What color to draw human skin with a pencil. Drawing perfect skin, creating a realistic portrait in Photoshop

What You'll Be Creating

Leather is a very durable and beautiful material and has been widely used since the beginning of mankind. In this tutorial I will show you how to draw a beautiful shiny leather dress and an old leather belt. You can use this technique, which is described here, to create other objects, such as a leather jacket or a piece of leather armor.

What you will need

• Pencil HB
• Pencil 2B
• Pencil 3B
• Pencil 8B
• Ballpoint pen (or better yet, an empty ballpoint pen!)
• Shading
• Nag eraser
• Pencil sharpener
• 3 sheets of paper

1. Draw a Shiny Leather Dress

Step 1

Using a pencil HB, carefully draw a sketch of the body. You can use the mannequin drawing as a guide.

Step 2

Add details to the body: chest and stomach.

Step 3

Draw guide lines along the body to define the 3D shape of the dress, and also outline the tight-fitting dress.

Step 4

Draw “waves” in places where there are folds and stretches in the material. You can learn more about drawing folds in this tutorial:

Step 5

Angle the pencil to shade the side of the dress, saving separate areas for the “highlight paths” in the middle.

Step 6

Draw a dark seam along the entire dress - this will be a striking detail that breaks the smoothness of the material.

Step 7

Also shade the front of the dress. Maintain a bright highlight path on the seam side.

Step 8

Using a feather brush, carefully blend the shading, adding a soft edge to the shine as you go. Once the blender is coated with graphite, you can use it to “add” a soft tone between the folds.

Step 9

By using 3B pencil, shade the side of the dress. Be careful with the folds! Maintain a thin border between the shadow and the outline to create an area of ​​reflective light.

Step 10

Blend using a blender.

Step 11

Shade and blend the rest of the side, keeping the tones lightly around the highlight.

Step 12

Darken the seam to correct the shade with the current contrast.

Step 13

Darken the front of the dress, leaving areas for reflective highlights. Without them, the dress will lose its 3D shape.

Step 14

Using a pencil 8B, add the final shading. Press down harder on your pencil, but don't ignore the shading that's already there.

Step 15

Take a nag to “draw” the highlights. Don't overdo it with white highlights or your skin will look like latex!

Step 16

Finish the drawing by pressing even harder on the pencil. 8B, as well as filling in any unnecessary white spots created by the paper texture.

2. Draw an Old Leather Belt

Step 1

Using a pencil HB, draw a sketch of a belt with a buckle.

Step 2

Draw the other end of the belt, threaded through the buckle.

Step 3

Add the "clamp" and holes.

Step 4

Take another sheet of paper, then place it on top of the drawing. Make sure you can see at least the outline of the sketch underneath - if you can't, then use a thinner piece of paper or overlap both sheets of paper on the window. Take a ballpoint pen and then draw long horizontal "X" strokes all over the belt to imitate the texture of leather. If you have an empty ballpoint pen, you can “draw” directly on the drawing with it. Press harder to make sure you make marks.

Step 5

Take your pencil again HB, tilt it and then shade the belt. You will see texture appearing as you go.

Step 6

Draw lines along the strap for the seams.

Step 7

Using a pencil 3B, trace the contours of the seams.

Step 8

Carefully shade the seams. The pencil must be sharpened!

Step 9

Using a pencil 2B, shade the belt again, this time around the seams. Also darken the holes. Give each part of the belt a darkened edge.

Step 10

Gently darken the side edge of the belt, giving it a lighter shade.

Step 11

Take a pencil 3B To paint the belt in more detail: create shadows under the collar and buckle, and also highlight individual wrinkles on the skin.

Step 12

Using a pencil 8B, add dark accents. Don't overdo this step!

Step 13

Finish the design by adding a metal buckle. You can learn how to draw metal from this tutorial:

Great Job!

Now you know how to draw new shiny skin and old worn skin. If you liked this tutorial and want to learn more about drawing different materials with pencils, check out our other tutorials in this series:

Every aspiring artist or portrait photographer should learn how to create realistic skin tones. As you gain experience, you will be able to develop your own color mixing technique that is convenient for you. In general, the ability to correctly select and mix colors is a real art, since each person has their own unique skin tone. Once you learn how to create realistic skin tones, you can experiment with surreal shades and looks.

