Creating Realistic Oil Portrait Painting: Step-by-Step Guide

1. Welcome to my class: Hi, I'm Kate, and welcome to my oil portrait painting class. In this class, I'm going to guide you through my full process for grading a realistic portrait with oil paint. Whether you want to understand structure better, paint more confidently or simply enjoy the feeling of painting a portrait, you're in the right place. Throughout this course, I'll take you step by step from the very beginning to the end. We start with preparing materials, the paint, crushes, medium and surface I personally use and recommend. I also walk you through some essential fundamentals in color mixing, sketching, some tips that help you grow further so you could create portraits on your own after this course. After that, I will show you how to build your underpainting, how to blocking in the big shape and values, and how to slowly develop the portrait layer by layer. I walk you through every stage in real time sharing my tips and listen in painting portraits. By the end of this class, you have your very own realistic portraits. My goal is for you to understand how you can apply it to any portrait you want to paint in the future. This class is for everyone, but I highly recommend it if you already have some basic foundation like understanding simple facial proportion, basic color mixing, or you can paint basic three D objects. You don't have to be perfect at any of these. Even a little experience will make it much easier to follow and enjoy the process more. But if you're brand new, you're still welcome to join. Just take it slow and have fun. That's the most important part. 2. Brushes & Surfaces: Tools and Materials: So before we start painting, I will walk you through the brushes and surface I use most often. Understand your tools make a huge difference, not only in how your painting looks, but how it feels when you're painting. So first of all, brush sizes, here I will show you from large to detail. It's important to have a range of brush sizes. So large brushes for blocking in and big shape, medium brushes for building forms, and small detail brushes for the eyes, leaves, edges, and finishing Dutch. Now we show you two main brass type that I'm currently using Bristo brass and sabras. Bristobas which is stiff for more texture. I hold paint and release it very well. It's very excellent for building structure and it's also very great when building off on the painting and some first layers. But the cars aa is not ideal for blending and can leave visible mark if you want a smooth finish. Here are soft brushes. They sable soft synthetic or soft fiber shape. I mostly use it for blending, refining edges, creating smoother transition, developing realistic skin texture. It's very perfect for sob gradient, I helped create a polished finish and great control in tighter area. But the cons is that it doesn't hold heavy pain as well and it's not ideal if you want to create sexual visible stroke on your painting. So in my experience, I often use Bristobs using them to blocking shape and lay down the foundation. Also when I want intentional texture in the final look, I return to Bistbs again because they leave beautiful brush dock. F sub brr, I often switch to sob brushes intuitively when I want gentle blending or smoother transition in portrait, especially around the cheek, the eyelid, create subtle shadows. They help me give the painting that realistic and luminous finish. So here I will show you some of the brush I use very, very often. Most of my brushes are from hobne from Japan, a brand that I trust because their brush quality is very consistent and long lasting. This is very important for oil painting. If you use the same bros for both light and dark area, you will mix them unintentionally and your painting will become muddy very quickly. That's why I personally buy two of the same bros. If I use that size, that type of bros very often, I will buy two of the same bros, so I can use one for light and one for dark area. So the tip help me keep the color clean and fresh and vibrant. I also recommend using bras from reputable brands. In my experience, high quality bras, I mean, not too expensive, of course, depending on how you can afford it, but I recommend using bras from reputable brand because they hold pain better. They release pain more evenly and good tools don't make you become a better artist overnight, but of course, they will make the process far smoother and more joyful, easier for you. Are some type of surface that you can use to paint oil. First of all, is oil painting paper. They are very great for practice. They are very affordable. They are very perfect for quick study, values practice or trying new technique. Empty aboard. This is also a very affordable choice, but it needs to be prepared. First, you need to seal the surface with one or two coat of glue and then apply about four to five coat of gil. After sending is mood you will have a clean even surface that ready for painting. And lastly, is canvas. You can buy bruise stretched canvas at most art shop. Cotton canvas like this is very affordable and great for beginners. I still recommend adding a few extra layers of just so before painting to get a bit of final result. And this is the surface I love the most, and this is also the one I'll be using for this portrait demonstration in this class. This is linen canvas. This is my personal favorite because I find that it holds paint beautifully, and that's why it keeps color vibrant and fresh. It's a bit more expensive compared to cotton canvas. Of course, depending on type of linen that you buy. But in general, I find that it's more expensive than the cotton one, but it's very worth it. I find that Lenin is very ideal for portrait painting because it has a special texture that groups the paint very well and adds subtle character to the portrait. 3. Oil Paints & Mediums: What I Use and Why: So here I will introduce you the oil paint and medium I use. You don't need a huge collection to start, a solid set of core colors and one or two simple medium. The goal is to understand your materials so they could support you process, not overwhelm you. For most of my painting, I regularly use this oil paint. This give you everything you need to mi skin tones. Beside all the basic oil paint, I also have some other colors that I use sometimes to make my painting more colorful and vibrant. These aren't necessary for beginners, but they are nice addition when you want a specific temperature or intensify. You don't need expensive paint to start. Let me share some brands that I use and what I recommend from student grade to artist grade. For student grade, I use Van Gogh and Winton. I started oil painting with this, and I still recommend them. The quality is solid and the colours are quite reliable and also the price is very accessible. They're perfect if you're just beginning or practicing portrait basic. And also good quality and affordable pigment that I find later, I use master class and gambling color. They have good pigment load, but remain very affordable. For professional grade, they contain high pigment and very vibrant. I use Michael Harding and combine. These are my favorite. The colors are extremely vibrant, rich and full of pigment because the pigment load is very high, so you often need less pain to achieve beautiful saturation compared to student grade when you need more pain to achieve the final load that you want, for professional grade, sometimes you just need very little pain. Medium can be very confusing at the beginning. But in this video, I will just simplify some very few medium I use. And to be honest, I do not use medium much in my painting, but I will show you what is wonder so you can choose what fits your style. First of all, this still top and tie, use the thin paint, clean brushes, but it has strong smell and can be irritating. I actually don't use top and tie anymore because I cannot stand the smell, and my painting space is very small. So if you use it to sing your paint, clean brushes, please work in a well ventilated area. Spike lavender oil. This is natural, less harsh than turpentine, less toxic than turpentine, but it's still a solvent, use it with care. It's good for thinning pain and also to clean brush, it's great for toning the canvas. I often use it to tone the canvas and use it in the beginning stage of my painting. So thicken linseed oil. This oil painting medium is perfect for glazing. As gloss and flow, it helps paint level out smoothly. I use a tiny amount in my final layers when I want smooth luminous transition. Venetian turpentine, this is a traditional glazing medium. It's thick, resin like. When mixed with linseed oil, it creates beautiful glossy glazes, but I use it very rarely only when I want a very specific glazing effect. Here I'm showing you all the medium I have. But in my actual painting process, I don't use this very often. Especially in this lesson, I only use spite lavender oil to thin the paint and to tone the canvas I'm currently using baby oil to clean my brush. It helps to remove the paint from bras very well because my painting space is very small. I try to avoid using solvent and I cannot access to non toxic solvent in my country. So baby oil is a good alternative. But an important warning when using baby oil is that don't let baby oil get on your canvas during the painting process because it can ruin the painting or make the surface stay wet and sticky. So always clean your br thoroughly and make sure it's dry before continuing. I also use the soap to remove the baby oil and also leftover pigment, but I use it sometime not every day. If you paint in a well ventilated spaces area and also have access to non toxic solvents in your country, I honestly recommend using non toxic solvent because they are easier and safer to use during the painting process. But baby oil is also a workable alternative if you're careful. During the painting process, I mostly use a clean tissue to wipe excess paint from my brushes. This keep the color clean and prevent my painting from getting muddy. 