Skin

[Rising Phoenix]

Hey lads. I'm new to this forum but it seems to be exactly what I've been lookin for, I've seen the thread about the fruit and whatnot but I'v eonly read the first page.

I'm currently in the beginning stages of my latest project and I could use a few tips, a tutorial if at all possible on how to do skin. I know that when I look for skin tutorials I usually only get eyes and mouth but I have a severe problem with skin tone and colour.

The belly of my character I did came out looking like some kind of mud or something. My chracter is to be tanned so i wouldn't want it being too bright or too dark. Anything anyone may have on open area skin? like arms, stomach legs, even hands if at all possible.

I can show you one of my images, it's my own hand.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v645/Rising_Phoenix87/Hand.jpg
This looks really good I think for what, my 3rd attempt... Unfortunately some might say, I am not using a Wacom Tablet, but a (relatively) cheap Trust Series tablet which cost about €100, but that's not my point.
The thing is, I've been trying to recreate that tone and colour but I can't seem to get it right. I can't re apply a technique I once got right, it's like ym curse, almost everytime I do something it's like I'm starting again.

Any advise will be appreciated here.
Glad to join ConceptArt. Look forward to good times.

[Snarfevs]

I think what the image is lacking is shadows on the hand to act as a guide to the dimensionality of the hand. The hand has no really deep shadows - it looks omnidirectionally illuminated or even luminescent.

An ultra-rough 3min paintover: (I desaturated half way through because I ruined highlight saturation, then hit it with a little colour)

http://img478.imageshack.us/img478/4567/snacahandmod016oq.jpg

But you get the idea. Hope this helps and welcome to CA (Though I really am still a CA noob)

[Rising Phoenix]

Yeah that actually does help. Even the colour in the hand is exactly what I've been looking for... I'm gonna have to go try that out, although I'm not entirely sure what it is you did with the colour, but hopefully I can bluff it.:P

[Snarfevs]

Well, I kinda ruined the saturation half way through by injudiciously highlighting, So I hit desaturate to reduce the pic to greyscale. I then used a low opacity tan/orange brush set to 'colour' blending mode to put a bit of colour back into it. But this is the ultra cop-out 3 min paintover. You can see where I crossed over my strokes on the knuckles.

Essentially all I did (in general) was bring out the shadows and highlights. My favourite tools are brushes set to multiply and screen (and colour dodge for speculars on very shiny objects such as metals, but not skin unless it's wet or oily and even then only sparingly)

If you work with a pic in greyscale to start off with to develop your values (I have started doing this in places, really speeds up workflow and develops more satisfying shading on angular objects) and then use colour with great care to give the monochrome colour, you can have a lot of fun.

For instance I've started doing it here:

http://img496.imageshack.us/img496/5589/snacolourshadeexample012jj.jpg

It's pretty experimental but it helps me a lot. It also steers me away from brutally layer separating an image.