Color Mixing with Oils: Part 2

Color Mixing Chart Part 2: Flesh tones

This article is a collection of the various mixes I’ve used over the years for painting flesh tones on my figures. I can not take credit for coming up with any of these mixes. They are ones I’ve learned of through various articles, Shep Paine’s painting class and from several friends in the hobby. The most I’ve done is make some minor changes in quantities or color shades to suit my preference.

I’ve had varying degrees of success with each mix. Each has good and bad points. I’ve listed them in the order that I used them, earliest to latest. The latest is my favorite so far. I’ve included pictures that show my results with each mix. Everything listed here represents something I tried on at least 1 figure. This is only what worked for me. There are lots of better painters out there with lots of better ideas.

I hope that you find this article useful and enjoyable.

Craig
“Mongo Mel”

Note: Unless noted, all paints are Winsor & Newton. Also, The Gold Ochre listed should not be confused with either Gold Ochre Transparent or Yellow Ochre.

The term “paint for average” means that I paint the entire area with this color mix. Then, while the paint is wet, I paint in the shadows and blend to suit. Then I paint the highlights and blend to suit. After the paint is dry, I usually go back and redo the shadows and highlights, using a very small amount of paint and get more of a “glazing” effect.

I generally haven’t listed quantities or proportions for mixing because I don’t keep track of them. I just keep mixing until it looks right to me. Sometimes a mix will look fine on the palette paper, but look terrible on the figure. When this happens, I try to fix it on the figure by adding small dots of the needed color and blending it throughout. If that doesn’t work, I just wipe it off and start over.

Copyright ©2002 - Text and Photos by Craig Whitaker. All Rights Reserved.