Oil Painting the Human Figure: Paint a Nude Back, Muscular Male & the David Statue

1. Introduction: Hello, and welcome to this course. I'm truly happy to have you here. In this class, we will focus on one of the most rewarding subjects to draw, the human body. You will learn how to simplify the figure into basic shapes, understand the proportions of the body, and build a solid foundation that will make drawing people much easier. We will also study individual body parts, including the hand, back, chest, and more, learning how to approach each one step by step. Finally, we will put everything into practice with two complete projects a drawing of Michelangelo David and a female figure viewed from behind. Whether you are new to field drawing or looking to improve your skills, this class will give you practical techniques that you can apply to any future drawing. Let's get started right now. 2. Body construction exercise for beginners: Here is an exercise that is quite unusual, but I think it's very effective with the work of the body of a woman with some kind of filter, and therefore, all the different zones of color are segmented. The aim of this exercise is to better understand the transition between the different skin zones and to be able to establish the major, the dominant color that we can see in each area of the human body for this body in particular. And the goal later on, when you will be painting, the body of someone is to think of the body as a main color in the different zones. When you will be painting a human body, you will have to think of the body as the one that we are working on with this filter to be able to establish the dominant color at first when you are applying your colors before adding some details some different small touches of different colors. But first, it's important to establish the main color, the base. And with this exercise, that's what we are going to do. And this exercise is also really good for practicing the mixing of the skin tones, to be able to train yourself to better understand how to mix the skin tones. For this exercise, I will use my usual material. I will be working on a paper that is 20 by 30 centimeters, and to make sure that the drawing is done in the right proportions, you can use a grade. That's what I did to make sure that the drawing was accurate. Even if it's a small exercise, it is important to have a good base and the right proportions. So let's get started. So before starting this tutorial, let's, of course, begin with color mixing and see how to mix these skin tones. On my palette, I have my usual five colors, and we are going to create the skin tone, starting from the lightest to the darkest. Here, we are going to make a very light beige, and to do that, I will start by pushing the mixture towards an orange hue, and I am also adding a bit of burnt timber and ultramarine blue to make the color less intense, less orange overall. That's what brings us closer to a beige rather than a pumpkin color. At this stage, the color was interesting, but I needed to adjust the levels of yellow and then red. At first, I felt it like yellow, and then I thought it wasn't leaning enough toward red. So I added some, and then I also add a little bit of ultramarine blue and burnt on bird to neutralize it a little and make it less intense. And little by little, we are getting a pretty good tone. So I would keep going still making some small adjustment while asking myself the key questions mentioned in the color course. Here, I found the color needed to be slightly reddish and a bit lighter. So I added a touch of red and some white. Next, we can move on and create a slightly darker skin tone. That also means reducing the amount of white, so we will start with the same base, but use less white. In this case, my color leaned too much toward red, so I pushed it back toward orange by adding a bit of yellow, as you can see. So at this point, my color is pretty good, but I still find it too intense in terms of red, in terms of orange, it's too much like a pumpkin tone. So I am adding the blue, which is the complimentary color of the orange and therefore make it a little less intense. I also think it is still a bit too dark. So I am adding some white and little by little, I'm getting closer to a tone that feels right for a more intermediate skin tone. Now I am adding also some more white again because I felt the gap between the first color and this one was too big. I want to create something that is a bit closer in value. Now, let's keep going and create something even darker. Since I want this tone to be darker, I'm starting by not adding any white at all to make sure I get something more brownish and darker for the skin areas that will be deeply in shadow. So we are creating some base tone, but, of course, later on, we will also be able to mix them together to create intermediate shades if needed. This way, we will have more suitable colors for areas that aren't fully dark or fully light. That said, this new tone ended up being a bit too dark. So I figured a touch of white wouldn't hurt. Also, for the shadowed area near the pi, we can see that it has a slightly reddish hue, so I didn't hold back on the red and added a decent mount. And every time I mix my skin tones, it is a constant back and forth with my eyes between the area I want to paint and the color I have on my palette. The same questions keep coming up in my head. Is it too dark, too light, too yellow or not yellow enough, too red or not red enough, too green or not green enough, et cetera. And depending on the answer, I adjust my mixture on the palette. I know that at first, mixing color isn't easy. Asking yourself all these questions I mentioned about color mixing and the basic color theory takes time in the beginning. You will see that with enough practice, and after mixing tons and tons of color, it all becomes much more natural over time. So I am continuing now, and I am going to start creating the colors for the air area. We can see that there are black tones, which are easily achieved by mixing burn timber with ultramarine blue. And from that base, I can then create a slightly lighter version for a part of the air. We can clearly see where we can clearly see some lighter areas. And with those tones, I would say that we are good to go and we can now begin painting our subject. Here is the subject done on paper. I made a simple drawing, and you can still see the grid lines underneath, which I used to draw it and draw it pretty precisely. So let's get started, and I am going to begin by painting this central area with a beige color that seems light enough to me. We will start with this on here where we have the lightest element. So I am applying this fairly light color and making sure to spread it out evenly. Here, I realize that my paint on the palette isn't creamy enough and I would like it to be a little bit more fluid, so it spreads more easily. So I added a few drops of my medium to make the paint slightly more fluid than it was before. And I am now painting this area using that beige color. The goal is to really focus on applying the paint precisely and making sure it is well spread. As you have seen every time we work on blending, wherever it is in the foundation course or in any of the projects throughout the program, if the paint isn't spread out enough, if it is a little bit too thick, it becomes a little bit harder to achieve smooth blends between color. That's why it is important to make sure the paint is properly thinned and applied evenly. That said, I sometimes make the same mistake myself and end up with areas that have too much paint that aren't spread out enough, stretched out enough, making the layer a bit too thick. It's not a big deal. It's not the end of the world. It just means that it will take a bit more time and that you will need to wipe off the excess paint from your brush more often when you realize the blending. In this exercise, we are not trying to paint the details of the human body, such as the texture of the skin, the facial features, the nails, et cetera. On the contrary, we are really simplifying the whole figure by breaking the body down into large color zones. Why? Because it forces us to focus on the overall structures, the volumes, and the values. It is a great exercise for several reasons. First, to understand light and to see how it heats the body, where the shadow and highlight area are and to observe the large planes of the human body. For example, you can see that the torso isn't a smooth and flat surface. There are slopes, angles, and hollows. It also helps develop the ability to simplify your painting. A good painter knows how to simplify what they see. And because before adding details, you need to be able to place and identify the correct color masses. This exercise helps you do just that. It also teaches you how to create volume without detail. Here, we don't have the slightest bit of texture or fine elements. Yet, just by adding just by using clearly separated color groups in this image, we can clearly recognize a three dimensional woman and nothing else. And that is all thanks to the simple application of color. Even though we are not blending the tones together here, the mere fact of placing these large color areas with the right values of brown or beige allows us to create something that still feels three dimensional. And even here on these small parts of the body that have been painted, we can already start to see and distinguish a bit of volume being created. Of course, we are still far from the final result, but these little touches we are adding using different values like here on the lower back allow us to begin identifying a sense of volume and three dimensional elements in that area. I am adjusting my color a bit because for the darker areas, I wanted something slightly lighter than what I had. I also find it a little too red and wanted it to shift it slightly more towards orange, so I rebalanced it with a touch of yellow. And now I can paint this element here, this slightly darker area that we can see around the pi. This exercise also clearly illustrates the fact that, for example, in a shadow area like here under the arm, we don't just have a single uniform color. Even when we break it down into color zones like this, and the breakdown is done in Photoshop that use only the main tones, we can still see that within a shadow area, there are several small touches of different colors, and that variety of tones within shadows is really important if we want to create something realistic. Because if we paint a shadow area using only one single colour, without playing with the fact that some parts of the shadow can be lighter or darker, we will end up with elements that look fake and don't feel believable. This exercise also helps train the eye to perceive subtle nuances of light and color, even in areas that might initially seem quite uniform. And here, by removing textures and details, we are left with only the essentials, light, shadow, shape, and contrast. This forces us to make clearer decisions about where to place colors and how to define volume. That can be really helpful not only when you are starting out painting, but also when you already have some experience and want to improve your sense of color placement and how you define different color zones within a subject. One thing you can do even before starting to paint your subject is to use filters like this one. I created it using Photoshop, but you can also do it with free online tools. Applying a filter to your photo or reference model like this one helps you clearly define the main color zones you will be working with, and that can really simplify the process. If you ever find yourself wondering, Okay, this light area starts here, but exactly where does it stop? Well, now you can see that it stops at this point and shifts into another color. That means on your canvas, you can say, I would start with this color here, and then I need to make some in between turns between this area and that one. So the transition will look more natural. If you wanted to take the exercise a step further and work on transition, you could also make some intermediate colors between the ones you have already identified in the zones of the body and to create some blending between them. So the key takeaway is this kind of exercise is a great way to train your eye, and it can be an excellent idea to break your model down into colour zones like this before you even start painting. Here we are doing it with the human body because it's often the trickiest to divide it into clear zones with the portrait, as well. But you could absolutely apply the same method to a landscape, a still life, or any other subject. I am now going to continue with the head area and don't stress about it. It's really not a big deal if your painting of the head doesn't look great because mine want ever, and that's not the point. The goal here is really to focus on working with these color zones. You might also notice that the colors I mix for this piece aren't exactly the same as the ones you can see in the reference on the right. It's not 100% the exact same mix. There's a slight difference in the tones. Sure, they are pretty close, but they are not identical. And when we paint our subject, if the color is just slightly off like this, it's not a big deal. It won't stop the result from looking realistic and close to the reference. What's much more important is to make sure you are doing a great job with the values that you have enough variation in the colors, just like we are doing here. More than getting the exact color right, what really matters is having a strong range of values just like in this piece. Now, of course, if your subject has pale skin and you give them a very tan tone, that might be a bit of a problem. But generally, if you are close like we are here, that's good enough. So those will be my final words for this exercise. I will keep working on it a bit more, add a white background, and then this study will be complete, and I really hope that you enjoyed it. 3. Introduction to painting a standing female figure: Here is a fairly classic subject when painting the human body, a woman standing. That is a subject that may seem a little bit simple, but that is an excellent subject for beginning the human body and to be able to paint the entire body but seen from the back. So it will be great to start mixing some colors, some light skin tones that are not too pinkish, not too dark, as well. So we'll work on the color mixing, also how to be able to create the volumes of the body with all the small folds that we can see and to make sure that every elements like the legs, for example, feel our scene in three dimension. So that's really the aim of this subject to start learning how to paint the human body. So for this subject, I will use my classical material, that is to say my five colors palette, the brush I introduced you to in the material video, I will use some oil painting paper, and the size of it will be 30 by 50 centimeters. And finally, for the drawing, I will be using a grid or a projector. I have to admit I don't remember what I did use to make sure that the drawing was right. But I will use one of the two of it, and it's really important to use this tool because they help you to make sure that you have the right proportions with the body that you are drawing. Having the right proportions is the first step towards making something very realistic. So I strongly encourage you to use one of these tools to make sure that you have the right proportions. Now, let's get started, and let's paint together. 4. Mixing skin colors for the female figure: Before we begin, let's take a detailed look at the colors we need to mix for our subject. For the skin tones, we are dealing with fairly classic beige, slightly orange tone, which we'll use for later areas of the body. In the shadowed areas, we'll see more varied tones with orange browns that are more or less dark depending on the area. You will notice that the shadows don't all have the same value throughout. For example, if we look at the ribs on the left, we see a light orange brown, whereas the shadow on the right side is much darker with deeper brown tones. And of course, even within those shadow areas, there will be lighter and darker touches. In the growing area, the shadows are particularly dark. Then just below on the leg, there are other brown tones. So that makes quite a few colors to mix. This subject will be a great exercise to work on these specific skin tones. So I am going to start by mixing the lighter skin tones. Since these colors are quite light, I will create a large base of white compared to the other colors. I will mix that with a little bit of yellow and a little bit of red because as we saw earlier, these beige tones tend to lean slightly towards an orange hue. So I can begin by creating a base like that with this orange. And, of course, as I go along, I will make adjustments. For example, I felt like my orange was leaning a little bit too much towards the red, so I added a small touch of yellow to it. Then it was going too much towards yellow, so I balanced it out by making it a bit rosier, a bit more red. And now we are starting to get a skin tone that could work pretty well in the lighter areas. But still, I think that from this color, I can make a slightly lighter variation. So that's what I'm going to do by taking a little bit of this color and adding some white to it. This time, I'm going to create a skin tone that is still fairly light, quite close to the one we just mix, but still a bit darker. So that's what I'm doing. I am adding a little bit of burn timber to my color, and I have also reduced the amount of white in the mix to get something slightly darker. And when I want to go darker, ultramarine blue and burn timber help guide the coil more toward the beige skin tone rather than something too pumpkin like, too orangy. Otherwise, I will end up with oranges that are probably too intense. So by adding burn timber and ultramarine blue to my mix, I was able to turn that down. Now I can go ahead and create a tone that is even darker. Again, reducing the amount of white and increasing the amount of burn timber in the mix and of the other colors. For early the first two mixes, you didn't really see me use burn timber or ultramarin blue because there was a large amount of white in the color, and I didn't really feel like those mixes became too intense or too pumpkin orange, if you will. But now that I am heading toward darker tones, it seems more necessary to tone down a little bit the color with burn timber and ultramarin blue. You can also see that I don't hesitate to mix the colors together. That's what I am going to do right now, and I mix them to create some smooth transitions, and so they will blend well and easily later on. So it's always a good idea to create some intermediate tones between the colors that you are mixing on your palette. And here we are continuing and moving more towards brown. And since I want something darker now, I am no longer adding white to the mix. However, we are still aiming for browns that lean slightly toward orange tones because it's really the dominant hue, the dominant color in these woman's skin tones. I am adding also a small touch of white to my color because even though I told you I wanted something darker, I think it was too dark, and the gap between this color and the one I mixed before was too important. So that's why I decided to add a little bit of white to my color in the end. Also, I think that my color is a little bit too intense in terms of orange. It's too orangy, too intense. So that's why I am also adding a little bit of ultramarine blue to it because this is the opposite color, and this will tone it down a little bit. And my color is getting pretty good, but I still think that it is a little bit too intense and a little bit too dark. So that's why I'm adding, again, a little bit of white and a little bit of black to my color. Also, the white helps to make the color a little less intense, a little bit more desaturated. Although it doesn't make the color as less intense as it is with the opposite color, it still does a little bit. And now from this color, I can mix another one that will be even darker. For the darkest areas of shadow that we can see within this body. So this color seems pretty well. And finally, I will create one last color that will tend to be a little bit more brown, but towards the red color, some kind of red brown color that we can see, for example, on the lower part of this left leg. So this is what I'm going to create, and then I think that will be all set to start the painting of this woman. So 5. Painting the back: So let's get started and begin painting this subject. In the area we are starting with, you might notice that there is already a bit of paint, but that paint I wiped off with a tissue because I had started the tutorial before realizing that the recording wasn't working properly. I thought it would be a shame to begin the tutorial with a section already painted and not captured on camera. So I decided to remove the paint so we could probably start this subject together and begin painting the neck. So I'm choosing to start the painting with the neck and this area of the skin. We'll be working progressively from top to bottom. So we'll begin with the neck area. And why not start with the hair? Simply because we have already mixed several skin tones, and we'll make the hair colors later. But most importantly, the main reason is that I prefer to start by mixing and applying the lighter colors, the skin tone first, and then paint the hair afterwards and a little bit over them. That's because these two colors might blend together a bit. And if a little of beige color ends up on top of the little hair color, it's not too big of a deal. It won't alter the color of the hair much. But the opposite, if the hair color ends up blending over the skin tones, it could make the skin look a bit muddy or less appealing, and that's likely what would happen if I started by painting the air. Of course, it is possible to begin with the air, but it will be a little bit more complicated and I like to keep things simple. So I find it easier to start with the lighter elements first. And so that's what we are doing now. And This area of the neck is a great little warm up because even within the small section, you can notice quite a few subtle value changes. So parts that are slightly darker, others a bit lighter. On the right side, for example, we see some areas that are very, very light, and as we move toward the left, the skin tones gradually become darker. So that's what I have applied. You might also notice that I mixed a slightly darker color on my palette by adding some burnt and red for the shadow we see on the side. It was a bit darker, but didn't really lean toward orange tones. It was more of a dull brownish tone. That's why the burn timber I added seemed to work quite well with this color. And now with the neck finished, I would say that we are good, and we can move on to the back area. Now, the back may seem a little more complex. There are lots of folds and creases in different places, which means that there are a lot of distinct shadow areas. So what I am going to do is start by marking some reference points to make it easier to navigate the area and find my bearings. The reference points I am looking for are the darker spots found in various areas. So I observe and think, Oh, there is a darker shape here. It is easy to identify in place, so I go ahead and mark it. These reference points are mainly the deep folds and darker shadows that we can see on the back. So I go ahead and blog them in. For now, they look quite sharp, but, of course, later, we will make sure that they blend smoothly into the surrounding tones. I had initially applied this orangey brown color. But looking back, I feel it is a bit too light and it really needs to be a bit darker in that area. So I am correcting that now by applying a darker tone. And now that we have placed those initial reference points, we can start working more within the actual zones and beginning to apply our colors more precisely without worrying too much about being in the wrong place. Now that I have got these reference points and I clearly marked out the shadow and this area, I can start applying these browns, which are a bit lighter than the darker elements I previously laid down. Thanks to these reference points, it is much easier to find my way around the area, and it becomes a lot more manageable to place these tones exactly where they do belong. Now, I am going to work with the lighter tones we can see in this area. This hopart is much lighter, and it seems like a good idea to start by applying this color and using it as the base tone for this entire section. So we are going to focus on the right side of the back. We are not worrying about the arm nor the left side of the back for now. I think we already have plenty to work on this area and trying to tackle more than right away more than that right away would be a bit too complex and overwhelming. It's better to start with this section, bring it to completion, and really focus on it. So now I am applying this fairly light color and making sure to blend it well with the darker tones that you can see in the lower area. And as you will see, I'm going to adjust a little bit my color to intro smoother transition on the left area that is a little bit darker. So I'm taking a little bit of something darker than the beige I took before and make sure to create a nice blending and a smooth transition with these elements before under So, again, you can see that in this blended section, I have tweaked the tone a little to create a more natural transition between these two areas. So now we have established a really solid base for the back, and we are going to start refining it a bit more. To do that, we can begin by adding an element that seems quite obvious to me. The edge along the arm where we can see some slightly darker areas. So using a fairly fine brush and a darker color, I am working along the entire edge, adding those marks, and I make sure that they blend gently with the surrounding colors to create a smooth and natural transition between the two. I apply these small touches and right after placing them, I immediately work on blending them so everything merges together nicely. In this surfer section, I had created something that was a bit too dark. So what I did was take a slightly lighter brown and apply it right next to it. This way, the two blend together a little and only the very edge remains quite dark while the shadow becomes gradually lighter as it moves toward the lighter area on the left. I am also working the lower edge because we can see that our shadow starts from the arm, and it starts quite dark and then gradually lighten a little bit as we move leftward. So now I can really refine this whole area, and there is a well defined fold here. So I am working on that. And to make this fold stand out, we can observe that there is a slightly lighter touch right next to it. That's how free dimensionality works. By placing darker elements next to light to ones, we are able to create depth and relief on the body. So I continue and work on that. What we can also notice in this shadowed area on the back is that along the entire edge on the left side and the bottom of this shadow area, we have parts that are slightly darker. Meanwhile, the central part of the shadow appears a bit lighter. So that's something I'm also trying to recreate that subtle value variation. What we can also see is that in the upper part, there is a fold related to the shoulder blade. So I am adding that as well. And I start by laying down a slightly darker base and blending it with the surrounding tones so the fold integrates smoothly and appears natural. And then I can layer darker shadow on top. You will notice that the shadow areas are never made of a single flat color. It's always a superposition of several slightly different tones, which creates more realistic shadows, such as this one. Like I said, I'm adding a little bit of something darker, even if, like in this upper section, some shadow are less pronounced and a bit lighter. And I would say that just a few subtle touches like this, like this one I am doing now, should be enough or well, almost enough for shadows like this one. I can also start working on this fold on the back. We can see that there is a clearly defined shadow there. F now, I've only shaded it with a base color like this, but later I will also need to have some slightly darker tones on it. I also noticed that the edge of this shadow I initially created was too sharp and didn't blend