How to Paint a Heavy Texture Chaos Cake

Chaos Cakes are intentionally imperfect and whimsical, with unconventional toppers and maximalist designs. A viral trend that's a match made in heaven for our Heavy Texture paint and powerful pigments.

You've been piping and sculpting our frosting-like paint for years, so now you can get freaky with it. Heavy Texture behaves like cake frosting, making it easy for you to create 3D elements with simple paint piping techniques. Prepare to surprise yourself with how much chaos you can control. And remember, DON'T EAT PAINT.

What you will create

A 3D chaos cake on a wood block. It has a light blue-green textured base and piped orange roses made with piping tips. The cake features "dessert" fried eggs with golden yolks and wild green stems. You will learn palette knife, piping bag, and texture color mixing techniques.

Serving Size: 1-3, 4"x4" wood blocks

Time: Painting, 1 hour | Dry time, 8-12 hours or overnight

Materials

Titanium White Heavy Texture, 32 oz
Bismuth Yellow, 2 oz
Light Phthalo Green, 2 oz
Pyrrole Orange, 2 oz
Ultramarine Blue, 2 oz
White Base Coat, 16 oz
#2035 Detail Palette Knife
#2023 Spade Palette Knife
Wheat Straw Paint Tray
4x4" Wood Block
LDPE Paint Piping Bags
#353 XL Star Piping Tip
#123 XL Curved Petal Piping Tip

Step 1

Apply one thick, even layer of base coat to all surfaces on the wood block. Allow to dry for about 30 minutes or touch dry before next layer.

Step 2

Mix 16 oz of titanium white with light phthalo green. Adjust until you reach your desired blue-green hue. Avoid over blending. Leave some streaks to showcase a range of light and dark greens. Load your palette knife with paint and spread it evenly over each side of the block.

Step 3

Drop the star tip into the piping bag. Cut the bag's tip with scissors, pushing the tip through. Mix a pea-sized amount of pyrrole orange with about 2 oz of titanium white texture.

Coat the inside of the piping bag with the orange-pink mix. Open the bag to form a cone with the pink mix. Fill the coated bag with the light blue-green texture mix. Twist the bag tightly to remove air pockets. This helps the paint flow out smoothly.

Paint wave patterns on all sides of the block with a piping bag using even pressure. Twist from the top of the bag as you go to keep the bag taut. If you need more, refill the bag with titanium white texture.

Step 4

Coat inside of a piping bag with a pea size dollop of bismuth yellow. Rub the bag between your hands like you are warming them over a fire. Paint two stripes of pyrrole orange along the seams inside the bag. Fill with 6-8 oz of titanium white.

Hold the bag upright at a corner of the block to create a single petal on top. Pipe alternating petals. Start from the center and overlap each petal with the previous one. Turn the block slightly for each petal.

When you reach the edges, pipe the outer petals. Fan them out by keeping the bag perpendicular to the block.

Step 5

Pipe small white dollops directly onto a tray from the bag. Use a palette knife to smooth them into an oval shape.

For the dessert yolk, mix 3 parts pyrrole orange with 1 part bismuth yellow. Add 2-4 oz of white texture. Adjust the colors to achieve your desired yolk shade. Fill a piping bag with the yolk-colored texture mix.

Cut a hole in the tip of the bag, about the size of a spaghetti strand. Pipe a ball of paint onto each oval egg-white shape.

Step 6

Mix 2–4 oz of white texture with 2:1 bismuth yellow and ultramarine to get a medium green. Then, mix 2:1 bismuth yellow and ultramarine separately to create a yellow-green color without texture.

Use a knife to coat the inside of the piping bag with the light green mix. Rub the bag between your hands to spread the mix evenly. Fill the bag with the medium green mix. Cut a spaghetti-sized hole in the tip of the bag.

To create stems, draw lines with the bag. Keep a steady flow in one smooth motion. Apply pressure from the flower base to the edge of the wood block. Pipe a small ball for the flower bud. Then, without lifting the bag, pull it toward you to form the stem.

Use a fan to dry overnight before moving on to the next step

Step 7

Peel one area of the egg, prying it off the tray with a palette knife. Run your palette knife under the egg to peel from surface.

Use the remaining yellow-orange yolk texture mix as adhesive to apply eggs to the cake. Put a fan on it for about 30 minutes or until dry to touch before proceeding to next step.

Step 8

Dilute each acrylic color with water. Mix well until it’s fluid. Dab the brush in each color and apply highlights to the chaos cake.

Highlights add contrast to certain areas. If any part of your cake seems off or lacks detail, use highlights to add lighter, darker, or more saturated drips.

Pro Tips

Use a plug-in fan or a hair dryer set to cool to speed up dry time.
Practice on your palette. Try techniques there to feel how to handle the bag and create 3D elements. Heavy texture allows for long workability. You can scoop paint from the palette back into the piping bag. Zero waste!
Avoid over mixing. Acrylic colors have a higher pigment concentration. They act like a glaze when spread over heavy texture. This creates greater contrast and interest.

Conclusion

With your new chaos cake skills, you're ready to paint with confidence and creativity. Mix and match Gaffrey paints and piping tips. See how they bring your 3D chaos ideas to life!

We put together a special Heavy Texture Chaos Cake Mix Bundle for this tutorial. It includes all the paints you need to make your own one-of-a-kind chaos cake. And for a limited time, you can snag it for 15% off, plus get a free wood block.

Steal this idea, make it your own, and enter to win $500 in store credit. The perfect combo for our Don't Eat Paint contest. Next Friday, Sept 19, is the deadline. Place your order now to qualify.