Painting Skin Tones: PORTRAIT PAINTING TECHNIQUES IN ACRYLIC for beginner, by CLIVE5ART on YouTube. 10 min 40 s.
- Video length
- 10 min 40 s
- Time to do it
- 20 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 8
What you need
Steps
Squeeze out small amounts of cadmium red, cadmium yellow, yellow ochre, burnt umber and titanium white. Keep them apart on the palette so you can adjust each one.
Mix a base flesh colour from roughly two parts white to one part yellow ochre and a touch of cadmium red. Stir until the colour is even.
Add a little cadmium yellow to warm the mix, or a small dot of burnt umber to darken and mute it. Add in tiny amounts and mix fully each time.
Test the colour on a scrap of canvas or paper. Compare it with your reference photo in daylight rather than under a warm lamp.
For lighter skin, increase the white and reduce the red. For deeper skin, start with more burnt umber and raw sienna and less white.
Cool the mix with a tiny amount of cerulean or ultramarine blue if the tone looks too orange. Blue also helps create shadow colours.
Mix a separate darker version of the same skin tone for shadows and a lighter version for highlights. Keep all three on the palette.
Block in the face with the mid tone first, then add shadows and highlights. Blend the edges while the acrylic is still wet.
Tips and common mistakes
Add dark colours a little at a time, since it is much harder to lighten a mix than to darken it.
Skin is never one flat colour, so vary the mix slightly across the face for cheeks, nose and shadows.
Keep the palette damp with a wet palette or a sprayed paper towel so the acrylic does not dry out.
Work in daylight where possible, because indoor bulbs change how skin tones look.
Questions
Can I mix skin tones with just red, yellow and white?
Yes, a basic mix of red, yellow and white gives a usable flesh tone. Adding ochre, umber or a little blue makes it more natural and less orange.
How do I make the skin tone darker without making it muddy?
Use burnt umber or raw sienna rather than black. Black greys the mix quickly, while earth colours keep the warmth.
Do I need the full list of paints in the description?
No. A handful of warm colours, white and one blue is enough to start. The creator says you can use any colours you like.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
