Colour Study (Process Pics) (Patreon)

I have never painted a person in lighting like this before but it was fun. I think this is one of the few pieces I've done that really benefited a lot from some small filter additions at the end.

One of the main things I learned from this was how colours transition. For example, the method I first used to colour skin was to stay on the one colour. To communicate shadows and light I only went up and down the saturation ladder of that one colour!

 Of course this was when I was still very new to skin. I was blown away when I first practiced from some photos and found that a key part I was missing was different colours of different saturations and hues!

But then it became a question of "How can I know when to incorporate these different things?"

Turns out you just need to practice a lot.

The key part of this study was learning how to think of these gradual colour changes but in a different setting to what I am so used to. I didn't think of it at the time but I think it was helpful to go outside of my comfort zone, trying a different lighting scenario and playing with a broader part of the colour wheel was not only enjoyable but stimulating for my brain. 

Something that was in the back of my mind when I was painting this was one of the rules I had learned that "with warm lighting you get cooler shadows" but the thing with this piece was there was a warm lighting and contrasting was a cool lighting and in between it was a mix of warm-cool shadows? I never would have thought to paint them in that order but thankfully I had the photo to study and reference. It's a direction of lighting I learned that I might attempt to do in the future! :)

Thanks for reading and supporting me!!