OMG...It Works with Colored Pencil! Green Base Realistic Skin Tone Drawing Tutorial

[@cclifdopson7475]

I’m 76, but as a 12 year old, I got to know a major portrait painter. The first thing I learned was to do a green underpainting. I’ve used that complementary color idea ever since, whether it’s with oils, acrylics, pastels, or pencil. It’s always aroused confusion, wonder, and questions about the extra time it takes. This video is an excellent demonstration of the idea. And the extra tips on the different characteristics of pressure and brands of pencils are very helpful. Great job!

[@BMDPortraits]

I only started doing it a couple of years ago.....and its amazing to hear an artist like u who've been doing it for decades....thank u!

[@HimmelsscheibeNebra]

This reminds me of classical layering / glazing oil painting techniques where Earth Greens were used in the underpainting / grisaille in particular in the flash tone areas. I did not realize that this would also work great in colored pencil drawings. Anyway, it is a very inspiring video, and one day, when my current creative block is overcome, I definitely will remember this video and try it out. Very inspiring and great drawing skills.

[@maureenodi1258]

Does this green under painting only apply for light skinned painting?… can it also be used for a dark skinned painting?

[@hogarthheathan]

Can you upload a video of your paintings techniques with the green.

[@HarmonyHappiness]

Wow how is it possible to be that good in drawing it looks like a picture

[@BMDPortraits]

Well, maybe because ive been doing this for lots of years

[@annabahatska1433]

Amazing! I could never grasp how people blend color pencils to get realistic look! Very impressive.

[@Cam-SB]

When you use a complementary color as a base tone, you will definitely get a more vibrant effect. You did well!

[@BMDPortraits]

Thanks

[@athieliagriffin7957]

Thank you for listing the colors you used on the side! Very helpful! Good technique!

[@BMDPortraits]

No problem 😊

[@MiguelEnriqueCVeluz]

Greek iconography uses this technique, which is why it makes Greek Christian icons look somewhat different from icons from other places in the world.

[@BMDPortraits]

Nice Info....thanks

[@HelioMorenoMarquez]

Nice to know it.

[@RichardMcLaren]

Oh wow, that's really interesting. Thank you that little nugget of info.

[@lennoxraynewood2741]

I’ve never used green as the underpainting for anything I’ve always used blue, purple, yellow I’ll have to try using green next picture I make to see how it feels to me. This turned out really nice I was surprised with the green looking good like it does.

[@BMDPortraits]

Thanks....have fun!

[@brucetidwell7715]

I have recently been wondering if it works with pencils. I'm familiar with it's use in painting. Thanks for the demo! I just wish you had given us a final glimpse of the completed picture.

[@BMDPortraits]

Ur welcome....finish product....soon!

[@mchugh601]

Wow. I've painted with oils including portraits for most of my life and you made that look easier than anything I've ever done. You certainly have an eye for line detail and color nuances that most overlook. Great job! God bless!

[@alanlealferreira4929]

I have used similar technique on a water color portraitute, my inspiration was the verdaccio underpainting that i also used on oils, a very old painting process associated with the renaissance era

[@BMDPortraits]

Wow....that's great!

[@amelioravictoriadionyssia3323]

Its interesting how similar the unfinished product looks to how someone looks when theyre dead. When the pigmentation in the skin thins out as skin cells die, there is a yellowish, pale color that happens. It makes sense to use an organic base to measure an organic result

[@BMDPortraits]

That makes so much sense

[@suzanneoffer3577]

I really like to grow in my coloring skills. I will definitely try this. Thank you for sharing this technique.

[@BMDPortraits]

You are so welcome!

[@lindathompson3660]

What a wonderful use of colour theory 💜

[@BMDPortraits]

Thank you! 😊

[@ogielicious_artworks]

I watched this video until it ended. I found it doesn't make sense earlier. But I changed my mind where I saw your tutorial thoroughly. It's just amazing and very...very helpful cutting my learning curve in colored pencil. Thanks for sharing.

