Mixing Flesh Tones for Painting Portraits

[@abigailchorley8118]

I haven't been able to sleep because I'm on a ton of medication that's keeping me alive, but I got through about ten minutes before I crashed for four hours. It was amazing. As far as I'm concerned, this video is pure genius.

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

Hi, Abigail Chorley. Thanks so much for the kind comment about the video! I'm so glad to hear that you've enjoyed it so far. I wish you all the best in your art and hope that you're feeling better soon. Take care and have a great day!

[@van2578]

I feel like this has finally taught me what i've been missing... i feel so silly having not considered that adding a colour straight would impact the value so much! Thanks so much, this has helped me understand so much more than i had previously!

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

+vannah pollock Thanks so much! I'm so glad to hear that the video has been a help to you. Take care and I wish you all the best with your art!

[@valsedonia]

Not to say that there aren't people who appreciate! We will look forward to more of your instructional videos :)

[@zorincortes]

This is the kind of video that I was looking for. I paid $89.00 for color mixture video and learned nothing. This video is the best one You are a truly excellent teacher thank you for sharing and God Bless you

[@iamtubuler9266]

Thank you for taking the time to show and explain this. Most people just show the painting process and this is just as important!!

[@karenspooner1492]

Yes you can see the warm and cool greys thank you so much Brian 🎨❤👍

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

Thanks so much for the feedback, Karen! It's greatly appreciated!

[@AngelwithAttitude7]

Been painting for years and have seen many videos and have taken classes, this is wonderful!!!! For the first time I actually understand the grey mixing. I know you can use less paint colors to mix, but this can be fun and challenging at the same time. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING!!!! By the way, you have such a sweet voice. :)

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

ANGELSLOVE Thanks so much for the kind words! I'm so glad to hear that the video was a help in the area of mixing grays. Take care and have a great day!

[@violetvariant]

This is soooo helpful! I do portraits in black and white at the moment and have been at a loss thinking about how to transistion into colour, but your mixing tutorial has made it much less intimidating. Thanks so much for making this!

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

+Emma Kellam Thanks so much, Emma! The first step in understanding color is to understand value (how light or dark a color is) in order to help create the illusion of form and volume (a three-dimensional look) in your work, so you're definitely on the right track by having already worked in B&W. This experience should make the transition into color much easier. Thanks so much again for the comments and I wish you all the best in your art!

[@fatima34me]

Thank you so much. Like you say, we never stop learning. I'm 56 yrs. old and have taken an interest in portraiture, more for relaxation than anything else and one of the problems I've been having is learning "values". Your explanation and demonstration are fantastic. Now I hope you have a video on "undertones". That has been more difficult for me to understand than "values".

[@nickfanzo]

Iris Perez look up the zorn palette and make color charts from it. the paint yourself in the mirror

[@shahzadqurashi7728]

So easy to understand and simple color mixing, very useful for beginers!

[@omaremmons4483]

I really enjoyed your viedo. Painting and mixing colours is always a learning experience. I am just a beginner, but I believed that even painters that have painted for years; still learn new ways of doing certain things. I don't believed that it would every get dull.

[@sondremunthe-kaas1126]

Mr. Neher you really know this craft soo thoroughly. Thank you for posting this.

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

Sondre Munthe-Kaas Hi, Sondre. Thank you so much for the kind comment. It's greatly appreciated!

[@emilygrinnell6186]

Bravo! two years of art school and I didn't learn these basics! (well, I did learn some of them, but not nearly enough!) Thank you!

[@heidijacobson6144]

Brian, this is a great video on color theory for flesh tones and the best one I've seen on KZbin. I've watched it several times and continue to learn something new each time.

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

Heidi Jacobson Hi, Heidi. Thanks so much for the feedback about the video! I'm so glad to hear that it has been a help to you. Take care and have a great day!

[@ilinaeternity]

This is the best art teaching video I have ever seen, hands down. You are a fantastic teacher. The video was really articulate and helpful, and I learned a lot that I will be able to apply. Thanks so much:D.

[@MsKatherineJo]

Thank you so much for taking the time to make this video. I visit Hilton Head and enjoy seeing Joe Bowler's work. I have tried several times to emulate his palette so this has been excellent advice for me. Great instruction and now I am going over to your site and check out the DVDs. Thanks again for your generous tips.