well enough with the surrounding elements. So I went back in to soften that edge, so it blends better with the rest. I also added slightly darker touch to make it stand out a little bit and make my element a little bit better. Now I am also realizing that along the arm, the elements that should be dark aren't quite dark enough. They don't stand out as much as they should. So I'm going back to adjust that too. At this point, we are really deep into the refinement stage. It is all about the small touches added one after the other, which allows us to build up a realistic effect. These little touches might not look like much when you view them up close, but it's the layering and the accumulation of all these subtle marks that make the result more lifelike. Earlier, when I mentioned that no shadow area was made of just one single color, you can clearly see that in this small lighter zone near the fold of the back, the big fold, I initially added a light shadow there, but I came back and applied something slightly darker over it. And that's what makes it look more realistic. In the upper area, we can also spot some well defined shadow zones. And I start by applying a color that is just a little darker. It might look a bit too dark at first, but I know that once I blend it with the skin tone underneath, it will lighten, and that's exactly what's happening here. We can see that the tone is becoming a little lighter than initially that it initially appeared. So this area has overall taken shape quite well. Now, what I am going to do is highlight it by adding a few lighter touches, similar to what we can observe on our reference model, and then we'll be able to move on and paint the over part of the back. And so I am adding some light touches, as you can see, and I am placing them down. But of course, I will need to make sure on later on that they blend smoothly with the surrounding elements. O Let's now move on to the other side and paint the opposite area of the back. This section does seem a bit simpler to me, but of course, it still needs to be treated with the same care to ensure a good result. What we can notice about this area is that on the left side of that central crease down the back, that large fold, there is a fairly light section that will help give that fold a three dimensional look, creating a real sense of volume. So that's what I am adding first because it is an element that feels quite obvious to place, and I like starting with the simpler things. It helps me focus and also gives useful reference points for painting the rest afterward, and it gives confidence with your work. Another area that seems fairly easy to define is the shadow area we can see in here, and we can see that the values are not uniform across the shadow. So I'm starting with the central part, which is a bit lighter. And then to the left, we have some darker elements that I will paint afterwards. I also feel like this color I have on my brush can be useful to efficiently paint the upper section where we can clearly see some well defined folds. So I went ahead and placed on those in as well. Then next to that central area I just painted, there is a shadowed section that is a bit darker, a bit more brownish. So I apply that here. And using some small strokes, as you can see, I blend those areas together a little. These are zones that require a bit of precision. So it is also a good idea to blend the skin tones together as you apply them to ensure smooth and realistic transition. So I am continuing to apply the colors. We can see that in the upper part on the shoulder area, the tone is a bit darker than what we have in the central or lower areas. So that's what I apply. Now I just need to finish the last areas which are a little lighter. Since we now have a lot of reference points, it's going to be much easier to place our colors in the right spot. Earlier, I mentioned that it is a good idea to blend while applying the color. I did that in the lower part, but afterward, I didn't really think about doing it with the rest of the areas. Whether you do it before or after, honestly, it doesn't really matter. As long as it gets done, that's what matters most. Sometimes I think it is better to do it at the same time, but I am someone who tends to get a bit absent minded and sometimes I forget to do the things I told myself I would do. As long as we remember to do it in the end, that's what counts. And so now that my areas are properly applied, I can finally blend all these elements together. Using small strokes, I try to make sure that each area stays roughly in place and that the colors remain well defined with the light and darker areas for shading. And then we'll be able to work on this area in detail, just like we did in the area on the right. Now that my areas are well blended and I have created smooth transitions between the elements, what I can start doing is taking a slightly darker color like this and applying it along the edge to strengthen the shading a bit. You can see that within this darker area, there will be there will be some elements that are even darker than what I have done so far. So that's what I am working on first applying this color and then trying to blend it seamlessly with the color underneath to ensure smooth transition within this element. I want a darker part, but one that blends perfectly with the underlying color so that the whole area look pretty natural. In fact, with these small touches, it's almost like I am trying to bring out the ribs because the shadow takes on the shape of darker elements in the form of lines which resemble ribs. So that's what I am also trying to do, adding a few lines like this that are slightly darker than the color below. Then I can continue working and look for areas that are a bit darker than what I currently have. For example, the upper part near the shoulder is slightly darker. And in the neck area, I can also enhance the shading I applied earlier because now that I have laid down the colors on all the surrounding elements, I realized that this area could use a bit more darkening. So that's what I am doing, and little by little, the elements are really starting to take shape in this back area. In this upper back area, you can also notice some slightly dark bands like the ones here. So I had them using a slightly dark brown, and then I blend that brown in to make sure to make sure it merges well with the underlying elements. This way, we managed to create a fold in the back. And then I also refine those edges. In fact, I don't want any edges that are perfectly straight or sharp. I really want them to blend into the rest, and I can extend it slightly into the area below, just like this. You can also see that there is another one on the left side, so I add that as well. And little by little, you can see that the back is really taking shape. We are getting closer and closer to a final goal, so that's encouraging. There was also a slightly dark bend that needed to be added to more clearly define the boundary between the arm and the back that I added before. And now that we have made some good progress, what I do is I take a look at the whole area and ask myself where I could add more little details, what areas I could slightly improve. And as soon as I spot a detail or small touch that could improve the overall result, I add it right away, so I don't forget it and to make sure it stands out and enhances the area. For instance, in the lower part, I noticed that an element we had painted earlier at a dark section that wasn't standing out enough, so I reworked it. And actually, all these small touches that we keep adding are also how we create realistic skin texture because skin isn't perfectly uniform, or skin is made up of many different pigments and subtle color variations. So by adding all these tiny color touches, we end up with a skin texture that looks much more realistic. In the lower back area around the lumbar region, there are also some slightly light touches that stand out, so I add those two. Along the entire left side of the rib area, you can also see a few slightly lighter elements that stand out. So I add them to finalize and enhance the area. Now I am going to switch to my sword brush, this extremely fine brush that allows me to work precisely on the darkest elements in the fold. For example, in the lower area, you can see the small fold that stand out well, so I add it. Under the armpit, there is also a darker fold that is quite visible. So I add that too, and I mark them with the tip of my brush, which gives me great precision in my stroke. I am also going to work on the central fold that runs down the middle of the back, which is a bit darker. I had and finalize it earlier because my previous brush wasn't precise enough, and I prefer to wait and add all these finer elements with this brush at the very end. So that's what I am doing now. But be careful with this fold because it doesn't have the same value throughout. As you go to the lowest part, as you go down, it gets slightly lighter. So I will adjust the color on my brush. And what I can also do is simply apply less pressure with the brush. So the elements appear slightly lighter this way, depositing less dark color on the top. So that's what I'm doing here. Now, what I am also thinking is that next to this fold, where I was able to apply that slightly darker color, the nearby element now seem a little bit too light. So I go ahead and I'm going to darken that area slightly as well by adding some darker elements around it. And overall, the back is looking good. What I'm going to do now is simply add a few more details wherever I notice that there is room for improvement. But overall, this is a very solid piece of work, and we can now move on to the left arm. You Let's now move on to the left arm area, which shouldn't be too complicated compared to what we did on the back. This section should be fairly easy to complete, and we can go straight to the point, so to speak, because we can see that there aren't many faults. There's simply a darker area on the left side and the light to one on the right, so it shouldn't cause too much trouble. Still, it needs to be done with the same level of care. So I start by applying my colors, and you can see that the left side is a bit darker while the right side has much lighter area. So I apply the colors with small touches like this, and then we'll blend these elements together so that the surfaces connect smoothly and appear completely natural. And between this darker area and the lighter one, I apply some small touches like this to create a more natural transition. So I use this slightly intermediate color, and at the same time, I can blend the colors together a bit to make sure that they connect smoothly with each other. So I use some small back and forth strokes as you've seen me do. Now I can enhance the shading in this area a bit by adding a few more small touches like this with my brush, slightly darker than what we had so far. This will help improve the area. Had some texture with the new visible pigments here and there. And there we go. Overall, the arm is almost finished and we also have some darker touches along the overside of the arm because even though that area is quite light, we can still see some small darker elements standing out all along the edge. So I will go ahead and add those. The rendering of the over arm will be done off camera as it is essentially the same process we just went through, and it's not a particularly challenging arm. It's very similar to what we have just completed. So now you have all the tools to succeed, and I am confident that you will manage it just fine. So we'll meet again once that is done to work on the lower part of the body. And here's how I shaded the second arm, in case you would like to use it as an inspiration. It might be helpful to you. 6. Painting hips: Let's now move on to the lower back and the buttocks area. What we can notice is that there are particularly light areas on the right side of the back in the center of the right buttock. So that's where I start. Here we are aiming for a good application of colors, identifying the different tones in each area to get the best possible base and begin building volume before really working a little more on texture. Example, on the right side of that light area we painted on the buttock, the zone is a little bit darker, so I make a little change with my color and apply that. And with practice and painting, the goal is to observe all these subtle shifts in value, which help create depth and volume in the different areas that you will be painting. Human Now I switch to a slightly different color, something more intermediate, more orangy than what we had so far to paint the left side, and I will also extend this color to the upper area. For this color application, I am using a relatively small brush because I want a certain level of precision. Also, it is important to remember that when applying colors, you should always try to stretch the paint as much as possible to avoid overly thick areas. This makes blending much easier later on and helps when working on texture and fine details. So I continue in this area where, as I mentioned, we have slightly orange and darker elements that can be added. And yes, especially in smaller areas like this, if you don't spread the paint enough, it becomes much harder to remove the excess later to do the blending. So really make sure to stretch it out. It makes things a lot easier. And so here, I can use something a little dark like this. And next, I'm going to remix a little bit of some lighter color for di son in the center because I had started by applying some darker touches above the buttocks, but you can see that between those darker areas, there are also some lighter ones. So that's what I am applying here. These solo differences in value is really what is going to make your artwork even better than what you could be This is what really help you improve your painting, sorry. In the upper area here, it is quite important to make sure it connects well with the parts of the back we painted earlier because there isn't a sharp separation between the back and this lower area. These elements are very much connected to one another, just like every part of the body. So we need to ensure smooth blend between them. Or if your paint is dry because, well, you didn't have time to do everything in one session and decided to paint the back first and this lower part on another day, and you are struggling to blend the two section together because it is dry, don't hesitate to reapply a bit of paint over the edge of this first area using the same color. This will help you create a smooth transition and blend it with the new area that you're painting now. So everything connects pretty nicely. Also, don't forget that if you are painting over a dry layer, you are basically applying a second layer. So the fat Olin rule applies. The new layer that you are applying now needs to have more oil than the one underneath. Otherwise, you might end up with cracking in your paint. So, sure, this is a training piece, but an exercise subject, but still it will be a shame. What is quite interesting about this area of the body is that it doesn't contain complex details like you might find in other areas, whether on this subject or another, for example, the end can be a bit more complex, and so can be the face, all these back that we painted before. There are no expressive features, no fingers, no sharply defined folds or fine textures. So it becomes a rather simplified, almost abstract subject where all the complexity lies in the accuracy of volumes and values. We are dealing with broad, soft and continuous forms with curves that need to be balanced in transition of light and shadow that must remain subtle. It is an excellent exercise to learn how to observe nuances, to modulate transitions, and to avoid overly harsh brush strokes of stark contrast, those hard separations between zones of colors. In other words, this is, in my opinion, an ideal area to train your sense of subtlety and control in the application of color and blending. It is a truly valuable learning ground to improve your mastery of smooth transitions and artistic modeling like this. And so now that all my colors are in place in this area, I can begin blending between the different elements. I apply some small strokes like this to create smooth transitions and build volume. I really try to make sure that each area stays in its place as I apply these strokes. And I spend time being precise with before, I mean, I spent some time being precise with the initial color application. So even in the blending phase, I still need to be fairly precise. So here I was able to apply a good blend between the different colors, and now we are entering the phase where we are going to refine everything. The small touches we'll add from this point on will really enhance the overall result. For instance, there was that light band on the left side that I have added, which helps create more depth. And on the right side, there is that darker element I can apply now as well. Now, in the central area around the crouch, we'll have some important folds and shadow zones that need to be reinforced. They really help define the volume and the form of the buttock. So that's what I am going to work on now. With these small brown touches, you can also notice that the value isn't uniform everywhere in this area you have just painted. And I can now use something very close to black for this other area that is deeply set in shadow. It is extremely dark. So I didn't hesitate to make some ultramaral blue with burnt and bur to get a very dark brown. Almost black, and I can apply it in that area using this very fine brush, which allows me to be really precise. So here we started with this area that was extremely dark, but you can see that the further we move away from it, the more it naturally blends with the lighter parts of the body. So that's what I am doing now, working with slightly the browns to create a transition. Then we will continue working to really give volume to the area by adding more shadows because right now you can see that this whole area looks a bit flat, and that's because the darker elements aren't out, standing out enough. There are two lights. So I'm finishing up that shadow here and we'll keep working on that area. Now we are going to paint the line of the separation of the two buttocks. And what we can notice about this line is that it is dark, but right next to it, there is also some shadow that it is important to add because if you only paint one dark line, it won't look right. You also have to work on this small shadow that we have on the left and this one that is also there on the right one. So that's what I'm going to add, making sure that it blends well with the rest. And I can also go over this line a little bit to make it a little darker as well. And so, like I said, there is also this small area that is a little bit darker that I can paint as well with this kind of orangey brown tone. So the area is starting to look really good overall. Now, what I am going to do is try to improve it a bit more to give it a little more volume and a bit more texture by adding small, slightly darker touches here and there. You can see that on the left side, there are quite a few darker elements, so I am going to reinforce that. And I am using this fine brush, and as you can see, I am really trying to apply small irregular strokes. I am not trying to create any specific shape, just something irregular, going off in different directions. And that is more than enough to achieve a realistic look. So that's what I am doing, and overall, it is going to significantly improve the area. And already with just these few added touches, we can see something more realistic and closer to our model and what we aim to achieve. I am going to refine the separation of the buttocks a bit more with this line making it slightly darker. I felt it wasn't standing out enough and I needed more precision, which is why I am using the sword brush just like we did when working on the back area. So now I am slightly reinforcing the shading on the right buttock. It didn't look dark enough and didn't stand out compared to the line that we just painted. So I am adding a few more small touches here and there, and then will be good and can move on to paint another area as this one will be finished. Also, it's worth noting. I had forgotten to add earlier on the left arm the small shadow that you can see around the wrist. There is that slightly darker line I had missed when painting that area, but it's not been added. Oh 7. Painting hair naturally: Now let's move on to painting the air area. If you prefer to continue with the painting of the legs, that's totally fine. You can simply skip this video and come back to it later for the air. For the air, we start by creating new colors because the ones we add are insufficient. You will notice that some areas are very dark, close to black, and that's what I start by creating. Then I make a slightly lighter version by adding a bit of white. It seems to have a slight red, orange tint, so I made that color for the lighter sections of the air. And for even lighter variations within the air, I can create an even brighter color by adding more white and increasing the proportions of red orange in my mix, as you can see. And this gives us a good base. If you look closely at the air, the lighter areas tend to lean towards some kind of a reddish brown. That's what I have recreated. And these are pretty good for the colors of the air with these last light variations. For the ear, due to the lighting, you will notice some fairly intense oranges. And so that's what I mix on the palette now. So with a good amount of red and yellow, and so a little bit of bunoer because I want it to be just a little less intense than that, a little bit more browner. And then I can create something a little bit darker and then we'll be good and ready to start painting this new area. So let's get started with painting the air. What I am going to do first is painting the dark areas, and you probably guess why. It gives us solid reference points and a strong base to begin this section. Now, this bun is interesting because it creates some rather unusual lighting effect, especially since we don't often paint people from the back with a bun, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to explore how to handle that. So here I am starting by marking those very dark areas, but I am leaving enough space to later apply the lighter touches that we can see in that area. Then in the lower part of the air, we can also observe some very dark elements, so I will be marking those in just a moment as well. Now that we have marked the darker areas, I can start adding some lighter touches. You will notice that the left side of the air is a bit lighter, even though I am not using the lightest color I have mixed. You can see that this shade isn't as dark as the black element, so I am applying that now. Then we'll be able to add the small highlights that appear more toward the center, forming a sort of curve of a curve, and we can also add some a little bit on this left side. So that's how we will progress. What we also notice is that the entire right side of the air is lighter too a little bit. So we will work on that next, even if the value differences on that side aren't very strong overall. Actually, the real highlights we'll need to add are mainly small details, but they are important because these are the ones that help define different level of volume and make it clear that it is a bun. So I would say that we are in a pretty good place on the left side. So far, you have seen me add a few lighter touches. Now we will continue on the right side where the colors are still fairly dark, as I mentioned. At this point, I am just adjusting a little bit my very dark colors slightly because this area isn't quite as dark, like I said, it is a little lighter and a bit more reddish brown. So I am adding a touch of orange to my mix. What we also notice is that on the lower part, the edge of the air isn't going to be that sharp. You can see that the air slightly blends into the skin tone, and there are small strands that go over the air line. So with this fine brush, that is exactly what I am working on to get an edge that looks more natural and accurate. Now I can start working on the air a bit more precisely. We can see that in the lower part, there are a few slightly lighter touches, so I have added those. And then on the entire upper part and the right side that we worked on earlier, we also notice a few lighter touches as well. Now, for this air, there aren't a lot of details. It is a very small section of air. But what is crucial is to carefully observe the movement and direction of the strokes we add to make sure that we are really creating a hair texture. Of course, the fact that the air sits on top of the head is what makes it recognizable as hair. But all these little strokes we are adding help convey that it is indeed a head of hair. We don't need extremely precise work down to every strand, especially since this area takes up very little space on the page. But still, these few small touches are important and are enough to show that it is air. Now I am going to paint the highlights that are very visible in the center and that truly helped define the shape of the bun. That's what I am working on now using this very fine brush. I am applying them like this, for now I am just focusing on laying down the color. What will also make it look very realistic is ensuring that these highlight lines aren't completely uniform because you will notice that some of them have slightly darker touches showing through. And that's also something important to add. These are small details, but all these details when combined, make a real difference in the end. That's something I will also be working on next. Another thing to keep in mind is another thing to keep in mind, sorry, to make the air look realistic is to make sure that the highlights we add aren't too light. We often assume that highlights we should be very bright, close to white. But when you are dealing with dark areas like we are here, it's not necessarily white. And as I mentioned, now I am also adding a little bit of extra darker elements that help bring this area to completion. And finally, we now have the ears to complete. For the ears, there's really no need to overthink it. It's going to be very simplified, especially since they are tiny in this subject. What we notice about these ears is that they are basically just aligned with a few slightly darker touches and a few slightly lighter ones. The left ear is a bit more prominent, but overall, it is the same idea. It is just these small elements that will help convey that we are looking at an ear. 8. Painting the legs: Now let's move on to the final step of our subject, and certainly not the least important, the painting of the legs. What's going to be quite interesting here is working on the shadow of the left leg. It is rather unusual shadow, both in its shape and its colors, so we will try to define it as best as we can. First, I can start by marking out that shadow a bit, and we can clearly see that along the edge of the leg, there are these reddish brown tones, more or less dark. So already, I figure I can at least start by applying that color in the area, and I know that the shadow in that spot will be at least as dark as this. I am mixing some more color because I have used quite a bit already, and I was starting to run low. It is true that it's always hard to predict exactly the right amount of paint. You might think it is better to have too much than enough, but it is still a little bit frustrating to waste paint, especially since oil paint isn't exactly cheap. So, yeah, it is a bit annoying to waste it, but it's never easy to find that perfect balance. So here we can apply our color. You will notice that at the top of the leg in this area on the right, right next to this element I have started marking, there is a rather bright area which I can go ahead and mark, as well. We'll have to try to preserve it later on when blending, even if it's not easy, maybe we'll have to repaint over it later on. We also see that the lower part of the leg has some slightly lighter touches. So I am adding a little bit of them, but very quickly it chits back toward darker tone. So I adjust my color to better match that area. And again, you will also notice that around the knee, there are also some slightly lighter touches. So I can start applying those two, even though it's clear that this brown will remain the dominant tone in that zone. I am going to continue applying my color