My Paintings Didn't Look Good Until I Discovered This Secret

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About me (bio) :
Website :
www.florentfarges.com
I am an artist living and working in France. I learned the techniques of the Atelier of the Nineteenth century and now I try to share some of my knowledge with the rest of the world, because I think that beauty still has an important role to play in artistic creation. I do mostly drawing and oil painting, and my goal is always to provide techniques, thoughts and explanations that can be useful to anyone, from beginners to more advanced artists.
The material I use most of the time (not necessarily in this video) :
Drawing
✓ Kneaded eraser
✓ Plumb line (DIY)
✓ Small mirror
✓ An old synthetic brush
✓ Masking tape
✓ Cutter
✓ Sandpaper or sanding block
✓ Mahlstick or Hand rest (DIY)
✓ Level ruler
Graphite
✓ Pencils 2H, HB and 2B
Charcoal
✓ If available: Nitram charcoals (H, HB and B)
✓ Square charcoals
Black and white chalk
✓ Sketch pencil Conté white
✓ Square Conté noir : HB and 2B
✓ Chalk or pencil holder
✓ Pencil sketch Conté Pierre noire : H and HB
Sanguine
✓ Sketch pencil Conté : Blood and blood Medici
✓ Crayon Polychromos Faber-Castel : sanguine
✓ Sketch pencil Conté white
Oil painting
Palette
(Extra-fine paint, recommended brands depending on availability: Sennelier, Lefranc Bourgeois, Winsor and Newton, Royal Talens Rembrandt, Blockx, Michael Harding, Gamblin)
✓ Titanium White PW6
✓ Flake White (or substitute) PW1
✓ Cadmium Yellow light (or "lemon") PY35
✓ Yellow Ochre PY42
✓ Raw Umber PBr7
✓ Transparent Red Oxyde PR101
✓ Burnt Umber PBr7
✓ Venetian Red PR101
✓ Pyrrole Red PR255
✓ Quinacridone Rose PV19
✓ Quinacridone Magenta PV19
✓ Ultramarine Blue PB29
✓ Mars Black PBk11
✓ Cobalt Teal Blue (turquoise light) PG50
✓ Phthalo green warm PG36
Brushes
✓ Filbert hog bristle and Synthetic sizes n° 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12
✓ Flat Synthetic brushes (same size)
✓ Round sable brush or round Kolinsky sable n° 4, 8, 10, 12 (from the size of the nail (about one inch) or synthetic imitation
Medium
✓ Linseed stand oil
✓ Odorless mineral spirits
✓ Or Alkyd medium (Liquin, Galkyd, Flow'n'Dry etc.)
✓ Safflower oil
Surface
✓ Linen canvas, fine grain universal coating
✓ For studies : Canson oil-acrylic oil paper Figueras
Others
✓ Palette
✓ Sponge and spalter brushes
✓ Palette knife in the shape of a water drop, no souldering
✓ A few small pots, containers, jars...
✓ Paper towels
***
#art #painting #inspiration
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Thanks for watching !

[@tfrtrouble]

That's a really interesting perspective. I've been watching a few videos recently on using the loomis method to draw faces, and in some cases, the artists are landing up with an technically accomplished face, which absolutely looks like a person, but it doesn't really look like the person they are trying to draw.

[@JNeedels]

That was one of the best lessons I’ve ever heard when speaking of getting a likeness. I do mostly portraits and that information is priceless. Thank you so much for sharing that with us.

[@rebekahcrossman4690]

Michael Angelo is in good company IMO. This is exactly what’s been missing in my drawings. Thank you, thank you!

[@FlorentFargesarts]

Michelangelo is amazing, so quiet and never had a bad word on my paintings haha 🤣Glad it was helpful!

[@davirosa]

Very Welldone Instructive video! Thank you Florent! I would like to give the names of the three lighting setups: 1st - Butterfly (due to the shadow under the nose) 2nd - Rembrandt Lighting 3rd - Split Lighting Another powerful one is the Loop Lighting. It's kinda a mix between 1 and 2. About drawing shadow shapes... Glen Orbik used to say to Draw the light shapes instead. But he Always mention to interpret the shapes as puzzle pieces. So, probably the ideal is to draw both, tweak from light to dark shapes, cause puzzle is like this, the positive fits into in negatives! Hugs from Brazil!!

[@FlorentFargesarts]

Thanks, never heard about these lighting names actually but it makes sense!

[@davirosa]

@@FlorentFargesarts The Rembrandt is famous among photographers, and It happens that Im a photographer too. But try the loop lighting, its more and less what you made in your lady Second atempt. Its an sculptural lighting but not harsh, somehow more pleasent to light delicated female faces and hence keeping It in a deep shadows mood.

