Ready for a new kit

I've been painting with two basic wolfe palettes, a couple of tulip paints that i picked up at Michaels, a large wolfe white and a neon rainbow cake. i like the basic colors palettes (they're both the same six colors) but I am ready to invest in a kit. I've been looking at the Silly Farm pro-essentials kit but am unsure if I want a kit made with Paradise and wolfe since I've read that they don't go on the same (and i'm not sure about the split cakes, if each is all one brand or both brands. The allure of this kit is the split cakes the two-toned and arty cakes but i'm not sure as to whether or not that's a good purchase what with the two brands being mixed (and it's quite a lot of money to spend to be disappointed!)

i've also thought about an all-wolfe pick your palette (which is tempting because i've worked most with wolfe -- it's 12 colors) or an all fab pick your palette. I've never used fab, but it's tempting with it being 20 colors to choose from.

I'd love any advice before I make this big investment. Thanks in advance!

I'd recommend picking up some TAG splits. They're cheaper than Wolfe, and the Pearls are really really beautiful. They're right in the forum shop too... check them out!

A lot of us like to use Wolfe/DFX white and black for linework, and TAG for everything else!

The 2 color TAG splits in the shop make a great kit... and the TAG one strokes have more paint in them...

Check out the shop. http://www.facepaintforumshop.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1845

If I were making a new kit ( and I will again soon ) I would go this route.

I think when picking paint you should chose by color and coverage you expect...I have all brands except for Snaz..(personally I think they fade) All the paints are mixable...I think some colors work better than others..Like Kryolan Orange and Yellow...they have great coverage. But it is what you like..maybe if you want to try out the color buy the little refills or the smallest cake...I have saved myself a bit of money by trying out colors this way.

I agree wth Jobena's advice. Experiment & seet what you like best before making a major investment! My first split cake was a Wolfe Rainbow, which I replaced with DFX & then made some Kryolan Neons. Last year I splurged on a Paradise Prisma Pallette and got hooked on their spilt cakes. They area very versatile & I haven't "hit bottom" on any of the colors yet, which surprised me.

OOOH I love Kryolan Neons....

Thanks so much for the advice! I hadn't even seen the forum split cakes I'll definitely check them out before investing a ton. Thanks!

Another way to "try" out a paint is to trade something in the swap shop here. I offered something I knew I'd never use again in exchange for a sample sliver of Tag Wine. I received it, put part of it in a home made split cake and the other part in a small container to practice designs with until I was sure it was something I wanted to order.

It's ok to have an assortment. They don't all have to be the same brand to work together. You just have to decide what coverage you like to use.

This ended up being an essay...sorry it's so long but I hope it helps you decide what type of painter you are and then you can buy paints that match your style...


From what I've seen at conferences and online is there are basically two types of painters. The first type are sponge and #4 round brush painters/instructors: Pashur, Wolfe Brothers, Mark Reid, Kerry Ann, Christina, etc. and the have the basic 12 single regular colors or metallics (or monochromatic splits like Wolfe Brothers), a good black and white (usually Wolfe) and they have a limited amount of brushes...maybe 5...that they use total.

These type of painters are VERY good at line work. They are able to sponge on blobs on the face and then make them look ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS with their finishing line work. These types of painters usually like to use glycerine base colors that blend because they blend the sponge work right on the face. They have a sponge for every color and use the edges of the sponges to map out a design.

If you are that type of painter you will want to use Kryolan, Paradise and FAB and other softer glycerine based paints and Wolfe or DFX black and white for line work and highlights and will have a limited brush collection.

The second type of painter/instructors are teaching a combination of sponging and one-stroke brush techniques. The instructors that teach this style are Heather from Silly Farm, Marcela Murad, Rebecca of Arty Brush Cakes, Amy Medina, Lisa Joy Young, and I'll count Lynne Jamison in this group.

These types of painters will use rainbow cakes and one-stroke in combination with either brush or sponge base work to get a multi-layered type look. The actual blending comes in the sponge, not on the face. The line work in this type of painting is a supplement to the design, not necessary for the design, and in most cases you could actually stop before the line work and still have a workable product.