[@BMDPortraits]

Thanks & Welcome!

[@saffron.icecream]

Wow! Thanks 🙏🏻

[@kishasworld]

Amazing and beautiful

[@BMDPortraits]

Thanks a lot 😊

[@alyzahs]

This is stunning, amazing and thank you for putting the coloring pencil names on the screen ❤

[@BMDPortraits]

My pleasure 😊

[@louisekrause8559]

Absolutely beautiful!!

[@BMDPortraits]

Thanks so much!

[@RalphyDraws-x7t]

Hi po, Kuya BMD. After watching this video, it made me remember the time na drinawing ko po si Padre Pio. At first, natakot po akong gamitin yung Verdaccio (Green base) technique thinking na magrereflect yung green sa buong mukha nya. However, I trusted the process of adding more colors after the green base technique, and yun, my Padre Pio portrait turned out to be realsitic...

[@BMDPortraits]

Green is Life!!!

[@Seviski]

your skills are amazing and it really inspires me to learn how to draw the colored pencils

[@BMDPortraits]

Wow, happy to hear that!

[@TR-707]

Ive seen this used since 80s with plastic kit model painting, with brown, red and green yellow patches before you do any further layering of colors you will actually want. Incredible effect!

[@BMDPortraits]

Thanks!

[@vapeghost9001]

My friend you're a great artist, I appreciate learning from you.

[@BMDPortraits]

So nice of you

[@YOUbadGIRL2012]

It's wonderful!

[@BMDPortraits]

Thank you very much!

[@sp1704]

Wow! I can't wait to show my daughter!

[@BMDPortraits]

Please do!

[@kciNjr17_Portrait.Artworks]

Very nice technique master

[@BMDPortraits]

Many many thanks

[@rockon8174]

Beautiful!!!

[@BMDPortraits]

Thank you!!

[@JW.C396]

Excellent technique and approach.

[@BMDPortraits]

Many thanks!

[@klynzs]

Wow. Such a surprise

[@BMDPortraits]

Thanks!

[@nigel900]

Fascinating. 👍🏻

[@BMDPortraits]

Thanks!

[@donkiddick3562]

Love this. Can't wait to give it a try.

[@olf777f]

THAT IS AMAZING

[@BMDPortraits]

Thanks!

[@rodgerjohnson297]

​@@BMDPortraitsI dont know if you mentioned which paper you're using but I didnt hear or see it in your discription, could you please tell me?

[@BMDPortraits]

@@rodgerjohnson297 Strathmore Bristol 300 vellum surface

[@pplsmyl]

Its great...just need to see the you finish the job. As a photographer, green is a major hue. Interesting to watch how to use it in coloring, drawing out the skin tones

[@BMDPortraits]

Will do!

[@nunuallen4327]

Amazing.

[@BMDPortraits]

Thanks!

[@rimattiman]

Can't wait to try this. Thank you 😊

[@BMDPortraits]

Ur Welcome!

[@angierox6964]

I’m just here to be amazed! Thank you that was amazing!

[@BMDPortraits]

Wow, thank you!

[@ronmckickass5714]

Great video! Your an amazing artist!

[@BMDPortraits]

Thanks!

[@MEGAMIGA]

Very good!

[@BMDPortraits]

Thanks!

[@schabuPL]

Its so good tutorial! Thank you. I need to check all your content

[@BMDPortraits]

Glad you like them!

[@justmemimi7338]

What do I think? I think you’re brilliant! Thank you for sharing this technique.

[@BMDPortraits]

Thank you! 😊

[@IanJose-246]

Very Fantastic my teacher😊😊

[@BMDPortraits]

Thank you! 😃

[@yetti_sn]

Love this, giving it a try now

[@BMDPortraits]

Thanks!

[@rontommy50]

All I can say is Thankyou. This is really inspiring.

[@BMDPortraits]

So glad!

[@jerrysegarra67]

Love it

[@BMDPortraits]

Thanks!

