Coloring Skin on Kraft with Lyra Rembrant Pencils

Hi Guys!

So a few of you have been asking for more kraft tutorials. I know you'd really really like to see a video demo but I don't have a video camera and besides, I very much doubt you'd like to sit there as long as it takes me to color! I would definitely have to speed record it and then you lose the technique a bit.

So basically, the bad news is you're not getting a vid. lol

The good news is, you can print out still photos for future reference. See, there's a silver lining to every cloud.

~So lets get started!~

Today I am using my Lyra Rembrant pencils. They have an advantage over the prismas when it comes to coloring skin; I can use fewer pencils to achieve the same effect. So that's what I'm going to use here.

(For Prisma skin coloring on kraft see this tutorial here)

Step 1

Just give the baby an all over color with the white.

Not much technique going on here, just use a light hand and move in circular motions so you don't get streaks of pigment.

Step 2

Add a layer of cream over the white

(in the bottom corner of the photos you'll see the colors listed that have been used thus far.

At the base of the picture you'll see the actual pencils.

Step 3

Add a layer of light flesh over the white and cream.

Step 4

Layer of pink madder lake.

(you can leave some areas lighter~ stomach, forehead, etc)

Step 5

Dark flesh.

(again pay more attention to the areas that are going to be darker in the shadows. You're "sculpting" at this point. So imagine that your image is 3 dimensional and you're "feeling the indents" with your pencil instead of your fingers.)

Step 6

This is where the baby really starts coming alive.

Add a layer of golden ochre. Don't worry, you're not going to ruin anything.

Step 7

The really FUN part!

Now this is where you really want to start spending a bit more time and attention.

Remember you can always add a bit more color but you can't take it away. So go very lightly but start building up your shadows with the rose madder lake and giving the baby some pudginess.

Step 8

All we really want to do here is perfect it. Its looking good but it can look even better if you blend with medium flesh, highlight the highest elevations (forehead, belly, parts of the arms that are catching the light etc) with white.

Then go in with your black pencil to redefine any lines that may have become lost under pigment. (eyebrows, eye area, fingers, toes etc)

I could actually go in some more and deepen my shadows yet further (and I may do that before I come to use this image) but you can get the idea without me complicating  it, right?

 And that's all there is to it!

I hope you've had fun today, let me know if you have any questions or ideas for future tutorials.

Have a great weekend!