4. Preparing the Canvas: Stretching and Priming: For this class, I'll be working with linen, a frame, a stable gun, and a pair of stretcher pliers. Step one, massle and cut, lay your linen on the surface, and then put the frame on top. Cut the fabric so that you have a generous margin around all four sides enough to fold over the frame comfortably. This extra space allows you to stretch the linen evenly without running short on any edge. Start by placing one initial staple in the center of one side of the frame. Wh anchors the fabrit and prevent it from shifting. Then using stretcher pliers, pull the linen firmly on the opposite side and place a staple directly across from the first one. The frapri should feel tight but not overly strained. Repeat this process on the remaining two side, pull then stable, pol then staple. Always work from the center outward to keep the tension even. When finished, your linen should feel tight and smooth with no sacking or wrinkles. If the canvas feels loose or slightly baggy, simply remove the sales in that area, pull the favorite tighter, and then staple again. It's completely normal to adjust once or twice. For this class, I'm using liquitex acrylic gesso. Instead of a brush, I prefer using a flat bunge applicator. It helps spread the gesso evenly without leaving visible brush mark on the linen. This creates a cleaner, smoother surface for portrait painting. Applying the gesso, typically, I apply four to five layers, apply the first coat evenly across the entire surface, and let it dry completely. And then you apply the second coat at a slightly different direction and then repeat until you have four to five thin layers. After the fourth layer is fully dry, I gently sand the surface with a fine grit sandpaper, sending health, even out the texture, and create a smooth painting ground. 5. Color Mixing Basics for Portrait Painting: I will not go too deeply into color mixing principle in this class. I encourage you to explore some lesson, focus on color mixing, working with limited color palette, and experimenting to create as many color variations as possible. Understanding the color wheel and basic color theory will make the painting process much easier. To keep this lesson simple and not too overwhelming, I only introduce few key points that are especially important for portrait painting. So every color leans either warm or cool, warm colors like red, orange, one yellow, one brown, and cool colors like blue, cool yellow, cool green, violet. When painting skin tones, we constantly ship temperature. Warmer area like cheek nose, leaves around the eyes, and cooler areas often in the jaw line, the neck, of the cheek shadows, if something looks off often because the temperature is wrong, not the hue. Remember to pay attention to value when painting. Value means how light and dark a color is in portrait painting. Value controls the foam. A correct value with a slightly wrong color still look believable, but a wrong value with even the perfect color still looks strain. When missing color, remember to first check the value, then adjust the temperature, and then adjust saturation. This will keep your mixture clean and intentional. Complimentary colors is a color that sit opposite each other on the color wheel, such as red, green, blue, orange, yellow, purple. Adding a tiny amount of complimentary color will help to reduce saturation, help you to create natural neutrals and make skin tone look more realistic. For example, too much warm in your mixture, add a touch of green or ultramarine blue, or if your mixture is too cool, add a tiny bit of orange or warm red. Now I will walk you through my initial color mixture to prepare before start painting. I will not remix every single color in detail. Instead, I prepare a few key mixture that cover the range from darkest value to mid tone and to light the tone. This mixture will give me a variation of colors I can easily adjust during the painting process. For the darkest mixture, I use buntmw and ultramarine blue. I also add a small amount of bun sienna to create the flow and loosen the texture because the buntew from star glass tend to be a bit dry and slightly greedy. This creates a deep natural shadow color. For a warmer dog, I miss bun Siena, ultramarine blue, and a little Azaren crimson. If I want to push it darker, I sometimes add a touch of bun temper. This mixture is useful for the warmer part of the shadow areas, especially around the face where the temperature shifts subtly. For the middle dark tone, I mis three primary colors, a lasering crimson, yellow ochre, ultramarine blue, and a bit of titanium white. When these blend together, you get a beautiful naturalmdtne. Depending on the portrait, you can adjust this mixture along the way. For example, add more red or orange to warm it up or add more ultramarine blue or cerulean blue to cool it down. This mixture forms the base for most natural skin shadows. This mixture leans warm and will be used for the lighter mid tone of the face. I start with a good amount of titanium white, then mis in a laserin crimson, cadmium orange, and a bit of yellow ochre. I don't clean my palette knife at this stage, so to keep a little of the notrmture blends in, this help the color remain natural, not overly saturated. To balance the warmth, I add a tiny amount of ultramarine blue to neutralize it slightly. If you only add warm colors, the mixture become too red or unnatural, this small amount of blue will keep bring it back to a natural skin tone. For the light tone, I mix titanium white with coral rose and then add a bit of cadmium yellow to make the mixture brighter. Then I add a touch of ultramarine blue to neutralize the warm so it feels more like natural skin rather than pure pink or orange. Lastly, the lightest mixture, I take a small amount of the previous light tone and add much more titanium white to create a light variation. I also add a tiny amount of cadmum yellow to keep the highlight vibrant and lively. 6. Sketching the Portrait: Proportion: Before we start painting, let's spend some time talking about the sketch because a portrait becomes so much easier when the foundation is strong. Good drawing is what holds the entire painting together. The color, the breast work, and the details all depend on whether the structure underneath is accurate. That's why I believe that developing strong sketching skill is essential. It will support your painting process in any medium, not only oil, everyone has their own way of practicing and their own sketching method, but I'll share two approaches that I personally found very useful so you could try them to practice at home as well. The Lumis head is a great method to practice because it teaches you the underlying structure of the head, the sphere, symmetry, the plan, proportion, the placement of the feature. When I first started, this approach made drawing pass feel much simpler. With consistent practice, I believe that it can significantly improve your sketching skill. I also spent a lot of time copying drawings from the old master. It helps me understand how to simplify shape and design the shadows. By studying and copying their work, I can see why they make certain decision and it has greatly improved both my eyes for detail and my line work. Now let's talk about how I sket for painting. You can sket on paper first and then transfer your drawing using bracing paper or graphi transfer paper. This method is great. If you're not very confident to sket directly on Canvas, you want to focus on the painting instead of worrying about drawing accuracy. The portrait has complex proportion. This is the easiest method for beginners and ensure the basic structure is correct before you start painting. First, I start by toning the canvas. As I mentioned earlier, I use white lavender oil to thin the oil paint and I create a very thin wash of burn sana. I use a large broth to spread this wash evenly across the entire canvas. At this stage, I use more solvent, so the paint stay very thin and fluid. This allows the color to flow easily, cover the surface quickly, dry faster, and create a perfect base for sketching on top. Then I gently wipe the portrait area with a paper towel. This creates a warm tone I feel more comfortable to paint on instead of a white canvas, which easily distract my eyes. A pure canvas is quite hard to judge value on, so toning helps a lot. First, I compare the height of the face to the frame. In this reference, the distance from the top of the head to the chin is approximately the same as the distance from the chin to the chest. I start by marking the top of the head, then mezle downward so that the distance from the head to the chin matches the distance from the chin to the chest. The midpoint between these two mark becomes the chin that helps me anchor the face correctly within the composition. Once I have the top and bottom of the face established, I begin marking the main facial division, from the forehead to the eyebrows, from the eyebrows to the base of the nose, and from the nose to the chin. In this portrait, the distance from the forehead to the eyebrows is roughly equal to the distance from the eyebrow to the nose, while the distance from the nose to the chin is slightly shorter. After marking this point, I measle again to double check the proportion. After marking the