If you are this type of painter, the "China" paints are good because they dry quickly allowing you to be able to layer versus blending on the face. These paints are purported to come from the same factory in China (hence the nickname) and have similar qualities but some stain more than others or cover better. These brands are TAG, Wolfe and DFX. When you are on the job, especially in the heat, these paints dry really quickly but the advantage is they don't "melt" in the heat (unless you use too much water!)

The advantage to this type of painting is sponging is kept to a minimum and there is less artistic ability required. You can add trendy things like "sparkle powders" (as Marcela calls them), jewels, bling, and glitter gels to the designs without ruining the integrity of the design because they become part of the layering process.

Because the blending is "in the sponge" or on a brush using one-stroke cakes, new color combos and making your own cakes is part of the fun. You can have cakes for different holidays or different designs (like a dolphin cake). You can use daubers or stencils to create new shapes or add texture.

The disadvantage to this type of painting is that you, in all practicality, need a Fat Max tool box to hold all the stuff! Instead of 12 pots of paint, sponges and a few brushes that can fit in a small suitcase, you have many different rainbow cakes, one-stroke cakes, splits, glitters, jewels, and probably tons of brushes so that you don't waste so much paint every time you need to load the same rainbow cake over again.

So, if you are very artistic and love to draw in real life, I see distinct advantages to the 12 color/sponge/round brush method. It's easy to pack your materials, it's low cost, you aren't trying to keep up with trends in materials and it's easy for you to paint-to-order...if you see a picture, you can duplicate it.

If you find it hard to draw "on-the-spot" but can make a fantastic one-stroke flower and beautiful teardrops and swirls, then the layering style is good because the rainbow cakes and one-stroke are really impressive at parties and fairs. You can learn designs that can be replicated over and over again (like a butterfly) and make them different by using a different rainbow cake. You can get really fast with your designs and can make a full face tiger in just 3-5 minutes. It's also easier to work with an assistant with this style because the assistant can put in the base layer and you can add in the finishing layers without having to train them. There are also a lot of painters coming up with new ways of using one-stroke and rainbows in their designs so it evolves a little quicker than the other method.

I read your essay Denise. Great advice for new painters.

I guess I should be more practical and give concrete advice: Out of the "china" paints I like TAG because it comes in square containers which saves a TON of room and can be stored in square scrapbook containers. The 50gm cakes come in splits now which is very convenient because you can get twice the colors AND can use them as blends for butterflies/masks/animals, etc. I LOVE TAG pearls (metallics) because they are easy to clean off the skin and don't stain as badly as the Wolfe metallics and they have pretty colors like Teal and Wine.

The TAG one-stroke splits are great too and there is a lot of variety because different resellers can make up their own color combinations before TAG even adds them to their permanent line.

I also like making my own splits and most of the TAG paints, especially the pearls, are easy to cut and lift and repot.

So, if you are a rainbow cake/one-stroke kind of painter you can't go wrong with TAG. I agree with PerfectlyPaintedFaces about the Wolfe/DFX for white but I do LOVE TAG pearl black for washable line work. It's still opaque but comes off in one washing but Wolfe Black seems to be the standard for dark black line work.

Denise THANK YOU for your help! you have given me some really good advice (i read the essay, too ) I am glad to say that I have put in an order with the forum shop for some tag paints and some Dfx which I had also never tried. I'm curious to try out some new paints. Thanks for the advice, everyone!

Excellent essay Denise!

I will add however that their are a few differences between the Wolfe/Tag/DFX.
1) For the most part, DFX is unscented. TAG has a slight fragrance (it's not FAB bad, it's not even Paradise, but it does contain fragrance).
2) TAG tends to be cheaper than Wolfe and DFX.
3) DFX and Wolfe market their shiny iridescent paint as 'metallic' or 'metallix. Tag markets their version as Pearl.
4) Wolfe tends to disappear from stock during the summer months. Last summer I bought 3 cakes of 90 g white when they came into stock and was grateful that I had the foresight. Exactly one week after they came 'into stock' they were once again 'out of stock'.

Lasandri, I think you are gonna fall in love with the TAG splits. Another important thing to note is that the TAG ones will "wear" more evenly. I've stayed away from a lot of Arty cakes cause of uneven wear due to different types of paints used in the cakes. Would stink to have one color gone from your split and three colors left.

I tried Tag one-stroke last night for the lst time....loved 'em! Good sizing on them also!