to the leg area. The darkest parts are really close to the overleg. Then we can see that the color gets a bit lighter, so I will adjust my paint accordingly. And since this is just a simple application of color like we have done several times before, I'm going to speed up the video a bit here and we'll meet back in a moment to focus on refining the texture of this leg, the blending, and the overall work on this area. Now that the area has been fully covered, I'm going to make sure the blending is smooth using small strokes, as you can see. I'm doing a lot of back and forth movements with the small brush, and if you notice that there is too much paint accumulated, don't hesitate to remove some, but overall, it's looking good. Now, we are going to continue working on this leg, but with more precision, we are going to go further than what we have done before, really refining the area like this small section where you can see a darker brown. And I have worked on that now. I also noticed that along the edge of the leg, there are other slightly darker areas, and also a in here at the top, I am refining I am better defining the shape of the shadow that we can see here. It is a fairly well defined shadow with a straight edge, but that edge needs to blend in naturally with the surrounding areas. I also saw that around the knee area, there was a slightly darker element on the left side, so I added it. And for this shadow we just defined here, you can see that along the whole edge, there are some slightly darker accents. So I am reworking that, too. What we also realize is that defining edges is really defining shadow, sorry, is really a matter of layering small touches, some darker, some lighter, that gradually gives structure and clarity. And here I am using a fine brush to make sure I am working with as much precision as possible. In the shadow area here, I also realized that I hadn't gone far enough. The shadow zone is a bit too small, so I am now adding a few touches like this with the brush. And by adding these small strokes, it creates a certain irregularity, and you can see that skin isn't uniform. It is made up of lots of small lighter spots and slightly sharper and darker ones. Through experimentation, this has been the best technique I have found using the brush with a very light touch, making small left to right movements, and embracing that irregularity. That's what really helps create a realistic skin texture. For this first leg, I would say that we are done, and now we'll move on to the second one, which is much brighter, much more in the light with less pronounced shadow compared to the left leg. So here, I can start by defining the highlight we can see on the upper part. You can also notice that you can also notice a highlight on the left side of the leg, and that's what also helps make it appear more three dimensional and cylindrical. So I am carefully defining that highlight. Then we'll move on to slightly darker beige beige tones. The value differences here aren't very strong, but once again, it is that subtlety that will help create a cent of volume. Right now, I am using a medium size brush, trying to stretch the paint as much as possible to cover a good surface, which will then allow for smooth blending and a nice texture. You can see that this whole area around the cuff has a noticeably darker base. And here I am tweaking the color a bit more to create something slightly more reddish and also a little bit darker for this upper part of the leg because it seems to be up apart, and that seems to be a good idea to remix and modify a little bit this color. So here I have main light color, a bit darker, a bit more of an orangy brown because what is also important is the shadow we will be applying just under the buttock, right here, where I am painting under the right buttock. This shadow is what will make the buttock appear more voluminous and raised in relation to the rest of the leg. So it was important to apply it. Next for the rest of the leg, I am using a slightly darker color, darker than the area we painted earlier on the right side where the highlight was, but it is a bit lighter than the shadow we just added to define the shape of the Bock. So I am trying to be precise, stretching out my color and also avoiding the small highlight I placed on the left side. Then I bring it around to the right side as well. I will use a little bit of this color just right here on the right side. Overall, this leg is shaping up nicely. It's not the most complex part, but it still needs to be done carefully. I know that when we get near the end of a piece, wherever it is a long one or something shorter like this, there is often often the urge to speed things up just to see the final work take shape before our eyes. But we still need to take our time and give this part the same level of attention. So we don't end up with uneven areas. For example, a beautifully done upper back and a much weaker lower section. Here in this lower section, what is also important is defining the shadow we see around the heel. You will notice that with these slightly darker elements, the lower part becomes a bit narrow, a bit more narrow, and that's exactly what helps indicate the slight thickness of the heel. So I'm finishing up applying my colors. You may have noticed that on the lower parts, there is also a small dark touch around the edge to clearly define the eel. And now that all my elements are in place, I can start blending before we move on to working more on the texture and refining the small shadow areas we see along the legs. Now I am going to work with slightly darker colors to better define our shadows, and that is also what will help define the texture. It is really a combination of these slightly darker elements I am adding now and the lighter ones I applied earlier. Under the buttock, you can see that there are all these slightly darker areas, and all along the leg, there is this darker band that helps emphasize the volume of the leg. It is important to include that, and it's equally important to make sure it blends well with the surrounding area. Will also notice that this darker element becomes a bit thicker around the upper part of the calf. And as we saw earlier, it gets slightly narrower again and near the eel. So I am taking care to reflect that accurately. There is also a small shadow around the ankle that helps define its shape. So I am marking that as well. This final part of the work isn't particularly difficult, but it does require careful observation in order to catch all the small value shifts because it is those subtle changes that make the forms appear three dimensional and give the figure a real sense of volume. And on top of what we have just done, there are also some very small shadow areas that I can reinforce, like the one around the knee or lower down near the eel. So I am adding those, and again, it's going to help bring everything out more clearly. I am going to continue this detailed work looking for small touches here and there that could help refine and improve the area. And that will wrap up the subject. After that, I will also be painting the background using white all around the figure, and I will start with a slightly smaller brush and then move on to a flat brush. There's nothing too complicated about this white background. So we are now reaching the end of this tutorial, focused on painting this woman from the back. Personally, I found it to be a very interesting subject, simple in appearance, but truly rich in subtlety. We really got to work on the volume of the back, all those folds and shadows along the ribs. We worked on the volume of the buttocks, the legs, a bit of the hair, and above all, we learned to observe with precision because painting isn't just about applying colors. It is about learning to look, to understand shadows and light, the soft transitions between areas, the textures of the skin, and the small irregularities that make our subject feel alive. So I sincerely want to congratulate you for making it all the way to the end of this project. It's never easy to stay focused all the way through, especially on a subject like this that demands both patience and precision. But if you have stuck with it and kept painting until now, then you can truly be proud of yourself. Even if the result isn't perfect yet, that's okay. You are building something. It is these hours of work, these trials, these mistakes, and these corrections that help you improve far more than you realize. So always keep in mind that every painting, every exercise, every step is another brick in your artistic foundation. And what you have just done here is a beautiful brick. So keep going, observe, experiment, and most importantly, enjoy yourself. Painting is a personal and professional journey, but above all, it should bring you joy, and you are already well on your way. So once again, congratulations and don't give up. I would see you very soon for a new subject. Thank you very much for watching. 9. Before painting the muscular man: In this video, we will be painting the man with a very muscular body, which makes it interesting because it creates some volumes on all the body. There is some big volumes with the legs, with the abs, with the arms, with the chest, and so we will have to create some great shadow to be able to create that volume. And the work on the colors and on the values will be very important. What also makes this subject very interesting is the matte skin tone of this man. This is a color that I wasn't very used to mix, and therefore, mixing some new color, exploring some new colors will make us better at mixing colors and mastering color mixing. So this is a great opportunity to practice color mixing as well. And the black background also changes the way we perceive colors, which forces us to observe even more closer the colors to make sure that we have the right hue before actually painting. On this subject, I will be using my traditional materials. There's no change about it. I will be painting on an oil painting paper, and the size of it is 30 by 50 centimeters. And for the drawing, you can definitely go with the grid or with the projector to make sure that you have the right proportions. This is a great tool, the grid, for example, and it is really important because us as painter, when we paint from a photograph it helps us to have the right proportion, and having the right proportion is the first step towards mastering realism and to have a subject and to have a painting that really feel alive and realistic. When it comes to organizing this painting, you can actually start pretty much wherever you want. The main issue with this painting is that since the skin is pretty dark, that means we have to use quite a lot of burnt umber, and burnt umber dries pretty quickly. So when you start an area, it's better to finish it because otherwise the next day, the painting on your paper will probably be dried, and therefore Um, if you want to make sure you have the right continuity, you will have to remix the exact same color, which can be a little tricky. One solution for this issue could be that when your painting session is done, you take your palette and you put it in the fridge. And thanks to the coldness of the fridge, then your painting will dry less quickly. And then the next day, you will be able to reuse the same color the next day or the day even after. Will be able to reuse this exact same color on your palette for painting the rest of the body. So that's something I use from time to time, and it's very helpful, especially when dealing with dark skin like it is the case right now. So that's it for this subject. Now, let's get started, and let's paint this man together. 10. Mixing the colors: So here is our subject, someone with some slightly dark skin, and you can see that the person has an olive or tan complexion. The fact that the fantag the background is black, mads the color appear even darker, I would say. If we had to paint this on a white background with strong lighting, we would probably have slightly lighter skin tones. But in this case, the skin tones are fairly dark. For example, if we look at the calf where an arrow is pointing, we can see that the shadow areas are practically, sorry, black. So that's what we need to replicate. On the leg, you can also see near the top around the hip, another arrow pointing to a shadow that is also very dark, not as dark as the one on the calf, but still quite deep. Then we have other arrows on the torso indicating all the colors. These are actually the same colors we'll be using on the rest of the body. I just pointed them out in this area for better visibility. We can observe that in the lighter areas, the browns range from darker to lighter, depending on the lighting and depending on the volume and areas we need to paint. So we'll have to mix some kind of browns for this area. And on the highlight zone, the brightest area, there is also a kind of light grayish brown. So that's the tone we'll need to try and mix. And finally, in the air area, you can see some very dark zones, even black. What helps create volume there are also the highlights where we get light grays through, even though still dark. So we need to avoid the mistake of making the highlights of this area too light. So that gives us quite a variety of colors to mix. So let's now see how to do that. Let's start mixing the colors for painting this man. I'm going to begin with a medium brown, a bit dark, but not among the darkest areas we might have as not as light as the lighter zones either. I start by creating a base with some orange mixed with burnt tumber. As I said, for now, I don't want anything too dark, so I'm not adding any white yet. I don't want anything too light, sorry, so I will add later if needed. But I quickly realized that my color is a little too dark, so I add some white to lighten it up and also a bit of yellow because the brown was leaning too much to want red. So I adjust that, and now I have a color that could work well for some body areas where the brown is fairly dark, but not excessively so. Now, I am going to create some slightly lighter variations, similar to the colors we found in more illuminated areas. I begin by mixing orange with white and also some burn timber. The burned timber helps push the orange toward the browner tone and also darken it a little. Even so, with the white added, I make sure the color isn't too dark. And so this gives me a nice color, but I wouldn't say it is the lightest tone we live. We can see that there are other zones with similar shades but even lighter. So I will keep the same base, but this time, I will reduce the amount of burn timber compared to the other colors. The amount of white in this new mix is fairly important in comparison to the rest I have done. And also, I am reducing the amount of burn timber that I am mixing with this new color. And like I said, the amount of white is pretty big for this new color. I also think, why not take a bit of that previous color and add a little white to it for areas where we might need something just a little bit lighter. Now, let's make some other colors. This time, much darker for other parts of the body, the areas that are more in shadow. This time, I am using a large amount of burn timber, and I won't be adding any white to this mix. This color will be really useful for shadow areas like those we can see around the rib cage on the right side or in the fine muscles in places where it's very dark. And then starting from that dark color from something similar, I can create a slightly lighter version for other areas that are still quite dark, but not as much as these ones. In some areas, I feel like there is a color that is quite similar to the one I made earlier, but a bit more reddish. So I will start with the same base as that previous one. But this time, I will add a few small extra touch of red. Even then, I still want it to lean a bit more towards orange, so I adjust the mix to rebalance that color. You also have noticed that I have some black on my palette, but this black won't be used for the human body. We'll talk in a moment about what it will be used for. 11. Painting of the thighs: So here is my subject to draw with the help of a projector. Feel free if you prefer to use a grid to ensure that you get an accurate drawing because this easy easy subject to sketch. So the grid can be really helpful or even a projector. It's really important to start with a solid foundation for your subject. A poorly drawn sketch means the painting is off to a bad start. We'll begin with the pi area. But before we actually talk about painting the pigs, the first thing I'm going to do is use my black paint for the background and paint around the man's thigh. Why am I doing this? Well, in fact, a blank background, when placed next to a person, an object or an animal, et cetera, affects how we perceive the colors. So if we don't paint that black background first, what often happens is that our skin tones end up looking too light. Placing that black background next to the figure allows us to make sure that we are using the right value for the skin tones. It also lets us compare the value of the colors with that black. I know that black is the current reference value. It is pure black. So I will be able to apply my skin colors and compare them to that area, knowing that I am using a reliable reference that I didn't make any mistake with this color, the black because, well, you can clearly see that it is some pure black in this area. And so I apply it very carefully all along this leg, so I will be able to compare it with this leg. I don't need to paint the entire background to be able to compare the value of this leg with the black of the background. Just this little line is more than enough. So let's get started and begin painting the Pi. I chose to start with the Pi because it seemed like perhaps the least complicated area of the subject. It still has some interesting forms and reliefs to work with, but other parts like the apps or the d fail a bit more complex. I thought this would be a good entry point for the painting. It allows us to work on all the skin tones and begin building up the volumes without starting with the most challenging area. The first step is to work on applying the colors. I'm going to try to identify each color area across the pi and apply them precisely. The model here isn't very large. We see it entire body, and as a result, the elements are relatively small, especially since this man is quite muscular. So none of the individual areas are very big, and I will need to work with precision across the whole subject, particularly on the pi. So that's why I'm starting with a small brush. I began by painting the lighter zone on the right side, and then as I move toward the left, I created a smooth transition into the slightly darker shadow area in the center. You may have noticed that as I apply to paint, I also major to blend these areas naturally together. And so we are going to continue work on this area, and then we'll work away across the rest of the fi area. As you may have noticed, I slightly adjusted my color on the palette before applying it in that area. So each time we start with a base color on the palette, but there's nothing stopping us from creating new ones or mixing intermediate tones. For example, what I thought here was that to paint this area of the five, I could simply mix the two colors I already had on my palette to create something in between, darker than the one color on the left and a bit lighter than the one on the right of the palette. And here along the edge of the file, I have this black background that helps me compare the value and ask myself whether the color I am applying is correct or not. And also, when I am applying it, I really try to barely touch this black edge, just grazing it to avoid having too much of that black color spread over the rest of the painting because these colors are very different. And if any of the black gets into the area, it will give a grayish tone, something that I don't. That's why I try to avoid that. Then we continue. And here we can see that in this upper part of the pi, near the buttock, there is this fairly dark shadow area. So I can start by applying this brand here, which works pretty well. At this point, I don't hesitate to clean my brush before continuing because I am about to apply a color that is quite different from the one I used in that shadow zone. I don't want to, let's say, contaminate my new color. I want it to stay clearly different from the previous one. Here, I can also create a different color, a brand that is a bit different and a bit more reddish, because I feel like in this area of the five, there is a slightly redder tone. So that's what I am applying now. Still using this brush, that allows me to work with a good level of precision. Here, I am thinking that I will try to apply all my colors in this area of the pi. And then once all the colors have been applied, the entire area has been painted, we'll be able to blend them together, create those gradients, those blending before refining everything to bring even more volume, specifically to that area. But already, once all colors will be properly applied, even if we haven't done ding blending yet and it is still a rough stage, the first step, we should already start to see some depth emerging because it is the careful application of colors that plays a key role in creating volume in our area. Now I'm taking a little bit of this color here, which is something lighter, and I'm going to make it just slightly more reddish. So I took a bit of that color, and I still had some on my brush, and I mix it with a little of the color I had previously made and adding some white back into it. This gives me a sort of a blend between these two colors. With a small touch of red added as well to paint this highlighted area, which is slightly pinkish. That's why this color seems like a good choice for working on this lighter area of the five. There are quite a few subtle nuances in the colors here, and that is also what makes this exercise so useful for training the eye, learning to perceive all those small differences in color and value that in the end will result in a piece that has real depth and realism. In fact, painting this file is truly an excellent exercise for learning to see what we don't usually notice in daily life, namely the different colors that can exist on a single object. Whether it is part of the human body, a desk, a chair, some flowers, et cetera. We don't really pay attention to all these color changes in everyday life because they don't interest us. It is the object itself that might catch our attention, but not really the way its three dimensionality is formed. And here we realize that even in a small area like the phi, there is actually a wide variety of colors, and that's precisely that variety of colors that helps us show that all those muscles are under tension, really contracted, that we are looking at a truly muscular phi. That's what I am trying to convey through my painting by paying close attention to all those sub value shifts. That's why it is so important when working on a subject like this, to take your time to observe and to be very mindful of the slightest changes in color. At first, it might not seem obvious, especially if this is one of your first subjects to paint. But the more you paint, the more you will start observing things in daily life with a painter's eye. And the more you will notice all those little shifts in value, those tiny color changes, the very things that allows us to perceive that objects that these are three dimensional. In this area of the pi, the muscle really stands out and this strong volume is expressed through a fairly pronounced shadow, even darker than the one we painted earlier near the bottom. And what we also notice with this shadow is that it is not uniform. It gradually becomes a bit lighter as it moves toward the left. So that's what I am doing as well, and I don't hesitate to mix these colors together to create an intermediate shade which I can then use to paint the shadow area just below. So that's what I am doing here, carefully working with this color. And here just below the knee, it's actually quite a complex area because we can see that there are a lot of small touches of different colors all packed into a very small space. So we really need to try to be precise. And that is exactly what I am trying to do now to be precise. But of course, it will always be possible to come back later and to rework this later once the colors have been blended together. So now the colors have been properly applied in the area, and I wipe off the paint on my brush, and I am going to start blending these parts together. This is really a great exercise for practicing precise blending in small areas like this part of the pi. That is another reason why this model exercise is such a valuable exercise. And the key when blending in this area of the pi is to make sure that the specific zones we painted remain in place, that the light areas in the center stay bright, that the dark areas near the buttock or close to the knee stairway they are and remain dark. Of course, I know that when I start blending, the dark colors will unfortunately become a little lighter, and the light colors go a little darker. That's how it works, and I will likely need to go back and adjust some of that later. But I am still trying to stay fairly precise because we already spent time carefully applying those colors. We were quite meticulous, and it will be a shame to waste that work by creating a blend that is messy or not true to the reference. You might also notice that my brush disappears from the screen quite frequently, and that's because I am blending zones that are sometimes quite different from one another. So paint tends to accumulate on that brush, also. And on one hand, I don't want the darker color to spread into the lighter one. And on the other hand, as I blend, I am spreading the paint and picking up any excess that might be in the area. So I wipe off that excess paint on the tissue to continue blending properly across the entire area because if I have too much paint accumulated on my brush, it becomes a little bit harder to stay precise and do a nice blending between the different elements. I would say that we have a good blend in this area now. What I am going to do next is paint that small section at the top that I hadn't painted earlier because I felt I needed to come back to it with something more precise. I'm also going to rework the area around the buttock, which is slightly lighter than what we currently have here. Looking at it, again, with all the other elements now in place. I found that this part wasn't standing out enough and needed some attention. So I am applying my color with the small brush. As you can see, it is extremely fine, and I will apply it across the area near the underwear to finalize the painting of the five before we move on to working specifically on the skin texture to make this area look truly realistic. All right. Now, let's focus on the texture of the fi and try to make it even more realistic because at this stage, it is already looking pretty good. We've got something with volume and a decent level of realism, but I think that we can take it even further. What we can notice, for example, is this shadow area on the buttock. Is that even within that shadow, we don't just have one single color or one single brown value. There are a small touch of varying values, slightly darker elements, and that is what helps make those skin areas more realistic. If we look closely on the shadowed areas of the body, we don't see uniform patches. In fact, in every shadowed zone, we can observe several small strokes, different shades of brown, and that's generally how it works for most shadows. Of course, it's not going to be 100% like that in every single subject, but more often than not, it is. And it is that richness in terms of both color and value that helps bring realism to what we paint. Here to really make the underwear, this man's wrists stand out, I used a fine brush and added the shadowed areas on the upper part, which helps create a bit of volume in that section. Next, what I am going to do is really focus on working the skin texture in detail. What we can observe about skin texture is that it is quite irregular. The edges of our shadow areas aren't going to be perfectly sharp or clean. Instead, they will have slightly uneven transition. And that is exactly what I am trying to do with this brush. I had small marks here and there on the left, on the right, at the top, at the bottom, and it is these little touches that make the shadow areas look more realistic, giving