Tipping is essential when it comes to face painters, but it can sometimes be hard to figure out how much. Before you get your face or your child’s face painted, you should try to figure out a game plan for tipping so you’re not left confused when it comes time to pay.
There are several different ways you can tip a face painter, including:
However, before choosing the best method for tipping your face painter, there are a few other things to consider.
In this article, you’ll find more information about how much to tip a face painter and why some methods work better than others. In addition, you can read on to learn more about tipping when face painters charge at different types of rates.
Deciding how much to tip your face painter can be difficult. Luckily, there are a few ways you can go about knowing for sure.
If you asked for a design that was more intricate or your know you were a particularly difficult client for one reason or another, you should leave a larger tip. However, if your design was small and easy, it’s okay to leave a little less. Regardless, though, you should still tip at least something.
The amount you should personally tip a face painter will vary, but there are a few different ways you can decide. To tip a face painter, you can use:
However, you should always try to leave some kind of a tip for your face painter, even if they weren’t as personable as you’d like them to be. It’s a hard job to do and a hard skill to master, so showing appreciation can never hurt.
Tipping by percentage is the easiest way to tip if you don’t really care about anything else. All you need is a calculator-capable device and a few seconds of your time and you’ve got a tip. Typically, it’s considered best to tip service workers about 20% of your bill, and the same applies to face painters.
However, if you really liked their work or their personality, you can tip more. Sometimes, seeing a 30-40% tip could really brighten a face painter’s day. At the end of the day, they really are underappreciated for the work that they do.
Although, tipping by percentage isn’t always the best choice. Maybe your design took a lot of time, but there are messy lines and you’re just not completely happy with the finished product. In this case, rather than leaving a larger, percentage-based tip, you might want to leave a smaller tip based on the quality of the work.
Doing this is totally okay. You’re still leaving a tip and appreciating their skills, but you should never feel obligated to leave a large tip if you’re not happy with the product. However, if you told them you weren’t happy and they offered to fix it, consider tipping more.
If you’d like to assign a percentage to this type of tip, though, it’s possible. Perhaps you’d tip 25% for a good quality design. Knock it down to 20% for messy lines, 15% if they missed a portion of the design.
Sometimes the quality is great, but the experience was awful. Maybe your face painter was mean, or impatient, or unwilling to fix something about your design. In this instance, leaving a tip based on your experience would be appropriate. It lets them know that you liked their work, but that you didn’t love their attitude. Leaving at least a small tip could, if nothing else, brighten their mood for the next customer.
In terms of a percentage tip for experience, you could tip:
There are generally two ways face painters charge their clients, and it impacts the way you might consider tipping them. They are:


Typically, guests at a party aren’t expected to tip the face painter since they’re not the ones paying for the service. However, it would still be polite for the host of the event to tip the face painter. To do this, you could technically use a percentage of their hourly fee, but that might not seem like enough. Parties can take hours and oodles of supplies.
Instead, try a per-face tip. For example, for a party of 10 guests, you might plan a $5 per-guest tip. That way, you know for sure you’ve covered supplies and possible emotional damages while also not breaking the bank. Remember that a tip from the host is likely the only tip they’ll get, so being generous is always welcome.
Tipping a face painter who charges by size is a little bit easier. You know exactly what it’ll cost. In this instance, it’s easiest to tip by percentage. That way, the amount you tip matches the amount of supplies you consumed. It also leaves plenty of room for you to increase of decrease said percentage based on quality or experience.
Tipping is surprisingly harder than it looks, but as long as you follow your heart, it’ll be easy. Don’t feel obligated to leave a big tip that wasn’t earned, but never be afraid to show your appreciation for a job well done.