Simple Butterfly Face Paint Tutorial for Beginners — Leanne Courtney's Step-by-Step Guide
The butterfly face paint is the most requested design at children's events — and for a lot of beginners, it is also the most nerve-wracking to attempt. Getting both sides even, choosing the right colours, knowing where to put the outline — there are a lot of decisions happening at once when a child is sitting in front of you. In this tutorial, Leanne Courtney — Australian face painting artist and designer of Leanne's Collection for Fusion Body Art — walks through her beginner butterfly approach using her Rainbow Bliss split cake. Her method is built around simplicity, speed, and the kind of honest advice that no other butterfly guide gives beginners.
What You Need
| Product | Role |
|---|---|
| Leanne's Rainbow Bliss | The butterfly wing base — a split cake running from blue through to yellow, designed specifically for butterflies and rainbow designs |
| Fusion Petal Sponge | Stamps the wing shape — the sponge does the shaping for you |
| Fusion Prime Paraffin White | Outline, double-dip flower base, dots, and antennae — a high-pigment white that mixes to a smooth, workable consistency |
| Leanne's Pretty Rainbow Palette | For the double-dip flower — provides the magenta or pink tone for the flower centres |
| Leanne's 3/8 Inch Angle Brush | The recommended beginner edging brush — easier to control than larger angle brushes for wing outlines |
| Leanne's 5/8 Angle Brush | Alternative for children with larger foreheads — covers more area per stroke |
| Leanne's Rainbow Round 3 (or No. 4) | Dots, teardrops, and antennae |
| Fusion Clear Mist Spritzer Bottle | Activating the split cake and fixing loading mistakes |
The One-Eye-First Tip — Permission for Beginners
Before anything else, Leanne gives beginners a piece of advice that no other butterfly tutorial includes: you do not have to paint both sides.
This is genuine event advice from someone who has painted thousands of faces. A one-sided butterfly — one top wing and one bottom wing, outlined with a few dots and an antenna — looks complete and beautiful. Children love it. Nobody at a birthday party is measuring symmetry. Starting with one side removes the pressure and lets you build the technique at your own pace before attempting the full face design.
Blue or Yellow on the Inside?
Rainbow Bliss runs from blue at one end to yellow at the other. Before you load the sponge, you need to decide which colour goes on the inside corner of the eye — and the answer depends on the child in front of you.
The practical guide:
- Blue inside — works beautifully on fair to medium complexions, green eyes, blue eyes, and grey eyes. The cool tone sits well against lighter skin and makes the design pop.
- Yellow inside — works particularly well on warm and brown skin tones, brown eyes, and dark eyes. The warm tone picks up the natural warmth in the complexion.
- When in doubt, use blue inside — it suits the widest range of children and is Leanne's default choice at events.
The key is to look at the child before you load the sponge. You can orient it either way — the decision takes two seconds and makes a real difference to how the design reads on that child's face.
How to Load Rainbow Bliss onto the Petal Sponge
- Spritz the cake two or three times with the Clear Mist Spritzer Bottle. You want the surface activated but not running — if water is pooling at the bottom of the cake, tilt it and do not bring the sponge all the way to the wet edge.
- Decide your orientation — blue or yellow in the corner — and position the sponge on the cake accordingly.
- Pull the sponge down the cake in a smooth, even motion. This loads all the colours across the sponge face simultaneously.
- Check the sponge — you should see the full colour gradient across the face of the sponge. Any blank spots mean you need another loading pass.
- Load enough for the whole face in one go. Leanne loads the sponge fully before starting so she does not have to go back into the cake mid-design. If you need to reload, re-spritz the cake first.
Step by Step: The Beginner Butterfly
Start on whichever side of the face feels more natural to you. Hold the loaded sponge at an angle and press the corner of the sponge into the inner corner of the eye — the point where the nose meets the brow. Pat gently outward and upward, following the arch of the brow. The wing sits above the eye, with the inner point near the bridge of the nose and the outer edge extending toward the temple. Press and lift — do not drag.
Using the corner of the sponge, press the bottom wing below the same eye. The bottom wing is smaller than the top — it sits on the cheekbone, angled outward and slightly downward. The inner point again directs toward the nose bridge. There should be a small natural gap between the top and bottom wing where the eye sits.
