Tomodachi Life Face Paint: Complete Guide (2026)

Always use Pro / Artist Mode. Easy Mode limits your colour palette and tools — you need Pro Mode for the full range of colours and brush options. The face paint editor is found in the Mii customization menu under Face Paint.

• Set your brush to Square shape
• Enable Pixel-perfect mode (each dab = one pixel)
• Start with 8px brush size — it's the sweet spot between detail and speed
• Turn on the 8×8 reference grid in the display settings to see alignment lines

The face paint canvas is 256×256 pixels. You have two layers to work with, and you can switch between them with ZR.

Colours are selected using Hue (H), Saturation (S), and Brightness (B) sliders. Use the hover tooltip on our grid tool to see the exact H/S/B values for each colour in the game palette — this helps you find the right colour fast.

Tip: Our colour palette has ~40 community-researched colours mapped to the in-game face paint palette. Use the colour legend on the tool page to match palette colour numbers to in-game settings.

The face paint editor has two independent layers: top and bottom. Understanding these is the single biggest skill gap between frustrating results and clean character recreations.

How to move artwork between layers

1. Draw your element on the canvas
2. Select it using the dotted-box Select tool in the toolbar
3. Press ZR to toggle the selected element between top and bottom layer
4. When drawing shapes with the shape tool, you can switch layer without using the Select tool

When to use each layer

• Bottom layer: skin base, hair fills, broad background colours
• Top layer: outlines, facial markings, fine details, anything that needs to sit above other paint
• Draw Over/Under toggle: the face icon below the canvas preview controls whether your paint appears above or below the Mii's preset facial features — this is separate from the two layers

Hair has its own limits because the preset hairstyle sits outside the face canvas. For bangs, highlights, and facial hair, use the paint over hair guide.

Common layering mistakes

• Painting a skin base on the top layer then adding markings — the markings disappear beneath the skin. Put the base on the bottom layer.
• Forgetting that the Draw Over/Under toggle applies to all elements, not individual ones. Plan which setting you need before you start.
• Moving an element to the wrong layer and not noticing until after adding more paint on top. Use the layer toggle early and often.

Symmetry Trick

Paint one half of the face first, then: Select → Duplicate (+) → ZL Flip. This mirrors your work to the other side perfectly. Works for any symmetrical design. See the full mirror face paint guide for alignment steps and grid tips.

Alpha Lock

Alpha lock lets you paint inside a shape without going outside its edges. Fill an area with a base colour first, then enable alpha lock to add shading and detail within that shape only.

Stamps

You can save any drawn shape as a stamp for reuse during your current session. Note: stamps are lost when you exit the editor, so use them within one session.

Blending Modes

The editor includes blending modes for gradients and shading effects. Experiment with Multiply for shadows and Screen for highlights on top of base colours.

• Starting without Pro Mode — you lose access to half the palette and most brush shapes. Always switch to Pro / Artist Mode first.
• Drawing too fine with 4px brush — takes hours and it's easy to lose your place. Use 8px for most work and only switch to 4px for critical details.
• Not checking expressions — your paint might look great on the neutral face but break when the Mii smiles, frowns, or looks surprised. Preview in the expressions viewer.
• Painting both sides manually — use the symmetry trick (Select → Duplicate → ZL Flip) to cut your work in half. The detailed mirror walkthrough is at /blog/how-to-mirror-face-paint-tomodachi-life.
• Forgetting the two-layer system — you have a bottom and top layer (ZR to switch). Use bottom for base colours and top for details.

Our face paint grid tool automates the hardest part: mapping an image to the Mii face canvas with game-accurate colours.

1. Upload your character reference image
2. Drag the image to align the face within the Mii face oval
3. Choose your brush size (matches in-game options)
4. Select output mode: Preview, Numbered, or Paint-by-Number
5. Hover any cell to see the exact colour name and hex code
6. Download the reference grid as PNG
7. Follow it cell by cell in-game, matching colours from the legend