main points, I connect them lightly drawing the eyeline, the nose line, and the chin line following the tooth of the head. Because of perspective, these lines are not parallel. They subtly converse toward a single vanishing point. Next, I draw the center line of the face to indicate the direction of the nose and divide the face into two halves. I mark the width of the left eye, noting it starting and ending point. Then I compare the relationship between the two eyes on the reference image to understand their proportional difference. Because of the head tilt and perspective principle, the right eye appears slightly narrower than the left. Based on this comparison, I estimate the spacing and mark the position of the right eye on the canvas. I then reject this measurement against the photo to make sure everything feels accurate. Once the main facial visual point are marked, I begin sketching the face by connecting this landmark and refining the overall drawing. I use in Bonsiena which make the line easier to adjust and correct along the way. At this stage, I also start indicating the main shadow areas such as the cheek bones, the eye socket, the side of the nose. This helped me visualize the face as a three dimensional form and create a solid foundation for applying color in the next step. I also mark the mouth, the left corner of the mouth aligned roughly with the left eye socket, and the right corner of the mouth aligned with the outer edge of the right eye wrist. I mark this point on the canvas and check them against the reference to confirm accuracy. This measuring state is quite flexible. You can compare any relationships that feel comfortable to you, such as the width of the eye compared to the length of the nose, the distance between the eyebrows, compared to the eye width or any other proportional relationships you notice on the face. The goal is to understand how different facial fissure relate to each other in size and position. The more carefully you measure, the more accurate your skirt will be. At this stage, everything is still very light and adjustable. This sketch is simply a guide, a solid foundation that will make the painting process much easier and more confident. Throughout the sketching and painting process, everything can be adjusted. I'm constantly measuring proportion and making small correction along the way. Even if you start by transferring the key point or outline from the reference image onto the canvas, you still need to revisit and remeasure as you paint because as pain is applied, les naturally shipped and edges move. Checking your proportion again and again is an important part of the process. I highly recommend you to learn about comparative measuring, which mean comparing one distance to another rather than relying on fixed measurement. This method helps you a lot when painting portraits. For example, you might ask is the width of the head bigger or smaller than the height? Is the distance from the eyes to the nose the same as a distance from the nose to the chin? Where does the corner of the eyes align vertically with the mouth? You use your brass or pencil as a measuring tool, holding it at arm length, comparing angles and lengths, and marking those relationship on the canvas. This approach build accuracy without making the drawing feel stiff. Because bunsena is diluted, it's very easy to adjust at the sketching stage. If something falls off, I can simply use a towel to wipe it away and redraw. Since it is a free hand sketch, there is no need to feel stressed or aim for perfection right away. I work primarily by observation, sketching, adjusting, and remeasuring proportion over and over again. I continue refining until the skirt feels balanced and the facial features are in the right proportion. This back and forth process is a normal and important part of building an accurate portrait. As I go, I also begin to reinforce the shadow areas and also the darkest value zone by applying a bit more paint. This helped me establish an early sense of value and volume, allowing the face to read more clearly as a three dimensional form before moving on to the color. At this stage, I focus primarily on the face and only lightly indicate the neck. I devote most of my time to refining the overall facial shape and the angle of the head rather than focusing on detailed rendering of individual features, avoiding excessive detail at this point, help me prevent visual overload and allows me to establish accurate structure, proportion, and gesture before progressing to more refined stages of the painting. 7. Foundation Stage: Blocking In Part 1: For the first layer, I always work from the darkest value toward the lighter ones. This helped me establish structure depth in a clear value hierarchy early in the painting. I start with the eyes by using my darkest mixture to define the main eye structure, the upper and lower lash line, the eyelid, and the grease of the eyelid, the tear duct, and the outer corner of the eye. The color around the eyes naturally leans warmer and redder. This is because the skin in this area is thin and rich in blood vessel, so I add a small amount of laserin crimson to my dark mixture. This helps the shadow feels more lifelike rather than neutral or flat. I am slightly defining the outer contours of the eyes rather than focusing on detail immediately, I prioritize establishing the overall shape and placement. Now I will work gradually building the form with sound control lines since this is still the initial skit, so I keep the mark light and flexible so that I can easily adjust proportion if needed. For the area surrounding the irish, I still use the darks mixture, but I add a touch of cerulean blue, since her eyes color is blue, so this subtle adjustment helps suggest the coolness of the irish while keeping the value dark and controlled. The base mixture already contain umber bottob ultramarine blue, so adding cerulean shaped the ht without breaking the value structure. Now I move on the OSI, following the same approach. I begin by defining the out controls to establish its overall shape and placement as I work, I'm constantly comparing it to the first eye rather than treating it as a separate element. This helps maintain the consistency in shape, size, and proportion. One important thing to keep in mind is that both eyes should sit along the same horizontal line, often referred to as the eye line. As I draw, I frequently step back and check whether this second eye aligns correctly with the first one. It's very easy for the second eye to drift slightly higher or lower, this stage requires careful observation and adjustment. I often go back and forth refining both eye together instead of finishing one completely before the other. I'm also paying attention to the spacing between the eyes as well as the angle and the tilt making sure they follow the same directional flow of the head. Once the main eye lines are established, I move on to the eye socket shadows. I use a middle dacton modified with a small amount of yellow ochre, yellow ochre slightly warm the mixture and lower the Croma which is especially useful for natural skin shadows. I then adjust the temperature as needed with bun Ciena to warm or ultramarine blue to cool. In this portrait, the left eye socket and the outer corner of the left eye are the darkest because they are partially in shadow cast by the hair. I emphasize these areas slightly more to reinforce depth and lighting direction. Anatomically, the eye socket is the deepest recess area, so it naturally contain the darkest shadow. The area that produ slightly in the middle, such as the upper cheek or brow bone catches more light or reflected light. In this case, I observe that her skin has a warm, reddish undertone, especially around the eyes. For the lighter areas surrounding the eye, I introduce subtle violet, create grey by missing middle tone with red and blue ultramarine blue. Violet is very effective in portrait painting because it helps transition between warm skin tone and color shadow area. For the lighter glends I use a mixture dominated by red ton, balanced with ultramarine blue and soften with my light ton mixture. This creates a natural luminous skin color without becoming overly saturated. I then move on to other areas of the face that contain the darkest value, the cheek hollows, and the area beneath the chin. The cheek hollows on both side, especially on the left appear significantly darker due to cast shadow created by the hair. From this recess area, the value gradually transition lighter as they move outward toward the cheek in the reference image, the cheek display a notable warm color temperature leaning strongly towards red and orange. To reflect this, I begin by painting the deepest part of the cheek hollows and extending these shadows toward the side of the chin using a warm dark mixture. As I work, I gradually introduce more isarin crimson to enhance the warm and better describe the underlying blood rich skin tone. For the middle tone transition on the cheek, the area between the cheek holour and the fuller cheek blends, I observe a strong red orange quality to achieve this, I missed a colour dominated by red combined with cadmium orange and a small amount of yellow ochre. I also use the darkest value to define the upper edge of the forehead, helping to frame the face, and then apply the same dark mixture to establish the nostril. Using the middle tone, I paint the shadows along both sides of the nose, adjusting the mixture with additional red and orange and kded or sometime yellow ochre. While working with this middle tone, I continue to develop the mid values of the cheek. In this portrait, the skin appears overall quite warm with a