Monday, March 25, 2013

Painting a realistic face using Medieval Techniques

Painting a Realistic Face Using Medieval Techniques


March  25, 2013 - drawing the cartoon and doing the black tracing

I have a request to do a realistic face.   I want to do this using medieval techniques. This will be an exciting challenge for me as I have never done a real face before.  I have drawn a sketch [cartoon] from a photo. See below. 




I am going to use a white glass for her face and neck - Spectrum SP200-91W - this is a water glass that is slightly opalescent.  It has a hint of red in it when you hold it up to the light and it has a slight wave to the surface [like water has] but it is very smooth so I should be able to do the finer detailing on the shading.  Her veil will be with a less transparent white glass.  Her dress will be with a smooth cathedral blueish glass with imperfections in it. I will use a cathedral medium amber for her hair.And lastly I will use a clear with imperfections for her crown.

I mixed the black tracing paint - Reuche Best tracing black - 57R005/gum arabic and water to a smooth consistancy



I applied the black tracing paint to the lines on  the face and the crown areas that I wanted to be highlighted.



I also decided to put some black lines in the hair to provide "shadowing".

I will fire these tonight.

Yesterday I  did the black tracing and the brown shading on the veil.