‫I'm just going to quickly clear the dried pant off my palette, I'm keeping steps like this in the edit
‫for this course because I want you to see how often I do it.
‫Good habits are one of the cornerstones of being a successful painter, and repetition is the best way
‫to form a habit.
‫I'm going to approach the skin tone in the same order as I did on the first coat, so I'll move a bit
‫faster through this one.
‫But rest assured, I'll slow down for any new information or color changes I do in this coat that differs
‫from the last one.
‫I'll bring in a section of the photo reference and start mixing the color.
‫It looks like it's about 1st or 2nd value.
‫So I'll start with a combination of these two colors.
‫It looks a bit yellow on top and it gets redder on the bottom, so keep that in mind when you're mixing
‫your values.
‫This coat is where the subtleties will really be visible.
‫So be sure to give your paint mixtures that added attention.
‫I think this color needs to be warmer, but not yellower, so I'm picking up some Burnt Umber to add
‫to my mixture. And doing that will bring it up about a half a value, which I think it needs as well.
‫Next, I want to soften the edge of her eyelid into the background, so I'll pick up some 4th value.
‫Remember, that's the placeholder color I'm using for the background until I mix a blue scale.
‫Again, I'm holding my brush in an awkward way for the sake of this video.
‫It should always be held so that you're pulling towards you.
‫But as you can see, if I hold the brush this way, I would be in the way of the camera.
‫You can turn your illustration board.
‫If I kept turning mine
‫This video would look like chaos.
‫This shape is next.
‫I'll begin with 1st value Yellow. I'll mix a color for the shadow, using a little Burnt Umber and some
‫2nd value from the Red scale.
‫Again, it's being cast from the frame of the glasses, which are relatively far away.
‫So its edges should be soft.
‫I'll fill in the shape to the right of the shadow next, just take it one step at a time.
‫I need to finish softening this line here on the side, so I'll pick up more 4th value to fill in
‫the surrounding background, then blend the lines. It starts to get Redder and a bit darker as I move
‫to the right.
‫So I'll pick up some 2nd value from the Red scale.
‫I'm mixing a color for this dark line, starting with some Burnt Umber and I'll use 2nd value Red
‫to lighten it up a bit.
‫Moving on to the next shape and remember to continue fixing the outlines of the features as you progress,
‫for example, the shape of her eyelid is too pronounced.
‫So I'll adjust it with some 1st value from the Red scale.
‫I'm picking up most of my colors from the Red scale right now because, as you know, the area around
‫the eye tends to be on the Red side.
‫OK, I'll move to the top lip of the eyelid next.
‫A mix of color for the shadow next, starting with Burnt Umber and I'll add a little 3rd value Red to
‫balance it out and lighten it up slightly. Maybe even a little 4th value.
‫If you look closely at the shadow, you'll see it's actually very Red, almost Maroon.
‫I'll test it out and see how it looks.
‫I think it's a little too dark.
‫I'll try mixing a little 1st value right into it.
‫I don't want to mix any Yellow into this value, but white will react with the Alizerine crimson to give
‫it that "Maroon" color. Still dark...
‫I'll lighten it up some more.
‫That's better. Getting a color right is often trial and error, and as always, I want to show you my
‫errors and explain my thought process to help you better understand not just what I'm doing, but why
‫I'm doing it, and to remind you that you don't have to be perfect.
‫I'll pick up a value on the lighter end of the spectrum to fill in the top lip of the eyelid next.
‫And mixing a similar value for the area below it.
‫I think 2nd value Red should work for the shape below the shadow. Maybe darken it slightly with
‫some of the paint from the blend I mixed earlier.
‫Soften the line into the shadow above it and be sure to adjust the line of the frames wherever it's
‫needed, make sure it's perfectly straight.
‫Just fill the shape in with it's average value first. Once that's in, I'll come back in with a lighter
‫value and soften in these three lighter spots.
‫Doing it this way will look more natural because these spots are only about a half a value lighter and
‫they have no discernible outline or shape.
‫I think it can be even lighter.
