Pennywise, the creepy clown from Stephen King’s “It” has become a popular Halloween costume choice. But you don’t need a full costume to channel Pennywise. You can easily transform into this freaky clown with some simple yet scary Pennywise face painting techniques.
Start with a base of white face paint. Cover your entire face and neck and set it with translucent powder so it stays smooth. Then, black and red face paints or eye shadows are applied with small brushes to create the facial details.
Outline your eyes from the inner corners in a dramatic winged style extending past the temples. Make the liner very thick and bold. The color of the eyelids should be black as well to complete the look. Paint on the thick arched eyebrows in black, following the bold style of Pennywise.
For the mouth, paint on red lines starting from the corners of your mouth, and extending to about halfway up your cheeks. Make triangle shapes on your forehead to meet the lines. Fill in your lips with the same bright red face paint.
You can also use black face paint or eye shadow to create very dark circles under your eyes, hollowing out your cheeks for a gaunt, sunken look. Add extra blood dripping from the mouth and on the chin for dramatic effect.
Spray your hair temporarily bright orange or tease it out wildly with hairspray. Scare up your look even more by adding creepy-colored contacts to make your eyes look utterly freaky and deranged.
Of course, Pennywise wouldn’t be complete without his pompom costume buttons. Use large, bright red pom poms attached to a shirt or costume. You can also carry balloons like Pennywise to accentuate the creepy clown vibe.
Add fake scars, wounds, and blood effects to make this face painting idea even more gruesome. Consider using theater latex, spirit gum, fake blood, and gelatin for oozing “wounds” on your face and neck. Focus the gory effects around your eyes, mouth, and other exposed skin areas for maximum impact.
The great thing about this look is you can make it as simple or as elaborate as you want. Face paint allows you to easily create a Pennywise style that’s unique to you for a Halloween look that’s both fun and frightful. Go as creepy and weird as you dare!
