Working on the face and skin tones now. I started with the eyes using a 1:1 mix Misty Gray and Fair Skin for the eyeball followed by a vertical stripe of Blackened Brown for the iris. The eyes were then framed with Walnut Brown to represent the upper and lower lashes. This is a standard method for painting eyes - especially tiny ones... It's important to get the inner line - the part that frames the white of the eye - right. The outside will be smoothed out later. Additionally, the upper line will start thin on the inner corner of the eye and gradually widen as it gets to the outer corner. The lower edge starts in the middle of the lower eyelid, again thin, and slightly widens as it gets to the outer corner. I also used the eye color to temporarily paint the hair and frame the face. It helped me keep things in perspective.
As mentioned previously, Napoleonic Pinup Girls wear makeup. Really. The lips were painted using the Deep Red Triad. Brick Red for the line between the lips, Deep Red for the upper lip, and Blood Red for the lower lip. Blood Red was used as highlight in the center of the upper lip, while Phoenix Red was used to highlight the center of the lower lip. In this size/scale, that's really all I needed. At a viewing distance of 12 inches or so, any other tonal variations will be lost against the overall red of the lips. That's my story and I'm sticking to it...
I'm using my standard female Caucasian skin tone of 1:1 mixes of the Tanned Skin and Rosy Skin (base), Tanned Shadow and Rosy Shadow (first shade), and Tanned Highlight and Rosy Highlight (first light). My light source is from the high left front so the right side of her face and neck (all directions are as viewed) were shaded first, along with the sides of the nose, under the brow ridge, nose and lower lip. The rest of the face and neck were painted with the base mix. This is where I carefully frame the eyelashes and lips with the skin tones. I inevitably require touch-ups. The first lights were added across the forehead, upper cheekbones, above the upper lip, chin, lower left jaw line, nose down to the tip, and the center and left side of her neck (but leaving a small strip of the base between the two). These same tone were used on the hands and exposed midriff.
A second and third shade was made by adding a bit of Burgundy Wine (a dark reddish purple) to the first shade and blocking in the right side (again, as viewed) of her face and nose, the inner corners of her upper eye sockets, the far right side of her neck and the area of the neck that would have a shadow cast by the lower jaw. The third shade was used for the areas of even darker shadows - the far right side of her face and neck, a line under the right side of her jaw, the inner corner of the right eye. These colors were also used on her midriff and hands.
Pure White, added to the first light, was thinly applied to the center and left side of her forehead, upper cheekbones, nose, the left side of her upper lip, the upper left side of the chin, and the lower left jaw line. This was repeated on the midriff and hands. At this point there is a 'contrasty', blocked-in appearance to all of the skin areas. The transitions were softened by taking a thinned out second shade, starting in the first shade, and drawing back into the second shade. I am always drawing the darker color from the lighter color back into the darker using a small pointed brush and short strokes across the line between the two colors. Repeat with first shade, starting in the base, and draw it back into the first shade. Repeat through the lights.
That's the basic face and skin. More lights and make up to follow.
Next: hat and collar.
Cheers,
Glen
