Blood Red Airbrush Color?

The Problem:

So I am making a cake for a birthday and need to get a deep blood red color for my airbrush. I am making a gothic style cake so think really deep blood red. I am having problems creating the red I want. Does anyone know any color combinations, brands, or techniques to achieve this color?

What I am trying for:

The idea for the cake is gothic. There are going to be blood red roses, perhaps tinged with black on the edges, deep purple butterflies and black filler flowers. We are also making little human bones and skulls. There is going to be some intricate lace piping along the cake as well.

What I have tried so far:

I have Amerimist airbrush colors. I have tried using their Holiday Red red. I don't like it because its really obnoxious and a bit orange. I have tried mixing various other Amerimist colors into it but all I get is brown. No, literally anything mixed with red (including blue) makes brown. I have tried airbrushing straight up red onto the flower, letting that dry and then spraying black or some other color on top. Guess what color I got? Yup, brown!

I have had this problem with other Amerimist colors, where the typical color wheel rules dont apply. Is there a brand that does not have this problem?

I need this cake by the 20th so any help will be appreciated. Thanks!

 

You should be able to get dark red colors in food coloring at cake supply stores/bakery supply stores, or even at some hobby stores that carry baking supplies. If not, you can definitely order it online from any of the food coloring manufacturers that make food coloring for baking.

If you want to make your own, then I would use the red you have and put a tiny bit of black in it.
Depending on what shade of red you want, you can make it darker by adding dark brown, black, dark grey, or even purple. You will have to experiment with the colors though, to get what you want.

If you already have liquid black and liquid red for your spray gun, then go onto the manufacturers website and see if they have a color chart. Most all companies who make food coloring for public use have color charts available online, so you have the "recipes" for making special colors.

Hope that helps.


And please post a picture of your cake when you are done!

 

Thank you for your response and I will post a pic. Unfortunately I have tried mixing my airbrush colors together. They do not seem willing to conform to the color wheel rules because, as you said, black and red should make a deeper red. Red and purple should make a richer more purple red. But because, well who knows really, whenever I mix anything with red I get brown. Every time, red turns to brown.
I had this problem with my last cake too. Blue, no matter what I did to it turned a greenish blue. Blue and white, blue and purple, blue and black, blue and blue. Everything turned the awful greenish blue in varying shades. After much wrestling and wasted color I managed to accomplish what I wanted.
I checked and americolor does not have a chart unfortunately. I have considered using gel colors that are diluted but I am very hesitant as I don't want to gum up my airbrush.
Thanks so much again.

 

Hmmm, ok.

Well, the manufacturer must be using a type of coloring that cannot be mixed together. Some companies do this so you CANNOT mix your own colors, you have to BUY the colors you want from THEM. A cheaters way on how to make more money. This is also probably why they don't have a color recipe chart.

One "trick" that does work SOMETIMES.............
Spray your base color on the area you want colored...in this case red.
Let dry.
Then lightly spray your diluting color...in this case black or blue, purple, grey, etc....
Let dry.
Then spray on another layer of base color.
Let dry.

I did that a few times to some cakes with buttercream frosting. It worked, but didn't actually look like I wanted. But it worked. The customers didn't complain though. But I'm one of those people who is a harsh critic on themselves, as I expect my cakes to turn out exactly how I picture them in my head.

You would have to test this out on a cupcake or sample frosting you are using before doing it to a cake.
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No diluting gels, solid paste, or any other food coloring media might work, but when I tested this option once, it made more of a mess than anything, as it spattered all over the place instead of on the cake. I had to scrape the frosting off the cake and redo the whole thing. I was livid.
LOL

I would suggest ordering the color you want, or trying to get it from a supply store.

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There are a couple of other methods to getting color on cake, but I would have to show you...it's not something that can be explained properly in words.