‫Just keep adding 1st value until it reaches its desired range.
‫I think that looks better.
‫There's much more form to this shape now.
‫I just want to give you a quick explanation of what I'm doing here.
‫This is a complex little area.
‫So I've painted this upper eyelid, all one average value like what I just did with the shape beneath
‫the shadow.
‫My plan is to let it dry, then come back in and paint in the lighter shapes.
‫I'm painting on some more of the color I've been using for the shadow to re-wet the paint.
‫And then I'll use some 2nd value to lighten it on the right. As you can see in the photo reference,
‫it gets lighter near the corner of her eye.
‫Once the underlying value and gradient is in, you can bring in the texture of her skin. And remember
‫texture isin the highlight.
‫So I'll pick up some 1st value and dab in the specs where the pores and oils in her skin are picking
‫up the light.
‫With that done and now the paint on the eyelid is dry,
‫I'm left with this final triangle shape.and the very subtle light shapes on the lower eyelid. Both
‫of which look like they're on the Yellow side of the skin tone spectrum.
‫So I'll start with 2nd value Yellow and incrementally add 2nd value Red
‫to balance it.
‫I'll begin with the shape on the lip of the eyelid.
‫It's very soft and less than a half of a value lighter.
‫And with that same paint on my brush, I'll begin filling in the triangle.
‫I'm softening it into the shadow beneath it. And if you look closely, you'll see that the lip of the
‫eyelid is just an extension of this triangle.
‫And I'll use 2nd value for this line in mid-tone in the corner of her eye.
‫Finally, I want to add texture to the area around her bottom eyelashes, I'll mix a color between 1st
‫and 2nd value Red for this and making sure my paint is diluted, I'll dab in the texture of the light,
‫hitting the tiny pores and oils in her skin.
‫Notice it's not 1st value.
‫I don't want the color to be too bright because this isn't the highlight.
‫I'm trying to keep count, but it's pretty complicated.
‫So just get it close.
‫I'll move to the white part of her eye next, and I'm picking up some 1st value for this.
‫Remember, it gets slightly darker on this side of the eyeball, so pick up some 2nd value.
‫You can even go as dark as 3rd value and add a little pink in there.
‫That's a bit dark, I'll lighten it up.
‫Paint around the highlight in the corner and keep reshaping anything in the area that needs to be adjusted.
‫Finally, I'll paint in the highlight.
‫Be sure to use thick paint for this.
‫No need to dilute it with medium.
‫Next, they'll switch to a 1/4 inch angular shader and begin working on her forehead. So I'll bring
‫in a different section of the photo reference for you to follow along with.
‫I'll have to move the image down a bit to fit as well.
‫I'll approach this the same way I did on the first coat, starting with 1st value from the Yellow
‫scale and Burn Umber mixed with a little Red.
‫Please forgive that my hand is in the way here.
‫The important thing to take away from this application is that I'm using an X-shaped brushstroke.
‫The value gets lighter towards the middle, so I'm mixing some 1st value Red and Yellow without
‫any Burnt
‫Umber.
‫Again, I know my hand is in the way, it's because I'm standing up to do this.
‫It's exactly the same as the first coat.
‫I think this color should be warmer, so I'm adding more Burnt Umber and 1st value Yellow.
‫This area in between her brow should stay on the other side as well.
‫The highlight on her forehead is made up of the texture of her skin, but I'm not going to paint in
‫every pore like I did on the eye.
‫I just want to average the value out and let the brushstrokes define the texture.
‫That'll keep the image feeling painterly.
‫The reason I don't want to get too detailed in that area is because I don't want to draw the viewer's
‫eye to a flat spot on my subject's forehead.
‫But this is a large highlight.
‫So I still want the paint texture to be interesting. And to achieve that, I'm using some pretty bold
‫X shaped brush strokes. Which incidentally, is why I'm standing up- And why, unfortunately, my hand
‫is in the way for some of this application.
‫Again, bear with me.
‫It'll be out of the way soon.
‫And you're not missing anything important here.