Steps

Create a lighter skin tone

You will need to try mixing several colors. To get light skin, prepare the following colors:

Mix these colors. The most convenient way to mix paints is on a special palette. If you don't have one, any other work surface will do. For example, you can use a piece of thick cardboard. Apply a drop of each color of paint to your palette.

Mix paints in equal quantities. Using a brush, mix equal amounts of red, yellow and blue paint. Be sure to rinse your brush in a bowl of water before dipping it into a different color of paint. By mixing three primary colors you will create a base.

Compare shades. You should have the skin tone you want to copy in front of your eyes. Compare the resulting base with the shade you are trying to achieve. If you are copying from a photograph, then consider its lighting.

Lighten the shade. If you want to achieve a lighter shade, add yellow and white paint. Yellow paint will give you a warmer shade, while white paint will give you a lighter shade. Add paint a little at a time and mix the colors thoroughly before adding more.

Add red. If you already have a fairly light tone, but have not achieved a realistic shade, you can add a little red. Consider how red changes your skin tone. Sometimes there needs to be more red in your skin tone.

• You don't want to add too much red paint unless you're going for a shade that will match sunburned skin.

1. Adjust the shade. Again compare the shade you get with the one you want to achieve. Try to correct it further. If the shade is very different from the desired one, it is better to mix the paints again. If it turns out too light, add a little red and blue.

   • You can create several shade options and then choose the most suitable one for your painting.

Creating a Medium Skin Tone

1. Choose paints in the colors you need. To achieve a medium skin tone, you will need to mix more colors. Prepare paints of the following colors:

   • red;
   • yellow;
   • blue;
   • white;
   • burnt umber;
   • natural sienna.

2. Mix these colors. The most convenient way to mix paints is on a special palette. If there is no palette, then any other working surface will do, for example, a piece of thick cardboard. Apply a drop of each color of paint to your palette.

   Mix red and yellow. Mixing equal amounts of red and yellow paint will give you orange. Rinse your brush in a bowl of water before dipping it into a different color of paint.

   Add blue color. Gradually and little by little add blue paint to the base. If you want to achieve a darker shade, you can try adding a little black paint.

   Compare shades. You should have the skin tone you want to copy in front of your eyes. Compare the resulting base with the shade you are trying to achieve. If you are copying from a photograph, consider the lighting.

   Add red. If you need to add red, add it a little at a time. It’s better to add paint gradually so that you don’t have to redo the base later.

   Create a darker olive shade. Mix equal amounts of burnt umber and natural sienna. You will end up with a dark, concentrated mixture. Gradually add the required amount of this mixture to the base. This mixture can be used instead of blue. To create a more olive shade, add a little yellow mixed with green.

   Try mixing until you get the perfect one. Mix colors until you have at least five shades that you are happy with. From them you can choose the ideal option.

   Now you can start drawing. Use one or more options for the painting that most closely resemble a realistic skin tone.

Creating dark skin tones

Choose paints in the colors you need. You will have to experiment a bit to achieve the most realistic shade. Prepare paints of the following colors:

• burnt umber;
• natural sienna;
• yellow;
• red;
• purple.

1. Mix colors. The most convenient way to mix paints is on a special palette. If there is no palette, then any other work surface will do. For example, you can use a piece of thick cardboard. Apply a drop of each color of paint to your palette.

   Make the base. Mix equal amounts of burnt umber and natural sienna. Also mix equal amounts of red and yellow paint. Then gradually add the red and yellow mixture to the first mixture.

As I said in my previous tutorials, this is my way of creating a drawing, and not a general rule for everyone! It's best to draw using Photoshop and a tablet, but other drawing programs may be suitable if they have similar tools and capabilities. If you have strong masochistic tendencies, then you can try to draw with a mouse.

STEP 1

Let's start with a step-by-step portrait drawing to achieve the best result. As you can see, I have put together a palette of colors for myself that I will work with. I may not use all the colors, but it's a good palette to start with. Leather isn't just pink, peach, and brown—you can also add a little purple, blue, yellow, and even light green. I started with a peach color in the middle and drew a rough version of the face - its shape, and also applied a lighter color with low opacity and flow (about 40%) on the upper part of the face, on the brightest areas.