I use snaz because I can get it at Michael's but I have bought a few Tag colors and I do love the vibrant colors.

Haha I heard folks noting at FPBAC that most of the instructors are not split cake users. True. And while it is close it is not bible that most all use a number four round or steer clear from stiffer makeups like Wolfe. In face those instructors most do use a combo or Paradise and Wolfe or Paradise and Kryolan - or those three brands. Three artists noted above use mainly Wolfe. And some of the noted love their number 3's.

Split cakes tend to be pricey and old school painters have made or split their cakes before it was an offering. Many split a cake simply to have more room in a palette - so they are splitting cakes but not working in a single stroke method. Most consider this method slower overall and less unique.

Paradise and Wolfe work great together - get colors you love, that will hamonize to create the faces you paint, get at least 2 brushes in a size you think works - balance them say a 2 & 4 or a 3 & 4 or 3 & 5 or go big 4 & 6 , get top quality brushes with a sharp point and a semi to full body. And practice, practice.

Denise offers some insight.

Sweet Loretta wrote:
Split cakes tend to be pricey and old school painters have made or split their cakes before it was an offering. Many split a cake simply to have more room in a palette - so they are splitting cakes but not working in a single stroke method. Most consider this method slower overall and less unique.

That's me... old school.

Excellent "essay," Denise!! This actually helped me out too. I'm getting ready to invest in another palette and I've been on the fence about brands. My kit is mostly Kryolan right now with Wolfe Black and White. My style is definitely heavy on the line work. Thank you for posting this!

Im building my kit also. and i just bought 16 colors of dfx. Hopefully theyre good.

I'm TAG all the way! I love the split cakes. They are the best deal I think. I cut them into rainbow cakes and into one stroke cakes myself. I love the square shape. I'm converting to only square containers now and weeding out all my rounds. They wear too much in the center and sponges don't fit well into the round shape. I get my square TAG split cakes here at the forum. I got some Christmas colors on the discount page and cut them up and did all kinds of different stuff with them. I'm crazy about that pearl green color! I use it to do my peacock design with that the girls go crazy over.

Good essay. It's funny that you put Lynne in the second category.. I can kinda see why, but one of the great things I got out of her workshop the other day was that I don't really need splits as they limit the colour combos available. She does mix on the sponge true but she chooses the most amazing combos and to achieve those unique results with splits you'd need like 2 million split cakes!! I've left a lot of mine in fatmax at my last few jobs and only pulled out the one strokes if it got crazy busy. Loving the freedom of colour choice!

Riana, I decided to put Lynne in that category because she does blend in the sponge and she has a crazy lot of layers. Most of the other painters don't really layer...they highlight, shade and outline. She also does one-stroke techniques like picking up black on the end of her brush that the others do with laying in color and dragging or blending.

There was a whole thread how Lynne's loading method drove me crazy though...sometimes a good rainbow cake is worth it's weight in gold because they are tried and true crowd pleasers. Again, not saying she doesn't get fabulous results and it nice to have that freedom but on the job I don't want to worry so much about water control, whether I have enough paint on the sponge, etc. It seems like it would be hard for me to get the same results and not mess it up. I have a really hard time with TAG drying before I get all the way through a butterfly load so I have to reload.

The different types of paints used are also a generalization because there will always be exceptions. She must use the softer paints to be able to blend so much and get all that paint off the sponge (I can't remember if she said what paints she used) ...just like the Wolfe Brothers still use "China" paints but they still highlight and shade but use a stippling method instead of blending so much because the paints dry quickly.

This picture I saved from Marcela last night is a great example of what I was saying. It's a perfectly lovely mask with absolutely no outlining, not even the shadows on the tear drops. The second picture is one of Kerry Ann's designs that was created with sponge and black outlines. These are good illustrations of how different the painting can be and still both be great designs.

I do think there is a lot of overlap, especially Mark Reid. He's right on the verge of being in the second category because he loves the bling and glitters but for most designs he's still a "sponge per color" painter. I did see a rainbow butterfly at the FPBA though...he may join the dark side yet.

Marcela Murad


Kerry Ann Smith


This model swears this is from a rainbow cake.

Lynne Jamieson was using Kryolan and she's the one that hooked me on Tim Gratton Black for bodypainting.