I dont know if this is the right subforum for these kind of question. Through the year that i have been painting i have found solutions for most of my problems but something keeps bugging to this day. I cannot get my flesh tones right and i dont know how to improve my skills on this matter. I think i have hit a stalemate since summer. I have watched many video guides on youtube but i must say none of them explain exactly what to do, and a few good guides are on 80mm models and such. Can anyone post a link with good flesh guides or at least some advice, i would appreciate it.
As you can see in my avatar, or for example on this Ghulam doctor, I'm painiting rather tanned miniatures ;) Still if you're interested in rather simple and effective way then I recommend Reaper Master Series paints - they come in triads and it's a nice way to help with shading and highlighting. There are few different color for skin. For example you can purchase Golden Skin + Golden Shadow + Golden Highlight. Then, it's up to you to either use only those three, so basing with Golden Skin, then washing with Shadow and Highlighting. Or to mix'em up, making softer transitions, with few layers of each color. And some bigger shadows and brighter highlights. I'm mixing many colors, but the triads are my base. Plus some brown glazes, some black in recessess. PozdRawiam / Greetings
If color selections is what you want, have them all. Also zenithal priming might help make it easier while you get the hang of it (and afterwards too).
For flesh, I usually mix Tan with either heavy flesh tone or cadmium skin for the base, then a wash of Vallejo fleshtone shade, then I highlight with the base with another drop of cadmium skin, then I do a wash of red on the nose and lips, then I highlight with pure cadmium... just a drop on the nose and some rosy flesh on the lips.
@KedzioR_vo yes, I was thinking of reaper triads as a solution. Thanks for the link. I already prime with 2colors, Black then white, but in my area nobody has any Matt grey primers. @taylor I like the red wash idea
Regardless of what paint line you use, flesh tones can be tricky. Real human skin is highly varied and very complex. You’ll want multiple colors of paint and you should favor rich and complex paints, not ones with just a single simple pigment. That’s a good way to end up with weird Barbie-like skin. Washes are good at adding depth; depending on what sort of a tone I want I might use sepia, a dark brown, or something reddish. You can use different washes on the same base tone to achieve different effects. Many paint lines have a lot more support for European skin tones than other parts of the world, so depending on your target appearance you may find things easier or harder.
For European or East Asian skin tones I've had some success starting with an undercoat of gory red, a thin layer or two of dwarf skin so the red still shows through, leave a little more red on the nose, knees, knuckles etc. Then paint on a couple thin blue veins and freckles, then a thin layer of elf flesh and highlights in white.
My advice for painting flesh tones is not to use flesh coloured paint. No really they are often to saturated or too pale and look wrong. Instead use something like VMC Cork Brown as a base and work up using Dark Sand, Pale sand and Ivory. Only use a single flesh tone as the middle of the blend if you have to use one, VMC Medium Flesh is good for this.
You should read the link you posted. *wink* And maybe I should do a clone & fix in DS with that page (I had to do something time ago, so a bit of BBCode and publishing it would not be too much more). Names, specially with some brands like Vallejo, are just stickers applied (*reads label*wtf*who goes pale green when tanning at the deck?*or lets a ship go green?*).
I meant that particular combo I received that advice a long time ago and has helped, paint names are to be ignored except for reference and archival purposes
