Skin is usually very difficult to paint, It is the ultimate test of an artist. To make it look life like you must consider many things about the properties of flesh. It is reflective, transparent and never remains consistent from the forehead to the chin. It is important to paint faces properly because it is the focal point of a human. Here is how I set it up:

1. I always work dark to light when using acrylics. Use conté when drawing the face. The colors will blend while marker pencil will continue to show through the layers of paint and you will get frustrated. Trust me!

Building layers is key when creating convincing flesh. Treat your first layer like a layer of muscle. I used VanDyke Red and VanDyke Brown for the first stage. Leave the eyes dark as if they were empty sockets.

2. Your second layer of skin should be an inconsistent mix of Mars Yellow, Raw Sienna, Raw Rumber and VanDyke Red. If you can work fast enough blur Burt Umber into the darker areas of the face, great! ( under the nose, eyes, and hair line). If you can't work that fast consider extenders and retardants which will make your paint stay wet for longer.

There are a few areas of the face that have stronger patches of red. The tip of the nose, and the cheek. Make sure when you apply the second layer of skin you leave the muscle colour (VanDyke Red) to show through in these areas.

3. Keep repeating this color combination until you have a well sculpted face. Do not worry about highlights or lowlights at this stage.

4. Bringing skin to life is very easy at this point. The secret is green. Do a study of the "Mona lisa". Use green on faces carefully an sparingly. Use Cobalt Teal mixed with Naples Yellow around the eyes. Use Hooker Green mixed with Burnt Umber to create the darker areas. The visual effect of green next to your under coats of red will bring the face alive. Its called the simultaneous effect. Or magic!

When painting lips leave them predominately dark. The bottom lip will usually be lighter. But that will be up to your light source to ultimately decide.

5. When painting eyes always paint around the eye first. Do not paint eye balls white. Unless the lighting dictates that kind of stark treatment. Mix the skin colors to create the Sclera (white of the eye). Use these light colours lightly as you work the corners of the eyeball. Remember its a ball not a flat consistent object. So light is hitting it in all different ways. As the face is the focal point of a person, the eyes are the focal point of the face. So pay a lot of attention here.

6. Now its time to use your lowlight. This will tighten the whole thing up. Use VanDyke Brown for the pupils. Its glossy and wet looking like an actual eyeball. Use darker colours for eyebrows, detailing of the nostrils and Burnt Umber for eyelashes and cheek shadows.

7. Now you will use your VanDyke Red again to boost the cheeks and nose as you blend them into your detailing on the nose and cheeks. Thin out this colour we don't want to cover up all the layers we have built in these areas.

8. Highlights- Build your Highlight like we did the Midtones and lowlights. Use the skin combination described above with Naples Yellow then graduating into the lightest contrast on the palette, Unbleached white or Titanium Buff. Please stay away from Titanium white. Its very stark and unnatural stick to the more natural pigments.

9. Titanium Buff by itself is the finishing step. Use it for extreme highlights such as the tip of the nose highlight of the cheek bone and light reflected in the eye.

10. Remember skin is very reflective you may have to add surrounding environmental colour to your skin to set it in the painting as a finishing touch.

Note: To understand skin and the face. I would recommend drawing the face as much as you humanly can. And when you think you got it do more!