strong red, orange bias. This one may be influenced by reflected light from her red hair because my initial mixture are relatively neutral, so I constantly introduce more red and orange during application to accurately capture the temperature and liveliness of her skin. 8. Foundation Stage: Blocking In Part 2: Next, I move on to painting the shadow beneath the nose. This area sit in a dark middle value, and as the shadow transition downward toward the mouth, the colour gradually becomes warmer with more orange nodes. After blocking the dark areas, I continue establishing the middle light values. I walk from the eyes downward to the cheek, moving from the cheek hollow outward toward the center of the face. From there, I gradually transition through the middle light tone toward the lightest area, grading a smooth value progression across the facial plane. When working on the lighter tones of the face, I prepare several variations of my light tone mixture. I introduce more amount of erlein blue, which is a cool blue to supply cool certain light area. This is important because not all highlights are warm in areas such as around the mouth and beneath the nose, I observe cooler light, so I adjust the mixture accordingly with a touch of erlein blue. In the first working stage, it's very important to not overdetail. The main goal at this stage is to establish the major value and color relationships, not to define small features, Odetailing too early can easily become overwhelming and often weakens the overall structure of the painting. At the same time, is equally important not to block in shaves that are too large and uniform. If a single value or color is applied over an overly large area, it becomes very difficult to read the underlying form instead of blocking in only the darkest and the lightest value, pay close attention to the transitional tone between them. For example, avoid painting the entire cheek with one flat pin tone or using only the lightest value on the front plane of the face. While we don't need to stop to refinement yet, we must still describe enough radiation to suggest the form. By the end of the blocking stage, the portrait should already read as three dimensional. The value and color transition should clearly indicate lens turning in space even without detail. To support this, brew direction is very important. I recommend imagining the head as a collection of simple three dimensional forms such as sphere, cylinder, and plane. The face, especially the cheek and forehead, can be visualized as part of a sphere. I follow this image form with my brush stroke allowing the direction of stroke to wrap around the form rather than moving randomly. This approach reinforce volume and help the painting feel solid. As you can see, the bridge of the nose, which is a nasal bone catch the most direct light, but it should not be painted as a single flat highlight. The bridge subtly turn as it moves downward, so the value and color ship gradually rather than stay in uniform. I block in the lightest area and observe where the light actually hit instead of covering the entire bridge with one bright ton. Along both sides of the bridge are the side planes of the nose, which receive slightly less light than the center of the bridge. The color and value should transition from the lightest point at the center and gradually become darker as it moves outward. It's important to avoid outlining the nose with a single uniform color. This will make the form appear flat or like cartoon. I pay close attention to the area where the forehead transition into the beginning of the nasal bridge. This connecting zone typically appear slightly darker than both the protruding forehead and the bridge of the nose. The reason is that the forehead and the nasal bridge are more forward facing planes that catch direct light while the area between them turns subtly away from the light and fall into soft shadow cast by the forehead. Next, I move on to the forehead. Although the forehead generally receive the most light, it's important not to block in the entire area with the lightest value. Doing so would flatten the form. Instead, I observe the value changes and build the area gradually working from darker values toward lighter one. On the right side of the forehead, there is a subtle cast shadow from the hair, which introduce a slightly warmer reddish orange influence. I reflect this by warming the mixture gently in that area. I use a light ton mixture adjusted with red and a small amount of cerulen blue to paint the nasal wins. The nasal winds receive less direct light. So it's important to avoid using the same light value for these areas as for the bridge of the nose because it receive less direct light and therefore must remain slightly darker than the bridge. Maintaining this value difference is very essential for reserving the three dimensional structure and form of the nose. I leave the leaves to blocking lots after establishing the surrounding skin tone. Her leaves are not deep red, but rather lean toward a warm red orange. I miss red with cadmium orange as the base colour for the lower lip, I add a small amount of white to reflect its fuller form and greater light exposure. For the upper lip and shadow areas, I incorporate more alizarin crimson and also sometime add a touch of ultramarine blue along the darker edges to deepen the value. When painting the leaves, I follow the natural direction of the leap planes rather than outlining them with a single line. This approach help create a more convincing three dimensional effect. I'm also paying attention to the structure of the leaves. The leaves are not flat. They have volume with subtle blanes that catch differently. The central area often appears fuller while the edges soften and blend more into the surrounding skin. Instead of outlining the leaves with a hard line, I allow the edges to soften gradually, especially along the outer contours. This helps the lips feel integrated into the face rather than appearing cut out and graphed. I varied the color slightly introducing warmer tones toward the center and slightly cooler and more neutral tones as I move upward to reflect the natural variation in the skin and leaf surface. 9. Foundation Stage: Blocking In Part 3: After establishing the facial tones, I move on to blocking the neck, again working from the darkest value toward the lighter ones. I begin with the deepest shadow beneath the chin. This area received very little direct light and is often the darkest part of the neck due to the cast shadow from the head. I use a warm dark misure adjusting with bone tumble and bone sienna and also introduce a small amount of red to reflect the natural warm and blood flow in this area. As the form moves downward and away from the chin, the values gradually become lighter. I transition into mito ducton softening the edges to avoid a harsh separation between the face and the neck. The side of the neck remain darker than the center helping to describe the cylindrical form of the neck. The I avoid pushing the neck into the lightest value at this stage, keeping the neck slightly darker than the face, help maintain focus on the portrait and reinforces a natural hierarchy of the light and attention. At this blocking stage, my goal is not detail, but clear value relationships, temperature variation, and a solid sense of form which will support refinement in later layers. After blocking in the face and neck, I move on to the hair. At this stage, I use a large bros, which is extremely important when beginning to paint hair. When painting hair, always start with a large bros and focus on locking in the major light and dark masses first. Avoid the common mistake of becoming overwhelmed by the complexity of the hair and trying to define individual strength too early with a small bros, beginning with a small bros often lead to stiffness and loss of structure. The priority at this stage is value and mass not detail. While painting the hair, I continue to evaluate the surrounding space using it as an opportunity to correct and refine the overall shape of the face. In this blocking phase, I concentrate solely on establishing the light and shadow pattern of the hair. I do not describe whether the hair is straight or c yet, that level of detail will be addressed in later stages once the overall structure is solid. For the doctor's hair muscles, I use my dog mixture and introduce more burn sienna to keep the shadow warm and rich. For the middle tones, I rely primarily on burn sienna and for the lighter areas, I introduce more red and cadmium orange reflecting the red hue of her hair. In some highlight area, I also add a small amount of yellow ochre to increase brightness while keeping the color crowded. I'm focusing primarily on value, how light or dark each section is rather than small details or texture as you see, I keep the broo broad and simple allowing me to adjust easily as I go. If something feels off, I can always refine it later in the next stages. The goal here is to create a solid base that describe the overall shape and flow of the hair so that in the later stages, adding detail become much easier and more control, don't worry about making it perfect, focusing on blocking the main light and dark relationships. 