth pigment. Use this paint like watercolor, thinning with water if necessary. Glair paint does not store well, so make enough for one painting session or store in fridge.
- Oil was added to increase the working time. Tempera cannot be used in thick coats. It must be applied in a thin transparent layer and allowed to dry between layers. The white can be used as a varnish. One benefit to egg tempera is that it does not change color over time, whereas, oil paint will turn yellow.
- This can not only affect the crackling, but also make the paper more difficult to work with afterwards. Paint the glue over the area where you want a crackle (as seen in Photo 1). A thin layer of glue will produce fine cracks, while a thicker layer will create more dramatic crevices.
- Tempera paint dries to a matte finish and is less likely to fade over time. Another use of tempera paint is to decorate residential and commercial doors, trim and windows. You can remove tempera paint from surfaces, including windows, without the need of a paint stripper or paint-removal tool. Use vinegar to remove tempera paint from your windows.
Measure the flour into a saucepan and slowly add water. Use a wooden spoon to continuously stir and keep the mixture from clumping.
Place the mixture on the stove on low heat. Continue stirring, and add water as needed to thin the flour mixture and keep the consistency uniform.
Remove the flour mixture from the heat and pour it into 3 or 4 small bowls. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of liquid tempera paint to each bowel in the colors you desire.
Stir each mixture until it is smooth and has an even texture. If the paint mixture is too thin, add a small amount of flour or cornstarch to it. If the paint is too thick, stir in a few drops of water at a time.
Finish each face-paint color by adding a few drops of liquid starch to make it a matte, opaque face-paint color. Alternatively add a few drops of liquid detergent to make it a glossy, slightly transparent color. However, these are not needed.
Tip
Make additional face-paint colors as needed using different tempera colors. Tempera is also available in powder form, which requires adding water to it to make it liquid. Before using the face paint, wash the face to make sure the skin is clean. Apply thin layers of paint and allow it to dry between colors to avoid mixing.
Warning
Check the ingredients on the tempera paint to ensure that it does not contain anything that may cause an allergic reaction for you or your child. Do not use face paint on infants or toddlers, because they may lick or eat the paint. You do not have to add the liquid starch or liquid detergent to the face paint if you do not wish to. They should not be used on sensitive skin.
Making tempera paint the traditional way will make the paint permanent. The old tempera paintings that predate oil painting lasted on wooden boards. Do the same paint making work as the old masters. Use an egg yolk. The brushwork in your tempera paintings will build nicely in thin bright layers. Yet, the fine piece will last lifetimes.
Paint Making Steps
Choose your pigments. Select the colors you want in fine powders. Pigments need to last longer than the medium so use enduring pigments.
Tempera Paint Projects
Prepare pigment into a paste using distilled water. Soften the pigments into a finer powder that will turn to a uniform color in the medium. Use the muller to grind the pigments on the slab until all lumps and clumps have gone, leaving only the finest powder you can make.
Making Egg Tempera Paint
Then, take out the pigment onto the palette, one color at a time and mix with a small amount of distilled water. Use the palette knife to stir and mix the paint into the water. Put the pigment mixture in a jar and put the lid on. Do the same mixing and storing for each color.
Make egg yolk medium with egg, linseed oil and distilled water. Break open the egg and separate the yolk from the white, keeping the yoke whole. Hold the yoke over the jar and poke a hole in the bottom of the sac. Let the yolk drain out of the sac into the jar. Throw out the sac.
Using three equal parts of yolk and distilled water, and one part linseed oil, make your medium to hold the pigment. Begin by adding the oil to the yolk, one drop at a time. Drop, and then mix with a palette knife or brush. Continue until the full part oil is mixed with the yolk. Carefully pour in the equal part distilled water. Mix and stir the medium until thin and consistent.
Mix the pigment paste into the yolk medium to make permanent tempera paint. On the palette, mix pigment into the yolk medium a little bit at a time. Stir finely each time you add pigment. Keep spreading the pigment through the yolk medium until the fine pigment particles are fully dispersed. When finished, you will have a consistent paint with a fine color pigment.
Place a lid on the glass or ceramic jar.
Tip
How To Make Egg Tempera
Work quickly, yet carefully, since egg tempera dries quickly. Use the rags to clean palette knife, or brushes, and palette often to make sure nothing dries on. Tempera is a subtle and precise paint so make your egg tempera fine. Take the time you need. Work patiently. Each paint color takes a little more or a little less medium. Intense colors need more medium. Fair colors need less. Plan the medium and pigment parts for each color using equal parts as the general measure.
Warning
When working with the powdery pigments, wear a protective mask or use a wet rag so you do not breathe in the particles.