Interesting start. I chose the darkest brown shade and used it to paint the shadows. You can already start drawing out some details if you want - as I did with the upper lip, for example, just to give it shape. Try not to apply the color too tightly. Don't make rough sketches and remember that you can always go back and make the transitions from one color to another smoother (something I plan to do later). I try to paint on the entire surface of the skin at the same time, since if I paint individual areas one by one, the skin texture will end up appearing patchy and uneven.

Then I chose a lighter tone: a reddish peach, next to the dark brown. With this color I will smooth out the transitions from the darkest areas to the lightest. It's worth noting that the colors I chose to paint the skin belong to different shades. Light colors have a yellowish tint, while dark colors have a reddish tint. Using different shades when depicting skin helps achieve more vibrant color!

At this stage I started tidying up the shadows and working on the details. I chose a light shade from my palette and started highlighting certain areas. Here, as when applying shadows, the opacity and flow of the brush were set to 30% (the brush is also round, quite large in diameter and with a hardness of 80%). I advise you not to use a very soft brush, as this can make your face look “doll-like” and unnatural. Of course, if you want to achieve a plastic effect, then choose a soft brush, but this is a lesson on painting SKIN!

Now I started thinking about using texture. I changed my brush. In this picture I showed a sample of the brush that I used (actually, it happened by accident, but I decided to save this sample). In Photoshop, this brush is called Chalk brush, and to change its diameter you just need to move the slider. You may want to work with a very large diameter on a large canvas, as this makes it easier to draw details. As for brush settings, it's much easier to set them on a tablet - you can set the size, opacity and angle jitters in "pressure sensitivity" and the result is the perfect color ratio and amazing textures.

Oh my God! The whole face is now purple! I also cropped the drawing to fit more text next to Step 5. I didn't do that on purpose, I swear! Anyway, I just added a lot of purple using a brush with a low opacity of about 15%. This color is mainly present in areas of the design that are either in shadow (like my neck) or have a pinkish tint (like my cheeks). Don't worry, I know it looks like war paint - we'll fix that later. I also adjusted the eye, hair and mouth to get an idea of ​​how the shadows would fall on the face.

In some areas of the face, color should not be added, but removed. I made that purple shade less vibrant. If you're applying the purple color to a new layer (it's a good idea to create new layers for any changes if you're afraid things won't go the way you want), then use the Eraser with low opacity, low density (flow) and a high level of softness to get rid of unnecessary purple color, or you can use a brush with low opacity (opacity) and low density (flow) in order to bring back a peach tint instead of purple. The result is a sheer yet textured finish. =)

Another thing you should consider when drawing skin is light sources. Skin can reflect light much more than people think - that doesn't mean it has to look like a mirror, but it still reflects some colors. The best example to illustrate this effect is the children's game where you hold a buttercup under your chin, and if the yellow reflects on your skin, then it means you like butter. I hate oil, but yellow always reflects on any skin :)). In this case, the orange light is reflected on the neck and under the chin, so I added that along with the bright white highlights on my shiny nose using a hard-edged brush.

Sorry about the hair that came out of nowhere, but I just couldn't leave the drawing unfinished. =P I did a little more work on the skin in this drawing. I zoomed in and added a few details. This is why you need to use a large canvas; you can be less careful in your drawing. I highlighted the chin with a subtle light line along the contour, and I also lightly drew it on other parts of the contour. I also added some green tint (with low opacity - 5%) and pink (also with low opacity (opacity)). It brings the drawing to life!

Here I applied the final touches. I added some texture to the neck in much the same way as I did with the purple color earlier - I used a Chalk brush, painted everything in very lightly, then brushed the base color over the entire face again to make the color less noticeable. . I also added some golden yellow to the jaw and nose. Don't be afraid to use different colors and paint very rich shadows and bright highlights. Many people find that the skin in their drawings looks too flat, in which case this drawing technique helps solve this problem.

