Painting Skin Tones

In this clip from one of Ahmed Aldoori’s painting bundles, he teaches you how to layer paint to create different skin tones. You’ll see several examples of how he achieves different tones as he paints on top of a variety of head sketches. Each of them he does under different lighting conditions. If you want to see the rest of this demo checkout his bundle that’s now on Proko - proko.com/ahme...
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ABOUT PROKO:
Instructional How to Draw videos for artists. My drawing lessons are approachable enough for beginners and detailed enough for advanced artists. My philosophy is to teach timeless concepts in an entertaining way. I believe that when you are having fun, you learn better. I take pride in producing high quality videos that you will enjoy watching and re-watching.
CREDITS:
Artist | Instructor - Ahmed Aldoori (ahmedaldoori.com/)
Editing - Ahmed Aldoori
Additional Edits - Sean Ramsey (www.peoplewhodr...)
Music Used with Permission
Intro - The Freak Fandango Orchestra

[@ProkoTV]

Thanks Ahmed! If you want to see more check out his painting bundle that’s now on Proko - proko.com/ahmedaldoori

[@claudemonet4386]

The act of translating into Arabic

[@user-df7qm5tb8e]

hi, greetings from turkey!

[@lohithm5043]

I TRIED AND INSTENTLY IMPROVED THANKU

[@whatleather]

Thank you

[@Solonneysa]

I tried this, and it worked perfectly! Thanks so much, Ahmed!

[@drippinghanamizu]

This man understands color so well that even his muddy examples don't look bad lol

[@lostsunflower111]

No replies? Let me change that.

[@zord4d]

😆😍

[@mai2015]

It really blew my mind how he used warm tones for the shadow and cool tones for highlights, it goes against everything I ever learnt and looks absolutely incredible!!!!! Deffo trying this from now on

[@kiwifit620]

Yeah! The rule is that when outside the light is cold and shadows are warm, when inside or using lamps light is warm and shadows are cold

[@aminashanavaz5643]

@@kiwifit620 thanks for the tip!

[@kiwifit620]

@@aminashanavaz5643 Any time!

[@Adam-kx2tp]

@@kiwifit620 That makes so much sense because light bulbs usually have that yellow tinge.

[@cadenpadua]

It goes against everything you’ve ever learnt? Who taught you? These are the basics for using warm and light 🤦‍♂️

[@AhmedAldoori]

Thanks for sharing this Bundle! Glad to participate in all this.

[@masaeseki2431]

This was so good Ahmed! I feel like something finally clicked in my head, so thank you!!

[@RolandoCortorreal]

i found this tutorial really useful the only thing that i think that you miss is that you didn't mention what brushes do you use LOL

[@mlordd]

@@RolandoCortorreal lmao

[@avashevlin1758]

@@RolandoCortorreal He tells you in the course I believe , I think his course is definitely worth it and you should check it out if you have the means to do so when he releases it.

[@hamzamazin2217]

Ahmed this is amazing! You almost beat your master Sinix!

[@QuEeN-uy6lg]

Building up skin tone: Underlying skin tone Put secondary underlying skin tone Skull shape where there is blood flow Don’t be muddy choose transition colours that work Put in the planes facing the light and shadow (typically all warm or cool) Get in some highlights Optional: Put a skin tone on top to unify the painting Also optional: Add in some cool or warm colours to keep a warm vs cool balance Remember the planes of the face and the structure of the skull. Through out and push and pull the blending as though u are sculpting something Also remember the environment of the face and how it is affected by this environment

[@arturmn9095]

Hey, how do I learn which colors work together in the face or for the skin in general? Can't be Just trial and error right?

[@kimcarig714]

@@QuEeN-uy6lg Thank you! I love colors and have some basic understanding on them. But I think its a must to learn the values first before the color(correct me if I' wrong 😅) And I need to focus on that before moving onto colors.. Btw, I am planning to buy the Understanding and painting the head by Marco Bucci. This is my struggle now. I want to learn anatomy but I'm so confused where to start. And it came to my mind to start with the head first before moving on the other parts of human body. Your advice is much appreciated. Do I make the right choice? Thank you again and I'll keep this comment to my notes :) 🙏

[@QuEeN-uy6lg]