[@artbygunny]

This literally answered all my questions to mixing flesh tones in general... and how to cool them down. Thanks a lot!!!

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

+Art by Gunny Thanks so much for the kind message! I'm so glad to hear that the video was a help to you. Take care and have a great day!

[@leslieirvin8530]

Thank you for you generosity in sharing this video. I have been painting portraits for years and am a fan of Sargent and Schmid and now you. I have learned a lot and am looking forward to learning much more from your tutelage.

[@callerslist9335]

I have a color wheel and knew that it showed colors and their compliments directly across from each other but I didn't know what that meant or why that was important until I saw your video here. That cleared up everything for me. Thank you.

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

Kathleen Richter Thanks so much for the comment, Kathleen! I'm so glad that the video was a help to you!

[@callerslist9335]

You're welcome.. Thanks for your video.

[@al2sultan]

best clearest video on skin tones I have ever seen.

[@sofiejacksonovardi6681]

I'm studying art at highschool and hope to study it at Art School in a couple of years, this tutorial helped immensely as I wasn't sure how to get flesh tones with different undertones. all of my portraits were using colour more expressively but this helped it look more realistic, thanks for uploading!

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

Sofie Jackson Ovardi Hi, Sofie. I'm so glad to hear that the video has been a help to you. Take care and I wish you all the best in your studies!

[@danthompson1m]

This was very helpful. I appreciate your observations on the process of painting and being an artist as well. Keep up the good work.

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

+Daniel Thompson Thanks so much for the encouraging words, Daniel! I'm so glad to hear that the video has been helpful for you. Take care and I wish you all the best in your studies!

[@bevhennager6467]

This is as good as taking a class in college. Thanks so much.

[@Lauragld]

Fantastic video on subtleties of color theory...compliments and values...thanks so much for taking the time to show it all so clearly :)

[@pops24x7]

I learned more from this one video than my year in an art course, thank you! Really basic stuff that tutors seem to leave out you explain very easily!

[@texascruzerbuilder6227]

Brian, I love your work and I appreciate your videos! Youre explanations are simple, succinct, and very informative. Thank you so much for your time on this!

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

+carver shivers Thanks so much for the kind message, Carver! Take care and I wish you all the best!

[@lindapeacerose]

I'm tired just watching. But I loved it very much. You have a lot of energy.

[@ZOONG12345]

Thank you for your valuable demo. I appreciate you

[@fernandovincenzini1664]

Thank you, thank you and thank you! This is the best color theory applied to a skin tone palette. All the best.

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

Thank you so much for the kind comment, Fernando! I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed the video on mixing flesh tones. Take care and I wish you all the best!

[@777-Phil]

Hahahaha! Excellent color theory and color inquiry. I go through the same process sometimes for weeks ... before portraits (studying guys like you, experimenting with pigments, etc.). Color is a wonderful gift to work with, as you've well demonstrated. Thank you!

[@Drawnpedal]

This is really informative, simple and straight. Exactly what I was trying to find! I'm good at graphite portraits and now want to shift to colored. It's a bit difficult to shift from monochrome to colored world! I'll be looking over your channel more often!

[@daneschumacher3392]

best skin tone mixing video I've seen yet big help, thank you!

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

+Dane Schumacher Thanks so much for the comment! I'm so glad to hear that the video has been a help to you. Take care and have fun painting!

[@tonyhopman8308]

Brilliant . well conveyed lesson . Learnt much . .it was a revelation to me when you said yellow was warmer than red . Admired the way you answered all the questions and comments and criticisms . Probably the best video available on this subject.

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

Tony Hopman Hi, Tony. Thank you for the feedback about the video! I appreciate the comments and am so glad that it was a help to you. Take care and I wish you all the best!

[@MdSarwar-kh4mb]

Tony Hopman l $" .

[@patriciathurmond244]

I have never had a pallet that I liked. I will make one like yours. Thank you very much !

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

+Patricia Thurmond Thanks so much for the comment! The glass palette allows for easy clean up and is very inexpensive to make. You can get a piece of glass cut to any size that works well for you, but I would recommend a larger size that allows for more room to mix. This will save you time by not having to clean off your palette as often when painting. Thanks so much again for the comment!

