Hey folks.  Fot those who have tackled the latex puppet method, what is the best kind of paint to use?  Best to remain bright, playable, durable, etc.  Thanks.

I use standard, cheap acrylic paint.  I mix it in with latex and paint it on.  Works great.

Been a long time since I painted latex but I think Arthur mentioned something very important.   You need to mix your paint with the latex before you paint it on.  Also try and paint the piece before it gets any dust on it.  You want a good solid bond between paint and latex base.  Long ago I ran test and using just acrylic paint on latex would peel off pretty easily. Also made the mistake of dusting my piece with talc before I painted it once.  Didn't work so well.

Professionals use a special rubber cement paint or a latex rubber ink, especially if they are airbrushing. The rubber cement paint is something you can mix yourself or you can simply order the inks. WARNING; both of these use Naptha as a thinner. They are toxic and the fumes are flammable, like spray cans of paint. Use only with proper ventilation, etc. The rubber cement paint is a mix of rubber cement, universal tints and naptha. I don't remember the ratios, but maybe they are available online somewhere.

Thanks folks

There is a paint called Cel-Vinyl that can be used that sticks well to rubber and latex products. http://www.cartooncolor.com/cel-vinyl-paints/  In fact the Puppetry Arts Center here in KCMO uses this for painting the rubber Hazelle heads that they inherited. They do workshops with children with these so there are not toxic fumes and it cleans up with water. It is pretty expenses but it covers very well so you need very little. A small dab would cover quite a bit of area.

Hey folks! (long time no see!  I'm back!)  Years ago I had to paint a huge, animatronic latex face on a tree for the Bellagio in Vegas.  I'm trying to remember the exact combination of products I used...I'm pretty sure it was artist oil pain mixed with clear silicone and thinned with a bit of turpentine.  That's the formula the special effects company that created the piece recommended.  It was messy and time consuming, but the final look was lovely.  I was able to create layers of washes that gave the face a lot of depth.  Since this was a constantly moving  piece that was on 24 hours a day for several months, the silicone gave the paint an elasticity that wouldn't crack over time.  Give it a shot!