Request for comment - skintones on bust

[gohkm]

Hi everybody, I recently picked up my first bust. Went a bit overboard and got a 90mm, too.
Now, I'm really struggling with it - the smallest mistakes are magnified 10-fold.

Any suggestions on how to improve the skin? A lot of the underpainting colours got washed out in the pics; in real life, there are more nuances of greens, blues, and reds in the skin, particularly at the borders of the cloth, and her decolletage.

 

[Webmonkey]

As always,.. I recommend using pigments. Especially on these larger pieces. Here's a quick little tutorial I did on pastel skin shading. (it's in 2 parts. part 1 is tools and such, and part 2 is the actual tutorial) I hope you enjoy,..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjJvbut623o

and

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrYRArbYyc8

 

[gohkm]

Thanks, Webmonkey. I've used a variant of this before - instead of smoothing out the pigments, I spritz-ed it very lightly with metho.
Wonder why I didn't think of this. I'll have a go.

Many thanks!

 

[gohkm]

I couldn't get the pigments to a stage that I liked, so I wiped them all off with some metho and went with multiple glazes instead.

 

[MAXXxxx]

few things I usually use (see my wip for busts, especially: autnm nostalgia, lord of the lion, Gagarin):
- Dark Fleshtone from oldGW/VGC to bring in warm shadows (glaze)
- VMC GreenBrown on the sides to make them a bit cooler (glaze)
- based on giganticdark's tutorial: baalredWash(=AP RedInk) glaze cut about 1:1 with water for making cheecks, nose, lips more red.
- similar GryphoneSepia (=AP soft tone ink) for some upper parts (yellowish brown glaze, about 1:1) and VGC-PurpleInk glaze (3or4:1 or more, otherwise too purple, sometimes mixed with darkest skintone to make sure) for under the face/around neck
- same purple around the eyes to show there is much blood underneath (thinner skin)

 

[Sionid]

Your second version is looking good, much more alive with the rosy tones. Things look really smooth. Personally, I tend to use a lot of purple (well, a lot of the time I tend to use a little purple) in cool shadows for fleshtones.

Check out Pepa's gallery for inspiration, she knows how to shade skin like nobody I've ever seen.

 

[gohkm]

Thanks, folks. Pepa is very good isn't she?

I've been advised to add more brown-reds to the lower torso, and more red hues to her bust and face.
I'll give that a go, if I can get some spare time tonight.