the sense of skin texture rather than a smooth and flat object. Actually, one way we could really see the variety of colors that exist in the skin area would be to take any part of the subject's skin and zoom in as much as possible until it is no longer possible using the photo viewer. And we would see that the pixels making up the photo, those tiny squares are made up of lots of different brands. You very rarely have a single pixel that has the same color as the one right next to it. Of course, we are not going to be as precise as the pixels themselves and paint tiny perfectly squared dots of different colors. But it really illustrates the point that in these areas of skin, there is a certain variety in terms of color, and it is that variety created through all these irregular little touches that allows us to build a skin texture that feels really seeking close to the actual person that we are painting. And when I am working on this texture, it allows me to be even more precise in how I apply the colors of the different areas. Earlier, during the first step when we were applying our base colors, I was already being careful, of course, but there are still some areas that were too small to paint right away. It was better to wait until I had a good base laid down before working on those, especially since the smaller areas blend well with the underlying colors. We now see both the new colors and the new and the ones I initially applied. So now it is time so now is the time to paint them. It is kind of like applying a second layer over that first layer of color we painted. It's just that in our case, we are working wet on wet. We are not waiting for the paint underneath to dry before adding the new color on top. That's also why I enjoy painting everything in a single layer, a prima, because it really lets all the different colors we apply connect and blend into one another, and it allows the paint to flow smoothly over the surface. We don't end up with something scratchy or patchy. Often, when we come back to paint a second layer, unless we use a lot of medium, the paint doesn't spread very well over the first coat, and it feels rough or hard to blend. But here, on the contrary, since the layer underneath is still wet, everything blends nicely and we get real harmony in our colors. And so now, as you can see, I move from one area to another, and as soon as I notice a small touch of color that could be added or improved, I apply it right away. I had little touching here and there, making sure that everything blends smoothly. And whenever I spot something that could enhance the subject and make it look more realistic, I immediately apply it. So I will let you closely observe how I am working here, and then we'll move on to the next area, the left thigh. Now the reason I didn't choose to paint the entire layer is for several reasons. First, for practical reasons so that you can clearly see what I have done, and so I can zoom in closely on just this fire area. And also, I don't like working on areas that are too large all at once. This pylon already requires a fair amount of precision and careful work to be done properly. And when we work on a large area in one go, it is a lot of effort, and progress takes longer to show. The surface takes longer to start looking realistic. And that's perfectly normal and logical, since we are covering more space. So naturally, it takes more time. Whereas here, in a shorter amount of time, we can already start to see the progress made in the area. We can see the surface taking shape and starting to look realistic fairly quick. That's why I chose to work on just these five for now instead of working on the knee and the entire shin area at the same time. So now I will just add a few more small touches, as you can see. You may have also noticed that the highlight area has been worked carefully because even though it is a highlight and it is fairly light zone, within that area, we still need to a little elements in order to build the texture properly. So this first file has been painted. It is finished and well done. What will also help it stand out later on is the painting of the entire background, which we'll have afterward. Now, let's move on the second five, the one on the left. And why choose to continue with this five instead of extending the leg? Well, simply because it is a similar task to the one we just did. And generally, when we have just painted something, if we go on to paint the same thing right after, it is easier since we have already done it once. So that's why it seems like a good idea for me to move to the left fh. On top of that, this pi isn't especially complex. We can see that the muscles are less visible and there is less volume to work on. Overall, this entire thi is less prominent as it is partially hidden behind the other one. And the fact that we are seeing the inner side of the pi with the abductor area rather than the front view with the well defined and contracted crowd receps also makes the job easier. Still, there are a few subtle forms and volume. So once again, careful application of our colors is necessary to create something realistic in this pi area. For this color application, you might be wondering, well, earlier, when you apply the colors on the right fig, you painted the black background next to it. But here on the left side, you didn't paint the black background. Why is that? Well, the reason I didn't paint the black background this time is because I already have the adjusted five painted. I know it is painted correctly since I was able to compare it to the black background earlier. So now I can simply compare my skin tones with the colors of the five right next to it. And on top of that, the elements are quite similar. So that's why I felt it wasn't necessary to paint the background on the left side this time. That said, I absolutely could have done it. It would have been a valid approach. Another reason why another reason I didn't paint the entire background at the very beginning, just the edge around the five is because it wouldn't have been really helpful. Just this element was enough to be able to compare the value of the skin with the black background. And the painting the entire back background would have made things harder for me when painting the body areas, since the background takes up a large portion of the subject. Having the background already painted would have, for example, prevented me from resting my hand on the paper while working on certain areas, and my arm would have had no support, which, on one hand, would have been uncomfortable, and on the other hand, would have made it difficult to be precise enough when painting all the details. So the color application has progressed well. You can see we have a few lighter areas, some highlights just above the zone we are painting. And even within this area, we notice small touches of lighter colors. So once again, I have tried to be precise, and now that all these colors have been applied, we'll be able to blend them nicely together to create a smooth surface that we can continue working on afterward. You So now I've got a fairly good blend between these different colors. What I am going to do next is refine the various areas a bit more precisely. For example, I can start working on the small dark area right here, and I am using my fine brush for that. I can also see that this shadow extends along the length of the pi. And we can see that all along the edge of the thi, there are small darker touches that help create a sense of depth between the two this. That is also what helps the viewer understand that this left thigh is set further back than the right one. So I am working on all of those elements, improving the texture and adding small touches here and there. And even though we did place a few light highlights earlier, we can clearly see that this area is more in shadow. It is more covered, less lit compared to the other five, where we had much stronger highlights. So overall, I am using darker browns in this area. I am adding irregular little touches continuing like that, and overall, this part is shaping up well. You can see that we have managed to create a good sense of volume, which is encouraging. But it's really once all the other elements are properly placed relative to one another, that we will be able to step back and get a true sense of the finished subject. Just now, I'm working a bit on this lighter area. As you saw, I started with a color that was fairly light and even too light for that particular area. But I had in mind that this color would blend with the surrounding tones. I knew I was going to create a proper gradient. And so as the color mixed with the darker ones around and underneath, it naturally became darker itself. And now I've got a tone that fits much better in terms of value. 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So if this area is well painted, it immediately creates an impression of skill. That said, yes, I know it sounds like I am putting pressure on you. I am kidding, of course, but it's still still, it is important to be aware of that. So to paint them well, you first need to understand how they are structured. The pectorals aren't just flat surfaces. Depending on the pose and how tense the body is, they will stretch, contract, flatten, or bulge out. So before you even place your first brush stroke, what is really important is to visualize the volume, to really see the shape of the muscle. And the more you can feel the form, the more accurately you will be able to apply your brush strokes. Another key point to keep in mind is that this area has strong and sharp contrast. You don't get deep and hard shadows here like you might on parts of the face or the back. Instead, you mostly get soft transitions, except maybe on this right side, which is in shadows. So take your time. We are going to build up the color gradually with smooth transitions. Try to avoid harsh edges because these areas really blend into each other. And that's true not only within the pectorals themselves, but also in the surrounding areas. It is especially important to pay attention to the transitions with the shoulder and the abdominal zone. You don't want a sharp natural divide between them. Everything needs to feel connected. This is a very instructive area to paint, and we are going to take it step by step, working carefully on color application, on transitions, and it's going to go really well, you will see. Now, as you have seen, I started by placing some fairly dark shadows like the one on the right side, and you will notice that this shadow gradually become lighter. So I created a kind of gradient to create a smooth shift between these different areas. In the neck area, too, we are going to see a lot of folds, but even then there are some fairly dark spots, which I focused on first, and then we'll go back and work on those folds in the neck to give them volume. I am continuing with the color application. You can see that in the upper area, the color bone is quite visible. To give it volume, I need to emphasize the darker shadow areas around it. That's what I have done on the right side and started doing on the left. Then between all these elements, we'll have some mid tones on the left pectoral, for example. We can see that as we move toward the right on this left pectoral, it gradually gets lighter. So that's also what I am aiming to do I am also going to paint the highlights area using something pretty similar to this color I am creating right now and that you see on my palette. Now, of course, it won't be the exact color of the highlights. We can see that the brightest areas are even lighter than this, but I figured I will start by applying this tone, and then I will have some slightly light touches on top afterward if I feel that it is necessary. I also notice that in some parts, the color appears a bit more reddish. So I added a small touch of red to my mixture to give it that slightly different hue. And I am continuing the color application and marking all the highlight zones with this tone. And I am trying to make sure that the very little of the black from the background mixes with my paint to avoid muddying the color. And yes, I forgot to mention it earlier, though it might seem obvious, but just like in the lower part of the body, these black background elements are really helpful. They let us compare values and ask ourselves whether the color we are applying is too dark or no dark g relative to the black areas right next to it. So we are almost done with the color application now. You might have noticed that for the right nipple, I left a white space because it takes up a fairly visible spot and was easy to avoid. But for the left one, it seemed a bit trickier to handle that way. So I chose to paint the area first, and I will have the nipple on top afterward. And now it is time to start blending the cours, there are quite a few different tones here. We have used a lot of brown, some lighter shades, too, so this isn't the easiest blend to do. But with this fine brush, and by taking our time, it is definitely doable. So don't hesitate to wipe off any excess paint that builds up on your brush as you make some progress. And with small touches like this, I make sure that colors blend smoothly with each other, so we get a nice and even surface, something clean that we can build on later, had some texture and really make the spectoral area look more dimensional and full. A Now that the blending is done, we are going to start refining the area with more precision. And it is this detailed work that will help the elements appear more three dimensional and full of volume. So what I am starting with is marking this whole section on the left pectoral. You can see that there is a fairly pronounced shadow on the area on the lower part, and it is this shadow that creates that slightly raised effect on the pectoral compared to the abdominal area below. Here, too, I can refine things a bit more because even though it is very dark on the right side, there are still a few slightly lighter touches that allow for a smoother and more natural transition between the darker area and the lighter skin tone next to it. So that's what I am doing, trying to improve each section. For example, I also noticed near the shoulder area, there was a small dark spot that helps with the transition, so I am marking that in as well. I am really scanning the whole area, asking myself, what could be improved here? What is already working, but could be pushed a little further to make the whole thing more precise, more realistic. And that's basically how I work. Whenever I see an element that feels important or useful to add, I do it right away, so I don't forget. And so I can keep enhancing the overall look. That's also why sometimes you will see me jump from one area to another, from, let's say, the right pectoral to the left or up to the neck. That's how I work to stay efficient and not get lost in all the details. Still I try to keep a certain logic and coherence by focusing on one color value at a time, working with it across different areas and then do the same with the next one, the next color, and so on. To be honest, the area looks already pretty good as it is. And if we wanted to, we could almost stop here because there is clearly volume, and that is thanks to the careful application of different colors and a good observation of the value changes. But personally, I like to push it a bit further. I try to really define the elements and make the texture of the person feel almost real, something that makes you want to reach out and touch it. I want the viewer to look from afar and wonder for a second if it is a photo before coming closer and seeing the thousands of brushstrokes that went into creating the piece. Now, of course, everyone sets their own level of realism, and you place that bone wherever it feels right to you. But I enjoy going all the way and trying to create that illusion of reality through painting. So that's what I am continuing to do here. I'm still adding details. You may have noticed that I worked a bit more on the left pectoral, where there were a few slightly darker elements I could have to build up the texture. On the right arm or rather the right shoulder, you can see these faint lines that extend from the shoulder and help suggest veins. There are some kind of brown. You can see a bit of that in the central chest area as well. So I have started working on those. Now I will also focus a little bit on refining the central line between the pectorals, which really helps define their form. So overall, painting the pectorals is a great exercise. It really sharpens your eye and your sense of observation because within a relatively small area, you realize just how many forms and contours are present. And even more so when you are painting a muscular body like this one that is contracted as well, there are so many details that emerge and give the whole structure its depth. So I am continuing a bit more. The area of the world is well worked. I am now refining the shape of the shadow in this section, which helps define the visible color bone. And it is also the very light elements that we'll be adding on top that will really make it stand out and give it some volume. So at this point, the area is well developed, and I am generally quite satisfied with how it looks. What I am going to do now is focus on enhancing all the highlights area that we can see in this section. These highlights will help bring the final touches and add even more volume. That's what I am doing now with this small brush, and as you can see, I lighten my color by adding some white to make it pop even more. Okay. Now I am going to mix the color for the nipple. And what we can observe is that it leans toward a sort of purplish red with a slightly brownish tint. So that's what I mix. I create a purple leaning more toward red, meaning I use a large amount of red and also add a touch of yellow to tone down the intensity a bit. Still, you can see that some parts of it are quite dark, so that's what I prepared. Keeping in mind, of course, that will need several values, including a slightly lighter one. So to lighten it, I added also more red to keep that purplish red character and a bit more yellow again to soften it. And, of course, some white. And now I'm creating a third value. And with these three values, I think that we are in a good place to start work on this nipple. When it comes to painting a nipple of that size, it's all about volume. It is a small element we have to be precise, but we don't need a lot of detail. We just need to place the right values in the right spots to make it stand out. So with this dark color into which, as you probably guessed, I also make some burnt timber, I can start working on the lower edge. Then as we move up, we see that it gets slightly lighter, and in the central zone, it is even lighter. And even just with that, it already looks good. We've got something that blends in well with the surrounding skin tones and feel completely natural. I can also add a few small touches here and there to make it even better. And what is also important is to work on softening the edge so it doesn't have too hard of a line. It should blend nicely into the rest. As for the left nipple, I will probably work on that later once the surrounding areas like the arm are painted. And so that wraps up this section on the pectorals, and now we can move on to another area. 15. Painting of the abs: So now we are moving on to painting the abdominal muscles. And what's really important to understand here is that the apps aren't just boxes to draw like an anatomy diagram. They are volumes, soft, slightly rounded forms that are revealed mainly through light. It is the light that sculpts each contour, brings out the hollows and gives the impression of tension or relaxation in the muscles depending on the pose. So once again, it's not just about outlines. It is about value, shadow and light. The shadows define the grooves between the muscle groups while the highlights gently touch the tops and of the forms. And if you are able to observe these changes in value closely, then, honestly, you will barely need to draw the apps at all. They will practically appear on your canvas through the painting itself. What is also interesting with this area is how much it allows us to work on transition. Apps aren't isolated. They blend into the pectorals above and into the growing area below. So it is a perfect opportunity to practice smooth blending and to learn how to visually connect different regions of the body. You especially want to avoid short breaks between the muscles or between color zones because that is what can make the result feel natural or artificial. So the idea is to always start with what is clearest and build around that, working gradually area by area. There is one last point that makes the one so rich, the texture of the skin. When you paint the abs of a muscular model like this, you can often perceive a slight grain in the skin, very fine shadows or even soft highlights. These are subtle details, but they are the ones that bring your painting to life. It is what transforms a painted torso into something that feels truly present and alive. So take your time, observe carefully, lay down your values properly, and give this area all the attention it deserves. Because if your abs are well constructed, the entire lower torso will immediately gain realism and visual impact. So you might say I am predictable, and you would absolutely right because once again, I started this area by marking in the darker shadows. We've got the whole section around the ribs that is quite defined, and you can observe several different browns there for the shadows. For now, I have done a quick initial paint layer, but we'll go back and refine those browns later to really build some depth. Then in the central area of the abdominals, you will notice the shadows vary in intensity depending on the spot, and that is what helps define the shapes of the muscles. Another part that will need some attention is the central line between the two pectorals, which will help them stand out more clearly. I know I didn't work on it earlier. I could have, but it's not a big deal because as I said earlier, all these zones, the abdominals and the pectorals are connected. So we will just make sure we handle the transition well here. Between the abdominals themselves, you will start to see some more intermediate tones appearing, like the one I am applying now. So yes, we are still in this color application phase, and what is really important is to observe carefully and ask yourself, is this area more of a mid tone, a darker value or a lighter one? And then place your paint accordingly in the right zone to get the most accurate placement possible for your colors. Even in these early stages, this kind of observation will help us to begin build volume and relief in the abdominal area. So now that I have laid down the darker tones and the mid tones, I can move on it, start adding the lighter ones. And as surprising as it may seem, there is actually a very light band right here. I say surprising, but if you have studied how light and shadow work, it's really not that unexpected. It's actually the bound slide hitting the shadowed area. And that bright spot is very important to bring out the volume and make the whole thing feel more three dimensional. Within the abdominal area itself, you will also need a few lighter touches here and there. So I am applying them now. I figure that even if they are a bit too light for now, lighter than they should be, it's not a huge problem because once the colors start blending together, they will probably darken a little on their own. So at this stage, we've got a solid application of color. Of course, it still looks pretty rough and abstract right now because nothing has been blended yet. But even so we can already start to make out the abdominal structure, and it looks pretty solid. And the colors are now in place, so it's time to move on to blending. And we are going to do that just like we did in the previous areas with small and careful brush strokes, making sure that each section stays where it belongs. Once again, this is an excellent area to practice your blending and to improve yourself to smoothly connect different values while keeping the form clear and coherent. Now that the blending has been done properly between these different areas, what I am going to do is go back and rework the areas where we have shadows darker elements because, well, with the blending, my dark areas are no longer as dark as they were before. That happens quite often, even though I try to be careful to make sure that each area stays in place. Sometimes quite inevitably, some dark areas end up getting lighter and some light areas get a bit darker. So that needs to be adjusted. That's what I am doing now with this fine brush. I am reworking, redefining my shadows to make sure that the volume comes through. So we have the shadows that define the halves which need to be touched up. Those that mark the boundary with the pectorals and help make the chest look more prominent as well. So I am going to observe that carefully and have those shadows. What also needs to be reinforced are the shadows around the ribs. You can make out the ribs. They are clearly defined, but the shadows are definitely not as dark as they should be in that area. So that will need some reworking, too. When you find yourself in a situation where there is quite a bit to fix, don't panic. Just tell yourself one element at a time. And as you move forward like that, calmly, working on one part, then another, then a third, and so on, the painting will gradually take shape before your eyes. Don't put pressure on yourself or feel overwhelmed by all the things to face. On the contrary, treat it as a real challenge and remind yourself that you are going to do it step by step, calmly, one thing at a time. If you have made it this far, it means that you have already come a long way because painting the abdominals isn't the easiest part, nor the most rewarding at first glance. And yet this is where you are truly doing the work of an artist. You are shaping a light, building the volume, bringing the body to life with oil painting. This is no longer just painting. It is almost like sculpting in two dimensions on paper. And it is in these moments that we grow the most. When we stay focused, patient, even if it is slow, even if it is not perfect yet, it is okay if you need to go over certain areas several times. I adjustments are still needed. What you are doing right now is building a piece with substance, depth, with weight. So hang in there and keep going because you have already done a great part of the work. There are still details, a few touches to refine, but you are on the right track. And remember that every brush strokes that you add now is one step closer to a result that will truly be worth it. You are turning a simple painting into a strong and convincing artwork. So keep going and most importantly, trust yourself. I'm going to keep working a bit on the rib area because you can see that up apart, there is a section that is really quite dark. So don't be afraid to have those dark elements. Sometimes it is true that we hesitate. We might think, Oh, I am afraid it will be too dark, or that the contrast will be too harsh, but you have to d. Here we can clearly see that the color is very dark, so you need to go in with something truly dark. And if it doesn't work, if it ends up a bit too dark, you can always adjust it and paint lighter elements over the top to get it right. Really don't hesitate to use the right colors, some dark colors, something that might help when you are unsure what color to apply, when you are really asking yourself, what is the right color for this area? Is to take the reference photo and zoom in as much as you can on that particular part to isolate the color and see exactly what it is. That's actually a little bit how I go about the analysis of the colors before painting. I click and select the color and zoom in on it if necessary. And this is how I identify the true color when we analyze the photos before painting. And that might help you, too, if you are struggling to figure out what color a certain area should be. Now I can position the nave and place it in. So how do we represent it? Well, first, a fairly dark shadow on the upper part and below it, a very light little touch that stands out. What you need to keep in mind is that with these just simple elements, you can paint the navel. Don't overthink it. You can see it. Dark shadow on top, a much lighter area just below, and that's enough to create a volume. To position the navel