[@rdendelacruz4332]

....actually, thats the reason sometimes why you need to change your subjects color to black and white......to locate the shadow shapes........when i paint, i use 2 pictures. The colored one and the black and white one

[@FlorentFargesarts]

That's actually a great idea to work with 2 different pictures 👍👍

[@rdendelacruz4332]

@@FlorentFargesarts thanks for counting in my strat sir😅😁

[@elleeo1495]

A brilliant explanation, Florent! I've seen you use this in your paintings. I try to be mindful of these important shadow shapes, but the additional details you've included in this video really make all the pieces come together. Thank you for sharing your amazing skills & knowledge. Merci beaucoup, mon ami!

[@FlorentFargesarts]

Thanks, glad it was useful 🙏🎨😊

[@amysbees6686]

Brilliant! A real game-changer, Florentino!🎨

[@FlorentFargesarts]

Thank you so much 🙏✨🎨😊

[@KennyGsca]

Makes you wonder then…….if you had multiple facial maps of a known celebrity, and without knowing who it is….. using the facial map points draw in a face……”what would it look like? could we recognise the celeb?” Food for though. Thanks again Flo for your wisdom and knowlege

[@wrighteously]

Photogrammetry I think it's called

[@jttigera2]

Could we do it by hand from the digital maps or would we need software

[@FlorentFargesarts]

I think a machine would recognize a facial map for sure. For a human being, imo, it's way too abstract to be usable.

[@kerriemckinstry-jett8625]

Maybe? Ileana Hunter draws faces with graphite in a very minimalist way. She did one of Audrey Hepburn which doesn't have a lot to it but is instantly recognizable (as long as you've seen some pictures of Audrey Hepburn).

[@paulashton4155]

No food for thought..its tried and tested..what point you making..its made you yhink...wow..best not do that!

[@richardsong8]

Great teaching! So well communicated! Painting/drawing/teaching... wonderful triune gifts...

[@sketchartist1964]

It's all very true. I had the same experience. I wasn't understanding how to create good portraits until I began focusing on the values and shadow shapes instead of the features. Do this and a nose, a mouth, or an eye, will magically appear all by themselves.

[@orangutanjuice]

I was fortunate enough to come across Mike Mignola's Hellboy comics when they first came out. His approach to light and shadow taught me this very technique, and I'm eternally grateful for that.

[@gregorymartzevitch222]

That is amazing! I was stunt by this lesson! It's the most valuable 12 minutes 40 seconds I 'ever spent! Huge thank you Flo for such helpful information!

[@FlorentFargesarts]

Glad it was helpful!

[@mariaetheridge8343]

Excellent tutorial - thank you!

[@neenakandwal6191]

Brilliant video! Thank you Florentino!

[@joydeschenes]

Very informative, thank you

[@elizabaum]

This is really helpful. Thank you.

[@FlorentFargesarts]

You're very welcome!

[@krishnamayimarianni8026]

Brilliant! Thank you!

[@raphaelcesco_art]

Game changing material here, thanks a lot for sharing, Florent ! 🙏

[@barbarap8647]

A million thankyous😊

[@resistancepublishing]

I learned about the shadow shape method 12 days ago and I’m definitely going to work on mastering it

[@deniseclarkart]

Thank you so helpful! So well explained!

[@FlorentFargesarts]

Glad it was helpful!

[@markl240]

Very helpful. Thank you for posting this.

[@FlorentFargesarts]

Glad it was helpful! 🙏✨🎨😊

[@underscored10]

very helpful, thanks. I try to keep the asaro planes in mind when drawing but this simplification of just 3 memorable shadow casts might be even more useful. I'll definitely give these a go.

[@yanivhay]

WOW super valuable instructions here, Florence this is truly helpful - thank you very much for providing this info and also in such a clear and easy way. 😍🤩

[@user-ky1di8cb3j]

Thank you so much I am happy to have found you! Merci

[@FlorentFargesarts]

You are so welcome!

[@louisea966]

thanks Florent

[@JudeandherPencil]

Really fantastic explanation Florent, thank you 🙏 so good! ✨

[@FlorentFargesarts]

Glad you liked it!

[@judihopewell2499]

Very good lesson. Florent thank you

[@FlorentFargesarts]

Glad you liked it!

[@OneCanadiansJourney]

Excellent

[@jameslabs1]

Thanks

[@joycesmith5786]

Very helpful. Thanks

[@FlorentFargesarts]

You're welcome!

[@youroldmangaming8150]

Thank you Florent from New Zealand. This is very helpful and helped me to link mentally some things I was doing but not knowing it and not consistently. I will put this into my toolbox now. Thank you.

[@FlorentFargesarts]

Awesome, glad it's helpful. Thanks for your nice comment 🙏😊

[@philcourtney7831]

Have you done any videos on using lead white or flake white ? It was recommended to me for doing better flash tones.

[@ThomasJojo]

Thanx Florent. I was tangled.up in lines, and had started to think about building shapes for volumes instead, so I found this in the morning, so u helped me pointing the direction I looked.for. Always helpful you are.. ;-)

[@FlorentFargesarts]

Glad it helped!

[@kyb9623]

thank you!

[@FlorentFargesarts]

No worries! 🙏✨🎨😊

[@MsSarcasticity]

thanks!