@@kimcarig714 yesssss, you made the right choice, understanding values is key to understanding colour :) Also Marco Buccis head course is honestly amazing and it will teach you head anatomy like not other. I personally learnt a lot of my anatomy from proko, moderndayjames and Pinterest. You probably know about breaking the human figure into 3d shapes, but make sure to practice those shapes in perspective first 🙌 Started with the learning skeletal figure, then seeing how muscles are layered, then how they attach to each bone and what they do. After that I found bridgemans “complete guide to drawing from life,” and that helped me tonnnn. After a ton of practice, (like 10-12 figures a day) it kinda just becomes ingrained, its really cool 😁 Ergo josh has a vedio on the levels of and how to level up in anatomy and proko has one on how to learn anotomy 😌

[@kimcarig714]

@@QuEeN-uy6lg wow that's great! I read some books about the anatomy of the head and watched videos here in yt. they helped me but I think I need one teacher to focus on to fully understand what I'm trying to learn.. And that's marco bucci's head anatomy lesson. And I really like his approach in teaching things, that's why. There's a lot of methods and I know you know it like the loomis, reilly etc but I'm comfortable with marco's approach. Yeah. About the skeletal to muscle I need to learn it also I found those things so vital to drawings. I also planning to buy the course of Mitch Leeuwe about anatomy after this head lessons. Sometimes I feel exhausted by these things. But I know these learning journey is worth it. For now I need the perseverance.

[@kimcarig714]

@@QuEeN-uy6lg Thanks again ! Do you havee instagram account so I can show you my works and please do cc it'll help a ton!

[@voollie]

Skin is reflective so colors can easily reflect onto it! The color of skin depends on its surroundings and also the pigmentation.

[@AmmarYaqoub1020]

Good point! I agree

[@F2005-k3q]

yeah thats what i was think of too, reflected light.

[@Linaosaur]

What is pigmentation?

[@ray-yo8yp]

ahmed aldoori is literally a genius with the way he approaches painting

[@cherrymarriedindiscord1404]

Yessss he's literary influencing my art like no one else

[@melcco]

he really is

[@Cherabreena]

I can't even express how valuable this lesson was for me! I've been "struggling" with colors and skin and been painting skin in a very time-consuming slow way and it never turned out how I envisioned in my head. But I tried this yesterday, following along and I am absolutely amazed by how much faster and "organic" this approach feels! I drew my best skin study EVER yesterday, thanks to this video!

[@Alex_Karin]

after trying for first time I cried for an hour, I swear that i'm trying

[@artschool9618]

Easy Painting kzbin.info/www/bejne/sIO6h4B9nN2WeKs

[@rejan5163]

Ahmes process is not easy if you lack knowledge about head and face anatomy. Also he knows the color zones of the face.

[@peregrineelea2686]

you’ll improve over time honey, don’t worry about it! i know it feels hard now but you’ll pull through ❤️🌻

[@rejan5163]

@Terrorists Win maybe you just need more mileage painting. maybe start with just doing lots of black n white painting studies so you get better at values. Cause painting in colors is kinda hard if your only background is drawing. But again, its just mileage in painting to get better at it.

[@benhartart9487]

Improvement comes only with drawing everyday, don’t rush it, just enjoy the creative process, I’ve been drawing over 10 years and I’m always a student always open too learning something new creatively , you will be good

[@Lishtenbird]

This 11:25 must be my favorite part of the video. "Let's do the wrong thing on purpose, so that you see why it's wrong."

[@YankeeDoodle_08]

How do you know what colors to use 😭 mine looked horrible

[@Blue-qh2ks]

how does he makes the colors dance??? i'm gonna be like this one day, i hope so

[@artschool9618]

Easy Painting kzbin.info/www/bejne/sIO6h4B9nN2WeKs

[@megamaggotman7025]

I think my colours are dead, they aint dancing 😬

[@cinnamoro1l]

Did u became like this ? :3

[@MrJmw3rd]

Love this video. He makes it look so easy, but he's clearly got years of experience. A small suggestion for future videos: please show the whole color selector so the viewer can see hue?

[@silvyach]

I’ve always struggled with colouring in general, but when I watched this video I ended up with the most realistic portrayal of skin I’ve ever drawn. Nice job, Proko!

[@oluwabamiseoyetayo67]

After this video, I went on to do a portrait study without reference, just trying to recall the stuff he said in this video and boy, I got the closest I have ever gotten to a proper skin tone study in my life! I love how he dares to use unconventional base colors (may others use it, but I ain't ever seen anyone do it). Everyone always says to use a variation of orange or red, but this man used green and purple. Love it! Thanks for helping me get a step closer to my goals, Mr. Ahmed!

[@Tb--se5fk]

Hello, what is the name of the program??

