So you might have noticed the fancy rainbow cakes on the site. There are so many different combinations, and sizes to choose from. How do you use them, what are they for? Well I’m going to break it down for ya here in a simple and short little tutorial.

Split Cakes

tools:
High Density Hydra Foam Sponge

Paints:
Diamond FX Face Paints – Rainbow Split Cake
Silly Farm Rainbow Cake – Juicy Fruit
Diamond FX Split Cake – Large Captain Obvious

So the larger sizes of split cakes, are around 50 gm in size.  There are a variety of brands who make different split cakes.  Silly farm is unique in that it combines different brands of face paints in each split.   Taghas a large variety of combinations available.  The photo below are my own splits that I made myself. I will do a tutorial on that so if you are interested please look out for it.

To pick up the paint with the larger splits, a sponge cut in half works wonders.

Add a small amount of water to the sponge, and to the paint. Drag the sponge across the paint to absorb into the sponge. Different brands of sponges, and different levels of humidity all determine how much water to add. That is something you will need to experiment with and figure out what works for you. If the paint runs, then there is too much water. If the paint is faded, and not blending then there is not enough water.

Pounce across the skin evenly and blend back and forth.

Once this drys you can add over it. This is a great gradient background for butterfly wings and princess crowns.

One Stokes

Tools
3/8″ Flat Brush
1″ Flat Brush

Paints
Tag One Stoke Custom Split – Indian Spice
Diamond FX Split Cake – Small Neon Nights
One stroke custom split cake – Unicorn

Now for those smaller ones. The one stokes.  They carry about 30 gm in them, and are great for creating smaller designs.  Global has a bunch of really nice one stoke cakes available.

A Flat brush works best with these. Either a 3/4in brush or a 1 in brush.
Add a small amount of paint, and work the brush back and forth over the paint. Take a moment and really make sure the brush is completely loaded all the way through to the top to ensure bright and even coverage.

Practice moving the brush across the skin, and try different brush stokes

Add details over the gradient to make it come to life.

As you can see with a little practice these two techniques can really help to paint quickly and look great.  Happy Painting!

Amy Liza Williams is a face & body artist who resides in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville NC. She is the owner of Asheville face & body Art, a collective of quality artists who work as a team to provide many body art services for the South East region of the United States. www.ashevillefaceandbodyart.com