Em? What? Yes, I know that the lesson probably turned out to be quite fast and not entirely clear. It's quite difficult to explain everything in one portrait, so I'll demonstrate some of the drawing techniques I used. Let's talk a little about color palettes. There are three palettes presented here. The top two are simply terrible, the bottom one is better and resembles the one I used in my drawing.

Now, I hope you understand what I meant - I used an orange tint in the first two pictures, but the shadows look green and give a sick look. Making the shadows more red in the last drawing gave the skin a more natural look, even though the sketches look quite rough.

Of course, every person's skin tone is different. The transition from one shade to another is common to all skin colors. It is not at all necessary that the shadows be reddish and the highlights yellowish. Experiment! For the dark skin on the left, I used rich and dark colors, transitioning from purple shadows to more orange highlights. Pale skin requires a desaturated orange shadow with an overlay of a variety of colors - pink, pale yellow and blue, since fair skin is very thin and blue veins show through. The skin color swatch pictured on the right was created using my palette and includes more yellowish-orange shadows and pinkish-red highlights, which I think is perfect for portraying Asian skin types. Create your own color palettes. :)

Now let's talk about texture. I didn't use much texture in my drawing, but you can work with it more carefully. I will explain what angle jitters are. You can see the different effects you can get by changing some of the parameters. You'll achieve amazing textures by setting the angle to "pen pressure" in a special brush (such as the Chalk brush). Please note that this is a very interesting effect even on this straight (well almost straight) line.

There are many ways to create texture and it all comes down to trial and error - everyone's skin is different and I can't cover every skin type, but I'll start by describing some painting techniques you can use. On the left the drawings are close, on the right they are distant. First I used a Chalk brush to create light strokes. You can draw with this brush without lifting your pen from the tablet, or you can paint with light touches (these techniques are only suitable for those using a tablet, as you need pressure sensitivity, but you can also adjust the mouse: but then you will need to work more on creating the effect of different skin textures, because you will have to constantly change the size/opacity/etc. of the brush.)

Here I added more strokes using a light colored Chalk brush. I reduced the diameter of the brush a little compared to the previous drawing, then began erasing areas using a round, soft Eraser with low opacity and low density (I applied these strokes to a new layer, so when you erase, the dark layer begins to show through).

I applied the light tone again throughout the design and then erased the small dots that would represent the pores on the face. You can even choose a darker color and paint larger pores with it to create the effect of deep pores. Pores on the face are more noticeable around the nose and along the cheeks. You may enhance this effect on skin with an uneven surface.

Veins - I drew the pores and on the bottom layer added thin pale greenish-blue lines with a brush with very low opacity and very low flow. But the veins cannot be placed in random order. Many small veins are visible on the temples, neck, wrists and arms, feet, palms. It all depends on how pale your character's skin is and how thin that skin is. In some fair-skinned women, you may see veins showing through in the chest area or on the thighs, and if the person is thin enough, you may also notice veins on the hip bone, calf, or biceps. Study the pictures and photographs carefully. =)

You can also add lots of other details - cute freckles, scars, spots and whatever you want. Just remember to work on a large canvas. These little dark freckles, painted on with a round brush, actually look quite messy upon closer inspection, but look great once you zoom out!

Anyway...I'll stop here. The lesson is already getting long enough - if I decide to write more, I will need to create a continuation of this lesson. Experiment, put your knowledge into practice and carefully study people's skin - but for now, I hope this lesson helped you. =)

In this lesson I will show you how to create a palette of human skin colors, so that you can then use it in a drawing. I create colors for a white man, there is no specific reason for this except that these are the colors I am most familiar with. This technique also works well for creating other skin tones.

We're going to start by creating a skin color palette, but let me first show you the reference photo I'm going to use for the painting. It's impossible to create a palette that works well in all lighting, so lighting needs to be looked at on the models first. Color, direction, strength (intensity) of light and environmental light all paint our skin with vibrant, changing colors.

On a sunny day with blue skies, your skin will have yellow (warm) highlights and blue (cool) shadows. And in winter, your skin will have cold and pale colors... All these are changes made by light. Of course there are pigment changes too, but they vary from person to person and are not so much related to lighting.