[@koguister]

it could be great if some artists start to do Tutorials on technique, like what brushes use in a particular situation, and how to use them. Depending on the technique of course. Im not talking about "an spesific brush you use" talking more about type of brushes for each stage of the paint

[@pepinopepino7]

FR

[@celineabraas5547]

I've been really demotivated to create art because i've been struggling with coloring and shading, however this has created a new spark in me and i'm excited to practice this technique!

[@kaksspl]

Damn, this is so impressive and looks so simple when he does it. I'm so glad you shared this with us.

[@abbyrosegarden]

This is the most helpful skin painting tutorial I’ve ever watched! I really like how you actually showed how to color multiple skin types; other ones I’ve watched have been just showing how to paint one specific person in one specific lighting, but this really feels like something I can learn from and utilize across multiple skin colors and types of people. Thank you!!

[@Tb--se5fk]

What is the name of the program???

[@abbyrosegarden]

@@Tb--se5fk I use Procreate. But you could really use any program you wanted to honestly

[@Tb--se5fk]

@@abbyrosegarden Ok, but i want to use others programs, i will try with Procreate. Do you know the name of the program in the video? Please, sorry to bother you..

[@abbyrosegarden]

@@Tb--se5fk oh yeah, no problem! Looks like the guy in the video’s using Photoshop.

[@Tb--se5fk]

@@abbyrosegarden Ohh, thanks a lot for your attention. I owe you, jajaja. Good night!!!! We will talk later.

[@Bebe-rn2fh]

this video has been the game changer for me. i’ve been using this method for painting skin for a while and it has improved my art from a B- to a solid A! i really like underpainting and it’s just really fun to paint skin this way.

[@oliviaturner4622]

I’ve watched thousands of videos on color and still struggled, especially with digital art. This absolutely transformed my drawing. The skills I just learned in this 20 minute video is worth the world to me. I appreciate you and what you do! Thank you so so so much!

[@redwolf6334]

I didnt realize how much this video helped me until I looked back at my art wow

[@mayankpurswani8027]

Thank you Proko! I’m a beginner artist and I was really struggling with skin tones, this is a lifesaver . Thank you!!!

[@eepyru]

why didn't i find this earlier, this is a life saver, and this painting style is almost the kind of style i badly want.

[@kayla-fi2jm]

this is genuinely the best video i’ve ever watched. i needed this

[@simply_solo]

this. video. my god, i couldn’t figure out why i sucked ass at coloring skin for the longest time, and within five minutes i learned absolutely everything i was missing. THANK YOU 🙏

[@mutiaa305]

4 minutes on this video, and I gained a ton of knowledge😳

[@ferdaousselmoussaid8843]

I knowwwwwwww I watched so many skin tutorials but got absolutely nothing from them. this just makes so much sense and is so much easier!

[@DaddyKing603]

I'm trying to get a grasp on digital painting and this video gave me a better grasp of how to use layers and translucency than any other video I've seen on KZbin. He spoke about merging the layers eventually and then blending it. I found it to be absolutely brilliant. I've drawn portraits for years and was completely stunned by this color study. Completely fearless in it's appproach.

[@yungmun4155]

This man so good even when he tries to show the “wrong versions” it still looks super good

[@urbangold10]

The advice at 12:20... life changing, literally... Thank you!

[@ashleycrawford6082]

Let me just tell you how digital painting makes my anxiety go through the roof (though I know how to use Adobe Photoshop, I'm not a fan of digital art really). I'm watching this as I'm doing a piece for a mural my husband and I are working on and as I'm working and building up the colors, I feel this sense of comfort knowing that all the work he drew will be beautifully painted by me because I found a tutorial that made me feel comfortable with digital painting. AND THE TIME IT'S SAVING ME?!?!?! Thank you Proko and thank you, you fucking digital art genius you Mr. Ahmed Aldoori!

[@P0MMESFR1TT3S]

i feel so bad for laughing at “you probably can’t even see the green that we used ” @ around 3:54 😭😭😭

[@cloudsofsunset7323]

he makes it look so effortless! i´d love to see more colour studies

[@blitzedblueberry]

This is brilliant! I’ve had the hardest time figuring out the process for digital painting and digital portraits. I was able of follow along and produce some beautiful studies! Time to check out what else Ahmed has to offer!! Thank you!!

[@dashamoony]

This is one of the most useful videos about digital painting I've ever seen. For me as for traditional painter trying to paint digitally - super useful video! Thank you!

[@distordid1537]

Ahmed has such a calm voice❤

[@artschool9618]

Easy Painting kzbin.info/www/bejne/sIO6h4B9nN2WeKs

[@katenikii]

I struggle a lot with texture and skin tones in digital art,this video helped me so much!