correctly, what I did here was use the surrounding elements as a guide. I placed it by comparing it in relation to the other part. At this stage, I no longer have my initial drawing to help me place it. So I told myself that it was just slightly above the shadowed area we see on the lower abdomen. I also noticed that it was roughly at the same level as the curve on the right side around the rib area, so I added that too, and that's how I managed to position it very accurately. Sometimes it's true that it can be a little tricky to figure out where to play certain elements because we don't necessarily have our original guidelines or sketch anymore. But by using the existing elements already in place as reference points, we can still position things with a good level of accuracy. The abdominals are done, and so are the pectorals. Now we can move on to the left arm, which will allow us to finalize this area and also to place the left nipple, which we hadn't been able to paint yet because the arm needed to be represented as well. So I will start with this left arm, and it's also going to be a good warm up and practice before tackling the right arm, which will be a bit more complex. But the right arm is particularly interesting to work on, and will be an excellent opportunity to make progress, and it is a great subject. On the left arm, we can see that the upper area is mostly in shadow, so I can start by applying a slightly dark brown as a base. I also see that in the fore arm area, there are some slightly darker elements that can be emphasized. Then we continue, and we can observe that most of the lower for harm has a fairly medium tone. So that's the base I am applying. For this arm, we follow the same approach. Apply the colors while trying to get the right values of brown. Then we'll blend them together and finish up with some added details and texture in that area. Now that the blends have been properly applied, we can start working on the area with more precision. So we have this whole part of the fore harm that is a bit darker. The shadow had already been started, but we also need to have some small elements on top like this, extending into the central area where the tones are more intermediate. These little touches that we add will help create and refine the texture. As for the shadow area on the bicep, I need to rework it a bit because even within that shadow, there are some slightly darker details. Here, you can see I added a small line on the lower part of the bicep. That is important for defining the kind of vein that might be visible. And up on the upper part, there is also that shadow that helps define the shoulder area more clearly. Even in that dark area, there are still a few slightly lighter touches I can add to bring out some texture. And overall for this arm, it is looking pretty good. I will just wrap it up with a few final details, and then we can move on to the right arm. 16. Painting of the arm: Now that we are working on the right arm, we are entering a zone that will really help us grow. It's not necessarily the easiest part, but it is a very interesting subject, rich in volumes, subtle details, and nuanced transition. What is especially interesting here is the play off line to cross the arm. Thanks to the side lighting, we can clearly see the different muscles, the deltoid at the shoulder, the triceps, at the back of the arm, and the forearm muscles. The line brings out the volumes, and that is exactly what we are going to work with in the painting. Before even thinking about details, take the time to block in the large masses, observe where the shadows are, where the lighter areas are, and lay them down as broad color zones. This foundational work is what allows us to lay the sculpt the arm and create a real sense of form. As we move down toward the end, what is important to observe is the continuity between the arm and the hand. Nothing is stiff. The wrist is soft, the fingers are slightly spread, and we need to capture that natural gesture. The hand isn't just an outline to fill in. It's a complex volume, almost like a sculpture. You can imagine the pum as a block with several surfaces, one visible on top, one hidden below, one turned slightly toward us. And from there, we place the values according to the light. That's what helps build a believable hand, not just a drawn one. Another very interesting aspect here is the textures, especially the slightly visible veins on the foreharm. They add realism, but they need to remain subtle. These aren't bold lines. They are soft, slightly darker areas, often with blended edges, and around them, the skin appears tighter and smoother. So we need to adapt our technique and use a very soft brush, get some nice blending between the different areas and add some small contrast to bring out the material without overloading it. And finally, remember that this arm doesn't exist in isolation. It is part of a body. So coherence with the rest of the figure is essential. If you make a highly detailed arm with colors that are too different from the torso, it will look like it was gluedon. You need to maintain harmony in tones and values between the arm and the chest, between the end and the abdomen. The overall unity is what gives your painting, its strength, its cohesion, and its realism. If you have an arm that is too detailed in comparison to the rest of the body, they will lack some kind of consistency between the different areas. So really take your time, observe carefully, block in the big shapes and refine. It is a demanding area but a fascinating one, and it will definitely help you improve. Once the blending is smooth and the colors have been applied properly, we can start working on this area in more detail. Here, particularly in the shoulder muscle area, I noticed that my shadows need to be a bit darker. There are a few elements, a few kinds of lines to add that help create the appearance of veins that we can see here. At the inner part of the elbow crease, we can also see that there is a well defined shadow. And so that's what I came in to add. And by adding that shadow, I realized that the surrounding areas don't have strong enough shadows. So I go back and refine those as well. I had some elements that are a bit darker than what we had before, and that is what allows the shoulder area to appear darker than it was initially. And this is what makes the area look better, more realistic because I felt that there was too much of a value gap between the crease at the elbow and the nearby elements. So after seeing that the upper area is now darker, I realized that this part of the fore harm isn't dark enough either. The shadow here needs to be more pronounced. This is the shadow that shows that the muscles are under tension and that the fore harm is well developed. So I went back and reworked that using slightly darker elements. And also in the area to the left, even though it is a bit lighter overall, there are still a few slightly darker touches that I am adding. And little by little, this whole area starts to take shape, and you can see that those few dark details really had something valuable to the entire arm. Now, to make everything that I have done stand out even more, I'm going to work with the fine brush and add some additional details, but this time using much lighter tones, which will really help to bring out my darker elements. It is this contrast that also helps create depth and volume. Here, too, with this light color, I am carefully redefining the shape of that highlight because it was a bit hidden by my shadow transitions. And this element I am adding now what is what is going to make the shoulder look even stronger and more muscular. On the fore harm, what we can see is that there are a few hairs that stand out slightly. So here, what I'm doing is using my swap brush with a slightly lighter brown color, and I am applying a few small lines like this. They are very simple, barely crossing the area, but they are enough to create something realistic and to suggest the idea that there are a few visible hair in that part of the harm. The end is one area of the artwork that seemed a little bit intimidating to paint, but don't worry, you will see that it really doesn't take much to make it look realistic. In this case, the hand is seen from a distance. It's not like when we are working on a large format piece that focuses entirely on the end. So the key here will be to focus on the shadow areas to make it feel realistic. What I am doing is starting by marking out those shadows on using a fairly fine brush so I can work them precisely. I have added a dark line whisky between the fingers to create a clear separation. And there is also a shadow area in the center of the hand that I can add that I added before. And then there was this slightly dark line that comes from the foam, and I start by placing these darker elements that help me get my bearing and structure the whole area. You will also notice that near the wrist, even though there are some lighter areas, we still have a few slightly darker brown touches here and there. And I am going to work on this hand step by step, asking myself what colors are most visible and identifiable in each section. This way, we'll move forward progressively, and you will see that in just a few brush strokes, we'll have lay down color everywhere. It will only take a few additional details to make the hand look realistic, but not many you will see. In this area, you can also go in with something a bit lighter that stands out nicely against the various brown added so far. And at the same time, as I am adding color to the area, I am also trying to make sure that the colors blend well with one another. That is something I often do, especially when the areas are very small. In this case, since we are working with tiny touches, it is completely possible to apply the color while blending it into the rest at the same time. It is a technique that works really well for these final details. Now that the colors have been properly applied in this area, we can start adding detail to the end. As I mentioned earlier, we won't need a ton of detail, but we should still add a few touches to make the end look realistic. My strategy when I am working on a zone like this is to observe carefully and ask myself if I look at the end, what jumps out? What could be improved? What little details could I have? For example, I noticed that near the foam, there was a small shadow that helped define the joint better, so I added it. On these finger areas, I also noticed the left side needed to be a bit lighter. So that's what I added too. Then looking a bit more closely, I realized there are some visible veins on the top of the end, or maybe they are joints. I'm not entirely sure, but that's not really a problem. What matters is how they appear. They show up a slightly darker line, so I added them in. And as you can see, and you can see that with just a few brush strokes in less than 1 minute, the hand already starts to take shape nicely, which is great. I also I'm also going to add a small shadow to clearly separate two of the fingers in here. Just this one like here will be enough. And then I'm going to place a few slightly darker touches in the lighter area to enhance it the overall depth because I felt it was a bit too pale. And between the vein or joints, there are also slightly lighter zones that help bring out a sense of relief. With that, the hand is done. As you can see, it only took a couple of minutes and those few details already make a big difference. Now I am just adding a bit of work on the nail with a few lighter touches, as you can see, and that's it for this area. 17. Painting of the underwear: We are now going to move on to the underwear area. And for that, we need to create a sort of slightly brownish gray. So that's what I am mixing. Right now, my color is leaning a bit too much toward the bluish tone, so I am adding a bit of burn turnbr to balance it out. And to achieve a realistic look in this area, we'll need to create several values to build up the sense of value. And that's what I am doing now with this quick and with this quick mix, we'll soon be ready to start working on this new section. Now we are moving to the underwear area. It might be a small part of the painting, but it is far from insignificant. In fact, it is actually a great exercise for improving your skills once again because we are going to work on texture, values, and volume, with very few visible details. This fabric is very tight against the skin. It's not a flowing of folded fabric like a shirt. It really follows the shape of the body like a second skin. So the folds are rare, but when they do appear like on the hip or just below the lower belly, they need to be placed precisely and cleanly. These small folds are what will give us the illusion of fabric tension. If there is nothing, it looks too smooth. If there are too many, it looks wrong. So we observe carefully and find the right balance. Another crucial element here is the values. Even though the underwear is light and tall, be careful. We are not painting with pure white. This area is actually a very soft and warm gray, slightly leaning toward brown. And there are a few subtle shadows that need to be placed carefully in the creases under the belly on the side. These shadows are what will make the fabric look believable and give it real volume. Without them, it will look like it is flat. And that's exactly what makes this kind of subject so interesting. We have very few elements to paint, but really challenge to take on. That's what makes it so educational. You don't need 1,000 details to make something look realistic. All it takes is good observations, accurate values, and just the right suggestion at volume. And that's exactly what we are doing here. So take your time, observe the nuances carefully and remind yourself that even the small simple area is a great opportunity to improve your skill. So as you can see, I have started applying my color with some darker gray area at the bottom and a little bit on the right. And for the left side, it is clearly in the light, and so I started with a very light gray. And finally, to finish the underwear area, I can work on the right side with something a little darker. Now we are going to try to work on the areas with more precision to better define the shadow zone. And here on the right side, we can see there is a slightly darker strip, so I can work on that. I can also work on the central part of the underwear. Where we can see it is generally a bit darker, too. So now we are going to look for all the small shadow areas that will help us create more volume in this zone and make the whole thing more realistic. So here I am focusing on the lower part, and I need to work with slightly darker grays, which is exactly what I am doing. Next, what I can do is work on this shadow that is cast by the underwear. We can see that is cast on the file. It is pretty thin and pretty dark. And therefore, to make sure that I am precise enough while adding this element, I am working with it on it with my sward brush. As you can see, that helps me to be very precise and work this line all along the underwear. What I will also be doing is doing the same thing at the top part of the underwear because we can see that it is also a little bit darker in here all along the edge of this underwear. And this shadow that we are adding really helps to make the whole thing more voluminous and more three dimensional. And just below the underware there is a small rab dark shadow that can be seen. But be careful because even within the small shadow, the value isn't the same throughout. You can notice a few slightly lighter touches, so I'm going to pay attention to adding those as well and clearly marking these differences in value, which are once again important. I am now going to move on to the final step to make this piece of clothing even more voluminous and refined, which is to add the few folds we can see. There are some clearly visible ones on the right and at the top, so I will go ahead and add those. Sometimes using the soft brush, overtimes different brush depending on the fold and whether it is more or less straight or more or less thin. I will work on them adding these elements that will help me finish this area. So I carefully observe where the folds are. I study their values, and then I work on them. What is also important is to make sure they blend well with the rest and to pay close attention to the fact that sometimes even on a single fold, it may start off with slightly dark gray value. But as you move along towards the left, for example, for these folds that are on the right, you can see that it becomes a little bit lighter and blends more with the surrounding. And for the fold that we have on the left, you can see that as you progress towards the center, they tend to fade in inside the center and become a little bit lighter. So that's what I am working on as well. And so that's pretty it. I am adding these final touches now, and overall, this piece of clothing will be done. There's no need to add much more. You can clearly see that voluminous and three dimensional effect, and it looks pretty good. We'll be then able to move on to painting the head once we will have finished this area. So make sure that you take your time for adding these final elements. And between these pools, I can add some slightly lighter touches that will really help them stand out. So that's what I am adding now. 18. Painting of the head: Hiv Manton two denier tab, not tableau, latte Simpson, Garde Volta, A epine local son volume Ben psal not palette, no jest, and not observation. 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This is a really great subject because we will be able to work on the entire human body and to be able to paint every part of the human body in great detail. So for the making of this painting, I will use my usual material, but for the colors, I will only use black and white, since this is a black and white subject painted with some gray, and I will use a grid to make sure that my drawing is done with the right proportions. And finally, for the paper that I will use, the size will be 100 centimeters by 50 centimeters. I recommend you to use a big canvas or a big piece of paper that is at least 100 centimeters. Not 3 meters. That's quite a lot. 1 meter, 100 centimeters is very fine because it will allow you to work and to paint every elements of this human body in great detail and with great precision. And to be able to work on the texture of the skin, well, of the marble, to be able to work on the texture in great detail. So that's why 100 centimeters is great. And the width will be 50 centimeters, at least 50 centimeters, so you are able to draw all the elements and the entire arms and not to have the arms cut, for example, at the elbow with width that is shorter. So at least 50 centimeters, but if you use 80 70, that will be fine. Also, 1 meter by 80 centimeters is perfectly fine. You will be able to draw the entire body. So for the organization of your painting, you can start pretty much wherever you want, because all the elements of the body are connected to one another. There are no sharp edges that make you where you could think, Okay, I can paint up until to the sharp edge and stop here and start again later with another element. Right here, it's not possible to think like this because all the elements are connected together and form a whole. So ideally, you will be painting this entire painting in one day or in two days in a row. But I know it's not possible for most of you because of your work or your studies, et cetera. We all have some busy life, so it's not possible for everybody to paint it in just one session. But the thing is we are painting it in black and white, and we have some grays that are very light and that have a lot of white. And the white take a lot of time to dry. So, which is great. You can start painting one element and then come back to it in three or four days, and it will probably still wet and you will be able to keep going on this area. And if this area is dry, it's easier to have to remix the exact same grade than to have to remix the exact same beige or brown. So that's why if your painting dries, it's not the end of the world. So no matter where you begin, the important thing is that you begin to paint this beautiful subject. So let's dive right in and let's paint this painting together. 20. Painting of the face part I: Let's start mixing our colors. This will be a fairly quick process since the painting is monochrome in black and white, so we will simply be working with various shades of gray ranging from white to black. To make things easier when I begin painting the statue, I am going to prepare a wide range of grays from very light tones to close to white much darker ones closer to black. This approach, mixing the colors in advance helps save time while painting, as it avoids having to constantly remix shades. And even if we do need to remix, we already have a solid base. We can also easily create intermediate tones to improve the transitions. So here, I am preparing several grays to have a broad range ready for painting the different light and shadows area of David. Let's get started with the painting, and we'll begin with the head and work our way down to the final touches around the feet. When it comes to the head, I like to start with the eyes. It's a habit I developed when I was younger. Whenever I began painting or drawing, I would always start with the eyes. I felt it helped to partially recognize the subject right away. And I used to think that if the gaze was successful, the rest would follow naturally. And I get this habit. So we are beginning the painting of the eyes, and we try to capture David's somewhat stern expression by applying the right colors, the right gray in the right places. You will notice that the upper part of the eye is a little darker, as well as the corner of the eye which falls more into shadow. So we'll be using some dark gray for these areas. That's what I've started applying here. The goal is to place the correct shades precisely where they belong, and that requires a certain level of accuracy, since the area is quite small. So for now, I am focusing on getting a clean base of color down before adding detail touches. For the iris, I'm starting with a light base, and maybe later I will have darker elements on top. You can also see that in the white of the eye, there is a slightly shaded area which helps the iris tend out more effectively. As for the iris itself, the pupil is clearly visible, so I can add it with a small and dark touch as you can see. Once we have a solid base for the eye, I will start painting the surrounding area. This will help bring more clarity because generally, when we paint an element in isolation, without anything around it, it is hard to judge whether it is accurate or if it needs adjustment. So I will begin working around the eye, and if necessary, I will make some refinements. Example, I feel that the iris could use some darker elements. The upper part is a little bit more in shallow than it currently appears. So I am going to rework that area. The upper eyelid also seems too light to me, so I will darken it a bit, as well. And just beside the iris, adding a few darker touches will also help make it stand out more effectively. And so with just a few small adjustments, I am already improving what I had previously applied in that area. Painting the human body isn't necessarily one of the easiest things to do, especially when it comes to the portrait and the head. This is why I found this subject with David to be an excellent choice for improving both portrait skills and the study of the human figure without having to tackle an overly complex head. The fact that it is a statue, allows us to approach the head and portrait in a more simplified way. First of all, it is monochrome, which naturally makes the color work much easier. And although the statue is absolutely stunning and beautifully crafted, it is still a statue. So we have far fewer skin texture to deal with, whether in the mouth, the eyes or elsewhere. There are fewer details overall, whether it is in the iris, the white of the eye or the eyelid. So the process is a bit simplified, but still a very effective exercise for improving portrait skills. And for studying the human body, as well. When it comes to the body, the sculpture of David is incredibly well executed. The joints, the muscles, the skin folds, they are all superbly they are all greatly represented, but the body contains fewer tiny details than the head does. So it is a double advantage. We can study the human form as if we were painting a live model, but without having to worry about the complexities of a lifelike phase. That's why I think this sculpture is an excellent model to wrap up this work on the human body. And at the same time, it serves as a great introduction to portrait painting, especially for beginners. And I really believe it is an excellent exercise. I can now continue with the progression and start working on the eyelid area, applying fairly dark based tone since it is a part of the face that falls into the shadow. And I am placing the color carefully, trying to define the shadow zone properly using darker or lighter shades of gray depending on the area. My goal here is to position the grays correctly to make the rest of the work easier later on. In fact, it is this accurate placement of gray of the right shadow and light areas that will help create depth in the head and give the subject a three dimensional appearance rather than a flat look. And while I am applying these tones, you will notice that I am using a relatively fine brush. This allows me to stay precise in my movements and make sure that each area of colors stays where it is supposed to. And once I see that the colors are well applied, I can begin blending them slightly using small brush strokes to soften the transitions between tones. And before doing that, I remove a bit of excess paint from the brush to keep it clean, and then I gently work the blend in small touches here and there. That is usually enough to create a smooth transitions between two different gray. And then I can move on and continue working on the forehead. It's not a large area, but we can already see several distinct shadow zones with folds and subtle shapes. It is important to bring out the volume of the airline. So even though it might seem like a fairly simple part, it actually needs to be handled with care and precision because there are quite a few different elements in that small area. And here, as I make sure the elements blend smoothly from the lighter area to the darker one, you can see that I am adding small and irregular brush strokes here and there, and that is enough to subtly suggest a bit of skin texture. As I mentioned earlier, the fact that we are painting a sculpture makes things easier since the skin texture is far less detailed than real skin. So just these few touches, these scattered uneven brush strokes are more than enough to create the impression of realistically rendered skin. I've got a good base of colors applied in this area. And so I decided to stop working right around this point because extending fervor would have made the area too large to manage in one go. And I applied the grays that seemed most dominant, those that appear most frequently in the area. And from here, I can start working on the eyelid and forehead zone with more precision. And now that we have a solid base in place, it is time to refine things. That's why you may have noticed that I switch brushes, and now I am using something much finer. I feel that the gray I previously mixed is working well, but I want something just a bit lighter to define the shape of the eyebrow. And I am aiming for a tone that is slightly darker than the surrounding gray I use, but not too much because the eyebrow does tend out a little but not drastically. Higher up on the forehead, we can see slightly darker marks that hint at David's called stern expression. There are distinct furrows in the bro, and these are the darker lines that I am just adding right now. And right next to these darker marks, we also see some slightly lighter areas that will help make these shadows pop more clearly. And so this is what I am adding right now. And we also find some darker tones along the airline, and that's what I am going to work on. This line is really important because it adds extra volume and three dimensional quality to the air. Without it, even if the air is well painted, we would likely feel like something is missing, and that something would be that defining line. That's why it is so important to include it