[@valsedonia]

Great FREE video. Maybe the people Complaining on here should remember how much lessons from such a skilled artist costs. There is never a short supply of rude people, that's for sure.

[@willdixon9525]

This is very much TRUE, Thanks

[@maldoori238]

Thank you Brian for a very informative video. It is so much needed and helpful. I have subscribed to your channel and can’t wait for your next video

[@isabellove1215]

Is great what you do! Im almost a starter in painting and my professor teaches me with newton & winsor , and thank you for the informations.

[@ThePriyatama]

Love what you are doing here.Thanks!

[@patriciabrown2539]

Great, makes the mixing of greys especially finally understandable. Thank you for your much needed tuition.

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

Patricia Brown Thanks so much for the comment! I'm so glad to hear that the section on mixing grays was a help to you. Take care and I wish you all the best in your art!

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

Thank you for the question. I will often change the value of a color by using another color to mix into it in place of white. I like to use solid paint, meaning that it's not thinned down with paint thinner or mediums, when mixing flesh tones. I find that it's much easier to manipulate and blend the paint when it's in this state. Thin paint is less forgiving in that you only have a few strokes to manipulate the paint. Overworking thin paint can have an opposite result by removing paint.

[@Andromeister27]

i used to paint by just mixing straight from my brush to my canvas, but mixing my colors before hand would be more cleaner and organized so great tips.

[@norahealsalot6495]

Thanks for posting this! I have a few books that I'm reading, but it's nice to actually SEE an example of what they have been saying.

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

Nora Isaac Hi, Nora. Thanks so much for the feedback about the video! It's greatly appreciated. Take care and have a great day!

[@laurabeach6337]

You are a good teacher. Thanks for the lesson.

[@eleanordavin294]

Wonderful, helpful video. Thank you!

[@cynthiamarston2208]

Convert to black and white is a new idea for me. Subscribed and liked. My third art person. Thanks

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

Thanks so much for the comment, Cynthia! I find that converting an image to black and white helps me to focus on the value relationships (how light or dark a value appears when compared to another value). Color can often be deceiving, in that it may appear to be lighter or darker in value than it really is. This is especially true with reds. Value and color are inseparable, so finding the right value is one of the key elements to getting the right color. Value sets the stage on which color performs. Thanks so much again!

[@cubAndy6677]

Great presentation Brian.. You make a great teacher. I was blessed to run into your video. Keep on!

[@beckywebb1916]

Thank you! This is very helpful. I'll look at it regularly to remind myself!

[@JulieDobsonMiner]

Brian.. you are so good at this and so humble. thanks for sharing:)

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

Thank you so much for the kind words, Julie! They're greatly appreciated!

[@karenspooner1492]

So glad you explained every part ..nice job 👍🎨❤

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

Thanks so much for the comment, Karen!

[@0007lena]

You do absolutely beautiful work! Thanks for sharing your trade tips.

[@sornshy77]

In Thailand art school they not teach or tell about some things to make me a painter and i don't know why but you make me understand some things is a secret of painting portraits. thanks a lot, Brian

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

Sornshy Sk Thank you so much for the comment. I'm so glad to hear that the video has been a help to you! I wish you all the best with your art!

[@paulinasanhueza2]

wow! thanks a lot Brian, it really taught me, about the contrasting values.

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

Thanks so much, Andy! Take care and I wish you all the best in your studies.

[@g.l.5487]

This has been immensely helpful, you explain everything so well. Thank you very much.

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

I'm so glad that the video has been a help to you. Thank you so much for your kind words!

[@mmmmmmmk]

great video - thanks for taking the time to do this

[@megpalmer69]

Thanks! Just starting to attempt portrait painting, and really helpful...

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

+Meg Palmer Thanks so much, Meg! Take care and I wish you all the best with your art!

[@jimmylagouache9850]

très belle démonstration, merci.

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

+jimmy lagouache Thanks so much for the comment!

[@loutillman936]

Wonderful Video on color-excellent teaching . I would love to see you point out tones on a portrait (the concept of turning with temperatures) . Thanks again -will definitely purchase your videos.