[@mashcot]

I just tried it, and he made it look way more simple than it actually is ! :D I'll need to practice this a lot !

[@fernandamoreno8842]

hey! i know it's a super dumb question, but how did you do the 3:46 "clicking and selecting between colors"? i kept doing it and nothing happens.

[@elizack_8189]

@@fernandamoreno8842 if ur digital art app has a smudge, maybe u can use that...

[@antjasboy]

Absollutly love this, after watching this video my paintings turned from dull and muddy mess to actaully pretty good stuff. Very good tutorial

[@quantum_leap786]

this is incredible I cant overstate how helpful this is

[@FakoBreizh]

Most useful digital painting tutorial I've seen so far. I'm literally thrilled by the results I got following the steps. Can't wait to try and do it by myself now !

[@D.Danko_thall]

It's just crazy how this tutorial upped my painting game by 110% 🤯

[@chichi5985]

question: how do u know what color undertone to choose ? (like how he chose a green undertone)

[@Lypter]

Any color you want, it just adds this sort off ambient color which makes the skin more real cus skin is reflective and when light bounce off walls it sort of takes some color in it and it just adds more variation of colors to the skin

[@chichi5985]

@@Lypter thanks!

[@sadev101]

i would say look at your backgound you plan to do. if it has certain color you need to use that. as its a vage lighting that hits your skin

[@agatavvojcik]

this was one of the most helpful tutorials i have ever seen THANK YOU 💛

[@jasminerose7867]

Finally someone who actually shows how to paint dark skin 🙌🏾🙌🏾

[@rubydearest]

Fr!! As a black artist I've been drawing people of color but have never been able to paint/color it well so this rlly helped

[@saiartzz]

The first ever tutorial that is actually a real tutorial 10/10 !!

[@spanno2490]

This is incredible, I could watch this for hours!! Happy little skin tones

[@tknxx.444]

I’ve always had a struggle when making skin tones and oml this really saved my brain from melting down ✨✨😭

[@sedonachapman]

Man, Im a great watercolor painter, but for some reason I just cant translate those skills and knowledge of color theory into digital, but this tutorial makes it a little easier!

[@rachie1575]

This may just be the best skin tutorial I’ve ever came across!!!

[@Dragonstar13]

I just tried this on Clip studio paint, and I must say, you helped me improve my digital painting level. Thank you :D

[@aryansiddiky]

Me too, just curious, what brushes did u use?

[@Dragonstar13]

@@aryansiddiky I used watercolour brushes. The colours blend pretty well together. What did you use?

[@marcoorca6208]

What? He made it look so easy man... I want to be like him someday

[@johnvermintide]

i swear to god Ahmed's mastery of color is just... immaculate

[@tt4942]

i come back to this vid everytime i start a new portrait i love it

[@glozicm]

What to say, Ahmed, it's mesmerizing to see you work. The way you explain things, beautiful, just beautiful.

[@Laura_Trompz]

This video just changes my whole view on coloring, I'm mind blowin

[@phyrundeab9419]

Definitely appreciate this video. I overly blend which gives it that muddy and often desaturated look.

[@dapokareem3876]

What tool do you use in blending the colours??????

[@kiki-drawer2669]

This helped me so much! So much pop to my art now and can't wait to work with these tips more

[@alfreascazuri6335]

real thanks for this tut, tried it some times and then tested in some art of my own and it immediately improved! I use to mud all my skintones lol, cheers from argentina!

[@Panehy-art]

Your videos are incredible! Thank you so much for sharing them for free. I'm really hoping to improve my drawing with your help!

[@thePeziie]

Thank you so much for sharing this tutorial! I've followed along each steps and found it's truly amazing that I gain lots of understanding about skin tone.

[@shayokami7410]

"Like you're sculpting something in a two dimentional frame." I couldn't have said it better. I'm still a novice, but right down to the rough sketch, which is always a mess, I feel like I'm shaving off more and more until I'm getting it to look as close to the way I'm imagining as possible. The rough sketch is the stone. And as someone that has done some work with makeup, skin toning in art feels EXACTLY like that.

[@rachelnoto7686]

Wow - what an absolutely incredible class. Ahmed is a master.

[@imanispence9795]

anyone else watching this on repeat to take in all the information? Cause idk about you this makes me want to look at some reference photos and start building skin tone palettes. This video with Marco's portrait drawing and painting demos on here is a goldmine of information.