[@FlorentFargesarts]

🙏✨🎨😊

[@Msannamitta]

i recently did something like this from a painting that is in bad shape. so to replicate from that which is the goal here I layed down my shapes in charcoal very softly and not to much tone so I could come back, look and remove parts for the lights. Your video made good timing for me in what I'm working on. Thank you

[@FlorentFargesarts]

That's great, I think it's the best strategy when a painting is in a bad shape to, precisely, rethink the shapes like you did! kudos 🎨👍

[@IronJaxX]

J'adore tes vidéos Florant! Un gros merci du québec. Le top serait que tes vidéos soient toutes en français haha.

[@FlorentFargesarts]

Merci beaucoup @IronJaxX, ahah! Oui, j'aimerais tellement pouvoir me dédoubler pour avoir le temps de faire une chaine francophone en plus, pour le moment c'est un peu juste 😅😅😅

[@jonlizsam]

Wow, great video! I paint in watercolor and this content is 100% applicable to my work, so thank you. Have you heard of a notan? I have recently learned of them and have been using them to guide my paintings. The black and white shadow portraits are so helpful. There could be so many more. Looking up, looking down, 3/4 and profile. 😊

[@FlorentFargesarts]

Sure, it might be helpful to add more angles. For this quick tip video, I wanted to keep things simple but maybe for a part 2

[@oakdogfu]

I hope someone you love gives you MANY kisses!!

[@paulashton4155]

I use light puddles..self developed..sounds like the opposite or parallel idea.

[@cohaiandrei483]

Brillant! Where i cand find a portrait sculpture like yours whit michelangelo ?

[@FlorentFargesarts]

Got mine from Atelier Lorenzi, Paris. In the US, check Fountainhead Gypsoteca

[@carloscs1007]

Gombrich tiene un libreto de 100 y pocas páginas donde trata este tema del parecido y la ubicación relativa de los rasgos faciales en el rostro. Los caricaturistas usan mucho estos conceptos 😇

[@carloscs1007]

Librito

[@lqart]

Hi. Thanks for the awesome tutorial. My question is if the shadow shapes are this important, how do people still achieve likeness in simple cartoon styles? It's something I struggle to understand, since they use shapes.

[@FlorentFargesarts]

You can still achieve likeness with linear work, it's just way more difficult for a realistic painting. For cartoon style, that's a completely different set of skills, not a specialist.

[@lqart]

@@FlorentFargesarts oh okay understood, thanks again for the awesome tutorial.

[@enchantingmarina5221]

Yayy Amen

[@melindawolfUS]

I do pet portraits. Do you think the value shapes also help with "pet" likeness? A lot of my reference photos from clients are lit very flat😅

[@joydeschenes]

Yes it does apply….. Pets have structure and form also and blowing up a pet photo to canvas size helps to concentrate on form instead of getting the drawing to size. Even if you are painting very loose it’s the form and shadows that brings the likeness or in a pets case, the personality. 🎨

[@Suflers570]

One light source upper right side of model. Not artist right side. squint from model to canvas. Squint squint squint very important throughout your painting. Stand back from your easel six feet and compare model and painting. Observe very carefully without having background noises.

[@KimberlyLetsGo]

Rembrandt was huge on this. Look at his portraits and you'll always see that 'Rembrandt inverted triangle' lighting under the eye that's on the shadow side.

[@shuvoDhar.5537]

❤❤❤

[@paultimson6674]

Gil Kane the comic book artist would breakdown a face the same way. Check out his pencils.

[@FlorentFargesarts]

will do, thanks !

[@rdendelacruz4332]

This guy reveals my secret😅😆

[@FlorentFargesarts]

😅😅😅

[@Herr_Vorragender]

But 🤔you didn't use the loomis method ☝😧😂 I'll see myself out 🙈

[@mogalcat3091]

Just today I was looking for an AI that can do shadow shapes. Couldn't find any, though.

[@kathyhall668]

Lol i set my phone to recognise my face , it does not! My finger print does not work, i have to put the pinn in everytime.😮😮

[@djstief8190]

Okay, look, it is called "negative shapes", we learn this in 3rd grade art in Australia. Save yourself some time, paint what you see.

[@Thyinternet]

Yes, but discern and select what you see. Otherwise you become a meet camera

[@Brightsupernova]

Makes total sense! I never thought of this before, but think of Andy Warhol and his iconic Marylin- her face is overexposed if you think about how he represented her face!

[@gimzunseoung8078]

but in east Asia. there is no shadow. too much bright....

[@Foervraengd]

Your videos are great, but.... this isnt really a "secret" technique. This is a commonly shared advice even among us digital artists, nor is it a new technique either. It is a super useful technique, but it's not really a secret.

[@FlorentFargesarts]

Of course it's not really a "secret" but it’s just a fact that this word works in a youtube title. If it can help beginners who didn't know about this useful technique and introduce it to them, then I would gladly call it a "secret", even though it's not. With 1500+ years of art behind our backs, it's hard to find actual secrets tbh 😅