[@mrdcato]

Wow, that's pretty dope!!

[@BMDPortraits]

Thank you!

[@lantiguaart]

I do see the green under painting immediately seeing the photo

[@manonvernon8646]

I'd probably be cautious implementing this technique for subjects with a cooler undertone when portraying their skintone truthfully - it could give them an aged or muddy effect that may not be flattering. For those with warmer "olive" coloring this would work beautifully.

[@judihopewell2499]

Great lesson. I will try it

[@BMDPortraits]

Great!

[@Dzikuska_na_salonach]

stunning! i'm definitely gonna try this technique. Thank you for an amazing tutorial :)

[@BMDPortraits]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@creativesolutionsart-h3o]

That is a wonderful technique! And your enthusiasm is very engaging to the video! Turned out beautiful, and even if you can see all those colors individually peeking through it just makes it more interesting, and it is very lively and vibrant… Thank you for sharing🙏❤️

[@BMDPortraits]

Thank you so much!

[@jameserickson9327]

It looks great so far! This video has been very helpful

[@BMDPortraits]

Thanks!

[@AfriyieGideon-b6o]

This is really amazing

[@BMDPortraits]

Thanks!

[@JoyfulArtisticAdventures]

Beautiful ❤ i will try using green pencils.

[@BMDPortraits]

Have fun!

[@Just1Nora]

My painting instructor had us do self portraits and start by blocking in our faces in pastel colors. Honestly, it was a bit flat (it was my first/only painting class), but one of my best paintings that semester. I gifted it to my mom and she keeps it safe in her curios cabinet.

[@BMDPortraits]

I think u must frame it....

[@LordChumbley]

It’s like an underpainting. Very cool technique.

[@BMDPortraits]

Thanks!

[@FerylMusic]

This is magical

[@BMDPortraits]

Thanks!

[@RenukaArtGalore]

Wow you are an amazing artist. One of my favorites here ❤❤😊

[@BMDPortraits]

Thank you so much 😀

[@ivanmarinsanchez2841]

Really... I loved it!!❤

[@BMDPortraits]

Thanks!

[@masterklep]

Amazing! Thank you for advice! Need to give a try! ❤

[@BMDPortraits]

Enjoy!!!

[@danielandreisx]

Interesting...Thank you

[@BMDPortraits]

Welcome!

[@RosaKaraline]

This is really interesting! Thank you for sharing this. I used to draw with colored pencil all of the time, your portrait makes me want to again. :)

[@BMDPortraits]

Ur welcome!

[@juniperartist]

Thank you, I'm definitely going to try this.

[@BMDPortraits]

Have fun!

[@marialilianaamezcuaalvarez6101]

Gracias ❤❤❤

[@emiljohann88]

Thank you

[@colorfulbleeding]

Hello, THis seem to work great with caucasian figures but can you use green for an indian or darker skin?

[@BMDPortraits]

Yes it will work.....the trick will be on actual colors that u use!

[@vapeghost9001]

Man that work is awesome!

[@BMDPortraits]

Thanks!

[@XenaArt]

Дивовижно! ❤❤❤

[@TheKandiO]

Wow, I’m so excited to try this. All I have are Prismacolors, but hopefully those will do.

[@BMDPortraits]

They will work great!

[@TheKandiO]

2 months. Got past my holiday commissions and ready to give this a try… Finally!

[@ksrt2654]

WOW WOW WOW!

[@BMDPortraits]

Thanks

[@rickfrancarj]

Amazing

[@BMDPortraits]

Thanks!

[@WhiteFyre]

There is a lot of green in skin tone, many artists eventually learn this!

[@BMDPortraits]

Thanks!

[@RichardMcLaren]

I've been adult colouring for around 3three yrs now, and one of the biggest problems I have is seeing what colours are actually in skin and hair etc. I would never have seen the green in skin unless it was pointed out to me, in videos such as this. I was the same with hair, I just didn't see, for example, the amount of blue there is, in black hair. It's such valuable knowledge to have and makes a huge difference.