If you are attempting both sides, reload the sponge before starting the second side — you want fresh colour for the second eye. Repeat the same two stamps on the other side. Do not worry if they are not perfectly even. Leanne paints herself backwards in a mirror and notes her sides are never identical. At event pace, slight variation is invisible.
If you are doing one side only, skip to Step 4.
While the sponge base dries — it sets quickly, especially in warm conditions — mix Fusion Prime Paraffin White on the back of your hand or a palette. Add a little water and mix until it reaches a smooth, creamy paste. Leanne mixes it thoroughly — "pull it up, mix again" — until the consistency is even and there are no dry lumps. Load your round brush, wipe off any excess, and the white is ready for detail work.
This is the technique that makes Leanne's beginner butterfly different from every other tutorial. Instead of outlining in black, load the 3/8 inch angle brush with the end colour of Rainbow Bliss — the yellow end. Spritz the cake lightly and pick up just the yellow from that outer edge. Apply short, directional strokes along the wing outline. This creates a soft, warm-toned edge that finishes the design without the harshness of black.
Alternatively — and Leanne recommends this as the most beginner-friendly option — use white paint for the outline instead. White is far more forgiving.
Load the angle brush or round brush with white paint from Fusion Prime Paraffin White. Then dip just the tip of the brush into a magenta or pink colour from the Pretty Rainbow Palette. This is the double-dip — two quick touches that put a pink-white blend on the brush tip. Stamp five small petal shapes using this loaded brush tip — press and lift for each petal, working in a circular arrangement. Three petals angled downward, two upward. Then use the side of the brush to pull a small stroke upward from the flower centre. Place the flower where the top and bottom wings meet, or on the upper wing surface.
Switch to the round brush loaded with white paint. Place dots along the wing edges — press the brush tip straight down and lift cleanly. Do not draw circles; press and lift. For teardrops, press the brush tip down firmly, then drag it slightly and lift — the drag creates the pointed tail. For antennae, press the brush tip at the top of the forehead and pull a curved line outward, ending with a small press-and-lift dot at the tip for the antenna ball.
How to Fix a Mistake
Mistakes happen — especially when painting backwards on yourself or working at speed at events. Leanne demonstrates the recovery technique mid-tutorial:
- Spritz the mistake lightly with the water bottle — one or two sprays directly on the area that needs correcting.
- Press a damp cloth or the clean edge of the sponge over the area and lift. The water reactivates the paint and it lifts cleanly.
- Make sure the cloth is not too wet — blot it first. If you go back over a wet area with fresh paint it will run or smudge. Wait a few seconds for the moisture to settle before repainting.
Leanne's Beginner Tips — From the Transcript
- One side first. Do one eye only when you are starting out. A one-sided butterfly is a complete, beautiful design that children love. Symmetry comes with practice — you do not need it on your first attempt.
- Check the colour orientation before loading. Look at the child's eye colour and complexion. Orient the sponge — blue or yellow inside — before you load it. You cannot change orientation once the paint is on the sponge.
- Use white to outline, not black. White is forgiving. Mistakes wipe off. Dark colours do not. Once your confidence builds and your lines are consistent, you can experiment with the edge colour technique Leanne uses.
- Load enough paint for the full face. Load the sponge fully in one session so you do not need to go back to the cake mid-design. Going back in mid-design risks cross-contaminating the cake with skin contact.
- Nothing in face painting is perfect. You are working in two or three minutes at events. Slight asymmetry, imperfect lines, and uneven dots are invisible from any normal viewing distance. The child sees the colour explosion on their face — that is what matters.
- Mix your white properly. Paraffin White needs to be worked to a smooth, creamy paste before it performs well. Mix it thoroughly — "pull it up, mix again" — until there are no lumps and the consistency is even. Undermixed white goes on patchy and sinks into the skin.
- Invest in quality brushes and sponges. Leanne is direct on this — cheap brushes cost you time and confidence. The Fusion petal sponge is dense enough to load and hold the Rainbow Bliss colours properly. A soft sponge with a lighter formula may behave differently.
About Rainbow Bliss and the Pretty Rainbow Palette
Leanne's Rainbow Bliss split cake is part of Leanne's Collection by Fusion Body Art — a range of split cakes and palettes designed by Leanne Courtney specifically for the designs she paints most at events. Rainbow Bliss runs from a deep blue through to yellow, with the colour blend across the sponge producing the soft-gradient butterfly wing that single-colour cakes cannot achieve.