[@Vyansya]

This is legit the only tutorial that makes me understand! Im gonna try to apply this newfound information to my work next time!

[@TobiVasquez39]

This man just changed the game for me, thanks so much!

[@harlow1719]

you made this so much easier for me to put together in my head! thanks!

[@garazi9531]

I just recently learned about art history and about verdaccio as a technique, but didn't know very well how to apply it in digital... This video is just what i needed!

[@mushroomlord3513]

I feel like a child on christmas trying this new technique, so interesting and new and it looks gorgeous!!

[@FallnNino]

thank you so much for sharing this video. most helpful guidance of skin tones I ever watched. especially the muddy part. save my life.

[@mesamesamesa1277]

"vibration" "layer of extra color" I LOVE THIS GUY

[@rou_dhi]

May god bless you for making things look easy.. Now, it's time to apply this knowledge

[@gel6865]

tried it the first time and its not perfect but! i think it definitely turned out better than i expected, thank you !!

[@gel6865]

took me three tries lol, the first one i did looks horrible

[@jiraffejimmy2159]

I keep telling my teachers about the beauty of undertones and now you FINALLY did a video in it🥰🥰🥰

[@maunamars968]

I love your art style the skins are gorgeous

[@kindra787]

Literally cant tell u how much this helped!!! Super grateful,, thank you ! :)

[@javieralira2712]

tbh this just blew my mind! like ...it just make sense! i'ven always being super bad at colos bc i didn't understand anything about how the colors works, and this rlly just made sense to me! thanks for this beautiful learning

[@bunubunubunubu]

i tried this for the first time and I can't believe how good it looks! thank you so much!

[@sharfufu]

This was extremely helpful, thank you as always

[@artschool9618]

Easy Painting kzbin.info/www/bejne/sIO6h4B9nN2WeKs

[@m.v.5098]

Thank you a lot! I was in very deep frustration, when i stuck, but your video push me up and motivate me so much! Thanks!

[@thefriendlyaspie7984]

i love your tutorials ahmed, they are super friendly :)

[@martynaczaplicka1384]

Could you please share your brushes recommendations? Btw. Lovely tutorial!

[@MoeMalik]

Ahmed Aldoori is legendary for his control, learned so much in just 20 mins, amazing!

[@Amerit9]

Good to see you here moe i Love your work 🙏🏾

[@MoeMalik]

@@Amerit9 oh wow, never had someone recognize me on KZbin haha, thank you!

[@Amerit9]

@@MoeMalik and you’re the first one i recognize too 😂

[@kyksdelrey]

this changed my life

[@Thollis1987]

This is really helpful to colour my characters dark skinned tone. (Use Red, orange and blue colours)

[@eguafelipe]

I'd like to know your brush settings (brush type, opacity and others) and techniques to make this beautiful blocking painting. If someone can help me, please comment the tips to get. Btw, excellent video!

[@cauboired]

i'm pretty sure you can do this even with a simple brush, just blending it or lowering the opacity

[@QuickWitit07]

Thanks, Proko, and Thanks, Ahmed. This is the first time I heard of Ahmed Aldoori. I am going to his page to subscribe and check out more of his work.

[@UncleJimmi_ID]

This is amazingly helpful. Thank you so much!

[@kalrstudio5115]

Awesome class in 20 minutes I learned a lot...thank you it was so helpful.

[@nadia-mp3xv]

thank u!!! this helped me elevate my digital painting a lot!!

[@TRUTH-mr9fv]

This is a gem .. right here..

[@ymirsmack324]

Ima simple artist, I see Ahmed in a video, I Click

[@Yobyman]

I swear when I get the hang of it's gonna step up my game so much! Thanks Ahmed and thanks Proko!

[@Yobyman]

Not even 3 hours in and it's going splendid! I can't believe how fast it it and how good it looks and it's my freakin second attempt!! I feel like I could CRY it's so good!

[@taciasoares2022]

Wow I really love how you do skin!

[@marsmayhem]

Thanks for this! This is gonna help a lot, I usually just go lighter and lighter but this looks way better!

[@Милана-в3ш5д]

Thank you! This is so valueable for me ♥

[@alexanderb1433]

this guy is so good he doesn't even use Multiply straight normal on normal with manual opacity

[@IamSoup09]

Bro taught me more about how to draw and color skin tones than my art teacher 😶

[@token8390]

He makes it looks easy wow

[@pannahustyava4371]

I've been trying to learn how to draw skintones for so long without much success, this man came, said "hold my beer" and helped create the best drawing of my life in mere 20 minutes. what the hell