carefully. Now I am going to work on the light area just above the eyebrow. It is true that this zone is lighter and stands out well, but it's not a single flat gray. We can see a few slightly darker touches here and there, so I will add those in to give the overall result a more realistic look. And I am also making sure that these lighter grays blend smoothly with the slightly darker ones. We have already placed on the forehead. There's no need to add too much. What I have done here is enough. So now I will move on to the eyebrow area. Since this part stands out a bit more, I'm starting by applying a slightly darker gray, but that is just the base. I won't be using only one tone, that one tone. I figure the entire eyebrow was at least as dark as this gray and in some areas even darker. So I lay down this initial layer, and now I can come back over it with some slightly darker strokes here and there. Using this fine brush, I can work on the little irregularities that give the eyebrow its natural look. But overall, there is no need to overdo it. And now I can now return to the eyelid and refine it a bit more. You will notice that in this area, there are also a few slightly darker touches, so I am adding those in as well. In the eyelid area, what I can also reinforce is everything around the eye that helps define the hollow between the eye and the nose. We can see that this area is much darker than what I initially applied. At first, I lay down a slightly lighter gray base since there were in quite a few lighter touches in that zone, and that gray was a good starting point. It was easier to begin with that and then come back and add a few darker strokes here and there. Now I can continue refining certain areas to define them more clearly. And overall, we have made good progress on this section of the eye and forehead. And I will look around to see if there are any small areas that might need touching up. But generally, I would say we are in a good place. And we can now shift focus and start working more precisely on the otherside of the face and specifically around the second eye. For the second eye, there's not much visible. We mostly see the eyelid line and the lash line, and that's about it. You can't really make out the eeris, the pupil, or the white of the eye. There's very little to see. So, in fact, just adding a few lines like the ones I'm going to place now will be more than enough to achieve a result that looks believable and realistic. Now, let's start working with the nose, and we can see that the ridge of the nose is very light. So I'm going to start by applying a very light gray in this area. Then to create a sense of depth and form, I will need to use a slightly darker gray, so I will switch shades. On the entire left side, I will define the area using a darker tone, and this is how we create depth in the nose and begin to shape that downward slope that we have for the nose. So I will apply some darker gray in this area, and I will also apply some dark gray, some even darker gray to the bottom part of the nose near the nos trill since we can see that this area is even darker. So I will establish a base using the deeper gray. So as usual, at first, I am applying the dominant colors in this area, and it's only after that I will work on the details that will help to create even more volume and sense of realism for this nose. In that area, I applied the slightly darker gray, and you probably notice that I went a bit beyond where I should have. That is, I slightly overlap the area where the inside of the nostriil would be. But it's not a big deal, especially since the nostril would be even darker, so it will stand out well, and I won't have any trouble painting over it. And now that I have laid down a good base for the nose, I can start refining certain parts. For example, just above the nose rail, we can see some slightly darker areas, and those are what will help create a sense of depth around the nose rail, showing that it has a rounded shape and a bit of volume. That's what I've been working on here. And to further enhance the sense of volume in the area, I have added a few lighter touches that help bring those forms forward even more. Now I can start painting the nostril itself. You can see that it is very dark, so I will begin by applying black. But be careful. It's not the same value all the way through. As we move to the right, the tones become slightly lighter shifting more towards gray than black. So it is important to pay attention to that and make sure the black and the lighter gray blend smoothly together. Then we can keep working on the nose area. For example, adding some darker elements to the upper part. You can see that there is a sort of line that separates the shadow area from the lighter zone. So I am adding that in, and of course, I will try to make sure it blends naturally with the surrounding elements using small and precise birth strokes to get a nice finish in that area. And we continue and little by little, you can see the portrait coming to life. It's only been 20 minutes since the session started, not even that. And yet these areas are already looking well deed. Just by carefully observing the colors and the areas of light and shadow, we have already managing to create some volume and give the fam a three dimensional fell. So we just need to keep going like this. And as you can see, the details don't take a huge amount of time, and simply adding small touches here and there is more than enough to achieve a result that feels coherent and quite realistic. Now, what is left to do to finalize this nose is to add a few small touches here and there, slightly darker ones on the upper part or sometimes a bit lighter. And it's this collection, this combination of small details that we are going to have that will allow our subject to appear more realistic because even though it is a sculpture, we can see that the work was done with such fineness that there are still nevertheless some small elements of texture, little touches that we can add here and there, which will complete the work and make it feel almost alive. 21. Painting of the face part II: Now, let's work on the mouth, and I will start by working and painting that little line between the two lips, which is quite dark. And I am choosing to start with that because it is a good reference point, easy to place. And since it is very close to black, very dark, I know that I know I am applying the right value here, which will make it easier later on to see how the rest will look. And since I know that I'm applying the correct value here, and that will help me when I start applying the other grays, and I will be able to compare their tones with this slightly darker line. So through this mouth, I begin by marking the main slightly gray areas. I try to be fairly precise with my color application because it makes things easier later when it is time to add the small details. And now that I have applied my color to the upper area, I can start refining them a bit more. Even though these leaves are sculpted in stone, we can still see that the work is so finely done that you can add in some subtle details, little touches that suggest a few creases in the leaves. With small strokes like that, I can bring them in. It is also important to mark that little shadow area you can see on the upper part, the one that connects slightly with the nose and helps define the separation with the bit of cheek we can see in the background. And as for the upper lip, I would say it is pretty much done. And now we can move on to the lower lip and where there's clearly more light and where the elements are a bit brighter. So I will work on that precisely. For these lips, I would say there's nothing too tricky. This part of the painting should go fairly quickly. And finally, to complete this section, I can work on a little bit of check that we see on the right, and then that will be done for this section and we'll be able to work on some other areas of the portrait. I am going to work again near the eye and on the lower eyelid, where you can see some slightly lighter values just below the eye. And well, I mean, it is right underneath the eye, there is some kind of very light line very light line, sorry. And underneath this lighter line, there is a slightly darker area. These subtle value differences may seem small, but they are really important when it comes to creating more depth and making our subject look realistic. There are little details like these that may not seem like much, but they matter a lot. And that is often the case when working around the eye area. Some parts of the body require more attention and time and more detailed work, like around the eye, the nose, the mouth, or the hair, or the hands, for example, in those area, adding small details really makes a difference. Without them, something may fell off. For example, if you forget to add a few eye lashes on a living model, it can look very weird. But if you forget a few errors on the arms or on the legs, it won't really matter much. So as I was saying, there are areas where you need to be especially attentive to small changes in value and fine details. And this eyelid is one of them. That slightly lighter line just under the eye and the slightly darker area below it, help make that lighter edge stand out more and give the hozone some volume. So this is what I am working on now with small touches using a very fine brush and adding in those little details as precisely as possible. Uh Now we are going to work on areas that require less precision. And that's the case for the entire zone from the cheek down to the chin, which we'll be painting now. So the first thing to do when working on large skin area like this one is to look for the different gray values. In this case, in this particular zone. So I am going to start by applying the dominant color. For example, just below the eye and just above the mouth, we have some very light gray. So I went ahead and apply them. Then between those two areas, there was a slightly darker gray, and in this cheek area I am painting now, we also have that slightly darker gray. So for the sake of efficiency, I am applying the same gray here as you can see, and I can already start to blend these colors together a bit with small brush strokes. Then we move on to the chin area, which has a lighter tone. Now it is true that the zone we are working on is quite large. And I often say that I prefer working. I prefer working on smaller areas. But in this case, well, it's simply because it is the cheek. It's not one of the most complex parts, but it is a large skin area. And in the end, it is all connected. All these elements make up a single hole. It's not like painting the eye. I wouldn't say the eye is the same as the nose or the same as the mouth. Those are distinct elements of the face. So this is why I paint them separately, one element at a time. But here, this area of skin is part of one continuous surface. So I think it makes more sense to paint it all at once. That's why I am applying the base color to each zone, trying to be accurate and match the gray value of each area. Even though I know that once I start blending the colors, I will probably lose some of that accuracy and need to rework the values, at least, but at least I will have a solid base, one that is already quite close to the right value zones and fairly well defined. It's true that for now, my edges are quite sharp and well defined. For example, here around the chin, there is a clear and straight line that really separates the cheek area from the chin. Whereas on the subject, it doesn't appear like that at all, but that's completely normal at this stage of the color application because while this line is visible on the subject, it actually blends in with all the surrounding elements. And once we have applied all our colors in the different areas, the goal will be to make sure that everything blends together smoothly and that this line is no longer so harsh or visible. We want to suggest the separation between the cheek and the chin, but we don't want a clearly drawn line. It has to feel like part of the overall volume, and that is exactly what we are going to focus on now, the blending work, now that we've got all our colors in place in this area. So now we can focus on the blending phase, making sure that all these elements feel more connected. Right now, I am using my brush with the painted wiped off, and I am going to start blending gently. We are not going to make large sweeping strokes with a big flat brush here because the areas are quite small and fairly precise. I want to keep that precision. I want the elements to stay more or less in place and for each zone to maintain the base value I originally defined. That's why I am sticking with this brush, and I am applying small strokes left, right up down and that is what helps the elements merge together naturally. And so that's what I am working on right now. I'm applying small touches and every time I notice that the blending isn't working so well anymore or that there is too much paint on the brush, I use the tissue to wipe off the excess. And this way, I can continue blending the elements properly. And that strong line that we saw earlier is around the chin is gradually disappearing. It slowly blends in with the rest becoming much softer and more harmonious. Once we have achieved a good blending our different areas, we can move on to more precise work. And now I am going to add a few detail elements. For example, you can see this slightly dark line starting from the nose, which helps make the cheek appear slightly raised. So I can go ahead and add that. And you will see that these details we are placing also blend in and merge with the rest of the painting. I will also add a small, slightly darker touch next to the lip. It is clearly visible on the reference. So I will add that as well, and I will make sure that it blends smoothly with the surrounding tones. And little by little, the face really starts to take shape. Another thing I can now work on is the small curve line just below the lower lip. This one is also important because it helps to define the shape of the chin. So I gradually add these elements, and this is how the face really starts to come together. After adding this curve line, I realized that the whole area isn't quite light enough. There is too much of that mid gray a bit too dark overall. So with this brush loaded with lighter paint, I am adding small touches here and there, letting them blend nicely into the rest. And then we can move on and refine other areas. Now that we have applied this first base layer, we start adding details and correcting certain parts. Some areas might look too light or too dark, so I make those adjustments. It is like it is a bit like scanning the whole area with my eyes. I look at everything and think, that part doesn't feel quite right, or this bit needs adjusting to. And step by step, I had those little elements until the whole area looks balanced and well defined. And at this point, I can move on. For example, I feel like right now, I feel that the line that separates the chin from the cheek isn't quite visible enough. That is a bit too light and has blended in too much with the surrounding tones. So I go back over it, adding slightly darker touches and blending them in gently. And that's how I refine the area little by little until it feels ready, and then I can move on to the next part. And just by adding small lightotuches and small darkotuches, we help create a kind of skin texture and make it look more realistic. Here we are doing it on a sculpture. But if it were a living human, it would be the same principle, and this is how we would achieve a skin texture that feels somewhat realistic. It is the combination of these light and dark elements, blending together in an irregular pattern that allows us to create that realistic skin texture. So here on the left side of the cheek, I felt it wasn't light enough. So I am adding those little touches, and I will also work a bit on the lower area, adding a few slightly darker touches, which will also help create texture thanks to this irregularity. Now that this area of the cheek is nicely word, we can start painting a few small elements that we can see around the airline. There are some slightly darker touches here and there will be others near the eye area. So I'm not really starting to paint the air yet, but just adding these few elements that spill over onto the skin area. Then we'll be able to move on to the ear, which is quite dark and clearly visible. Now, let's move on to the work on the ear. It is quite a dark ear, partly due to the shadow cast by the ear. So what I am doing here is focusing on the black elements, the extremely dark parts within the ear area. Just like I mentioned earlier, when working on the lip, I know that these areas are meant to be black. I know it is the correct value and that these elements shouldn't be darker or lighter. So I apply confidently with the black color. This way, I will then be able to place the other grays around it and compare them to these black areas, asking myself whether the grays I am using are too light or too dark and adjusting accordingly. Because in general, when the light area is next to a very dark one, even more when you are working with a completely black background, although in this case, it is just a few black spots. We tend to misjudge the values when they are next to the black elements. This is why I believe it is always helpful to start by placing these black elements first before adding the lighter parts around them. For example, you will see this in other parts of these tutorials, like in the still life with the hamburger, where the background is black. Before painting the burger itself, I start by painting all the background black. This way, I can compare the values of the colors I am using I am about to use against that dark background. It gives a strong reference point. Now my dark areas are in place, and I can start working within the ear itself in the lighter zone, applying a mid gray. And while doing so, I also began adding a few details. Here again, my goal is to ensure that the dark black areas blend smoothly with the surrounding tones, achieving a good transition and overall cohesion. 22. Painting of the face part III: In this area of the ear, I also make sure it connects smoothly with the adjacent skin area. So I don't hesitate to create a soft blend here, and it's also the addition of small details across both zones that really helps finalize this transition between these two different areas. Now, this ear isn't particularly difficult to paint. It's not one of the most complex parts of our subject, but it still needs to be done with care because if we are tempted to rush through it and focus more on other elements, just quickly brushing past this one, then we would end up with a part that looks noticeably off compared to the rest. And we would think it is a shame. The face is well done, but there is just this ear that looks a bit odd. So that would be unfortunate. So the ear is not something that's going to add beauty to our piece, but if it is neglected, it will detract from the overall beauty of the work. Now let's move on to painting the air. Once again, I'm going to begin by marking the black elements, but this time not for the same reasons as before. As I mentioned earlier, having those black areas established gives us reference points, which is true. It helps me apply the grays properly by comparing them to the black and making sure I am using the right values of grays. However, in this case, that's not the main reason. I am starting with the black areas of the hair. Here I am using them as spatial reference points to know exactly where each strand of hair is located. With all these large locks and curls going in different directions, it is easy to get a bit lost and wonder, wait, which girl am I painting right now? Where exactly is it? What shade of gray should I apply here? So it is easy to feel confused and lose track. That's why by painting this dark black section first, I give myself reliable landmarks. I can say, Alright, the strand I am working on is next to this dark area, so it must be this curl, and I will know what gray to use and how to apply it, what kind of strokes to make, how intense the n should be, et cetera. And thanks to these black elements, it becomes much easier to find my way through the air. And whenever I am painting something complex, often air but not just air, I usually try to start by identifying either the lightest elements or more often the darkest ones that really stand out. In this case, the air doesn't have a lot of dark areas overall. So these black parts stand out clearly and help me a lot as starting points. And now that I have these reference points in place, I can start working on the different strands of hair. I will proceed one strand at a time. For example, right now, I am focusing on this particular strand, and I am going to work on it forge adding all the detailed, different values and really trying to create something realistic within this one strand. And once I feel it is complete, I would move on to the next. This approach has two main advantages. First, we see real progress happening right before our eyes, which is very motivating, especially when dealing with a large time consuming area like this. And second, it helps prevent us from getting lost because if we try to apply all the mid tones across the entire area, then all the lighter grays across the whole surface, like we did earlier with the chin and the cheek, we would risk getting confused, even with these darker areas acting as landmarks that we painted just before. When we painted the check and the chin, the zones were relatively simple. There was volume to create, sure, but they were smooth and flatter surface. Whereas here, the air goes off in every direction. There are lots of separate strands, and if we use the same method as before, we would likely get lost and end up with a confusing and inconsistent result. That's why I think that the best option for this kind of complex airstyle like David, is to go strand by strand. On the other hand, when I am painting smooth hair like long and straight hair on a woman, it is very likely I would paint the whole thing in one go. But in this case, with all these curves and dynamic shapes, the step by step approach is far more effective. That's why whenever you are painting, it is always useful to reflect a little beforehand and ask yourself, how should I approach this area? What is the smartest strategy? What could be difficult here? And by taking the time to ask these questions, you can avoid making simple mistakes that could have easily been prevented. Now, let's return a moment to the actual technique used for painting this air. Even though the air here has somewhat complex shape, it doesn't involve fine detail the way real human hair might. These are large blocks of marble, so we are not dealing with extremely thin strands. So when I paint them, I approach it much like I did with the skin. I start by laying down the main values. In these areas, I notice some slightly darker parts, and in other some lighter touch. And it is this combination of light and dark elements that helps create the sense of volume and three dimensionality. So essentially, we are painting hair that is not really hair, but the painting approach stays the same. In fact, if I had to paint a real person with the exact same hairstyle as David, I would start the same way by placing zones of color, darker grays, blacks in some areas, and lighter touches to suggest volume. But then, at the very end, I would come in with a very fine brush to add some individual hair which will give it that true hair like texture. So, in a way, this hair is a great practice, especially for painting curly or wavy hair like this. But we stop just before the final stage of adding realistic hair texture. And so I continue progressing one curl at a time. You can see that I started on the right next, I will continue a little bit more on the left because I see another strand that seems a bit simple and one that inspire me, so I just go for it and paint it right away. And that is also a strategy that I really like. You might have noticed that I haven't necessarily followed the order of the curls. I ended up painting this one on the left side simply because this one look particularly easy to me, and I like starting with the simpler elements because once they are painted, they can also serve as additional reference points to help position the next elements nearby. For example, after painting this first curl, I now have a clear idea where the next one should stop and how it connects to this one I have already done. And honestly, this is a technique I apply quite often, no matter the subject, whenever I feel like a zone might be too complicated to tackle right away, when I am unsure where to begin, I always tell myself, Start with something simple, because once you have painted one simple element, that's one less thing to figure out, and it becomes a guide for placing the next one. Then you find another simple element nearby and paint that one, too, and so on. And in the end, I complete the entire painting, and every element I placed felt manageable because each one was made easier by the one I had already done before. When working on the various dark light or black elements in the air, one very important thing to keep in mind is the direction of the strands. Each time I work on a strand, I pay close attention not only to the different shades of gray and where they are located, but also the direction the strand is flowing, meaning the trajectory I will follow with my bur stroke, and that's really key because it is what gives the air its movement and also defines its shape. So it is essential to take the time to observe this carefully to be precise and intentional with each stroke you make. When you look at this hair as a whole, it can definitely feel overwhelming and almost discouraging. And it is true. There are lots of curls, a lot of movements, shadows and highlights. But the way we are approaching it, we are not trying to take in everything all at once. By working one strand at a time, it becomes like a puzzle that we build piece by piece. With each strand, each curl and each small area, it becomes its own little exercise. And every time we complete one, we gain more reference points, more precision and more confidence. And I would say it is in exactly this kind of situation that we grow the most because we are tackling a real challenge, and little by little, not rushing but being patient and methodical. You will see that by painting one strand at a time, with care, the entire head of hair starts to feel much less intimidating than it did at the beginning. It becomes a very rich and learning experience and also a really satisfying one because something that once seemed extremely complex actually becomes manageable. And of course, it takes time. You can't rush it. And again, observation is the key, seeing the subtle grace, the different movements, and the structure of each strand so you don't get lost along the way. Personally, what I loved about David's hair is that nothing is perfectly aligned. The strains go in all the directions. The curls cross over one another, the volumes intertwine, and yet it works. There is harmony in the apparent chaos. It is like a kind of organized disorder, if you will. And I think that is a beautiful lesson for us in painting. Things don't have to be perfectly symmetrical or rigid, to be beautiful. On the contrary, it is often in the irregularities in the controlled imperfections that we find movement, naturalness and elegance. So even if your brush strokes wobbles a little, even if the strand you are painting isn't an exact match to the sculpture, it doesn't matter. What counts is the energy you put into it and the overall cohesion of the whole. In fact, just adding a few lighter touches here and there, a few darker accents, that alone is enough to make the air feel real. And in the end, the person looking at your word isn't going to say, Oh, wait a second, that curve doesn't match the exact one on David, or this shadow isn't placed precisely like the original. Not at all. What they will see instead is the consistency, the visual logic of what you have done. Even if each strand isn't perfect, isn't the exact right length or the exact right shade of gray, the fact that you are carefully observed, that you have carefully observed different values, placed them thoughtfully and respected the direction and flow of the air, this is what will make the result feel both realistic and convincing. Now we are reaching the upper part of the air, which