Smooth sponging

When using a sponge for rainbow split cakes or big areas, how do you make it look so flawless and smooth? Mine always either looks streaky if I try to move it across the face, or it looks blotchy if I blot it. I have tried less water, more water, I dont know what I am doing wrong?!

If it looks blotchy when you dab pounce sponge across skin and streaky when you drag, I am pretty sure you have too much water in you sponge. Cut back a little on the water and really pay attention to working you sponge into your paint with a bit of pressure so you have a good load. You should see a half inch or so of paint when you look at the side of your sponge when you have finished loading. You will get the best color application by pouncing your sponge across the skin as opposed to dragging.

I never drag the sponge, I just do a lot of fast dabbing. I find it does take a lot of dabbing on the skin to get an even coverage, but if you do it really quickly it goes fairly quickly.

If you use a dry sponge, flip it around to the clean part and tap along to absorb excess moisture and it will blend smoothly while you do that.

Depends what paint/ makeup you are using by quite often the paradise white ,looks streaky or blotchy and dries all smooth and good.
I would agree too much water is probably to blame....
Have you tried putting the paint on and the blending with the back of the dry sponge?

Depends what paint/ makeup you are using by quite often the paradise white ,looks streaky or blotchy and dries all smooth and good.
I would agree too much water is probably to blame....
Have you tried putting the paint on and the blending with the back of the dry sponge?

every brand is so different, it will take a lot of trial and error to figure it out, but hardly any of them will look good when you drag the sponge.

I spritz my sponge from a spray bottle (I don't dunk it in water). I then swipe the cake of paint a few times to get the colors on them. I then pat/press the paints onto the face w/ the sponge. I don't swipe (unless I'm going for a fur effect). I move the sponge across the face, pressing the paint into the pattern I need(a fan shape for a butterfly, etc).

I have a hard time with sponging also. I use diamond fx and tag. i try using less water and it gets too dry to were i have to add more water.

I often have to add water & reload my sponge when doing the 2nd half of the face, so that's pretty normal. Climate can make a big difference. I face painted a few weeks ago & it was dry & windy. The paints were drying on my brush, sponge & face before I could complete the designs. You have to adjust for the conditions (I was actually spritzing my cakes which normally is a big No No in my book).

Oh Linda! I am a cake spritzer, can you share why you don't like to do this? I have trouble getting my sponge wet enough to activate the paint if I don't spritz the cake. How wet to you spritz your sponge? I do both, but would love to have my sponging go better, I feel like it is my weekness.

I dunk my sponges and squeeze them out... I know all the top people say not to do that, but it's what works for me. I never spray my cakes.

You are in good company Perry...that's what Lynne Jamieson does. She squeezes with her towel to get the excess out. I'm tempted because I'm getting tired of spritzing/spraying 3 times to make a butterfly but when I was first starting I made a huge mess of it...I might do better now.

D.

I am not a spritzer either

Perhaps it is the sponge you are using as well. I love FWW sponges and have a hard time with others.

I just add water from a squeeze bottle several drops at a time as needed. I tried the spritzing thing ONCE... what a bloody mess that was.

I also use the fww sponges. I was practicing last night and AAAHHHHHH(singing) it came out great. NOT PERFECT but way different then what it used to look like.. do not spray the paint. It looks alot better if you dont. but I still need alot of practice.

The dunking technique seems interesting. Do you keep the sponges in water? or dunk upon use?

I just dunk it when needed and squeeze it out as much as I feel is necessary for the way my paints are going that day (it takes some practice to know just how much I need to wring them out) then swirl it on the paint until it works into the pasty consistency that I need.

WOW, have I just learned "...there's 10 ways to skin a cat"! Here's 4 of them:
1-When I 1st started I did what Lisa Joy Young suggested on her videos. Spritz the cake & sponge, then tap the paint on w/sponge.(She also spritzed her cakes for paint brushing but an experienced FP'ing friend said to dip brush in water & laying brush down, swipe back & forth on cake to load.)
2-Forgot my spritzing bottle @ one birthday party & had to dip my sponges gently in water. Worked, but way too much wringing out for me, even though I barely touched the water. Perry, Wolfe Bros do it all the time...so, whatever works, huh?
3-Took an all day PRE-class yesterday w/Mark Reid @ FABAIC. He advised spritzing the cake ONLY (using a spray bottle that gives you a mist...mine's from the $1 store & he said it was good). To load his sponge he holds his index finger along the back of the sponge & quickly drags it across the cake towards himself. When he sponges on, he pulls up the edge of the sponge slightly to give it a faded (not clean line) edge. For small, contoured edges, he would dip the sponge in water, like the Wolfe Bros.(never did it all day)
4-Just an FYI. Mark Reid also instructed us to wet the sponge only, not the cake. RE: brushes...Instead of laying down the brush & wiping side to side, he suggested dragging the brush towards you to pick up more paint quickly. He advised your brush will last longer if you don't mash the point into the paint, but drag the length of the brush towards you. This will also completly load your brush & you'll reload less often.

No, the Wolfe brothers dip just a tiny little tip of the sponge into the water and squeeze it out... I dunk the whole darn thing and half my hand as well!! My hands are always a disaster at the end of a long day of face painting.

Perry, If you make me laugh & spit out my morning coffee or evening tea ONE MORE TIME!!!! Actually, dipping the corner of the sponge is what I meant but I write like I talk...A LOT! So I usually go over it before I post to try & be less wordy. (I KNOW...my posts are STILL too long!)

you know just like I can't settle on a brand of paint I can't settle on one method of adding water.

I have dunked and wrung, diped a little bit, spritzed both sponge only or cake only or both , driped water from a brush (no dripper bottle) all depending on what I am doing.

I tend to generally go along the lines of a spritz method of some sort with the tag,dfx,wolfe.
dunk or drip methods with the paradise,Kryolan,Snaz and I too dunk the whole thing and wring.

and that sodding neon rainbow I spritz both the sponge and the cake till it is happy enough to be spritz sponge only -after about 3 to 4, the neons seem almost impervious to water at times, and probebly a no no for a split cake- but again it works for me.

I also choose sponges brushes, and paint type based on what I am doing. I suggest try them all till you find what works for you.

I think we should just throw the towel in...

Just spritz our sponges with vodka, suck it up and call it a day.

Sounds a like a plan to me...

How about spritzing the vodka directly in...skip the middle man.

D.

Stop it!!!! Your making me laugh too loud...I'm gonna wake the hubby up!!!!