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

Thanks so much, A.J.! I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed the video. Take care.

[@fernandovincenzini1664]

i know you posted this a while back but this is a fantastic color theory lesson for skin tone mixing. fabulous work. Thank you.

[@geoffreywinnie5442]

Thank you for this video, digressions (especially the digressions) and all. A great, big color road map :)

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

Hi, Geoffrey. Thanks so much for the comment! I'm glad to hear that the video has been a help to you. Take care and I wish you all the best with your art!

[@pawan2414]

superb video. It is very useful. It listen and re listen, every time before starting painting oil portrait.

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

pawan sud Thanks so much for the kind comment about the video! It's greatly appreciated!

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

I was working on a 20"x 16" portrait when I recorded this video, but the amount of paint used would depend on how it was applied. I mostly work with solid paint (not thinned down) when painting flesh tones. There are times when I may use Liquin at the final stages of a portrait to help introduce some subtle color back into a particular area. I use OMS for thinning paint during the block-in stage to cover large areas quickly which helps when establishing value relationships. Hope this helps.

[@taurusguyblue]

thanks for your videos you inspire me to paint and value your our helpful tips,respect

[@giovina23]

Thank you so much for posting this, Brian. It has helped me tremendously!

[@monaroyer1621]

Beautifully done ! I shall revisit !

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

Thanks so much, Mona!

[@corrinphil]

I'm just learning how to paint. This video is exactly what I needed. Thank you so, so much. I have a couple questions. 1. Approximately what size portrait could you paint using the amount of paint you have here? 2. Do you thin your paint? If so, when and how? Do you use OMS or an oil thinner? If you do when do you use them, all of the time, for certain applications? What are your thoughts? Thank you thank you. You just got a new subscriber. I really appreciate this video.

[@bbcb1856]

Thank you! This is exactly what I was looking for!!!

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

Thanks so much for the message! It's greatly appreciated! I'm so glad to hear that the video was a help to you. If you want to learn more about painting flesh tones, I've produced an online class that is dedicated specifically to this topic. It can be found at www.craftsy.com/class/paint-better-portraits-realistic-skin-tones/. Thanks so much again!

[@Frankristian]

Great tutorial Brian! Thanks, it will be useful for practice

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

+Cristian Andrés Thanks so much! I'm glad that you found the video to be a help. Take care and I wish you all the best with your art!

[@whizicalmermaid7336]

great illustration. thank you.

[@barryryan5187]

this tutorial came to drop bombs, knowledge bombs!

[@jasropergoins2468]

Thank you for the details of mixing flesh tones and your way of explaining what you are doing. I like how lively you were and how inviting you were. If you happen to make dvds please let me know, I really enjoy your teaching style. I have not looked at your other videos yet (although I did subscribe to your channel a second ago), but would consider recording a "real time" session of you painting a portrait (as opposed to a sped up/time lapse version)? Thank you again for your generosity :-)

[@justine.Semidea]

so so so so useful ! thank you !!!

[@meoclew]

Wow! This video is so incredibly helpful!

[@lippa2105]

Awesome video!... As an artist I notice (especially when mixing flesh tone) I use a lot of white.. Also as a painter, I find Winton paints the absolute best.

[@patriciathurmond244]

thank you for this tutorial. I enjoyed it very much !

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

+Patricia Thurmond Thanks so much, Patricia! Your comment is greatly appreciated! Take care and have a great day!

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

I'm so glad that it was a help to you. Thank you for the kind message!

[@sidewalkmantra]

excellent tutorial. thank you

[@bernardbali8194]

Thank you so much, Brian...was awesome!

[@kayeherl9195]

thank you for this video! my skin tones look so flat and too red, and this helped a lot, thank you!

[@Lajoiedevivre540]

I like your video very much. Your passion for art and helping other artists is remarkable and wonderful. I'm an artist and always trying to improve on my flesh tones and your video is helpful but would be even more so to have a darker range of flesh tones. I would like some advice on painting dark brown skin.

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

sandra mgrfarm Hi, Sandra. Thank you so much for the comment and suggestion! I'll be posting some information on painting darker skin tones in the very near future. Take care and have a great day!

