ysabetwordsmith (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ysabetwordsmith) wrote2020-03-31 03:08 pm
ysabetwordsmith) wrote2020-03-31 03:08 pm
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Skin Tone Gradients
I like this chart of skin tones with gradients because it starts with a basic range of fair to dark, then has smaller sets of pink, red, yellow, and olive. Each of the base skin tones then has three additional "tan line" tones that are darker versions of it. My only regret is that it leans darker, so you don't get a full range of the lighter shades. But other sets tend to run light, which makes this one very useful.
In T-America, many of the midrange vendors of makeup and clothes will offer a "nude" range with this kind of construction. (To them, "nude" doesn't mean "Caucasian average color" it means "your skin tone.") It's also what medical vendors offer as standard options for skin-tone prosthetics. Many people who can't find a match on the basic sets of five or ten tones can find one here. Beyond that usually requires custom matching, although some high-end makeup companies have a hundred or so standard shades.
EDIT 3/31/20: These are some sets I use for skin color words, organized by alphabet and by gradient.
You can also set up gradients for other colors than standard human skin.
Art exercises for skin tones are here.
This set of Olympic athletes shows great variety in body shape as well as skin tones.
In T-America, many of the midrange vendors of makeup and clothes will offer a "nude" range with this kind of construction. (To them, "nude" doesn't mean "Caucasian average color" it means "your skin tone.") It's also what medical vendors offer as standard options for skin-tone prosthetics. Many people who can't find a match on the basic sets of five or ten tones can find one here. Beyond that usually requires custom matching, although some high-end makeup companies have a hundred or so standard shades.
EDIT 3/31/20: These are some sets I use for skin color words, organized by alphabet and by gradient.
You can also set up gradients for other colors than standard human skin.
Art exercises for skin tones are here.
This set of Olympic athletes shows great variety in body shape as well as skin tones.
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You're welcome!
Also ...
* Get reference images of different skin tones and experiment with how well you can match them.
* Choose a good tutorial for mixing skin tones. Then substitute nonhuman colors for human ones. Do a set for blue skin, green skin, orange skin, and so on. Try to imagine what the base color, overtone, undertone, highlight, and lowlight colors would be. This is how the really kick-ass F&SF artists get their realism: they're using realistic techniques and just altering the details.
* You don't have to do whole portraits. You can do thumbnail sets. These let you play with color combinations, without using a lot of time or materials, so you can learn what works.