[@WhiteFyre]

@@RichardMcLaren Yes! It really opens your eyes, doesn’t it?

[@K.ART_vlog]

so nice 😍

[@BMDPortraits]

Thanks 😊

[@403M4K]

Lo intentaré en una esfera gracias por el dato

[@disraelidemon]

Green underpainting for flesh tones was a standard technique for egg tempera painting in mediaeval Europe. Egg tempera painting is still practiced in Greece, for religious icon painting, and if you ever see a half-finished icon, it will have green skin tones.

[@BMDPortraits]

Wow....great Info....THanks!

[@Wildgrowsthenature]

Good job dude. Think ill try it just for fun! :)

[@BMDPortraits]

Thanks!

[@angelec4440]

Awesome.. what kind of paper or pad did you use for this particular work of art?

[@BMDPortraits]

Strathmore 300 Vellum

[@angelec4440]

@@BMDPortraits Thank you so much, I am going to order in Amazon.

[@jacintahunt9888]

Fantastic

[@BMDPortraits]

Thanks

[@edithparra3356]

I don't have the color pencils you are using, only Prismacolor pencils, any suggestions on what pencils to use if I want to try the green based technique?

[@BMDPortraits]

U can use light green, Moss Green and Dark Green

[@edithparra3356]

@@BMDPortraits Thanks :)

[@chaimaartiste5689]

Thank you

[@BMDPortraits]

Ur welcome

[@perimetroprimitivo5734]

Sos un maestro

[@BMDPortraits]

Gracias!!!

[@fahadsalimsaidal_jabri3720]

Majec ❤😍

[@BMDPortraits]

Thanks!

[@Sirena101]

Can you use a blue/purple under layer for portraits with cooler skin tones?

[@BMDPortraits]

I think you can do that too....but maybe choose very light colors

[@ElviraPede-nz4zc]

Спасибо за информационное видео ролик❤🫶👍🏻

[@BMDPortraits]

Thanks!

[@SupriYadi-mw8sn]

Sir did you ever use Lyra Rembrand Polycolor? If not..., can you use this colored pencils? and let us know the first impresion using this colored pencils 🙏

[@BMDPortraits]

Noted!....haven't tried it yet

[@tommytitmouse]

I love the sound of this method, but I cannot get hold of a Dark Olive green Faber Castell colour pencil in the UK. It would help me greatly if you could please give me the number of this Pencil as I might have better luck with the addition of putting in the number when I search for a Dark Olive green pencil but so far I have had no luck tracking one down.

[@BMDPortraits]

This is actually the dark olive green of Goldfaber, Im also not sure if i had the Polychromos one....lol!

[@frozick0]

Hello, I don't usually comment but I've been subscribed for a long time. And I have improved at colored pencils through the years and this such a great tutorial. Although, it would be useful to have tutorials for different skin colors. Like Scott Christian Sava who's good at painting, he shows how to color the darker people, pale skin color like the British, and Yellowish skin color.

[@BMDPortraits]

Great suggestion...Im gonna work on that

[@billmancos9820]

Your technique is great, and the outcome is fabulous, and I would like to try it, but, being a lazy person, I’m wondering if I could get away with toning the whole ground a very light green paint before I start with the pencils? I use pastel board, so l could also buy it already green. Please let me know. What do you think?

[@BMDPortraits]

I think, that painrung or priming style is a lot better with Pastel chalks or Pastel Pencil.....with colored pencil, it needs to actually mix together

[@HelioMorenoMarquez]

This technique was already used in the 18th century by French and English portrait painters such as Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres. The difference between the technique commonly used by the English and that used by the French was the base color, green being used by the English and blue by the French.

[@HelioMorenoMarquez]

A new subscriber btw. very good video and work.

[@BMDPortraits]

Wow, thanks for the trivia, I need to watch documentaries on those artists

[@PeterRossin-t5t]

Hey man, love your videos! Just curious, with your pastel videos are you priming mixed media paper with gesso first. If so, what kind of applicator are you using to achieve a smooth even finish?