[@Certainlycaroline]

loved your video, thanks

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

+CertainlyCaroline Thanks so much! Your feedback is greatly appreciated!

[@DrNow-qd3mb]

This video was very relaxing

[@luishenriqueterencio4625]

hello Brian Congratulations on video. As calls this scraping knife you use to clean the palette? I am in Brazil and did not think to buy. Taking advantage of the course "Paint Better Portraits: Realistic Skin Tones" is subtitled? because to follow would be better for us in Brazil.

[@linegarneau7444]

Does a mix of titanium and zinc white works as well as titanium white alone ? Thank you for all you teach us free.

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

Thanks so much for the question! I'm not as familiar with working with zinc white, but I think that it may be more transparent than titanium white, as well as having a longer drying time. Because of this, I prefer to work with titanium white, by itself. It's very opaque and is easily mixed with other colors without getting too thin. Often, opaque paint is easier to work with than transparent paint. The reason I say this is because it is easier to blend opaque paint with a brush, palette knife, fingers, etc. The paint can be pushed around more and manipulated to get a soft blending effect. On the other hand, transparent paint allows very little overworking before you start to remove paint from the canvas, instead of blending it together. Having said all of that, I would encourage you to try a mixture of both, as you had mentioned, to see if that works better for your painting style or not. I hope this helps. Thanks so much again and have a great day!

[@hirosocal8249]

Thanks for the rich content video! It really helps my painting:)

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

Thanks so much for the comment! I'm so glad to hear that the video has been a help to you. Take care and have a great week of painting!

[@kosolya]

Muy buenas, Muchisimas gracias por esta clase mas detallada de cómo hay que mezclar colores para conseguir efectos bonitos. LLevo tiempo buscando algo asi, una explicación profunda y con nombres de colores para poder encontrarlos en la tienda y pintar a gusto. Os aconsejo guardar esta clase en sus Favorites para poder verla varias veces. Creanme, no hay muchas como esta! Gracias de nuevo a Brian! You are cool master! Thank you.

[@linegarneau7444]

My favorite youtube ! Thank you very much

[@robertmartino7548]

Thanks i have to watch again.

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

Here's a step-by-step video about mixing flesh tones for painting portraits.

[@mjlazarski1036]

Well done, very thorough, i appreciate your efforts!. Who the hell disliked this video?

[@johnnyb8629]

I'm going to build the optics that Tim made in Tim's Vermeer to help my daughter with her aspirations to paint photorealistic portraits. I figure starting out with pencil and then moving into color paint would be the natural progression. The hardest thing would be mixing the color tones and this video helps greatly with that, thank you. What are the advantages of oil over acrylics?

[@asaroba]

Hello Brian, first of all thanks for sharing your way of getting ready to do your portraits. Is this something you learned from some old master´s technique, or you came up with?

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

asaroba Thanks so much for the comment! My approach to color and mixing flesh tones comes as a direct result of studying with world renowned portrait painter, Joe Bowler. His influence and encouragement for studying the old masters, specifically the late 19th century painters, has had a tremendous impact on how I paint today. To learn more about Joe Bowler and his incredible work visit www.joebowlerchronicles.com. I hope that this information will be a help to you. Take care.

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

I'm so glad to hear that the video was a help to you! Take care.

[@juliankent4805]

There's a lot to take and you seem to use a lot more colors than other artists but I can see why. Thanks.

[@ATALGE]

Wow u handle your pallet knife so well

[@margolit1]

Brian-great video, thank you. Do you always mix your colors with white or do you ever take advantage of the transparency of certain pigments by not mixing with white? Thanks again.

[@cindyenglert.az51]

Thank you so much- very helpful!!

[@maryelizabethtingler3113]

this was very helpful! thanks for sharing., it makes far more sense to spend the time prepping (which I'm lazy at doing and do the mix and paint, mix and paint method). I'm noticing the more work I get, the less efficient I'm becoming!!lol, I took the time to mix all my fleshtones in your method, and it's SO much better!! :D I can't believe I'm so stubborn, I've done it the same way all these years. Thank you again

[@edizmonzon7112]

now I can come back to my paintings thaks a lot Brian

[@BrianNeherFineArt]

+EDIZ MONZON Thanks so much!