10. Foundation Stage: Blocking In Part 4: Finally, I block in the chest area and also continue refining the connection between the neck and the chest. Adjusting the neck is also a part that takes a lot of time, as it help clearly suggest the tilt and the orientation of her head. I also enhance the darker values and refine the transitional colors. Insuring the transition between the neck and the chest feels natural and cohesive. I reassess the value structure and reinforce some of the darkest shadow. During the painting process, certain shadow areas may not yet be dark enough, so we can always check and go back and forth adjusting and deepening shadow as needed to strengthen contrast and restore a clear sense of depth and form. While painting, I also switch brushes to maintain the clean colour. I even have three separate brushes for the side that I used most frequently, one dedicated to Doc mixture and one for the middle tones and one for the light tone. For other brushes, as a very list, it's important to use separate brushes for dark and for light area. If you use the same brush without properly cleaning it, dark pigment can contaminate lighter mixture causing the colors to become muddy. Likewise, light paint carried into dark area can weaken the shadow value, reducing the contrast and flattening the overall depth of the painting. If you only have one brush for one side, make sure to wipe it thoroughly with a clean clot or tissue or rinse it briefly with solvent before picking up a new value range, keeping your brushes clean and organized help a lot in resolving clarity, color purity, and strong value separation throughout the painting process. To complete the blocking stage, I returned to the ice and filling the remaining areas, including the eyelid and the Irish when painting the iris, it's important not to fill it with a single flat dark color. The value and color of the iris vary depending on the light. In this portrait, the iris appears lighter around the outer edge and darker toward the center where the pupil is located. I use more ultramarine blue in the darker central area of the iris to create depth while keeping the surrounding areas slightly lighter and more transparent. This variation help the eye feel alive and three dimensional rather than flat. I'm moving on to the second eye and follow the same process. I apply the same approach in terms of value, color, and structure. In this stage, I'm also constantly comparing the two eyes as I work, making sure they feel consistent in size, alignment, and intensity. It's important that both eyes belong to the same phase and share the same lightning condition. I may go back and forth between the two adjusting as needed. In this stage, I'm still focusing on the overall structure and value not overly refining small details yet. For the white of the eyes, I avoid using pure white. In reality, the sclera is a sub gray rather than white. I miss a subtle neutral using blue red, bun sienna and white adjusting the balance to keep it understated. 11. Developing the Portrait: Building Form and Color Part 1: The second layer focuses on building up and enhancing the facial feature and refining the overall structure of the face. At this stage, I deepen the shadows and introduce more transitional value and color variation to create a smoother skin tone and more clearly defined feature. While the goal is not extreme detail yet, this layer bring greater clarity, contrast, and cohesion to the portrait. I begin this layer by returning to the eyes. I deepen the shadows and further define the eyelid, under eye area and the surrounding skin as it connects to the nose and upper cheek. Observing the reference, I notice that the skin around the eyes lean toward cooler red violet ton, whereas the cheek leaned toward warmer red, orange hues. To reflect this, I also introduce more blue to the mixture around the eyes and adjusting the amount based on the value of each area. I also refine details within the Irish and People. I also pay attention to the asymmetry between the two eyes. The left eye received less light in the reference, so it's shadow or deeper and more pronounced. When painting the lower eyelid, it's important to remember that it's not just a line but a sub rounded form. The lower eyelid sits slightly forward from the eyeball and catches light differently along its surface. The edge of the lower lid is usually lighter than the eye socket beneath it, but darker than the highlight on the upper lid. I avoid outlining it sharply and instead suggest it formed through subtle value and color ship the lower eyelid often reflect light from the cheek below, which can introduce slightly warmer or lighter tone along its edge. At this stage, I begin using smaller finer brushes to define eye controls and anatomical details more precisely while still maintaining subtransition. Skin a static. I constantly shifts in value, color, temperature, and saturation across the surface. The more subtle and control these transitional, the more realistic and lively the portrait become. This is the primary purpose of the later layers. In contrast, relying only on dark, middle, and light value and then blending them excessively often lead to muddy color, flattened form and a lfeless result. A common mistake when painting is that painting the shadow as one solid block which make the form look flat. Even within the shadow, there's always variation of light and dark. Shadows are not uniform. They contain structure, reflected light and subtle transition that describe the form. So when building layers in shadow areas such as around the eye socket or along the side of the nose, I carefully observe the reference to identify value shaped within the shadow family. For example, the deepest shadow often appear new plane changes or waveform overlap, while areas closer to the light may contain softer, slightly lighter shadow tone due to reflected light. By introducing this variation, the shadow remain dimensional rather than heavy or clumped. I also avoid blending everything together too much, which can flatten the form. Instead, I use control transition to suggest how the form turn in space, allowing the shadow to support the overall three dimensional structure of the face. At this stage, I began using softer brushes to build up layers which help create smoother transition across the skin surface when mixing colors during the painting process, I avoid mixing large amount of paint all at once. Instead, I miss small variation at a time, then test the color directly on the canvas. If it doesn't feel right, I adjust the mixture gradually. This approach, keep the process flexible, reduces wasted pain, and also help prevent color from becoming muddy because overworking a single mixture with too many pigment often does the color and reduces pregrancy for me, color mixing is a process of testing and adjusting. Of course, this is guided by color theory and fundamental principle, not random mixing, but it's important to understand that a color on the palette really look the same once applied on the canvas, the palette in neutral isolated context, while the canvas present color in relationship to surrounding values and hues. Because of this, a color that appears correct on the palette may shift in value, hue or chroma once it plays within the painting. This is especially important when working with light and shadow, a color may appear very dark in the reference image, but once painted, it can turn out to be too dark. Often this happened because the area is surrounded by light to values, making it appear darker by contrast. Also, the same applied to reflected light within a shadow. It may look bright in the reference, but if painted too light, it can break the logic of the form. The lightest value within the shadow family is always darker than the darkest value within the light family. At this stage, I begin refining and defining the eyes in more detail. I switch between smaller, fine detail broaches to gain better control over the lines and subtle transition. This is a stage where it's helpful to slow down and work more carefully as the eyes are the local point of the face and small adjustment can make a big difference. As I paint, I'm constantly observing the reference and making adjustments along the way. Rather than relying on a single measure, I continuously tweak the color, adjusting the value, the temperature, and the intensity as needed. I don't expect to get the perfect color immediately. Instead, I apply a small amount, observe how it within the context of the painting, and then refine it further if necessary. I also go back and forth between both eyes, comparing them to maintain consistency in shape, direction, and value. So at this stage, the goal is to gradually build up clarity and definition while still keeping the transition solved and natural. As you can see, I'm constantly redefining the contours as I go. So feel free to make adjustments along the way. This stage is very flexible. So don't hesitate to correct and improve the shaft as you work. Sometimes when I apply a color, it may appear too light or slightly off compared to what I observe in the reference. In those cases, I simply adjust it directly on the canvas. This is actually one of the aspect I really enjoy about working with oil paint. Oil painting gives you the advantage of time. You're not forced to get everything right immediately. You can continue to modify layer and refine the paint while it's still workable. Rather than trying to achieve the perfect mixture from the beginning, I treat the process as a series of adjustment. I apply small amount of paint, observe how it interacts with the surrounding colors, and then refine it if needed. This allows for a more intuitive and responsive workflow where I can gradually move closer to the correct value and color. So don't feel pressured to get everything perfect in one step. Take advantage of the flexibility of the medium and allow yourself time to adjust and refine directly on the canvas. 