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navateSKIN: a tutorial - Part 1

Published: 2009-11-21 15:24:08 +0000 UTC; Views: 578702; Favourites: 16743; Downloads: 18309
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Description UPDATE 7/31/2011: I've uploaded a slightly revised version. Content is still the same.
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This tutorial is very extensive and will be published in (at least) four parts.

IN THIS SECTION:
Skin basics: A simple but in-depth look that expands beyond the usual shadow-midtone-highlight formula, and how to use each tonal range most effectively.

SECTION II: Skin tones. how to apply the basic formula to light, medium, dark, and fantasy skin tones.

COMING SOON:
SECTION III: Background color and ambient light. How surrounding colors affect skin.
SECTION IV: Building a skin tone, blending and texturing. The technical section showing how to paint skin start to finish.
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This tutorial uses mostly digital work as examples, but the theory behind it should apply to ALL mediums. But of course it goes without saying that this is hardly the end-all-be-all of skin painting tutorials. Just my way of thinking about it.

I tried to make this accessible for artists of all skill levels. Intermediate artists will probably benefit the most. Beginners will probably find some of the principles discussed difficult to put into practice. But don’t be frustrated! The only “secret” to being a good painter is practice. And hopefully even advanced painters will be able to glean something useful.

Also-- this should go without saying, but I will say it anyway: the ONLY WAY to learn how to paint/draw anything well, let alone realistically, is to STUDY COLOR THEORY AND FORM. All the stuff I blather on about in this tutorial is meaningless unless you take the initiative to learn the fundamentals of color and figure drawing.
Color theory resources can be found HERE .

Please, any questions, concerns, criticisms, etc: comment below.

Thanks so much for the DD!


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Comments: 734

Crida [2011-08-17 22:41:40 +0000 UTC]

This tutorial is phantastic! Thank you so much!!!

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VirusLEX [2011-08-16 00:51:25 +0000 UTC]

thank you for this tut..♥_♥

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IkemenX [2011-08-15 14:10:28 +0000 UTC]

thanks for sharing knowledge~

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SailorSun546 [2011-08-15 06:36:22 +0000 UTC]

This is by far the best skin tutorial I have ever read. I'm always too scared to use multiple colors for skin because I don't like to mess up, but I always have been deeply disappointed in my work as a result. Your tutorial really does a wonderful job of explaining why we need so many colors, and I willing to dare to try! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge, I'm sure I'm not the only one who is grateful for this tutorial.

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SkarValidus [2011-08-13 13:33:04 +0000 UTC]

Hey! I thought I'd let you know that I read over this (and pt II, of course!) a couple times before starting my last painting. It gave me a much better sense of skin painting. Thanks!

And here's the portrait, if you're wanting to see it: [link]

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navate In reply to SkarValidus [2011-08-14 20:55:58 +0000 UTC]

Looks great! I'm glad my tutorials helped

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SkarValidus In reply to navate [2011-08-14 21:08:18 +0000 UTC]

And I'll have you know that I'm absolutely dying for parts 3 and 4

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bungo101 [2011-08-09 02:20:50 +0000 UTC]

very good tutorial, thanks for this

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Buzzhub [2011-08-06 08:49:14 +0000 UTC]

Oh I Adore you're ARt really love it. I really tried to wathc this and paint at the same time but I canät do light good . Soo frustrating, some tips you can give me? You can if you have time look at my painting in my art gallery.is the first one I'we done for my whole lifetime .

But I have to say that I really love you're ART so MUCH <3. You are the best <3

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navate In reply to Buzzhub [2011-08-06 16:40:07 +0000 UTC]

You just need to keep practicing. You will get better if you keep trying. It takes time to learn.

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NyanQueen [2011-08-03 08:40:54 +0000 UTC]

I've been desperately needing something like this! Thank you so very much for sharing this! Going directly into my folder!

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AutumnEmbers [2011-08-01 03:08:01 +0000 UTC]

I think you mean 2011. You typed 2001. ^_^;

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navate In reply to AutumnEmbers [2011-08-01 06:13:12 +0000 UTC]

Haha! A constant typo. Thanks for pointing it out.

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AutumnEmbers In reply to navate [2011-08-01 21:12:16 +0000 UTC]

Haha it's okay. I still sometimes write 2010. And you're welcome.

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BubbleTea19 [2011-07-28 00:26:44 +0000 UTC]

I'm struggling with skin painting and this tutorial helped uncover some of the 'mystery' of correct skin painting. Thank you so much!

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BrandyJCox [2011-07-12 09:40:32 +0000 UTC]

What do you apply first, shadows, or highlights?

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navate In reply to BrandyJCox [2011-07-12 12:24:35 +0000 UTC]

Create the form with the shadows and mid-tones during the sketch stage, then blend the highlight colors on top.

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BrandyJCox In reply to navate [2011-07-12 19:31:48 +0000 UTC]

Thanks so much! I often find myself adding shadows and highlights first, and then wondering why it still looks so flat. I'm using your tutorial to draw an octopus. You've gotta' start somewhere, right? Haha! Hopefully this time I'll produce something that I like enough to put on this dang website.

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JessiJellibean In reply to ??? [2011-07-08 20:39:01 +0000 UTC]

Wow, you are amazing. Thank you for sharing all your amazing knowledge in such a presentable, professional way. I'll be sure to look into and use your tutorials for future reference. I can't thank you enough. This is perfect. <3

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satindog In reply to ??? [2011-07-07 01:05:05 +0000 UTC]

Thanks...very helpful guides.

