At a busy fair the line is the real limit, not the price. Multiply artists by hours by how many faces one artist paints an hour to see how many kids you can actually get through — and whether to book a second painter.
Three artists for four hours at 12 faces an hour clears 144 faces — enough to size the booking honestly.
The example
Three events, each with a number of artists, hours booked, and faces painted per hour.
| A | B | C | D | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Event | Artists | Hours | Per hr | Faces |
| 2 | Fair | 3 | 4 | 12 | 144 |
| 3 | Party | 1 | 2 | 15 | 30 |
| 4 | Festival | 2 | 3 | 12 | 72 |
The formula
Capacity is just the three inputs multiplied together:
How it works
Three inputs, one throughput:
B2*C2is total artist-hours — how many hours of painting the booking provides.*D2multiplies by faces-per-hour to turn artist-hours into painted faces.- Faces-per-hour drops for detailed full-face designs and rises for quick cheek art — set it to the style you offer.
- If capacity falls short of the expected crowd, add an artist or simplify the designs to raise faces-per-hour.
Compare the capacity to the expected headcount — if the crowd is bigger, you either add an artist or the line will not clear.
Try it: interactive demo
Enter the artists, hours, and faces painted per hour.
Variations
Artists to clear a crowd
Solve for artists given an expected number of faces.
Detailed-design pace
Full-face designs run slower — drop the per-hour rate.
Pitfalls & errors
Faces-per-hour is not one number. A quick cheek design and a full-face masterpiece are worlds apart, so use the pace for the style you will actually paint at that event.
Capacity is a ceiling, not a promise. Breaks, no-shows in line, and fussy toddlers all eat into it — book to a bit under the calculated number so you do not turn kids away.
Practice workbook
Frequently asked questions
How many faces per hour is realistic?
How do I know if I need a second artist?
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