Watercolour portraits tutorial for beginners - part 3

You may not believe that starting your watercolour portrait in purple will work, but trust me, it does. This is the third tutorial in the series in which I show how a gentle purple underpainting gives structure to the watercolour portrait and then by working in layers we can build fascinating and glowing skin tones.

If you haven't seen part 1 and 2 then please take a look here.
Part 1 - black skin tone    • Watercolour portraits tutorial for be...  
Part 2 - middle Eastern skin tone    • Watercolour portraits tutorial for be...  
Part 3 - white skin tone - this one
Part 4 - child - to follow.

The first thing you learn in painting portraits is that there is no such thing as flesh colour!

If you are not confident drawing freehand, just trace or project the image. You can find the reference, which came from Sktchy, on the community tab of this channel. Then we will work on our 'grisaille' - monochrome underpainting. We will really concentrate on the tonal map of the face and I will show you how to start with large shapes and then move to smaller ones. Then build up warm and cool layers.

If you are looking for more in depth watercolour courses, from beginners through to advanced, then please take a look at www.lizchadertonstudio.co.uk. I am writing a book on watercolour portraits which will be published by The Crowood Press in 2023.

If you are looking for a friendly place to share your art and meet watercolourists from around the world, why not join my Facebook group here: www.facebook.com/groups/watercolourstudiowithlizchaderton

If you have enjoyed this film, please consider liking and subscribing. I do a watercolour tip, trick or technique each week and release it at 2pm on Sunday. So if you hit the notification bell you will be emailed when the next one is out.

This is part of a 30 Faces in 30 Days challenge from Sktchy. If you love portraits and faces look at the Museum by Sktchy app (sadly not on Android), or go to www.sktchy.com. If you follow me on Facebook or Insta (www.instagram.com/lizchadertonartist) you can see if I complete the challenge!



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