‫Notice I'm picking up more and more Burnt Umber and mixing it into my pants as I move to the right because
‫the value gets darker and the color gets warmer closer to a brown.
‫You could be using a larger brush for this, you could even go as large as a 1/2 inch angular shader.
‫It really depends on how much texture you want to have in your painting.
‫Personally, I prefer the texture of a smaller brush.
‫When you get to here, your color should be about 20% Burnt Umber.
‫Then notice how much Gray in this area.
‫That effect is because of the fine tiny hairs and pores on the side of her head picking up light. Paint
‫over that for now.
‫I'll show you how to get that texture in the detail coat.
‫I'm going to leave that as is for now, it's starting to dry and I don't want to over blend it and have
‫the paint start to come up.
‫Next, I'll move down to these shapes between the frames.
‫I'm using the Red scale, because this area so close to her nose that it should be on the redder side.
‫And notice that this shape is slightly lighter than the shape I just filled in.
‫This shadow's next. Again, I'm doing this in the same order and using more or less the same colors and
‫values as I did on the first coat, so I'll pick up some 5th value Red and mix in some Burnt Umber-
‫maybe a little Second value Red to lighten it up.
‫And because it's on the Red side, I think it needs to be a bit lighter and grayer.
‫That's much better.
‫I'll move over one shape to the right and remember to make any adjustments to the outline of the frame
‫of the glasses while filling this area in.
‫I think it should be a bit brighter and warmer in there, so I'll lighten it a bit with some 1st value
‫Yellow.
‫Make sure the edge of this shadow is soft.
‫Look how far away it is from the bar that's casting it.
‫So in order to create the illusion of depth and distance you want to achieve, it's important to take
‫your time and manage your edges, especially in a complex area like this.
‫I'll pick up the same combination of 5th value Red, Burnt Umber and some 4th value Grey to mix
‫into the color for the shadow.
‫A rule to shadows is to keep them all consistent.
‫In fact, that's one of the cardinal rules of portrait painting.
‫The color of your shadows should always match.
‫In other words, if you mix blue into one shadow, you should mix blue and all of them.
‫Even if you don't see that happening in your photo reference! remember, it's your job to make your
‫painting better than the photo, NOT just COPY it.
‫That kind of color continuity is what makes a masterpiece.
‫It's a new concept to you, so it'll take some time to learn and see,
‫But every little bit is a step towards mastering color technique.
‫Before I progressed any further, I've noticed that my first value Yellow pile has completely run dry,
‫so I'm going to quickly clear the excess off my palette and put down a new pile.
‫OK, I'm going to jump down to the lower half of her face next and skip her nose for now.
‫As usual, I'm going to work my way from left to right, starting with a neutral, grey background to
‫the left of her cheek.
‫I believe that was 4th value.
‫I'm just filling in the area right next to her cheek, then I'll put down some skin tone and soften
‫the edge.
‫That was way too dark- I'll lighten it was some 1st value.
‫I'm going to leave the rest of this shape as is for now, I plan on mixing a muted blue color to fill
‫it in during the next round of color.
‫Starting at this point, I'm going to begin leaning towards the Yellow scale again, but first I'm going
‫to fill in the shadow being cast on her cheek by the glasses again.
‫Notice I'm keeping the combination from my shadow color the same as the rest of the shadows around
‫the glasses. Burnt Umber, 4th value Grey and 4th value Red.
‫And remember to soften the edge. I've switched to a 1/4 inch angular shader and have begun transitioning
‫in some 1st value from the Yellow scale while the paint on her cheek is still wet.
‫I'm mixing a combination of Burnt Umber, 1st value Yellow and a little 2nd value Red to balance it.
‫Be sure to redefine the edge of the bottom of the frames as you fill in the gradient.
‫Once you get to about here, start bringing in that 2nd value Yellow again.
‫The shadow should be lighter, and I think it needs some Burnt Umber and a little Grey to neutralize
‫it a bit.
‫OK, that looks good.
‫I'm going to take a break and let that dry before I move on to her right eye so I don't put my hand
‫in wet paint.