I see all the time on the cake shows on TV, the decorators painting colors on the cakes. Where do the colors come from and how do I make them? I would like to draw on my cakes with edible stuff other than the markers you can buy. Pleaes help. Thanks.

I use gel paste colors and clear vanilla (you can also use vodka)...the alcohol dries quickly without leaving a sticky finish.

I dip a toothpick in the gelpaste and transfer to a color mixing tray (or whatever you have) then add vanilla or vodka..the more you add the less intense the color...just remember not to redip you brush into the vanilla or vodka...it will color it.

I use americolor gels right out of the bottle (squirt a little onto a foam plate for my pallette) and brush it on with a paint brush (used only for cakes)

I've also used airbrush color to brush on, and have also painted with regular buttercream with water added to it to thin it down some. I"ll show you examples of all of them!

Beautiful cakes KHalstead !

Those are lovely. Thanks for the tips!

Thank you to all of you who answered me. I was at a loss as to what to use. I figured it was the gel paste colors but wasn't sure what to mix it with.
Would there be a danger serving a cake painted with vodka colors to children? After all it is alcohol?

The vodka evaporates. That's why we use it instead of water, because it will evaporate quickly enough that the fondant doesn't get soggy. You can use a clear vanilla or lemon extract if you prefer...they have alcohol too but they don't sound as bad to some people If you do a lot of painting, vodka is much cheaper in the long run.

Beautifully painted cakes! Thanks for the tips.

Hello
I didnt know that its possible to pqint from airbrush colors directly from the bottle this sounds easier to me !

I was at a big of a loss the first time i wanted to 'paint' on fondant....so i found edible powders at my local decorators store that come in a huge range of colours - i 'wetted' the powders with vodka then you can mix and paint away. Here's the Tyrannosaurus Rex Head i created for this 3D Dig Out cake with the edible powders

Wow
Great work !
Actually i painted my fondant first time yesterday and not happy with the results, i used vodka on rec color to paint spiderman cake for a 3 tiers superheros cake and the color was uneven, i didnt like the look and becoz was short of time i rolled a new fondant and colored it with gel colors and applied it on top of the other, it took me hell of work to adjust the red color on a 1 kg fondant but yes looked better

I have to figure out where was the problem, the vodka amount, color amount, the brushs or what ...

I'd never heard of them before (and i don't know were you live) but try these edible powder paints if you can...you can add as much vodka as you like to dilute the colour for a wash base, and add it on in thicker strokes to build up colour.

Sorry i meant to say wilton gel colors,
Will look up for the powder colors though i heared that they're even better on flowers by thier own without dilution

I usually do my painting with Americolor Airbrush colors. Love that they are already thinned down.

Your cakes are amazing

AI use powder colours mixed with either quick dry essence or almond essence. Hope this helps. For a shiny finish, I use lustre powder. Hope this helps

WOW!

You are truly an artist and I am very impressed! You should share your techniques on You Tube. 

Slinkee45

You can also use cocoa butter as a base and paint with that.  In that case, the cocoa butter 'sits' on top of the fondant and gives a much more vivid colour usually :-)