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orugosa [2011-07-02 23:26:54 +0000 UTC]

Awesome thanks <3

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HannahMahna [2011-06-25 08:27:58 +0000 UTC]

Thank you for the great tutorial!

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JackVinehopper [2011-06-21 20:47:14 +0000 UTC]

Great tutorial.

I used it here:

[link]

I'm trying to get better at skin painting as you can tell.
I would love your suggestions and advice.

Thanks in advance

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minifoot [2011-06-19 07:53:36 +0000 UTC]

Absolutely fantastic, just what I've been looking for. Thanks!

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WillGArt [2011-06-17 10:39:52 +0000 UTC]

Great tutorial. Just wanted to ask, if I have a greyscale pic that i want to colour, like the sphere you have done, what layer properties do u advise for each tone?

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navate In reply to WillGArt [2011-06-19 00:05:14 +0000 UTC]

Sorry, I can't help as I've never colorized a grayscale image. Some artists work this way but it seems like a how lot of extra work for no reason. I immediately start with color and use no special layer properties. For the sphere I worked backwards: painted it in color then converted it to grayscale to use as an example.

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WillGArt In reply to navate [2011-06-19 07:29:13 +0000 UTC]

Ah k kl, thanx anyway

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Sun-SinAngel [2011-06-08 11:25:32 +0000 UTC]

thanks for this tutorial, this is very helpful

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Basike-Crowolf [2011-06-07 13:10:44 +0000 UTC]

really usefull, thanks for sharing

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epicpoodle [2011-06-06 21:22:33 +0000 UTC]

Fantastic. The insights about saturation alone were a revelation. Off to read part II!

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yehcole [2011-05-22 18:40:34 +0000 UTC]

It's very kind of you to make a tutorial with all these details. I'm sure you took time and pay attention to make this tutorial and I'm always glad to see how generous some deviantartists could be. It will surely help me for my drawing on this site but also for my art classes . Thank you so much !

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DustyFrames [2011-05-15 09:37:18 +0000 UTC]

Invaluable. thank you so much for sharing such detailed wisdom ::::::

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Caraphae [2011-05-12 06:16:56 +0000 UTC]

You are amazingly generous to share all this time and knowledge! Thank you SO much- I'll try to use it in my very next piece!

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CGEB [2011-05-11 08:00:16 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much, this is going to be so helpful to me and many others Im sure. Can't wait for the IV building skin tones tutorial.

Thanks again for sharing this.

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ruiruii [2011-05-11 05:54:38 +0000 UTC]

Thank you! This was extremely helpful. I got my very first tablet not too long ago, and I've been driven mad by how hard it is (for me at least) to paint realistic skin. This should help loads. c:

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3maarkhan [2011-05-02 06:51:31 +0000 UTC]

Do u have tut on shading?

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navate In reply to 3maarkhan [2011-05-06 18:27:09 +0000 UTC]

I will go over basic blending in the next parts of the tutorial, but shading in itself is something you learn from practicing your hand/eye coordination and studying form.

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3maarkhan In reply to navate [2011-05-07 08:49:29 +0000 UTC]

i look forward to it. what i don't get it how does one color merges into another making transaction of colors smooth

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navate In reply to 3maarkhan [2011-05-07 20:49:03 +0000 UTC]

Try experimenting with traditional media to practice blending colors. Use colored pencils or acrylics. I'm not sure how to describe how to blend because it's a bit automatic for me at this point. It's something you have to practice. I just use light pressure (or low opacity, for digital) to blend colors.

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3maarkhan In reply to navate [2011-05-28 15:40:40 +0000 UTC]

so i made this. after reading lots of tuts. let me know what is missing [link]

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Zoey04 In reply to ??? [2011-05-01 22:51:33 +0000 UTC]

Oh wow this is going to be a really big help to me! Thanks so much for making this

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Piicasso [2011-04-19 20:56:58 +0000 UTC]

this is SO FREAKINGLY PRETTY.

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KnightravenStudios In reply to ??? [2011-04-17 06:45:52 +0000 UTC]

Ugh! You freaking rock! People try to teach skin tone tutorials and it just doesn't break it down enough, I still didn't understand *why* I was being told to do what I was. This break down is wonderful, I swear I just felt the light bulb flash on. XD

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orbisaur1 [2011-03-31 05:25:24 +0000 UTC]

cool!

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Pit-of-Darkness In reply to ??? [2011-03-28 22:46:06 +0000 UTC]

Thank you

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saieki In reply to ??? [2011-03-20 16:11:26 +0000 UTC]

You ARE saving my life... I love you! anyway, this seems to be the best tuto for skin color I've seen. I'm going to try to understand everything (not my fault if I was born french, is it?) but it looks already like a great one! Thanks!

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Nazek [2011-03-12 10:19:02 +0000 UTC]

i cant say enough how much inspire me as an artist. thank you so much for taking the time to make and share this!

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cristantenora In reply to ??? [2011-03-08 17:26:48 +0000 UTC]

awesome!

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orgenavarro In reply to ??? [2011-03-07 04:39:06 +0000 UTC]

I love it! Thanks for sharing!

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corpsechild In reply to ??? [2011-03-01 20:50:35 +0000 UTC]

Thank you for this, hopefully I can put some of these tips to use soon. I've always been baffled by colouring skin properly.

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