is a very light area. And because it is so bright, there will be even fewer details to add, which is great for us. It is a slightly simpler zone compared to the rest. But still, that doesn't mean we shouldn't neglect it. So once again, my approach here is to apply the dominant values in this area first. They add a few slightly darker elements on top to bring out the structure. However, I am going to paint this section overall, a little darker than what we actually see in the reference photo. The reason is simple. In the reference, this part is extremely close to white, but I am not going to recreate the same background as in the photo. I will be using a pure white background. And if I make the air just as light as the background, it won't work. The air will blend into the background and disappear. So I will create something just slightly darker, and that will work perfectly fine because there will still be enough contrast between the lighter zone and the rest of the air. So if you also plan on painting a right background later on, I would recommend doing the same. How otherwise, if you are feeling ambitious and want to recreate the actual background behind the sculpture, well, first of all, congratulations because that's not going to be easy, and it might take quite some time. So well done for the courage. And in that case, I would encourage you to paint this upper air area even lighter than what I am doing here so that it stands out nicely against the darker tones of the background. We are going to finish this section of the air together, and the rest will be painted off camera. As you have seen, the method remains exactly the same. We progress trend by strand, carefully observing the volumes, the values, and the direction of the air. So I really encourage you to continue calmly on your own, keeping in mind everything we have covered so far. Don't let yourself be overwhelmed by how many strands are left to paint. Take it step by step with patients, and you will see bit by bit the air will take shape, and it will be very satisfying in the end. And remember, it's not about speed. What matters is the consistency of your observation, the precision of your brush strokes, and most importantly, the joy of watching each area come to life under your brush. You are absolutely capable of doing this. And I will see you again once it is done, so we can move on to painting the neck. Let's start the painting of the neck. This is an area that can feel a little intimidating for some painters because there are a lot of muscles and sort of forms that need to be created. It is full of darker zones, lighter areas, and mid tongues blending into one another. So it's completely normal to feel a bit uneasy. It is a zone that looks complex at first glance. But we are going to approach it just like we have done with the rest by breaking it down simply and calmly. And as always, I begin by painting the most prominent features, those that seem easiest to place. In this case, near certain falls, we can see and close to the Adam's apple and around the lower part of the neck, there are slightly darker areas. And by placing those first, I can create solid landmarks that will help me position the rest of the grays in this area. And without this initial reference point, it will be more difficult to be accurate with the rest. And now that I have placed the darker elements, it becomes easier to had these mid tones. And once those mid tones are in place, I can work between them with slightly lighter grays, and that makes the whole first step of laying down my base colors much more manageable. So now I can apply these base values throughout the neck area, and once that is done, we'll be able to move on to blending and refining. You will notice that unlike with the hair, I am painting nearly the entire neck in one go. That is because all these forms are directly connected. They form a single and continuous surface, much like we saw earlier with the cheek area. These are all zones of skin that flow into each other, and there's no real separation between them like there was between each curl or of hair. So that's why even though this area might seem a little bit complex with all this volume we need to create, I think it is good to paint it entirely together. Now that I have applied my base color, I can start blending the different areas together. I got my best ally with me, my tissue. And whenever I notice too much paint building up on the brush, I use it because when I apply color to a zone, I often end up with a bit too much paint on the surface. Even when I am being careful, that means when I start blending, the brush tends to accumulate excess paint and I need to remove it regularly. With gestures that might look a bit like scribbling, I work to soften the transitions in these areas, and it is completely fine if some of the darker grays spill a bit onto the lighter ones. That is part of the process. You can't expect to preserve every value exactly as you first placed it. There will always be some darker tones that blend into the light ones and vice versa. What that means is, yes, you will need to rework some areas afterwards, but that's perfectly normal. I like to think of it as a way of moving backward to move forward. It is all part of refining the initial layer. Even if some parts get slightly off, we know we will come back to adjust them. For example, I just noticed that some of my darks were spreading too much in here. So I go back over it with a much lighter color. And I know that this light toon won't stay bright. I will mix it in with the rest and turn into a nice met gray, which is exactly what I wanted. So I had these little touches and it creates a slightly irregular surface, which is perfect for realistic skin texture. And all these areas are starting to connect well with each other. And then we'll come the final step, refining everything by going back in and carefully reworking each done with precision. And that's actually what we are kind of doing right here. And that is more or less what I am doing here, refining the area, observing closely, and adding more thoughtful and well placed elements. Some touches are slightly lighter, other darker. And right now I am using something I have mentioned a few times throughout this course. I go into what I call predator mold. That means I look at my reference photo, then back at my painting, and I compare too closely. And I ask myself, Wait, what is that? Is that little detail I see in the photo already present in my painting? Did I remember to include it or is something missing? And if I notice that something is absent or certain areas needs improvement, I add it immediately, so I don't forget it later. And once I have added one detail, I go hunting for others. Anything else that feels off could be enhanced. For example, on the side of the neck, you can see several small folds, which are indicated by a few dark lines. So I have added them. And in this lighter area here, I notice a few darker spots in the reference. So I add those two. And it is through these little touches one after another, that the whole area begins to improve. Each addition brings me closer to the final result I am aiming for, and slowly but surely the zone becomes what I want it to be. Just a few small elements to add here on the neck, and then we'll be ready to move down to the next area, the upper chest and continue our progression from top to bottom. We will approach it with the same mindset, step by step, observing carefully and making sure that each new zone connects well with the one above. And bit by bit, the entire figure will take shape with coherence and realism. 23. Painting of the pectorals: Let's get started on the chest and pectoral area. And we are not going to reinvent the wheel here. We'll once again begin by marking the darker element since those wheels serve as reference points in this zone as well. It is quite a broad area the pectorals, but I think we can go ahead and paint it all in one go because these forms are closely connected. Technically, the arms and the abdomen are also connected, but we still need to set some limits. And I am afraid that if we try to work on an even larger section all at once, it will become a little bit too complicated and harder to manage. So even just focusing on this chest area is already ambitious enough. It is a substantial and detailed section. And so I start by placing the darker areas that define the forms. The shape of the pectorals is outlined by slightly darker tones, and these shadows are what help create a sense of volume and show that the figure is muscular. So I have also added a few darker touches higher up, which correspond to the visible bone structure in the bust, like the clavicles, which I have lightly marked in on the left. And from here, I just keep progressing. Every time I spot a section that feels clear and easy to place, and especially if it is dark, I add it in. For instance, there is a strong shadow under the pectoral that I have placed. Technically, we are dipping a bit into the upper abdomen here, but I felt like adding that shadow now because it helps us evaluate whether we have built the pectoral volume correctly. It is actually tricky to judge if the chest is well shaped unless we start to build the underlying structure. But already, just placing these dark values helps give us direction. It is like laying the foundations before we refine the rest. Now that I have added those initial dark reference points, I can move on to working across the rest of the area. I started by placing some meat and graze, and now across the rest of the zone, I am going to use slightly lighter grays. For this, I am using a large flat brush, and I am trying to spread the paint out evenly to avoid ending up with areas that are too thick. If the paint is too heavy, blending becomes a little bit more difficult. That said, I will admit I didn't apply my colors perfectly here. In a few spots, I have put down a bit too much paint. It's not a big deal, but it does mean I will need to spend more time on the blending later, since I will have to wipe off some of the excess more frequently. You can probably see that in some area, I overloaded the brush, but, hey, we all make small mistakes. It's nothing serious. So now I am applying the base colors throughout the different parts of the chest, for now it's not particularly complicated. The next step will be to create smooth transitions between these different grays to blend everything nicely and make sure that all the elements connect well with each other. Now I wipe the excess paint of my brush, and with multiple back and forth strokes, I start blending everything together so that all the areas connect nicely. This is quite a large zone. It is broad and relatively uniform without too many abrupt volumes of varied elements, unlike what we had in the neck area, for instance. So for this part, I can use broad strokes with my flat brush, and everything blends quite well. Later on, if I come across more delicate zone like the visible bones in the center of the chest, I would switch to a more careful approach. And if you feel like the flat brush is a bit too imprecise in those tighter areas, Feel free to switch to a smaller brush. This way, your blending will be more controlled and refined. As for the direction of your brush strokes, while blending, it doesn't really matter in this case. Once the blending is done properly, you won't see the direction of the strokes anymore. The goal is to achieve a smooth and even surface on which you will later add your details. So the direction isn't especially important here. What matters more is how comfortable you are while applying your strokes. If it feels easier to move horizontally, then go ahead and do that. But otherwise, there is no particular benefit to going one way or another. Now, if we were painting something like a sky, that would be a different story. In that case, horizontal strokes are generally better because skies often get lighter towards the bottom, and you want that gradient to be smooth across the width. But here for this chest area, you can use whatever movement feels most natural to you. As expected, some of the dark areas I had placed earlier don't stand out as much now, but that's perfectly fine. Like we said, that is part of the process. The important thing is that I still know where these zones are. They remain somewhat defined, even if they have been softened. And now we move on to the second stage, refining these areas with greater precision. We have got a solid base to work on, and we can now apply the proper values to each part, working them more deliberately. So starting with this first spectral, the one on the left, I go back in and rework the darker elements on the lower section. These shadows are essential for shaping the muscle and giving it volume. If we don't work them enough, we risk ending up with a flat looking sculpture that lacks muscular definition in that zone. And at the same time, it is all about balance. If we push the shadows too far, if we make them too wide or too dark, we will give David pectorals that look exaggerated, almost like a body builders, and that is not the gold. It has a well defined athletic build, but it remains natural and elegant. So I had small and muted gray touches here and there to suggest the muscle, and also across the pectoral surface, you will see that it's not a uniform tone. We are not applying a single flat gray. There are several subtle variations, some slightly lighter or darker than others, and that is exactly what I am adding now. Small touches here and there. I lay them down gently, and then with irregular brush strokes, I blend them into the surrounding area. This creates a skin texture that feels subtly uneven, and that irregularity brings realism. It gives the impression of life and depth without overworking the zone. Here I am also working a bit on those lines that extend from the neck to the shoulder area. They are quite subtle and only barely visible, but the sculptor carve them in to create the impression of muscles that are tense in the neck and continue into the shoulder zone. So I marked them with some slightly darker strokes, and between those darker touches, I applied some lighter ones to help them stand out more clearly. I am also working the area just above the collar bone a little. You can see that there is a small shadow zone that helps define it more clearly. So I am adding that in. Between these two elements, there should be slightly lighter area that needs to be made to stand out. When working on the body, you really have to pay attention to all these small shadow zones, those subtle value differences, things you might not usually notice, but are essential to create realism in a painting like this. I am also reworking the bones that are visible on the central part. That's the same idea here. You have to suggest them without making them too pronounced. So I am adding small touches here and there, and overall, the area is starting to take shape. And now we continue this work on the right pectorals as well. And then I will need to focus on this area beneath the end on the right side because there is a whole shadow that shifts the value. That will need to be worked too. And little by little, the piece comes to life, and it's through these irregular touches that we start to build the skin texture. I am adding a few gentle shadow waves on the right side, nothing too complex. And then a few gentle touches, I mean, here and there, nothing too complex. And then we'll move on to working on the nipples. What you will notice is that there are some very light areas and others that are quite dark. And it is this contrast that will allow us to create volume in this area. So what I am starting with here is outlining the shape a bit, and you can see that there is a dark line along the top and on the right side. Why it is much less visible on the lower part. I mean, it's not the same value on the lower part. And that's the kind of detail you need to pay close attention to, because if you make the outline equally dark all the way around, it won't look very natural or realistic. This area isn't necessarily very complicated to paint, but you do need precision to give each part the right amount of space, not too large, not too small. And then you really have to pay attention to the small changes in value because those are what create the illusion of volume. So both for the left and the right nipple, it's not the most difficult part, but it does require accuracy and attention to subtle variations in tones. For instance, just below the nipple, you will notice a slightly lighter zone, which is important because it had a bit of depth and helps the form stand out. And as I worked on the outline, you probably saw, like I mentioned earlier, it's not the same value all around. The upper part is lighter, while the lower part has a slightly darker edge. There are also areas where the line fades more, so it is important to keep that in mind as well. And you can see that for all the work in this area, I am using a particularly fine brush to make sure I stay precise enough. So here we have this dark area, but there is also that line along the lower parts that is even darker and it will help too, I will help us create a real sense of volume in that area. You and to really make the whole thing stand out, I can add this small highlight, this very bright element that will create a strong contrast with the other colors in this area. So I am adding it to keep that part nice and bright and make it pop. I apply it with the tip of my brush so that it barely blends with the color underneath. For the second one, the approach will be pretty much the same. The only difference is that some areas are a bit darker, since this one is more in shadow due to the end and the object David is holding. So there are a few slight differences in value, but overall, it's not particularly difficult either. So take your time to do it properly because it is an element that really stands out on the chest area. So if it's done poorly, it will be quite noticeable. And So I am adding these final few details around the nipple, and then we'll move on to the area below the abdominal section because at this point, I would say the work here is looking quite good. We have a skin texture that that feels fairly realistic. And you can see that it is through all these brush strokes in multiple direction, strokes that, in the end don't look like anything specific that we are able to clearly suggest the presence of skin on the torso. 24. Painting of the abs: Now let's move on to the abdominal area. This one is particularly interesting because there is a lot of volume to bring out. There are many sort of forms created not only by the abdominal muscles, but especially by the rib cage. You can clearly see the ribs sticking out along the side, and we need to capture that volume in the painting. And as always, it is the work on the different shades of gray, these different values that will allow us to create depth and relief in this area. So we are going to focus on this point right now. The first step, as always, is the careful application of all colors. I am closely observing the area, analysing the different shades of gray I can see, and I decide to start with these slightly darker ones. Those that will help define the volume. And as usual, I like to begin with the darker areas because they really serve as visual anchors to position everything else. They stand out well, so applying them first helps me get my bearings in the area and ensures that each volume is placed correctly. And as you can see, I am using this flat brush here, a fairly wide one because the area is quite large. And these darker elements that I am placing why they do need to be positioned correctly don't require milli metal level precision. Just getting them in roughly the right place in roughly the right place with the flat brush is enough to achieve a realistic result. What I mean is even if a rib isn't placed with perfect accuracy, it won't ruin the realism, unlike when working on an eye, for example, and that's one of the advantages of painting the human body. While accuracy is important, it is a bit more forgiving than painting a face or an animal's portrait. With the human body, with the human body, you still need to be somewhat precise, of course, but you don't need extreme precision to make the result look convincing and realistic. You may have noticed that I went over the left and right areas again with a much darker gray because I felt that the initial gray, those spots weren't standing out enough. Now, I would say it looks a bit better, and now that it is done, I can move on to working between those darker areas with something much lighter. For now, as I apply the color, I am trying to be fairly precise and avoid overlapping too much into other areas. Of course, everything will be blended later on, but I prefer to take things one step at a time. Right now we are focusing on color application, so I am not aiming to blend just yet. I would rather dedicate myself to that phase a bit later. When it is time to blend, I will use a slightly finer brush, which will allow for more precision as I merge the different tones together. And for this blending, a certain level is important because we are dealing with many areas that differ quite a bit from one another. So I think it is essential to ensure that each section keeps it place when we start softening the transitions. When working on the body, the blending stage is truly essential because all the areas are interconnected. The pectorals connect with the abdominal area, the ribs connects with the central part of the belly and so on. So all these transitions need to be nearly invisible. You have to work them in with small and careful strokes to make sure that each element flows naturally into the next, almost as if the transitions weren't there at all. And as you may have seen, I added some more color on the side, because the shift from the dark area on the left on the left to the central dark zone was too abrupt, which made blending a bit tricky. So I went back in making sure to stretch the color more gradually than I had in some spot. And I also noticed that in few areas, the paint was applied too thickly. I mean, in this central abdominal area, um, I didn't stretch the paint enough, but that is not a problem. I just wipe off the excess paint on the tissue, and then with back and forth strokes, I make the colors merge together. And when I get to spots where the value changes are pronounced and I don't necessarily need to add intermediate tones, I gently dab the surface, supplying small brush taps here and there. That is usually enough to create a smooth and natural looking transition between the forms. And in the end, this blending step is really important because unlike when working on animal fur, where the details continues after the blend, when you had all these elements to suggest the hair, on the skin surface, the blending is almost the final step. Sure, we'll add a few small touches to refine the texture, but there won't be much else to have. That's why blending is so crucial. These transition between each section matter, and you really have to take your time and do them well. It is true that this stage can feel long and a bit tedious. You spend your time going back and forth with the brush, adding small brush strokes here and there to make sure that you have a good blending. So, yes, it can be discouraging sometimes. I know you might feel tempted to skip over it quickly to move on to something more enjoyable. But I really think it is worth pushing through, even if you're tired of it, because taking just those few extra minutes can make all the difference. Very often, it is exactly those extra minutes that elevate your result from average, almost not good transitions between elements to transitions that feel completely natural and seamless. And it is far better to invest a bit more time now and get a solid result than regret it our days afterwards thinking, I should have spent just a little more time on that part. So, yes, that was a bit that was my little philosophical moment, but I really do think it is essential to take your time if you want to achieve something truly satisfying and truly good with your blending. So at this point, I would say it's looking pretty good. We have managed to create a solid base for the abdominal area with transitions that are fairly clean. We can start to recognize the form, but it is not perfect yet, and we are not at the final result for this section. So now with this medium sized brush, I'm going to refine things a bit. Earlier, when we were using the flat brush, we were working on broad strokes, not very precise at all, but now the goal is to be a bit more accurate. So with this brush, I'm going to identify smaller areas, some slightly lighter, some slightly darker, and apply those tones where needed. And as I apply them, you will notice that I am already blending them into the layers beneath. This way, I won't need to dedicate a separate session to blending afterwards, because with so many small colour variations here and there, there is a good chance I would forget to soften a few of them later on. More importantly, since I am using so many subtle shades, I find it is better to blend them right away while the color is still fresh on the brush. If I waited and tried to blend them together afterwards, I would risk light areas turning a bit darker and darker areas becoming too light, something I definitely want to avoid. What I want now is a final result that really stands out in the zone. So I am tapping gently, adding small touches here and there, and this is how the area will really take shape, allowing us to bring out the relief around these ribs. Overall, what isn't standing out enough are mainly the slightly darker areas. That is partly because I may not have made them dark enough to begin with, but more importantly, once you start blending all these colors, it is inevitable that it will appear much lighter. So I always know I will need to go back over them afterward. And as I refine these areas right now with this brush, I am also intentionally applying a tone that is a little darker than what I ultimately want. Because I know that I'm going to blend these different grays again. And when I do, they will likely lighten a bit more. So by starting with something just touch darker, I know that once I soften it, it will shift to the right value of gray. I am aiming in I am aiming for in these areas. What is really important in this rib area, of course, is the darker elements I have just added, but also the small lighter touches you can find above or below. Sometimes they are quite subtle, but they play a crucial role because it is these lighter highlights that create the illusion of volume and make the ribs appear truly three dimensional. So I don't hesitate to apply plenty of those light tones, and of course, I make sure they blend well with the surrounding colors to ensure a smooth and consistent result. Looking at my work now with the abdominal area clearly defined through the painting, I'd realized that the left pectoral doesn't stand out enough. The dark shadow that should be there looks too light. I am noticing this, especially thanks to the dark area on the far left, which is quite deep and serves as a reference point, allowing me to directly compare the gray value of the sectoral. And now that I have all these surrounding elements in place, I can see that the pectoral needs to be a bit darker. So I am enhancing it. This is why every time I move onto a new area, even if the previous one seem finished, I always keep an eye on it because the way we perceive an area on its own isn't necessarily the same once everything is in place around it. Sometimes it calls for a few adjustments, just like in this case. The area is now complete. We have managed to build up some volume, and it will look even better once section the lower belly section is painted. So what I am doing now is studying my reference photo and comparing it with the elements I have placed. I am asking myself whether certain details should be added, whether this or that part is dark enough. And as soon as I spot something that feels off or could be improved, I make corrections and refine the work. But overall, for this area, it looks like we are in a good place. And so here is a quick overview of the work at this halfway point. It's really starting to take shape, and we just need to keep going in the same direction. 