12. Developing the Portrait: Building Form and Color Part 2: Now I'm reinforcing the eyebrows by adding darker values and softening the transition in the area between the brows, so it blends more naturally into the surrounding skin. I begin refining the transition between the eye socket and the bridge of the nose. In the earlier blocking, I focused mainly on separating light and shadow. The transition as a point was still quite simplified. Now I start to soften those shadow edges and introduce most of the variation in color. Remember not to blend directly between light and dark, but build the transition by adding intermediate colors. This helps maintain clarity while still achieving a smooth and natural shift in value. I'm defining the globula the area between the eyebrows, where the bridge of the nose start. This area is important because it connects the forehead to the nose and helps describe the overall structure of the face. By carefully adjusting both value and color in this region, I can better describe the three dimensional form you will notice that the planes here are quite subtle. They gently shift from light to shadow rather than forming any hard edges. Overall, this stage is about refining and connecting forms, moving from a simple light and shadow blocking toward a more nuanced and dimensional surface. When refining the nasal catalyse, I pay close attention to both value and color temperature shape. The upper portion of the catalyse closer to the eyes tend to appear cooler and darker as it sit deeper within the eye socket shadow and receive less direct light. In this area, the color often lean slightly toward cool violet tone As the form moves downward, the catallag become more exposed to reflected light from the surrounding skin causing the color to shift warmer, often leaning toward orange and warm red node. I reflect this gradual temperature change in my mixture transitioning from cooler, darker tone above to warmer tone below. I'm mainly focusing on softening the edges along the bridge of the nose so the transition feels more natural and less harsh. At the same time, I start to view the form of the skin around the nose, especially the area just under the nose and around the side of the nostrils where the flesh slightly reduce. To avoid this area look flat, I use curve brush stroke that wrapped around the form. I move my bras in a sub rounded motion to follow the natural structure of the face. This helps the nose feel more lifted and three dimensional where the surrounding skin feels like it's wrapping around and connecting smoothly into the cheek and toward the mouth. I continue to ask more shift in value and color to support this form rather than relying on strong lines. Overall, I'm thinking of these areas as a series of soft routed forms that connect together rather than separate flat shape. Now I'm returning to the ice to further refine the details and enhance their clarity. Layering is not only about refining value transition, but also about gradually enhancing color saturation. As the painting progress, I pay closer attention to saturation and chroma in the later layers. I intentionally build up the surface with more saturated and vibrant color while still remaining control over value. This gradual increase in saturation as depth richness and a sense of vitality to the skin, making the portrait feel more lifelike. When we talk about the form and light, there are a few simple things to keep in mind. The light areas are part that receive direct light and the core shadow shows where the form start turning away from the light. This is usually the darkest part of the shadow on the form itself, and the cache shadow happen when one part of the form locks the light and create a shadow on another surface, and reflected light is a light that bows it back to the shadow area from nearby surfaces. Even though it's lighter than the rest of the shadow, it should always stay darker than the light side. Because of this relationship, when I'm unsure about a color, I apply a small test stroke to a limited area and compare it carefully with the reference. If it's not correct, I adjust the miture before committing further. Avoid applying too much paint too quickly and then correcting directly on the canvas because it's often lead to muddy color and your painting will lost vibrancy and it will also lead to unnecessary effort later. From my personal experience, impatient during color mixing is one of the most common mistakes. Applying color too quickly without careful observation and compare with the image can result in multiple value errors across the portrait, and it will require heavy correction later. Take your time, be patient with the mixing process, and don't hesitate to test and adjust multiple time just small area on your painting. Color accuracy developed through observation, comparison and restraint not by trusting your first instant alone. Now I'm going through the remaining areas of the face, softening edges and refining transition around the cheek, the nose bridge, the chin to create a more cohesive look. 13. Refinement Stage: Enhancing Details and Transitions Part 1: In this stage, the focus shifted toward refining the painting through age control, subtle detailing and strengthening the overall light shadow relationship as multiple layers of paint are applied contours and structural lines can naturally soften, shaped or become partially obscured. For this reason, I continuously return to the feature to re clarify the form, reinforce structure, and enhance value contrast where needed. This stage built directly on the foundation established in the first layer. So in this stage, I focus mostly on adjusting layering and enriching it at more vibrant color, smoother transition, and increased clarity. The surface gradually become more refined as I focus on subtle variation in value, color temperature, and saturation, rather than dramatic changes. As I'm working wet on wet it allow my fresh paint to interact with the existing layers beneath. This approach allow me to create soft edges and natural transition, but it also require control. Rather than planing light and dark area directly which can doll the surface, I continue to mix transitional color as I go and place them deliberately between values. I will not speak as much during this stage because much of the work involves constant observation, comparison and adjustment in response to the reference. I continue using the same approach as I discussed earlier, missing small amount, testing on the canvas, and adjusting as needed. You are absolutely free to work more intuitively or adapt this process to your own style as long as you remain mindful of value structure and avoid excessive blending on the canvas. When adjusting color, it's important to consider not only value, but also Cromer and hue. For example, if an area needs to feel brighter and more vibrant, I may add a small amount of cadmium yellow. Please be careful when adding white because too much white will reduce saturation. I use it primarily to increase value rather than brightens. To correct and balance color, I often think in terms of complimentary pairs on the color wheel. For example, when a mixture become too violet, I add a small amount of yellow to neutralize it. Or if a color appears over the red, I balance it with subtle addition of blue and yellow. I also adjust color based on looking at the hue. For example, if an area I see that need more orange, I may add a bit cadmium orange to the mixture or bun sienna if I want to create a warm but darker tone. If an area needs to feel cooler while remaining light, I introduce cerulean blue, which is a cool blue into the light mixture. Much of this process is guided by experience and intuition. Developed through repeated practice, you are free to explore and adjust hes creatively as long as the value relationships remain correct, the form will still read convincingly. You can gently exaggerate color temperature to suit your preference, whether you want a warmer pink violet mood or a cooler of aton while still maintaining realism and structure. One approach I find especially helpful for describing the wings of the nose and the nose tip is to imagine the lower portion of the nose as being constructed from three simple spherical forms, two smaller spheres representing the nasal wings of each side and one central sphere representing the tip of the nose. Thinking in this way offer two important advantages. First, it naturally guides brush direction encouraging stop to follow the curvature of the routed form rather than moving randomly. Second, it allows you to approach the shading of the nose as you would a simple sphere with a clear highlight, core shadow and cast shadow, which is the shadow beneath the nose. By simplifying the nodes into basic forms, it becomes much easier to understand how light moves across its surface. This method is far more effective than attempting to copy the nodes directly from the reference without an underlying structure which can feel complicated and overwhelming. Reducing complex anatomy into symbol shape provide a clear foundation, making the painting process more manageable and helping the form read convincingly in three dimension. For the nostril and the base of the nose, I'm careful not to use pure dark. I vary the dark tones slightly to keep them rich and avoid making the area look too harsh or flat. I'm constantly refining the contours, but rather than outlining the nose, I define it through value shifts and sub edges that keeps the nose looking natural rather than graphic. Throughout this process, I continue step back observe and make more adjustment to both color and value to maintain balance within the face. Now I'm continually refining the shape of the nose, enhancing the filtrm and deepening the core shadow beneath the nostrils. As you see that I'm just constantly adjusting both value and color in small amount rather than making big changes, this helps maintain a natural look and keeps the form cohesive. Sometimes I might apply a color that turns out a bit too dark or the hue doesn't quite match what I'm aiming for and that completely no more. When that happens, I simply go back, adjust the mixture on my palette, and then apply the color on top. This is also why I prefer to apply color in small amount at a time. Instead of putting down a large area of paint all at once, I build it gradually testing each mitre to see if it fixed before committing more. It's almost like a process of constant checking and refining rather than trying to get everything perfect in one go. It's important to remember that mixing the wrong color is part of the process. You can always adjust it either by modifying your mixture or by layering over it, don't be afraid to experiment. Working slowly and making small corrections along the way will give you much more control and a more natural result. 