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Light and Shadow in Skin Tones

In this tutorial I begin with some color theory about skin tones and how we perceive light and shadow. Then I move into how to mix flesh tones using the 3 subtractive primaries, and why you are better off not using black to create shadow areas. Use complements instead. I end by creating a color sketch.

Materials and tools used in this tutorial:

Moleskine® sketchbook

Winsor and Newton® watercolor: Purple Rose Madder, Alizarin Crimson, Primary Blue (cyan) and Naples Yellow

Winsor and Newton® gouache: Ivory Black

M. Graham® gouache: Yellow Ochre

 

Disclaimer: I use my own materials and tools in this tutorial.

 

Alvalyn Lundgren

Alvalyn Lundgren is the founder and design director at Alvalyn Creative, an independent practice near Thousand Oaks, California. She creates visual branding, publications and books for business, entrepreneurs and authors. She is the creator of Freelance Road Trip — a business roadmap program for creative freelancers. Contact her for your visual branding, graphic and digital design needs. Join her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and subscribe to her free monthly newsletter.

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