While this technique isn’t a universal method for mixing skin tones in every portrait, it can be a helpful starting point, particularly for Alla Prima painting. If you’re a beginner aiming for quick and effective results, practicing with a limited palette to create skin colors can be an excellent way to build your skills and confidence.
The Colors You’ll Need
This technique is very simple, and the key is learning how to create natural-looking skin tones with minimal colors. Here’s all you need:
- Titanium White
- Burnt Sienna
- Ultramarine Blue
That’s it! No additional colors are needed to paint basic skin colors.
Understanding Skin Colors
The skin tone you achieve will depend entirely on the amount of white in your mix:
- For fair skin → More white, a little sienna, and almost no blue.
- For medium skin → A balanced mix of white, sienna, and a bit of blue.
- For dark skin → Less white, more sienna, and more blue.
💡 Tip: Mixing just white and sienna results in an unnatural, crude skin tone. Adding a touch of ultramarine blue neutralizes the mix, creating a more natural skin color.
The Importance of a Strong Foundation in Drawing
Before focusing on painting skin tones, you must first have a well-structured face drawing. If the structure is incorrect, no matter how well you handle volume, color, or lighting, the portrait won’t look right.
Once the drawing is solid, you need to understand volume—this is what creates the three-dimensionality of the head, eyes, nose, and facial features.
Practical Exercises
Here’s how the skin tones change with different color ratios:
1️⃣ First Exercise
- Colors: Titanium White + Burnt Sienna (almost no blue)
- Result: A very fair skin tone
2️⃣ Second Exercise
- Colors: Less white, the same amount of sienna, and a little more blue
- Result: A more balanced, natural skin tone
3️⃣ Third Exercise
- Colors: Even less white, more sienna, and more blue
- Result: A darker skin tone
At the end, you can apply glazes to add color variations and depth to your painting.
I hope this simple guide helps you start painting portraits and achieving skin tones easily! 🎨😊