Dog Face Paint -- Face Painting for Halloween

Dogs are an adorable subject for face painting, loved by kids and adults alike. There are 5 fun dog face designs here: a classic dog for everyone; a cute little puppy for little ones; a bulldog that will appeal to boys; a fun spotty dog face paint example on a man but great for anybody; and finally a stunning wolf face painting.

These doggie-themed designs work well for Halloween, especially if you are with someone who has a Halloween cat face painting! However, our four-legged friends are so cute that these face paint tutorials could come in handy all year long!

Image in introduction adapted from original image shared by where_are_the_joneses on Flickr under Creative Commons licence.

Doesn't this animal-themed make up look fantastic? The good news is, thanks to Lynsey Melissa, you can follow along with her Face Painting: Dog video tutorial to create your own puppy dog look.

It's a speed video so just pause as required to copy each step.

Step-by-step face painting instructions follow below.

How the dog face paint above was created

Step 1:

The dog face paint begins with the white ears which are drawn on across the top of the eyebrows and down in large curves towards the corners of the mouth.

Step 2:

Next, for the dog muzzle, draw with white face paint a curve from outer edge of nostril, down past corner of mouth, to below the chin. Repeat on other side and fill in with the white paint, leaving a blank area below mouth for the dog tongue.

Step 3:

Outline dog ears in a dark face paint crayon, adding lines of dog hair all round the edges.

Step 4:

Use the black face paint crayon to draw the dog's nose on the end of your own nose. The dog face paint is really starting to take shape!

Step 5:

Add a black line from nose to mouth and use black face paint crayon to add a hairy edge to the white muzzle. Now add some fine detail with a brush. Dot on black face paint for whisker holes and fine hairs all around your existing face painting.

Step 6:

With black crayon, draw an eye patch and fill in.

Step 7:

With red face paint crayon, draw in the dog's tongue. Outline with black face paint on a fine brush. Widen black area on upper lip and then draw in line down middle of dog tongue.

And there you have it -- a fantastic dog face paint design!

This handy 3 color kit from Snazaroo, the face paint specialists comes in Dalmatian colors to paint a spotty dog.

These black, white and red paints would also give you all you needed to do a puppy design like the one above.

A little girl might want a cute dog face painting with pink and glitter. No problem! This dog face paint video tutorial from sillyheatherb has an adorable little face paint model who wants her face paint to look as sweet as she does.

Heather shows that you can use pink details and shimmer powder to make a pretty little puppy dog.

Her video explains the face painting techniques very clearly, making it easy to recreate this puppy dog face paint design at home.

Paint a Pretty Puppy Dog Face

Step 1:

This face painting of a puppy dog begins with a little pink shimmer powder on each cheek.

Step 2:

Using brown powder paint, create the dog ears above each eyebrow and in a curve down the outer cheeks. Still using the brown face paint, now create the dog muzzle over upper lip and chin.

Step 3:

With pink face paint on a fine brush, draw on a bow at the top on one of the dog ears. Paint a round pink puppy nose on tip of child's nose. Beneath one side of child's mount, paint a pink half circle for a dog tongue.

Step 4:

Use black face paint on a fine brush to paint dog hairs around the brown dog ears.

Step 5:

Create a thick eye patch line around one eye with black face paint. Note that on this child it is not filled in but still gives the look of a puppy dog. This is a useful face painting technique for small children or those with sensitive eyes.

Step 6:

Outline pink nose with black face paint and draw line down to top lip. Define muzzle with black face paint in curves up from corners of lips. Add dog hairs with black face paint around muzzle edges and some black whisker holes to top lip.

Step 7:

Paint lips with black face paint, avoiding the pink dog tongue you painted earlier. Outline dog tongue in black.

Step 8:

Add highlights with white face paint on a brush -- add to tip of nose and use to outline bow, and dot on tongue.

Step 9:

Add a little face glitter to bow, nose and dog tongue as the finishing touch to this puppy dog face paint.

Step 10: (Optional)

For spotted dog face paint, add some dark spots to the ears with a brush.

This Halloween she wants a cute puppy dog face paint design. Next time... fairy princess, kitty cat, butterfly... who knows? Anyone with one or more little girls to face paint will be well provided for with a Snazaroo face paint wheel, no matter what design they choose!

Boys will often be a dog rather than a cat at Halloween since cats are rather feminine creatures. Of course, boys who like the rough and tumble of dogs don't want a pretty dog face with glitter! So why not give them a bulldog face painting? Face painting pro MarvelousMasks shows us how below.

The face painting technique here is to fill in the dog face with one color of paint, adding a different color for a patch over one eye. Then dog ears are added to the top. By using pink on the lower lip, a couple of sharp little teeth are defined. The whole dog face is outlined in black face paint and a black nose is added, then the jowls and mouth detail.

This dog face paint design is still adorable (as you can see at the end), but without being in any way cutesy. Why not give it a go?

Snazaroo is a respected face painting brand that has had many positive reviews from face painters and parents alike.

This 'giraffe' theme 3 color face paint set is ideal for face painting dog designs as it gives you a tan, a brown and a black all in one pack.

This is another one from Clayton at Marvelous Masks. He doesn't speak while creating the dog face painting but I find all of his face painting video tutorials very clear, whether he is putting the paint on himself or on a child.

I used to have a video here of him painting a spotted dog design on himself, but that one has gone so here instead is his Husky example, painted on his younger sister.

Guys, don't be put off, as this is a look that would work great on either gender! You could create a cute couple costume if your girlfriend wanted to be a cat.

Here's some very different dog face paint to finish -- in face, it is not a dog but a wolf, however, wolves and dogs are related and this face painting design is worth sharing.

This one is by xenabyte. You are only seeing it halfway through in the preview picture but the finished wolf face paint is very impressive.

Even if this face painting design is too tricky for your skills, use it for inspiration! As with the bulldog, it shows how to face paint pointed teeth. It would be a great starting point for a Twilight Jacob Black / Wolfpack look.

Perfect for Halloween werewolves.

Paint a Werewolf Face

Here's a wolf face paint look that's far from cute and cuddly.

The Werewolf Makeup Kit will transform you into a Halloween Werewolf. Includes face paint, applicators, and instructions. Costume not included.