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How To Make Skin Tone With Paint

Here are some step-by-step tips for mixing paint to create skin tones.

Follow These Step-By-Step Tips For Mixing Paint To Create Skin Tones

  1. Start by mixing a skin tone base color.
  2. Create tints of the base color by adding white.
  3. Adjust the color temperature by adding small amounts of blue or yellow.
  4. Create warm or cool pinks by adding a touch of red paint.
  5. Tone down bright-colored paint by adding a complementary color.
  6. To make shadow skin color paint, darken the base color.

Regardless of the specific paint colors used, these steps can help you create a consistent skin tone across your painting.

How do I create skin color paint? I start by mixing a base color. Consider the following color combination:

  • Venetian Red
  • Raw Sienna
  • Terra Verte
  • Flake White Replacement
  • Unbleached Titanium

Mix A Base Color

Mix a small amount of Venetian Red with Raw Sienna to create a base flesh color.

Mixing skin tone base color

Mix Venetian Red and Raw Sienna to make a flesh tone base color.

Skin tone base color mixed with white

Add White To The Base Color To Create Various Tints

Mixing skin tone base color

Add white paint to create various tints.

Skin tone base color mixed with white

Mix a range of flesh color tints.

Divide the base color into separate piles. Slowly add Flake White Replacement or Unbleached Titanium to create lighter tints of the base color. I like to pre-mix 3-4 different tints.

Adjust The Color Temperature By Adding Blue or Yellow

Skin tone oil paint mixed with blue

Add Radiant Blue or Ultramarine Blue for cool flesh tones.

Skin tone oil paint mixed with Naples Yellow

Add Naples Yellow to create warm flesh tones.

While you paint, slowly mix in small amounts of other paint colors to adjust the color temperature of your oil paint. Adding a touch of blue or purple will create a cooler skin tone while adding yellow or orange will create warmer flesh colors. Consider using the following additional paint colors to adjust the color temperature of your skin tones.

  • Ultramarine Blue
  • Radiant Blue
  • Naples Yellow

How To Mix Pink For Skin Tones

To create warm or cool pinks, you can add a touch of red paint to your mix. Adding a small amount of Permanent Rose will make a cool pink while adding Cadmium Red will create a warm pink. Many red paint colors have a high tinting strength, so add it sparingly to your mix. Adding a touch of red paint transforms the skin tone paint mix to a nice pink. For painting lips and rosy areas, the smallest addition is all you need to adjust the color.

Tone Down Bright Colors By Adding A Complementary Color

The colors found in nature are often subtle. When mixing skin tones in oil paint, it's necessary to reduce the intensity or brightness of the paint colors. To achieve this, simply add a small amount of the color's complementary color. Skin tones in oil paint can sometimes appear too orange. By adding a small amount of blue, you can tone down the bright orange, resulting in a more natural paint color.

How To Make Shadow Skin Color Paint

Skin tone shadow color

Venetian Red mixed with Terre Verte create a shadow color.

Range of skin tone values in oil paint

A range of skin tone values can be pre-mixed before painting.

Adding Terre Verte to the base color creates a darker tone for painting face shadows. Ultramarine Blue can be added to further darken the shadows.

Conclusion:

Paint colors mixed for skin tones

How do you make skin color paint? You can use many color combinations to create a skin tone with paint. The above combination is just one example. Regardless of the paint colors used to mix flesh tones, the process is the same. You start by mixing a base color and then lightening and darkening it to keep the skin tone consistent across the form. You can easily adjust the color temperature by adding blue or yellow. To create pinks, add small touches of warm or cool reds. For shadow color, mix Venetian Red with Terre Verte.

Author: Sonia Reeder-Jones