The Leanne's Pretty Rainbow Palette contains six mini split cakes designed to complement each other for butterfly, rose, princess crown, and rainbow designs. The magenta and pink tones in the palette are what Leanne uses for the double-dip flower — dipping into that warm pink end gives the flower centre a colour depth that using only white would not produce.
Both are water-activated Fusion Body Art face paints — cosmetic-grade, FDA and EU compliant, free from parabens and fragrance, and designed for use on children's skin.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a complete beginner face paint a butterfly?
Yes — and Leanne Courtney specifically recommends beginners start with just one side. The petal sponge does the wing shaping for you. A one-sided butterfly with white dots and a simple antenna looks professional and takes less than 90 seconds once the sponge technique is practised. Start with one side, build your confidence, and add the second side when you are ready.
Should I put blue or yellow on the inside of a butterfly face paint?
It depends on the child. Blue on the inside works for most children — it suits fair to medium complexions and green, blue, or grey eyes. Yellow on the inside works particularly well for children with warm skin tones and brown eyes. When in doubt, go with blue inside — it is Leanne's default choice at events because it works across the widest range of children.
What is Leanne's Rainbow Bliss?
Leanne's Rainbow Bliss is a split cake designed by Leanne Courtney for Fusion Body Art, running from blue to yellow. It is designed specifically for butterfly and rainbow designs and loads onto a petal sponge to produce a colour gradient across the wings in a single stamp application.
Do I need to outline a butterfly face paint in black?
No. Leanne's beginner approach uses either the end colour of Rainbow Bliss (the yellow end on a small angle brush) or white paint for the outline. White is the most beginner-friendly choice — mistakes wipe off cleanly, and the line is easy to correct before it dries. Dark outlines are harder to fix if they go wrong, so Leanne recommends beginners start with white until their brush confidence is established.
What is the easiest butterfly face paint for beginners?
A petal sponge loaded with a multi-colour split cake like Leanne's Rainbow Bliss, stamped four times for four wings, with a white outline and a few dots. The sponge does the wing shaping for you — no brushwork needed for the base. Starting with one side of the face only makes it even more achievable for complete beginners.
How do you fix a mistake in butterfly face paint?
Spritz the area lightly with water, press a damp cloth or clean sponge edge over it, and lift. Fusion Body Art's water-activated formula lifts cleanly while still fresh. Make sure the cloth is not too wet — blot it first — and wait a few seconds for the moisture to settle before repainting over the corrected area.
What brushes do beginners need for butterfly face paint?
Very few. A petal sponge handles the wing base. Leanne recommends the 3/8 inch angle brush for edging — it is easier to control than larger brushes for beginners. A round brush (No. 3 or No. 4) handles dots, teardrops, and antennae. If the child has a large forehead, the 5/8 angle brush covers more ground per stroke for the edging.
What is the double-dip flower in face painting?
A technique where you load a brush with white paint, then dip just the tip into a colour — Leanne uses a pink or magenta tone from the Pretty Rainbow Palette — before stamping five-petal flowers. The two colours blend at the tip, creating a soft two-toned flower without needing to mix paints on a palette. See our full butterfly tutorial for a detailed breakdown of the double-dip technique.
Shop the Products Used in This Tutorial
All products used by Leanne Courtney in this tutorial are available from Fusion Body Art:
→ Leanne's Rainbow Bliss — the split cake designed by Leanne for butterfly and rainbow designs
→ Leanne's Pretty Rainbow Palette — 6 mini split cakes for the double-dip flower and detail work
→ Fusion Prime Paraffin White — high-pigment white for outlines, dots, and the double-dip flower base
→ Fusion Petal Sponges 6 Pack — the primary applicator for the butterfly wing base
→ Leanne's 3/8 Inch Angle Brush — recommended beginner edging brush
→ Leanne's 5/8 Angle Brush — for children with larger foreheads
→ Leanne's Rainbow Round 3 — for dots, teardrops, and antennae
→ Fusion Clear Mist Spritzer Bottle — for activating the cake and fixing mistakes
Ready to go further? Read Leanne's complete butterfly tutorial using the Princess Petal Palette: How to Face Paint a Butterfly — Leanne Courtney's Step-by-Step Tutorial
New to split cakes? Read our complete guide: How to Use Split Cakes for Face Painting
