Dr. Lin Yu-tang summed up the art of face painting as follows: "Nearly all characters in the repertory have their established masks, whose purpose is primarily to emphasize certain traits of character.
但鉛粉對皮膚有侵蝕性，因此要混入蜂蜜、蛋清，蒸煮一番，才可用來抹臉。底打妥後，由眉往下畫，顏色則由淺而深；像畫畫一樣，也注重筆鋒、筆力，其中功力，自然也立見分曉。