Asaro is a master of using value shapes to apply and exaggerate color.įor example, note how the darkest darks (A), like the hair and shadow are consistently blue. On the right is the painting and swatches in black and white. The swatches on the left are the colors that I picked out. Once the values are working, then we can begin to apply skin color. This means the shapes, values and edges must read, or communicate, “human being” before the colors can be considered. ![]() So that means, to make the colors look and feel “real” or “natural”, the rendering and values must first be addressed. Especially in realist/representational art, getting the value right in a rendering is critical to the success of the painting. Value is one of the most important properties of color and skin is no exception. The key to getting the most out of this information is application and of course consistent practice and experience. Since the tips compliment each other so well, their order not that important. The 5 tips are not arranged in any particular order, although the last tip is the most important in my opinion. Studying the work of experts is a great way to improve so I wanted to include that here. These are artists that I admire and have personally studied over the last few years. To help demonstrate these ideas I’ve also included examples from master painters and colorist that I admire. They are not meant to be hard, “written in stone” rules, but simply ideas and strategies that have helped me to simplify and manage the awesome complexity of color. These 5 tips are simple strategies I’ve learned and developed over the last few years observing and studying color and also from hundreds of hours painting figures and portraits. Again, it’s so much the individual color but how the colors are used and how they shift and transition. Note how the brown shifts and transitions from darker versions, to saturated to grey. When I paint dark skin, like African, Latin or South Asian, brown is an obvious starting point. This image shows a dark skinned male and the various colors I picked from the photo. Finally, a darker, more saturated reddish-brown can be easily mixed by adding a dark red, like Alizarin Crimson and less white (D). A darker, more saturated mix is created by adding more orange, more blue and less white (C). With the center, orange brown, a cooler version is created by adding blue and white (B). On the left, a lighter grey-brown is mixed along with a lighter, more saturated yellow-brown (A). These swatches show more combinations and variations of brown that can be mixed. Again, the secret is the shifting or transitioning from one color to another. ![]() Any and all of these colors can be used a base for skin. This image shows various swatches of brown, ranging from yellow-brown, to orange-brown to a reddish-brown. So, in other words, when I begin to paint skin I generally start with some type of a brown. When all three primaries are mixed, the result is some sort of brown. It’s more of an emphasis or restatement of the first property above. Starting with brown isn’t really a property. ![]() Property #2: When in doubt, start with Brown More importantly, note how the colors seamlessly transition and shift from one to another. ![]() Note the various yellows, reds and even blues (greys). This image above shows a breakdown of the colors I see in this photograph. For example, Ultramarine blue is a commonly used blue that creates cooler, darker mixtures. The darker, flesh tones are created by adding more blue to darken and desaturate the mix (B). This diagram shows some color variations that can be made by adjusting the ratio of red, yellow and blue (A). This is because blue pulls or shifts the warm orangey colors towards grey. Notice, how these tones are closer to the desaturated center (greys) of the color wheel. The diagram above shows 3 versions of skin color created by combining all 3 primaries and a white to lighten. Adding more red and less blue creates a warm, reddish skin tone. This desaturated mixture can then be lightened or darkened to make an infinite range of colors that can be used to paint human skin.įor example, more yellow and more blue creates a cool, yellow skin tone. When blue is added to the mixture, the orange becomes desaturated (more grey). To adjust the temperature, simply add a greater ratio of one the primaries. When red and yellow are mixed, the result is a saturated orange. Sounds obvious and oversimplified, but allow me to elaborate. Skin color is essentially a combination of all 3 primaries: red, yellow and blue. There is no such thing as a “skin” color. View Online Course Chapter 1 – Properties of Skin Color
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