Reference photo (photographer unknown) and finished drawing.

pic 1 pic 2

I found this photo online a while ago and kept it, thinking that I would need it later...
Now I think this is the best photo for this tutorial. Her body is well lit on the left, while the right side is completely in shadow. This gives us a good opportunity to study the skin in maximum light and shade. The photo was decolorized by the photographer, so we have to guess the colors ourselves...

Step 1: Palette.

We'll start by creating a palette for her skin. To create a palette, I simply open a new document about 500*500 pixels in size and draw small patches of the colors I'm going to use. But one flat color looks bad and makes it difficult to imagine color in dark and light areas.
If you have little experience in drawing skin, I recommend that you look at some photos of skin. In fact, it's not that difficult.

Try to find images that are both lit and dark, preferably with neutral lighting (an evenly lit room or cloudy weather outside). Use the Color Picker Tool - move the cursor from light to dark areas of the skin and watch how the color changes. Notice how the marker on the color ring and the marker in the color triangle move.
If the image is compressed, the markers will likely move very unevenly due to the noise created by the compression. I've found that skin colors for the most part fall in a range like this:

pic 3 pic 4

HSV changes from light to dark

*Color is located in yellow and red area
*Saturation changes in a non-linear way

What does this mean in relation to painting? First of all, this means that you can't just pick white for the highlights, medium skin color, and black as the shadow color and use Painter to get the colors in between. Famous and talented artists never use black (in its pure form). There is always some light in the darkness.

pic 5 pic 6

Two Gradients and Photoshop Gradient Editor with 3 Color Gradient

In the image above, I used Photoshop's Gradient Editor to generate a 3-color gradient (left). I chose light skin tone, medium skin tone, and black, leaving Photoshop to figure out the colors in between. The gradient on the right is made of more than 15 colors.
The difference is that the light and dark tones are more saturated in the gradient on the right than on the left. I think the left gradient has too much gray mixed in and it doesn't produce the rich, red shadow areas you often see on skin. Yet, once again, this is not a hard and fast rule that you should blindly follow.

Fig 7 Fig 8

3 color gradient curve; 15 color gradient curve.

Some examples of palettes I've created:

Figure 9

This is the palette that was used in this tutorial, there are other options below.

Fig 10 Fig 12 Fig 13

Figure 14 Figure 15 Figure 16 Figure 17

Figure 18 Figure 19 Figure 20 Figure 21

Now you can create your own palette

Step 2: Sketch.

Save the reference image to your computer and open it in Painter. Create a new document with the same resolution as the original image (327*390). Open both documents at the same time, place them side by side and try to make a rough sketch of the woman's outline (Pens Tool - 1-Pixel).

Figure 22

Very quick sketch.

After you have completed the first quick sketch, select the Canvas menu item and change the image size to 1000*1193 pixels. At this resolution you can finish your sketch.

Fig 23 Fig 24

Left: more details added, right: completed sketch.

Step 3: Add color.

Save your sketch and start filling it with colors from your palette. I used the Pens – Flat color brush. I started on the left side of the body (her right). I didn't use any bright colors in my palette, so the left side of her body is too dark at this stage. I don't use the 3 brightest colors until the rest of the body is finished and smoothed out.

rice 25 rice 26

Left: Filled the highlights with midtones, Right: Added other midtones.

Fig 27 Fig 28

Figure 29

I start smoothing using Blenders – Just add water tool.

Step 4: Body work.

After smoothing I added some darker colors from my palette.
I personally think the hardest part of this painting is the edge where the skin meets the shadow. A soft, blurry edge creates the impression of a rounded shape, while a contrasting edge creates a sharp edge.
You also need to be careful not to mix black into the midtones. This will produce a gray gradient similar to the 3-color Photoshop gradient you saw earlier in this tutorial. To avoid this, use at least 3 dark tones in the palette where the skin goes into shadow.

rice 30 rice 31

Left: Some shadow areas are enriched with a browner tone;
Right: smoothing.

rice 32 rice 33 rice 34

Left: left chest improved, forearm worked; middle and right: working on the arm.

Step 5: Head.

Increase the size of your document to 2500*2983 pixels in order to draw the face. If your computer is too slow at this resolution, you can cut out the head, paste it into another document, and then enlarge it.

rice 35

The head is roughly sketched.

Figure 36

Lip colors are not taken from the palette.

