colourshift
02-10-2007, 07:43 PM
For those that don't know him, Michael Cacy is an illustrator, fine artist, instructor and over all McGyver of the airbrush community.
I have gotten permission to relay this hand out I had gotten from one of his Commercial Art courses.
Michael Cacy’s
Base Flesh Tone
Formula
and
Rendering How-to
(Shared with permission)
All colors noted are Com-Art Transparent airbrush acrylics
BASE FLESH MIX
20 parts Sienna Brown
8 parts Bright Red
5 parts Orange
5 parts Ochre
1 part Violet (or ultramarine for medical illustration)
1 part Smoke
To preview how this will look when painted, airbrush this mixture as a swatch no more dense than about 30% in saturation (because you will be using this as a hue to tone the white of your working surface...not to sculpt your subject).
If the color looks too hot, add another part of smoke and create a new swatch.
If the color looks too yellow or too orange, add another part of violet (or ultramarine) and create a new swatch.
Be sure to mix an ample amount to render your subject so that you do not have to go through this process again. It may be difficult to match your desired color a second time.
__________________________________________________ ____________
1. Set your Base Flesh Mix aside for the moment and begin sculpting the “darkest darks” with a mix of smoke and violet (at least 3 parts smoke to 1 part violet). Never mind that the color looks odd at this stage.
2. As you move down the value ladder to “medium dark” values, add a little Base Flesh Mix to the smoke/violet mix already in your airbrush.
3. As you work into “medium” value and “medium light” sculpting, continue warming the color my adding progressively more Base Flesh Mix to the color already existing in your airbrush.
DO NOT PAINT THE LIGHTEST (MOST BRIGHTLY LIT) AREAS OF FLESH BEING RENDERED. THESE EXTREMELY LIGHT AREAS NEED TO REMAIN UNPAINTED (THE WHITE OF YOUR WORKING SURFACE) AT THIS POINT.
4. Replace the color still in your airbrush with Base Flesh Mix. Erasing may have given you some desired texture (flesh needs texture to read as flesh and not “plastic”)/ If more texture is needed for realism, you may choose to apply a little Base Flesh Mix as stipple. If you’re painting with an Iwata conventional model, like an HP-C, remove the needle cap and nozzle cap and layer a light “glaze” of Base Flesh Mix uniformly over all the flesh area in your painting. Stop short of bringing your flesh areas to full value and intensity if you wish to continue erasing and scraping at this point. This done, you may now apply a final coat of Base Flesh Mix but remember not to exceed 30% saturation. The Base Flesh Mix you created should NOT be used at full saturation (100%)...it’s purpose is to tone the lightest areas and warm colors previously painted.
5. Influence areas as needed with subtle glazes of incidental colors, such as red in ruddier parts of the face, orange in the most hotly lit areas, blue, green, whatever. These incidental colors are important for variety. Convincing flesh is not simply one color.
I have gotten permission to relay this hand out I had gotten from one of his Commercial Art courses.
Michael Cacy’s
Base Flesh Tone
Formula
and
Rendering How-to
(Shared with permission)
All colors noted are Com-Art Transparent airbrush acrylics
BASE FLESH MIX
20 parts Sienna Brown
8 parts Bright Red
5 parts Orange
5 parts Ochre
1 part Violet (or ultramarine for medical illustration)
1 part Smoke
To preview how this will look when painted, airbrush this mixture as a swatch no more dense than about 30% in saturation (because you will be using this as a hue to tone the white of your working surface...not to sculpt your subject).
If the color looks too hot, add another part of smoke and create a new swatch.
If the color looks too yellow or too orange, add another part of violet (or ultramarine) and create a new swatch.
Be sure to mix an ample amount to render your subject so that you do not have to go through this process again. It may be difficult to match your desired color a second time.
__________________________________________________ ____________
1. Set your Base Flesh Mix aside for the moment and begin sculpting the “darkest darks” with a mix of smoke and violet (at least 3 parts smoke to 1 part violet). Never mind that the color looks odd at this stage.
2. As you move down the value ladder to “medium dark” values, add a little Base Flesh Mix to the smoke/violet mix already in your airbrush.
3. As you work into “medium” value and “medium light” sculpting, continue warming the color my adding progressively more Base Flesh Mix to the color already existing in your airbrush.
DO NOT PAINT THE LIGHTEST (MOST BRIGHTLY LIT) AREAS OF FLESH BEING RENDERED. THESE EXTREMELY LIGHT AREAS NEED TO REMAIN UNPAINTED (THE WHITE OF YOUR WORKING SURFACE) AT THIS POINT.
4. Replace the color still in your airbrush with Base Flesh Mix. Erasing may have given you some desired texture (flesh needs texture to read as flesh and not “plastic”)/ If more texture is needed for realism, you may choose to apply a little Base Flesh Mix as stipple. If you’re painting with an Iwata conventional model, like an HP-C, remove the needle cap and nozzle cap and layer a light “glaze” of Base Flesh Mix uniformly over all the flesh area in your painting. Stop short of bringing your flesh areas to full value and intensity if you wish to continue erasing and scraping at this point. This done, you may now apply a final coat of Base Flesh Mix but remember not to exceed 30% saturation. The Base Flesh Mix you created should NOT be used at full saturation (100%)...it’s purpose is to tone the lightest areas and warm colors previously painted.
5. Influence areas as needed with subtle glazes of incidental colors, such as red in ruddier parts of the face, orange in the most hotly lit areas, blue, green, whatever. These incidental colors are important for variety. Convincing flesh is not simply one color.