[@BMDPortraits]

Yes, i use Clear Texture Gesso, i use a small paint roller made of foam, that i got from a hardware section of a local thrift store

[@AlexYorim]

Hmmm, insighting. Watercolor at gouche painter ako. Pwede ang green colored pencils sa base layers. Tapos i-layer ng orange, red, or pink na watercolor.

[@BMDPortraits]

i think mas better, the other way around.....green watercolor, then colored pencil

[@AlexYorim]

@@BMDPortraitsTotoo rin po.

[@jacintahunt9888]

What paper were you using

[@BMDPortraits]

Strathmore Bristol 300 Vellum

[@domenicosorrentino1972]

Do you treat your paper in some way? To get those vibrant colors? It seems oil painting not pencil. Thank you

[@BMDPortraits]

No, i didn't, went straight to layering, maybe d greens gave that kind of paint look

[@CRIANDOASSUNTOS]

Minhas primeiras lindas pinturas foram em lápis de Cera.

[@BMDPortraits]

I want to try that also

[@heleavila3387]

What paper you use ???

[@BMDPortraits]

Strathmore 300 Bristol Vellum

[@BrianGoguen-k7k]

I know a guy who does his work in B & W first.I start with burnt sienna.But a touch of green I add to my fleshtones.

[@BMDPortraits]

That is a great technique too

[@DrawingArt369]

👌

[@BMDPortraits]

Thanks!

[@hugger1ify]

This technique also can replaces the colour pencil to pastel color pencil as well .😊

[@BMDPortraits]

Yes 😊

[@Grizzlox]

This works with pastels too, but you need to be very gentle with the greening

[@BMDPortraits]

True....I use it with pastel pencils

[@rodgerjohnson297]

4:50, the may green, what brand pencil are you using, its not polychromos, what is it?

[@BMDPortraits]

Its Faber Castell Goldfaber

[@TruthSurge]

Your accent sounds Arabic. Are you from somewhere in the Middle-East? Israel or Saudi Arabia? I always wonder if I can guess where someone lives. I may be wrong but it sounds like Middle-East somewhere. Green cancels out red. They are opposite on the color wheel. So, if you start with a base of green, you simply have less red intensity for any orange and red pencils you use. Less saturation. The light green (light meaning small amount) is enough to dull the red from too saturated to more naturally saturated for skin color. You could have used blue also. Blue cancels orange and orange is basically where skin (CAUCASIAN) resides. You probably could have used gray also. It's sort of like saying hey I found a great math.... 3 - 1 = 2! But someone else says 2 - 0 = 2 and someone else says 1 + 1 = 2. Many ways to get to 2! I like the idea of getting your very darkest darks in EARLY so you have the full value range already there at least in parts so you can better gauge the amount of color to add. Be careful adding green to the very lightest areas. Don't want them to appear green. Tip of nose seems to exhibit this adverse effect. If you have enough color choices in your pencil set, I think you could just use a dark dull brown to sketch the basic shapes then just start using the correct colors instead of shifting the entire face toward green. But whatever way works best for someone is what they probably should do. Thx for the idea.

[@BMDPortraits]

Hi...Im from the Philippines...your observation is on point....this is actually my 1st time trying this technique on a full portrait....and ur right i really need some adjustments next time.....Thanks 4 d time u spent watching the vid i really appreciate it!

[@TruthSurge]

@@BMDPortraits ah, okay. I was not sure if it was Middle-East or where. But you know, using green or blue or gray, you can still get some good results. MY opinion is that lots of artists choose to use COLORS only (no black and very limited white for reclaiming the hilights at the end). So, using green or blue as a base can work and possibly it's up to the artist as to what result is best. Sometimes it's just easier to put a base of some color and shade but you know, if your idea is to keep it artsy, then color is not as important as shape and values. :) Keep rockin! Your results look really good!!!

[@dominic_19077]

And here I am an Invader Zim artist. 😂