Ancient man indulged in face painting for decoration, protection, spirituality and camouflage. Modern man tends to paint his face for costuming, theatrical performances and as a show of sports enthusiasm.

Face painting can be as commonplace as the daily makeup worn by millions of women or as elaborate as the full-body airbrush designs created for body painting competitions. In between you get costumes, parties, soccer games, football fans or any time people want to show their colors!

Think about your comfort before you get going! Do you want to just do a face? If you were to do a full-body outfit, how much of it would have to be clothing and how much could be paint? Do you have any skin sensitivities? What are your plans to shower off and get dressed once the fun of running around in body paint is over? (that last one is REALLY important to have figured out ahead of time!)

• Water-washable - only use this kid when face painting with kids. The ease of clean up is worth it, and most often the paints are non-toxic.

• Grease-paint - this is the hardcore stage makeup. It gets set with powder and then no matter how much you sweat, it still stays in place. You have to use a ton of cold cream to get off the makeup and then scrub with soap to get all the oil off your face. Great for sports events where you don't want your team colors to come off.

• Tools - face paints can go on with little makeup sponges, small paintbrushes, cotton swabs or your fingertips

• Test some on your arm a day or two ahead of painting your face if you're concerned about allergic reaction possibilities. Paint a tiny patch, leave it on for how long you intend to wear the face paint, then wash off and see how it does.

Supplies - The following are really useful for doing face painting: small makeup sponges, small brushes (both flat and round up to about 1/4") and cotton swabs. For body painting, just get everything in a larger size. You'll also want to have some makeup remover wipes or a few old washcloths on hand to remove mistakes or take the makeup off. (both work MUCH better than tissues!) Also make sure you've got enough face or body paint for the project!

Good Lighting - Nothing makes face and body painting easier than being able to actually see what you are doing! This is especially important when doing very detailed designs.

Practice Ahead Of Time - Make sure to try out your makeup or body painting at least once before your big costume day. This lets you know how long it will take to do what you want, and allows good time for messing up and doing stuff over.

Warmth - If you're going to be doing body painting, it's important to keep yourself (or the models) warm and comfortable so having a warm space or work or bringing along a space heater is really useful.

Paint then Costume, or Costume then Paint? - If the face and body paint is being worn in combination with a costume or wig, work out ahead of time if it's better to do the painting, then put on the rest of the costume, or the other way round.