14. Refinement Stage: Enhancing Details and Transitions Part 2: After establishing the nose to a point where it feels stable, I begin to move on to the surrounding areas, focusing on the more subtle transition around the lower cheek and the area around the mouth. At this stage, I'm not making any dramatic changes, but rather refining the transition to make them softer and more natural. Around this area, I noticed that the color slightly shifts toward a cooler, more violet tone to achieve this. I introduce a small amount of red combined with blue into my mixture, creating a subtle purplish variation. This color transition helps balance the warmer tones in the cheek and leaves and also reflect the natural variation of skin, which is never a single uniform color at the same time, I'm using these value and color ships to better define three dimensional form of the face. The area around the mouth and the lower cheek has gentle blanes that turn away from the light, these subtle changes help describe that structure more clearly. I also pay attention to the direction of my blood stroke following the natural curvature of the form to reinforce the sense of volume. Overall, this stage is about refining and connecting forms, making sure that areas transition smoothly into one another while still maintaining a clear sense of light and structure. Now I'm enhancing the shadow around the cheek bone areas. This area naturally sits slightly recessed, deepening the value here helps define the structure of the face and makes the cheek bone feel more pronounced. I'm also taking into account the influence of the hair. The hair creates a sub cast shadow onto the side of the face, especially along the outer cheek areas. Instead of treating this shadow as just part of the skin tone, I slightly deepen and cool the value to reflect that shadow coming from the hair. I apply the paint gradually building up the shadow in thin layers rather than adding a heavy dog, all at once, this helps keep the transition soft and natural. At the same time, I soften the edges as the shadow moves inward toward the center of the face, so it blends smoothly into the lighter areas of the cheek. Now I'm focusing on the shadow area under the left side of the chin. In this area, it's very important to think carefully about the value relationships so our eyes don't get misled. Even though they are variant within the shadow, some parts slightly lighter, some darker, the entire shadow family should remain darker than anything in the light side of the face. A helpful way to think about this is even the lightest part within the shadow should still be darker than the darkest part in the light area. Sometimes when we look at the painting for a long time, our eyes can get tricked and we might accidentally paint the shadow to light, especially in the middle tones. To avoid this, I constantly compare this shadow area to nearby light area like the cheek or jaw that's catching light and make sure there is a clear separation in value. In terms of color, I don't just add black to darken it. Instead, I adjust the mixture by slightly muting the color and shifting it cooler while still keeping it rich. I begin to enhance the chin and neck, focusing mainly on the shadow areas. I gradually build up darker values on top of the initial blocking to increase the overall contrast. This helps strengthen the form and makes the structure feel more defined. Rather than applying one heavy dot layer, I bull it progressively adjusting the value step by step so it integrates naturally with the existing foundation. I also pay close attention to my bras direction. Following the control of the in and jaw line. This is important because the gen plays a key role in defining the overall shape of the face. Instead of drawing a sharp outline to define the jaw, I avoid using a single hot contour line. A strong line can make the face look flat or even cartoon like. Instead, I define the edge through gradual transition introducing subtle shapes in value and color, so the jaw line feels like a curve, three dimensional form rather than a straight line. Around the jaw and chin, I soften the edges carefully, allowing the form to turn naturally into the neck. This creates a more realistic and organic appearance. Overall, I'm thinking less in terms of lines and more in terms of lens and transition using value and color to describe the structure of the face. Now I begin to define the leaf more clearly. I start from the inner part of the leaves where the color is usually the most saturated and gradually work my way outward toward the edges. The center of the leap tend to have richer, more intense color, so I use a more saturated mixture here, then soften and reduce the intensity as I move toward the outer contour. I pay attention to the difference between the upper and lower lip. The upper lip is typically darker and less saturated because it face it downward and receive less direct light. As a result, it appears slightly more muted and deeper in value. In contrast, the lower lip catches more light, so it often appears lighter, more saturated, and slightly warmer in color. Keeping this contrast between the upper and lower leafs helps create more realistic sense of volume and lighting. I then deepen the shadow between the two leaves, the line with a met, this area is important because it defines the separation and adds depth to the form. Rather than drawing a hot line, I build the shadow carefully using darker values, allowing it to feel soft but still clearly defined. 15. Refinement Stage: Enhancing Details and Transitions Part 3: Now I just continue to adjust the lifts carefully checking the shape and form to make sure everything looks balanced and azuro. Now I move on to refining the remaining light mid tone areas across the face. They are the areas that are not in the brightest highlight, but also not in the shadow, so they play a key role in connecting everything together. I focus on subtly adjusting both value and color in these regions to create a smoother transition between light and shadow. I introduce gentle variations, slide shifts in warmth, coolness and saturation to make the skin feel more natural and alive. You can observe from the reference and you can also play a bit with color. You can ship the hue slightly and be creative as long as your values stay correct and still describe the form. I apply the paint in thin layers using sub plus work to gradually build up the surface without overblnding. At the same time, I keep comparing these mid tones to the surrounding light and shadow areas to maintain the correct value relationships. This step is less about strong contrast and more about subtle refinement, softening precision, and unifying the overall skin texture. Now, I use a fine detailed brows to carefully adjust and enhance the mouth area, refining the edges and small details to bring it to a more finished state. Throughout the painting process, there is no need to rush, take your time and allow the work to develop gradually. One very important habit is to step back and view your painting from a distance. When we work too close to the canvas, it becomes harder to notice areas that fell off, especially in terms of proportion, shape, or alignment. A tip that I personally find very helpful is to leave the painting in a place where you can easily see it during your daily activities. Since I don't usually finish a painting in one sitting, I often let it stay visible in my space. This fresh perspective makes it much easier to identify issues that are difficult to see when working up close for a long time. Sometimes even small shift in lines or proportion can happen without us noticing while painting, regularly stepping back helps you catch and correct those subtle inaccuracies. As I move around and see it from a distance or different angles, I can naturally spot areas that don't feel quite right. It's completely normal to go back and forth during the painting process, not only to enhance color and form, but also to constantly check and correct the contours, alignment, proportion, and overall shape. Now I'm back to the eyes again. I will enhance the eyes by adding subtle highlight along the eyelid which help define the form and catch the light more clearly. I also brighten the white of the eyes slightly, but I'm careful not to use pure white except I adjust the value just enough to make the eyes feel more alive and luminous while keeping them natural. I also add a small highlight to the inner corner of the eyes. This help bring a sense of realism. These details are quite subtle, but they make a significant difference in enhancing the clarity and the liveliness of the eyes. 16. Final Adjustments & Highlights Part 1: In the