Are you interested in achieving natural-looking skin tones on your painted miniatures?
If you want your miniatures look more realistic, then incorporating colour zones is the way to go. This technique can take your skin tones from good to great. But what exactly are colour zones? Let me tell you, it’s a game-changing concept that you will want to take advantage of!
A colour zone is an area where one colour influences all other colours in this area. It’s known as colour dominance, and it’s very common. It is apparent in the human face, which has 3 distinct colour areas.
We are used to seeing faces. We are also used to interpreting them. So, we don’t notice the subtle colour differences. We view faces more as a whole when it comes to colour. Admittedly, the zones are easier to see on light-skinned people. However, all people have them, regardless of their ethnicity. And when you learn to look for them, they will be easy to spot.
In this area, the bone is closest to the skin. The muscles are thin, and fat deposits are almost non-existent. There are also fewer capillaries than in the lower parts, just under the skin. All this makes the skin a bit more yellowish in colour.
This zone encompasses ears, cheeks and nose.
Many tiny blood vessels are right under the skin in this part of the face. The blood is carrying oxygen, so it’s bright red. This gives the skin a red tint. You can see it especially when someone blushes, runs, or is exposed to cold air.
Men have facial hair in this area, and the hair follicles give a slight blue tint, the so-called 5 o’clock shadow. For women whose facial hair is almost non-existent, the skin in this area has a slightly greenish tint.
This area of the face, especially around the lips, has more veins. And veins take used blood back to the heart. This blood is deoxygenated, so it’s darker. Because of that, the skin has this slight green discolouration. It is subtle, but if you pay attention, especially to skin that is not very pale, you can see what I’m talking about.
Of course, it all goes to the bin when make-up and colour corrections come into play. The skin colour is entirely artificial. The face zones are unified, and fake shadows and highlights are created. It would be best if you observed make-up-free faces.
The 3 main zones, as shown in the first photo below, are simplified. You can still use it and achieve remarkable, natural-looking skin tones as a result. If you want to elevate your face painting to the next level, take a look at a more detailed version on the second photo.
As you can see, this is the more advanced version; additional blue and yellow zones add more realism to the face.
I usually go for the more complicated diagram. I pay particular attention to the yellow in the corners under the lips and the blue/violet tint under the eyes (especially when trying to depict the tiredness and hardship of the character).
The redness of the cheeks depends entirely on the mood of the piece. I either go with the red to the nose or leave the areas closer to the nose with a more neutral or yellowish tint.
The primary way I usually deploy this technique is as follows.
I first apply a few layers of the skin tones, with initial lights and shadows. Then, I add diluted pure yellow, magenta/cold red, and dark sea blue layers to the required areas.
I discovered that cold red/magenta works better than generic red in this case. My go-to colours for these parts are Alizarin Crimson Hue Permanent From Liquitex heavy body line or Sanguine Base from P3. For the blues, I chose Dark Sea Blue (71087 Vallejo Model Air). The colour is dark, solid, and slightly green. It also works for women. Of course, with women’s faces, the amount of blue I use is significantly reduced. The consistency of the paint is almost glaze-like but with more pigment. So after this stage, the colour variations are clearly visible.
I am, in effect, doing underpainting that is later covered with many thin layers of skin colours.
Below you can see a photo of this technique used on the dark skin, on the underpainting stage. The colours I used are really strong, especially around the mouth, but under few thin layers of the skin tone, everything will look more natural.
As you can see, I first added magenta to the collarbones and the middle of his chest. At the end of the painting, though, I returned to a yellowish tinge on the collarbones.
The final result is way more subtle and looks more natural. The red in the central part of the face is the least visible colour variation, which is typical for dark skin tones.
I don’t always do the straightforward underpainting method anymore. But I keep the zones in mind while painting. I usually add a drop of the required colour to the mix or thin glazes between the skin tone layers. Skin is semi-translucent, so it benefits greatly from many thin layers of paint. That makes it look more natural.
Add a light glaze of deep, cold red or magenta on the cheeks, nose and ears between the flesh tone layers. Mix some additional yellow on the forehead, blue (men), and green (women) on the chin area. Don’t add much; a little goes a long way.
Of course, you don’t have to do that with extra saturated colours. Even if you paint your faces with more desaturated colours. Still use this method, just more subtly.
The bust above is still a Work in Progress, but the skin is more or less where I want it. I didn’t do the underpainting as such. I was mixing colours on the go, creating colour variations from the base layer. I want him to look cold and tired, with lots of cold reds on his cheeks and nose and severe bags under his eyes. Because he’s wearing a hat low on his eyes, there is not much visible forehead, just a little bit on the temples. I added yellow under his eyeballs and cheekbones to create more colour contrast.
Below are some of the miniatures I’ve painted over the years. As you can see, the colour variations are way more subtle than the underpainting done on Jamal above. Sometimes, especially with female faces, the yellows and greens (the very top and bottom part of the face) are barely visible, but this slight discolouration is enough to add more interest and a natural look. And to be fair, the goal is to make our miniatures look lifelike, not like clowns.
Funnily enough, this 3 zone method works the same when painting other fantastic races. For example, orcs or trolls. You’d add a bit of red to liven up the skin on the ear, cheek and nose area. Then, add some blueish tones on the bottom of the face and pale yellow to the highlights on the forehead.
The examples below show you how I’m using this method in practice when I’m working on fantastical skin tones. The variations are delicate enough to add some interest without overpowering the colour scheme.
I hope you have learned something new today. Creating natural-looking skin tones is a crucial skill for every miniature painter. It can help you improve your whole game no matter if you are painting miniatures for competitions or just for fun. If you want to know more, please check my other articles. They cover painting skin and other topics, providing in-depth insights and great tips. Your miniatures will undoubtedly thank you!
