How to Design a Sugar Skull
Sugar skulls are an important tradition in the Mexican Day of the Dead celebration. Because Mexico is a sugar producer, the country was rich in sugar when it was poor in everything else. As a result, Mexican Catholics learned to decorate their churches with sugar products during festivals and religious ceremonial occasions. A skull was molded from clay and decorated with colored sugar and then placed on the grave of a loved one.
First: Draw out a basic design
The name of the deceased whom the skull is designed to represent is written across the skull's forehead. Then, details of your choice are filled in across the rest of the design. The designs typically imitate Mexican folk art. Add wide smiles, and draw out each line that you then follow with icing, like creating a map.
Second: Add color
Select multiple bright colors for your sugar skull. Mix a heavy butter cream icing, and use food coloring to make each one of the colors in the palette you have selected. Start with just a couple of drops of food coloring, and add drops to reach the right color. Remember you cannot take color back out if you get it too dark, so go slowly. When all the icing is done, apply it to the skull following the pattern you drew out.
Third: Add embellishments
After the icing is done, you can finalize your design by adding embellishments. Common embellishments include sparkling gems, pearls, gold and others. Use them to mark the eye sockets, add a headdress and more.