final stage, I focus on refining the remaining details and bringing the painting together as a cohesive hone. This includes defining the hair more clearly, adjusting the neck, and applying the background. As I work, I also continually reassess the overall face, making small adjustment to the facial feature where I needed more detail, adjust the proportion if needed. At this stage, I enhance contrast and saturation to strengthen depth and visual impact while being careful not to overwork the surface. I also add final highlights selectively to introduce a scene of glow and vitality, hoping the portrait feel finished and alive. I'm adjusting the neck as it appeared misaligned with the till of the head. In the reference, her neck angles more noticeably. I refine the value structure and add more detailed color transition to clearly define the neck as a cylindrical form. At the same time, I smooth the transition between the neck and the chest, ensuring the connection feels natural and anatomically consistent. It's helpful to have a basic understanding of the neck structure when painting the neck so the neck can be simplified as a cylindrical form. So when we paint, we want to think about how light wraps around that shape. In terms of anatomy, there are a few key elements to notice. The central area is formed by the throat and on both side, we have the sterno cldomastoid muscle. This run from behind the ear down towards the collar bone. This muscle creates subtle lanes and influence how light and shadow appear on the neck. You often see a slightly lighter area in the front where the light hit more directly and darker areas along the side where the form turns away from the light. But when painting, I don't focus too much on drawing the anatomy in detail, but I keep this structure in mind to guide my value and color decisions. Thinking in terms of simple form and underlying structure will help you to paint the neck easier and help the neck feel more solid and three dimensional. When refining the hair, I work on top of the blocking established in the first stage. Although this is considered the detailing phase, I continue to use a large bros rather than switching to a fine detailed bros. I use the tip of the bros to suggest smaller strand when needed. I find this approach easier to control as using a small bros can make the hair appear thin, fragmented, or messy instead of full and cohesive. I always think of hair as mask and form, not as individual strands. I imagine the hair flowing in large wave like shape defined by alternating light and dark areas. Especially when painting curly or wavy hair, I avoid drawing each co separately. Instead, I paint interlocking areas of dark, middle and light value, allowing this value shape to suggest curl movement and volume. This approach helps the hair feel thick and three dimensional rather than flat or sparse. I place my first stroke, I follow the natural way direction of the hair, reinforcing its overall shape and rhythm. This keep the hair unified and structure. In this layer, I primarily use a lazarin crimson and cadmium orange for the mid tones to maintain high saturation and vibrancy. I increase brightness in the highlight mainly by adding cadmium yellow rather than white. I use white very sparingly, reserving it only for the brightest highlight at the top of the head where the light in most intense. Over using white can quickly reduce saturation. And make the overall hair look dolled or was out. In the reference image, some of the hair highlight appear overexposed and therefore read as white. However, to maintain saturation and vibrancy in the portrait, I avoid using too much white to my highlight mitre. For this part, I will speed up the process a little. When painting the hair, I'm constantly going back and forth between the shadow and light areas to build the overall form of the hair. Remember to always keep in mind that instead of focusing on individual strength, always think in terms of larger shape and volume, hair is best understood as a series of form not separate lines. Throughout this process, I keep it loose and flexible, just going back and forth, adjusting and refining until it feels right. Try not to overwhelm yourself by attempting to paint every single strain exactly as you see in the reference unless that's your intentions. Personally, I prefer to capture the main character and flow of the hair rather than copying every detail. H 17. Final Adjustments & Highlights Part 2: Now I'm making a few final adjustment to refine the portrait. This includes subtly correcting the facial shape and selectively deepening certain shadow areas to strengthen the ness and reinforce the form. I'm using a small bros to inhale the shadow on the right cheek, the shadow, and even the reflect light in this area is influenced by the color of the hair. I use a warmer mixture leaning more toward orange. Y. Throughout this stage, you can always go back and forth, adjusting the features until everything feels right to you. There isn't a strict rule of right around here. Personally, I tend to keep refining with small detail adjustment until the overall result feels balanced. This part really depends on your own artistic preference and aesthetic. You don't have to define every contour sharply if you prefer softer, more blood looks completely fine to focus on the overall shape and form instead. I think what's most important is capturing the main characteristic of the subject and making sure the form, proportion, and value are working correctly. So try not to fall into the trap of over detailing or over blending. Too much detail can make the painting feel stiff and too much blending can make it look flat. So keep it balanced, refine where needed, but also know when to stop. For the highlight, I separate them into warm and cool color at this stage. I introduce Nico titanium yellow, a bright yellow to emphasize certain highlight area instead of relying solely on pure white. For cooler highlight, I miss erleen blue with white to as in areas where light appear cool. I also add a bit of nick titanium yellow to apply on some highlight areas that are a bit greenish. In my warm highlight mixture, I add a small amount of my latest flesh tone that I'm already missed earlier. This helps soften and warm the highlight since Nis cote tandum yellow naturally lean slightly cool with a subtle greenish undertone. This approach to highlighting is quite personal as I enjoy slightly exaggerating color temperature contrast to bring more vibrancy and life to the painting, you are absolutely free to approach highlight creatively and adapt them to your own style. To ensure the highlight integrate naturally into the skin, I use a clean rail brush to gently soften the edges, allowing them to sit smoothly on the face without appearing harsh. After adding the highlight and suply blending them into the surrounding areas, I take a step back and reassess the nearby light mid tones. Sometimes it's easy to overdo the highlight, which can make the face appear too flat or slightly over exposed. To correct this, I go back into the surrounding mid tone areas and gently adjust the values and colors either softening the highlight or rebuilding the transition around it as you can see, skin is not made of just light and shadow is a continuous transition of many subtle color shape. Instead of relying on strong highlight alone, I focus on restoring those delicate variation in tone and color to keep the surface feeling natural and dimensional. This step helps maintain balance and prevent the painting from looking too harsh or artificial. When applying highlight, I often use slightly thicker paint, especially in the brightest areas. Ticker paint helps the highlight catch more light physically, which makes them appear more luminous and dimensional on the surface. It also allows the highlight to sit on top of the underlying layers rather than blending too much into them. After placing the highlight, I also subtly plane the edges so it will integrate naturally into the surrounding skin. However, during this process, the brightness can sometimes get reduced. Because of that, I usually go back in and reapply a small amount of highlight with thicker paint to reinforce the intensity in the brightest spot. This layering approach helps maintain both softness in the transition and strain in the highlight itself. The key is to keep the highlight controlled, plays only in selective areas, so it enhances the form without overwhelming. Now I'm moving into the final adjustment using a fine detail brush refining the smallest areas, enhancing highlights where they are not bright enough or also deepening shadows where they still need more depth. I also go back to redefine certain contours that may have softened or shifted during the color adjustment, bringing back clarity where needed. 18. Final Thoughts & Class Project: Now that the painting is complete, you're absolutely free to refine it further or keep it looser depending on your personal style. You don't need to push every detail unless you want to. What matters more is that you enjoy the process and create a portrait that reflects the essential character and spirit of your subject. Painting portraits is the balance between observation. And also intuition. The more you practice, the more natural your decision will become. Allow yourself to experiment, make adjustment, and even make mistakes along the way. That's all part of the learning process. For your class project, create a realistic Oil portrait. You can paint along with me using the same reference or choose your own reference that inspire you. When you're finished, please upload your work in the project gallery. I can't wait to see what you create.