St. Charles Borromeo visiting the plague sufferers in Milan (detail, self-portrait)

approach — 8 steps

color palette

primary · burnt umber · yellow ochre · titanium white · cadmium red

secondary · ultramarine blue · ivory black

Achieve skin tones by mixing white, yellow ochre, and red in varying proportions. Use burnt umber and black for shadows and hair, and add blue to cool down the shadows.

techniques

• ·layering
• ·blending
• ·scumbling
• ·dry brush
• ·glazing

common pitfalls

• →Getting the proportions wrong in the initial sketch.
• →Over-blending the skin tones, resulting in a flat, lifeless appearance.
• →Failing to capture the subtle variations in color and value.
• →Making the hair and beard look too uniform and lacking texture.