EASY WAY OF SKIN TONE MIXING AND BLENDING WITH ACRYLIC ON CANVAS BY DEBOJYOTI BORUAH, by Debojyoti Boruah Art on YouTube. 15 min 59 s.
- Video length
- 15 min 59 s
- Time to do it
- 2 hours
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Steps
- 10
What you need
Steps
Coat the canvas board with a thin layer of gesso and let it dry fully. This gives the paint a smooth surface to grip.
Sketch the head and shoulders lightly, then block in the shadows and shapes with burnt umber mixed with a little white. Keep this underpainting loose.
Cover the sketch with an undertone of burnt sienna and yellow ochre. This warms the skin before you add the real colours.
Mix your base skin tone on the palette. Start with titanium white, add a touch of yellow ochre and burnt sienna, then a tiny amount of ultramarine or cobalt blue to cool it.
Test the mix on a scrap of canvas against your reference. Adjust with more white for lighter areas or more burnt sienna for deeper tones.
Apply the skin tone in thin layers, building from shadow to light. Let each layer dry before adding the next.
Blend the edges with a dry brush and very little water. Work the brush in small strokes where two tones meet.
Paint the lips with crimson lake and scarlet lake, adding white for highlights and burnt umber for the shadow line.
Block in the beard and hair with burnt umber and ultramarine, then add lighter strands with yellow ochre and white.
Fill the background last with a flat colour or simple gradient so the face stands out.
Tips and common mistakes
Keep water to a minimum for blending. Too much water thins the acrylic and lifts the layer below.
Build skin in several thin layers instead of one thick coat. Thick paint cracks and looks flat.
Add blue in tiny amounts. A little cools a tone, but too much turns skin grey or green.
Let each layer dry before blending over it, or the colours will smear together.
Questions
Do I need a retarder to blend acrylic skin tones?
No. This method uses water only. Blending is done with a dry brush and thin layers, so the paint stays workable long enough.
Which colours do I need for skin tones?
A basic set is titanium white, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, burnt umber and a blue such as ultramarine. Crimson and scarlet lake help with lips and warm areas.
Can I do this on paper instead of canvas?
Yes, heavy acrylic paper works, but canvas board holds thin layers better. Gesso the surface first either way.
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.
