A list of things to bring on your first face painting job! 

*Inspired by a question in a facebook group! 

You finally have a face painting gig! Well done! You have your kit all packed and you have practiced and practiced. But now what? What else do you bring on a face painting job? Lets find out!

We are going to ignore the actual kit of face and body paints as that will be covered in a seperate post. This post is more for the OTHER items that are not paint supplies! 

• What calms you? 
  Assuming this is your absolute first gig, you should be nervous! What helps you focus and keep calm? A stress ball? Photos? Reminder to breath? 
• Your design options 
  After a while face painters can paint anything, but on your first job you may want to limit selections. Consider a design board or a wordboard. You get can free wordboard designs here. 
• Water. 
  Dont assume there will be water onsite for you to use. You also need a drink bottle full of drinking water for yourself! 
• Signage 
  I dont just mean the FACE PAINTING HERE sign, I also mean a sign of "Taking a break" and "Last to be painted". Get signage pre printed here.
• Cleaning supplies 
  Lets assume you have santisier sprays and cleaner for your face paints, but consider cleaner to clean up after yourself at the end. Is is a loaned table? Best to wipe it down when finished. Also bring something to wash your own hands with as they tend to get covered in paint! And if you are anything like me, bring something to wash your face from the accidental sweeps of colour! 
• Rubbish bag
  Along with cleaning supplies, also bring a rubbish bag. This is for your used wipes and general mess. This is seperate to a bag for your dirty sponges as those are not rubbish! 
• Snacks 
  If you are working for a number of hours, having some quick snacks will keep your energy levels up. You want snacks that are easy to take a mouthful, and wont give you bad breath! Think muesli bars. Dont bring anything with strong allergy risks like peanuts 
• A cover sheet.
  If you are working for a number or hours or even a few days, you dont want to pack up your equipment every time you need a break. So bring a cover sheet to hide your equipment from wandering hands. If you are working in a marquee, you can clip the sheet to the roof to completely block out the space. 
• Business cards 
  Always have cards available to hand out. If you are booked through someone else or an agency, have their cards available. 
• Money taking options. 
  This will depend on your gig, but if you are taking money per face, then have multiple ways of accepting it. If you are at a private event and the client is paying you on the day, have ability to take both cash, transfer and credit if possible. The more options you have, the less likely there will be excuses when the bill is ready!

What helped you on your first gig ever? Tell us below!