Fig 37 Fig 38

Left: more details; right: more shadows, also adding highlights, using the 3 brightest colors from our palette.

Figure 39

We work on the neck.

Fig 40 Fig 41

Left: add hair with a very dark color; right: hair processing completed.

Step 6: Final Details.

Figure 42

We paint the most brightly lit areas with 3 light colors in the palette.

To enhance the skin tone, I added a dark blue color to the right side of the skin. I also increased the contrast a bit.
There are some problems with the anatomy... Her forearm is too short, her neck looks weird, her head is too small, etc...
But! Skin colors are good! (is not it?;)).
Finished drawing.

Figure 43

Personally, I love these colors the most. Warm browns, rich reds and oranges and fresh pinks. Although the picture may have been a bit exaggerated, these colors are considered by most people to be skin tones.

However, more important than color is the combination of light and shadow in a painting. By working out the distribution of brightness, you can depict the skin in almost any imaginable color it might have. Blue, for example. I completely ignored it in this tutorial, but it usually shows up in areas with thin skin. For example, under the eyes, inner part of the forearm, top of the foot, chest, etc….

How to draw skin with a pencil?

1. Matvey, why are you writing advised?
   AND)

   by the way gt;
   Hardly anyone has ever seen a skin-colored pencil. If you have, then you are lucky

   I'm probably lucky, I have pastel pencils in shades that are very close to my skin. Goes great over watercolors. and for finishing fine parts they are not replaceable at all.
   But the answer is otherwise very sensible.

2. red and yellow don't work
3. Leonardo's in Aviapark sells a set of Faber Castel pencils in leather color. By the way, excellent quality and makes life very easy.
4. It would seem, why is it so difficult to draw skin? A couple of wrinkles, some shadows, paint - and you're done! Wait, how to color it? !

   You need to paint the face with special care; moreover, this is often the smallest detail of the drawing. But in this article, I'll look at ways to achieve skin color in three of the most widely used techniques.

   I'll probably start with the simplest technique - drawing with a pencil.

   Hardly anyone has ever seen a skin-colored pencil. If you have, then you are lucky. I will tell you about color combinations to achieve skin color. Usually, for these purposes, I take pink as a base and add yellow, orange or brown on top in the right proportions (most often yellow in a 1:1 ratio). You can also take yellow as a base and add red or brown. The combinations depend on the desired result. To express shadows, tan and blush, you can use basic combinations by simply thickening the colors.

   Particular attention should be paid to the fact that if you have applied too much of one color, you should not “mask” it with a thick layer of another. It’s better to carefully (!) wipe the pencil with an eraser. But, even if a thick, rich color is needed, there is no need to first apply a thick layer of one color, then a thick layer of another. It is better to apply thin layers of each color (it turns out something like a layer cake: pink-yellow-red-pink-yellow-red...) until the desired thickness is achieved.

   Next I'll look at painting with gouache.

   There is nothing complicated here. It is enough to dilute the desired color in the palette and apply it to the drawing.

   Common colors used to obtain skin color are red, white, yellow and brown (2:1:1:1). However, ocher (2:1:2) is often used instead of yellow and brown. To achieve the desired color, tan or blush, parts of a particular color are increased or decreased. It should also be noted that it is not advisable to use pink instead of a red-white combination.

   To achieve a pale complexion, do not apply a thin layer of paint so that the paper shows through. You just need to add more white or yellow paint.

   You can also add small amounts of blue and green colors (both when drawing with gouache and when coloring with pencil), however, this should only be done if you know exactly what you want and what you should get (for example, a sickly look or a shadow).

   And finally, watercolor.

   Watercolor is the most capricious of paints. Therefore, I would advise you to look for the color you need in the sets. If you combine colors, you will end up with either a daub in the drawing or a daub in the paints. However, if you practice enough, take good paper, paints and a brush, you can get the desired color, again by applying the base and adding the desired colors.

   By the way, if you have watercolor pencils at your disposal, the task becomes much easier. In this case, you need to color the drawing as with ordinary pencils (in no case less carefully) and brush over the drawing with a damp brush.

   Well, that's basically all.

5. Here the skin color pencil has nothing to do with the world. You need to study here.