25. Painting of the right arm: Now, let's move on to painting the arm on the right. We could have continued with the lower belly that would have made perfect sense and been totally logical. But I figured this was a good time to tackle the arm instead so we can complete the entire upper section of the body. That's what I had in mind. And so here we go. Let's paint this area now. Now, be careful not to fall into the trap of thinking, Well, it's the elbow, so it probably shouldn't be too dark. It should be painted lightly just like the rest of the body. No, no, no. In reality, the shadow on the elbow is very pronounced. There is a strong contrast here, deep shadow across most of the elbow area that stands out significantly against the lighter tones of the m. This is why it is so important to paint what you see, not what you think something should look like. Otherwise, the results won't feel believable or coherent. It might seem odd to paint such a large part of the arm in such a dark tone, but that is exactly what the reference shows. So start by applying this dark tone along the side. There is a very distant contrast here with with a sharp shift from dark to light. That sudden transition is something I am reproducing, as well. And just like in the reference, there is a small lighter element within the elbow area that is also important. It plays a key role in giving that part of the arm a sense of volume and depth. So this is what I will be adding just right now this light touch in here that is very important as well. Now that I have applied all my base stones in this area, I can go ahead and do a fairly quick blend. Since it's not too complicated here, most of the shadow area uses very similar values throughout. With that done, I'm going to start refining the arm in more detail. As painters, we have to learn to see beyond what we think we see. This part of the arm, while mostly in shadow doesn't have a uniform darkness. If you look closely, there are small highlights, slightly lighter touches scattered throughout the shaded area. And those are what I am adding now. I am applying lighter strokes that may seem brighter than what we may see in the reference, but I know that once I blend them with the surrounding dark grays, they will naturally tone down. And that is exactly what is happening with the first one I have softened. These ones I'm emerging into the underlying gray and become slightly darker as a result. So I keep adding these small touches, tapping lightly with the brush to create an irregular texture. In some places, I have applied a bit too much paint, so I will need to wipe this off. But overall, the shape of the arm is really starting to emerge nicely this way. What I can do now is carefully refine the blend between the dark and light areas. Even though the transition from the shadow to the highlight is quite abrupt and sudden, those areas are still connected. So a bit of blending is needed. That's what I did gently along the upper part of the elbow, and I am doing the same along the lower part. And what I will do next is picking up some black to make a slightly darker gray because what you can observe along the dividing line, this entire strip is a slightly deeper shadow that runs through it. So I am going back in to darken certain areas even more. These subtle additions will help emphasize the form and bring out more volume in the elbow area. Now, it may look a little too dark, but once I blend those strokes with the underlying tones, the intensity will ease off and become more balanced. Of course, I don't want any arch and obvious lines. I want them to melt into the resting of the surface so that everything remains well connected and forms a skin texture that feels organic and slightly irregular. This arm is coming together nicely, and it's not necessarily the area that requires the most time or attention. The arm plays a supporting role. It contributes to the overall harmony of the piece. But when someone looks at the artwork, their gaze likely won't linger on the arm. It's not the focal point, so there is no need to spend countless hours on it. So I will just add a few more subtle touches here and there to enhance the area, and then we'll move on to the end. Now, ends can be a bit intimidating at first, but you will see that we can achieve something quite satisfying and realistic without it being overly difficult. What we can clearly observe in this area is a strong distinction between the shadow and light areas. On the left side, we have a fairly dark zone really in shadow. While the right side is much brighter and more illuminated. And this will be reflected by much lighter grays, which I will start marking in a few seconds. As always, this first step is to block in these main areas. Starting with the most obvious parts helps establish the structure before diving into the more complex details that will bring realism to the piers. Here, you can see that I am using a flat brush that is a bit large, so I am not aiming for extreme precision just yet, but it is enough to give me a solid foundation, a coherent result that will serve as the base for refining the articulation of the fingers and shaping the volume. This groundwork is essential for achieving a realistic rendering of the end later. So I am applying all my base colors in the area now, and then I will move on to blending the different parts together. I will do the blending of camera since it's not the most challenging aspect of this hand, and we have already gone through this process several times, so it shouldn't be a problem for you. We'll pick back up once that is done, so we can focus on refining the and in detail. Now we can start refining the end in a bit more detail. And often the question arise. Where do you begin? How do you create volume in the end? My answer is the same. Start with the most obvious elements. In this case, we can clearly see a joint in one of the fingers that's really well defined and stands out. So this is where I begin. What I want is for the edges of these darker areas, I have added to blend smoothly with the surrounding tones. I don't want a harsh, sharp line. I am applying small strokes and making sure I melt into the rest of the on the lower part of the joint, I felt it was a little too dark. And what we observe is that the top part of the joint is quite dark and it gradually gets lighter as we move downwards. What really helps create this articulation and gives a three dimensional appearance is the lighter band that runs through the middle. This light strip is flanked by slightly darker area. Left that we have on the left, we have the shadow we just painted earlier, and on the right, there is another area that appears just a bit darker. And it is really this combination of darker and lighter elements working together that gives volume to the end and makes the structure feel realistic. As I mentioned earlier, there is that slightly darker element on the other side as well, which helps reinforce and complete the sense of volume. You can see now that we have managed to define one joint clearly. The volume in that part of the end is really taking shape. This new dark stroke I am adding also helps start building the next finger joint. Since I have already begun working in that area, I can continue by adding another dark touch there to define that second articulation. Just like before, it is that central and slightly lighter strip, surrounded by darker areas that give the structure its three dimensional look. Even though the second joint is a bit more subtle and sits closer to and seems a little bit more in the light, the same principle applies, and overall, the end is gradually taking form. It's only been a few minutes since we started, but by beginning with a clear and obvious detail, we were able to naturally move on to the adjacent area. And now the end is starting to look like a hand. And I think I can continue refining this next phalange, this next joint by adding some more small dark accents like before. And now it's resembling a real hand. So we are on the right way, and we must continue like this. Level of the finger as well, there is a fairly strong shadow. It is important to add this shadow because it is what will give the finger its volume and make it look a bit cylindrical. So I apply it with my brush. I apply this base color, and of course, I make sure it blends well with the rest and also that the gray value isn't exactly the same everywhere. You can see that on this finger, some areas are darker than others, and this variation in value is important because just because there is a shadow on the finger doesn't mean it will look the same all over. In this case, we have different values that help the finger look truly three dimensional. Then I also notice that on the entire lower part of the end, on the left side, there are shadow areas that need to be a bit darker than they are now. So I start by applying a fairly dark gray there, and once it is blended with the rest of the colors, it will become slightly lighter and reach the right value. To And for this hand, well, it is mostly done now. All that is left to add is a few small touches here and there, because as we have seen on other parts of the body, the skin isn't perfectly smooth. It is a bit textured. So I am adding small touches in certain areas, slightly darker ones. There are also some spots where I feel I can better define the shading and therefore enhance the free dimensionality. So at this point, I have built a solid base with this end, and now I am just refining the result, adding little details that will noticeably improve the overall look of the end. And when I had these little texture touches on the end, don't overthink it. There's no need to be too precise. And as soon as I spot a slightly lighter area, I just go ahead and add them trying to keep them fairly irregular. You don't need extreme precision to get a good result and a convincing texture in this area of the hand. Now that the end is finished, it is time to start working on the object held by David. And what I begin with is marking the shadow, which is quite strong in that area because it is an obvious element. And I also figure it will help me check whether the gray values I apply to the end are accurate, since I will be able to compare them with this much darker part. What we also notice with this darker area is that it doesn't have the same value throughout. There are some slightly lighter touches within that zone, so I made sure to include them as well. So I thought it would be a good idea to start by adding all the darker values that appear near the end. These are clearly identifiable areas, and it is a good way to begin this part of the work. So I can now start marking the different gray areas we are going to have on this object. What is also important is to make sure to leave a slightly lighter strip on the left side. This will really help bring out the three dimensional aspect of the object. So I would have had these carefully considered elements here. And, of course, I make sure everything blends well with the rest of the object and that all the greytons connect nicely with each other. However, this object doesn't really connect with the end. You can clearly see a separation between the two elements, so I didn't try to blend the object into the end. Another important point for making the object look three dimensional and realistic is the cast shadow, the shadow it cast on the body. A key detail, you can see that the shadow is very dark right near the object and then gradually becomes lighter as it stretches across the body. That is something we need to capture as well to create a realistic looking shadow. And as I mentioned earlier, there is that slightly lighter strip that is important. So I go back over it with a much lighter tone to really make it stand out. Then we can move on to working on the upper part. And this is another area where we need to create a bit of depth. So it is important to carefully observe the different gray values at play. The lighter elements combined with slightly darker ones in order to build the necessary volume in that area. And as you can see, these part of the work really requires precision. So I apply everything using this fairly fine brush. And to really make everything stand out, I now apply some pure white just below that dark element. This highlight really helps finalize the volume. So this is where we are after nearly 2 hours of work. We are about halfway through the tutorial and here's the progress so far, it's starting to take shape. So we'll keep going and now move on onto the other parts of the body. 26. Painting of the left arm: Let's now move on to working on the second arm. And this is going to be interesting because this arm is fully extended, so we'll really be able to work on it in its entirety. We will also work on the shoulder, which is quite muscular and creates volume. And the arm itself is well defined. So there will be some nice volume to develop there, too. The end is also seen from a slightly different angle, which gives us the opportunity to approach it differently as well. And what I really like is that the sculptor worked on this piece with such incredible precision that we can even see some subtle veins. So that's going to be interesting to explore too, how to suggest that slight relief in an area that is relatively thin. It is quite promising and there's a lot to work on in just one arm. So that's exactly what we'll do now. To begin, since we are dealing with a large area on this arm, I start by placing a few reference points using the darker tones in specific spots. You can see darker areas around the shoulder along the biceps and inside the elbow crease. These darker elements help us build the volume. Once they are in place, I can go in with a lighter gray in between them, and then we blend everything together to create a smooth surface. That will give us a good base to refine and add more precise details later on. So here we go, starting with this color application. And as you can see, I am using a fairly white flat brush because the area itself is large, and for this base layer, I don't need extreme precision. Even though there are many things to work on, I think it is still less complex than the abdominal area where we had to create a lot of tiny volumes. That's why using a brush this size works perfectly well here. Now that my areas are well applied, I can go ahead and blend these sections together. After that, we'll come back and refine certain areas with a bit more precision, just like we did earlier. And what you are doing right now with this arm is more than just an exercise. You are learning how to observe, how to understand shapes, volumes, light, and how to turn all of that into something alive. This arm you are painting isn't just an arm. It is a technical challenge, a lesson in patience, a training for both your eye and your hand. And above all, it is the proof that you are making progress. Some areas might feel difficult to interpret. You might wonder if you have chosen the right gray value or if your transition is smooth enough, but never forget. It is by painting that that we get better. Every small mistake, every hesitation, every adjustment, it all helps you move forward. You are training your eyes to see subtleties others might not even notice. Are doing something that few people take the time to do. Observe, reflect, and translate with your hand what you perceive with your eye. It doesn't need to be perfect. That's not what matters. What matters is your persistence, your ability to keep going to refine, to stay focused. And that's what will make you a better artist over time. Every area you complete is a victory. So let's keep going. Take a deep breath, observe carefully and apply your paint calmly, because right now you are building something beautiful. This arm is just one piece of the puzzle. And in the end, you will be able to look at the whole thing and say, I did it. I made it. I painted this incredible David, this masterpiece of sculpture. And that feeling, it is truly irreplaceable. Now that all these broad areas are well softened and smoothly blended together, I can start refining my shading a bit, especially along the side of the arm in the bicep area. You can see that there are some slightly darker grays here. And just like with the rest of the body, I want to create a texture that feels irregular with small touches placed here and there, blending with the lighter areas and helping the viewer sense that we are dealing with skin texture. So I am reworking all of this using a finer brush, which gives me more precision for the shading. In the inner part of the arm, where it meets the pectoral area, the shadow is even deeper, so I'm reinforcing that with a darker tone using my brush. What also helps here is that the paint nearby is still wet, still fresh. So I can really make sure these areas connect well with one another, blending the transition between the arm and the chest. Of course, if your painting has dried, it's not a problem. You can simply reapply a bit of color to the pectoral zone and blend it with one you are applying now. And it's even easier here because we are working in black and white. So it is simple to find the right shade again. And now I can continue and I feel that I have added the necessary shading to the bicep. And I move onto the shoulder area, the deltoid, and you can see that the muscle is clearly defined, and there is a darker area to place here. As we move over to the right, the shadow gradually lightens. So it is important to make those value adjustments. In the upper part of the shoulder, you can also spot a more pronounced shadow. So it is also important to add that in as well to once again suggest the form of the muscle in this area. And that's it for the shoulder area. Now we are going to work a bit on the lower part of the arm. Once again, I am working on the texture with small touches placed here and there, slightly lighter touches that will blend with the darker ones. And the combination of all these elements will give us a fairly realistic arm. You can also see that on the left side, there is a small shadow, and this one will help define the tricep, but I forgot to show it on the video, but don't forget to add it as well in the end. And, um and that's what. And then, well, the artwork, this part of the arm is really starting to take shape. It becomes realistic and full of volume. And I think that's what's great to achieve a result that feels realistic, you don't necessarily need to spend hours on each area. Just a few extra minutes on focused work, adding texture, refining details, and suddenly your piece reaches a whole new level. Sure, it might feel like you're spending a bit too long on 11 sometimes, but in the end, it's all relative. These few extra minutes really do make a difference. And now we have an arm that looks lifelike and solid. And in my opinion, those minutes are absolutely worth it to make the difference with the realism of our artwork. Now, let's move on to the painting of the full harm. And for this area, I sped up the beginning of the video a little since the application of the color in this area is generally the same as what we have done many times before. And this zone is relatively simple. There's a large section on the right hand side that is quite light, while the left hand side is a bit darker, especially along the edge. So make sure to apply these colors carefully. Even though the video is sped up, take your time, decison to raise, feel free to post the video whenever you need to. And next, we'll look at how to work on the subtle details of the arm like the veins, which will really help the result look convincing. Also on the upper part of the forearm, make sure you blend naturally with the bicep area just above it. You may have noticed I have added a few brush strokes to help those parts merge smoothly together. Now, let's see how to create volume around this vein. It is a bit like what we did when working on the fingers and joint. Remember that to create volume, we noticed that there was often a lighter area between two slightly darker ones, and that is exactly the case here. I started by working on the darker element on the right, and you can see that it blends fairly naturally with the lighter areas. Then a little higher up, there is another slightly darker band, which also have also worked on. Between those two darker areas, we have a lighter section and I am making sure that this lighter section blends nicely with the dark ones. I don't want those darker elements to form a straight line. I want everything to transition smoothly. That's what I have focused on here, and now we'll continue progressing through the arm, especially in the lower area of the forehm which is a bit darker. So we worked my grays there as well, making sure that everything blends in harmoniously with the rest of the section. In the forearm area near the end, right here, there is also a vein that is quite interesting to work on. It is a bit darker and stands out even more. So I mark it with this slightly dark gray. You can see that as it moves downward and away from the slightly rounded shape, it becomes a bit lighter. And to really make it stand out and create volume, I go over the area with a much lighter tone which helps me build a sense of depth. And right next to it, I had a small dark touch. And just like that, in a few seconds, I have managed to create a volume and suggest that the vein is visible, and then I can extend it slightly toward the end just like this. Now let's move on to painting the end, a zone I really enjoy because it is a bit technical and you can see a strong contrast in lighting. This area on the right is very bright. While on the left, we have much darker grays with lots of small veins and subtle recesses to work on. It is a great area for improving your skills and learning how to handle slightly more complex forms. As always, we start by applying the base colors to the different zones. I began with a lighter tone on the right, and then the middle area is more of a transition zone where it gradually becomes a bit darker but not too much. So I thought it was a great idea to start with this mid gray as it creates a smooth transition toward the darker parts on the left side. Here I am using a fairly thick brush, a flat brush, which lets me spread the paint nicely. Since it is a relatively large area, this flat brush gives me both precision and speed in applying the color. And on the left side, where it is clearly much darker, I switch to a slightly would switch to a slightly darker gray. And I still try to be as precise as possible with my color application, with my color placement because the more accurate I am from the beginning, the easier it will be later on to define the shapes of the end and suggest the various forms and give it a realistic appearance. I sped up the video a little for the end of the color application, since we are basically repeating the same process, nothing too complicated. Now, let's start getting into more detail and work on these areas with greater precision. As you can see, I am now using a much finer brush to apply the colors like this. I begin by identifying the main darker areas, and we can notice that the central part of the end has some fairly dark zones. These will help us create depth and the illusion of recesses. Even though this isn't the final version of the area just yet, I try to be as precise as possible, keeping in mind that the goal is to get as close as I can to the finished result from the start. So here, you can see I began by marking out the darker elements, and then I try to make sure the edges of these dark areas blend smoothly into the rest so that we get a realistic result. And using small strokes, I make sure that everything transitions nicely. Later, we will come back and refine this fervor with additional small touches that will help enhance the volume and realism in this part of the painting. When you are faced with painting a hand that has a lot of detail, a lot of crises, and many small elements, like in this case, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and not know where to start. It can really frost on people off making them think, how am I going to paint this? There is so much going on. I have no idea where to begin. And that is when I use a piece of advice I was given as a kid. Back when I had to clean my room, and it was a complete mess. I was always told one thing at a time, and you will see it will start to make sense. And sure enough, just like cleaning your room, you tidy up one thing, then another, and another. And eventually, the whole room looks clean and organized. And it is the same here with the end and all the complex little parts. I start by marking one element at a time, something that stands out clearly and is easy to identify. For example, in the upper area near where the end meets the wrist, I notice this slightly dark gray section. It stands out. It is easy to spot, so I go ahead and mark it. And that already gives me a bit more clarity in the area. It is one more piece in place. And then I look for the next one, another element that seems obvious to me that I can define, even if it's not the most complicated part, but at least it helps bring the end to life. Here on the index finger, I notice a few slightly darker parts that need to stand out more, so I add them in. And step by step, the end starts to make more sense. Things feel more structured and I get closer to the final result. And by working like this, one element at a time, I really feel like I am making progress and all the little pieces start to become clearer. I notice that there are some other fairly dark areas that seem quite obvious in this section, so I go ahead and mark them as well. Of course, I will make sure everything blends smoothly with the rest and I will work on that afterward. And step by step, we are making progress and this hand is starting to take shape. On the left side of the end, you can see that there are some dark elements. This is the shadow area. But within this dark shadow on the left, you can also notice some slightly lighter touches. These will need to be added too to create a realistic skin texture. You can see that I had already placed a few small strokes in this area, but it is important to remember to add more where needed to really bring that texture to life. And as you can see, I make sure that these darker elements blending smoothly with the rest. I want the transitions to be almost invisible. In this darker area, you will also notice a few slightly lighter touches. They are important. It is essential to have them to ensure the sense of three dimensionality is well established. So here I am reworking the blending on both sides because I don't want any lines to be too sharp or too harsh. I really want all the elements to merge naturally into one another, just like we see in our reference. To around the finger area, I am reinforcing the shading by adding some slightly darker touches because it's really these small details that help give the finger volume and a more three dimensional appearance. At this point, the hand has really taken shape. Next, we'll move on to refining everything in more detail, so I will zoom in further on the end. Right now, we have a general view of the whole forearm and hand area, and we are going to work on it with more precision and attention to detail to make sure that the darker elements and all these elements blend well together and that we can create a really skin texture. In here, you can see on this finger, I also use a slightly intermediate tone, which I reapplied over the surface. It helps create a nice blending effect, but unfortunately, it also made some of the lighter areas less visible. So now I am going back in with a few lighter touches like this to make sure that everything stands out properly again. I have added a few more light touches above the dark areas we created because it is these lighter strokes that will help create the rise defect of the veins, just like we did with the other visible veins on the forearm, for example. These light touches really help give volume and depth. As for the placement of the two small veins you can see here, they are roughly aligned with the point where two fingers separate. So I'm positioning them approximately around there. But again, don't overthink the exact placement of these veins. We aim to place them well, of course, but if they are a bit too far left or right, if they off by a few millimeters, it's not the end of the world. It won't stop your result from looking realistic. What truly matters is the play of values we have created. That's what brings the rise effect of the veins to life. Now I will move on to the final details of the piece. Among these, you will notice the small falls around the thumb. They are quite pronounced. So I am defining them now with my fine brush. And I don't even need extreme precision here as well, because we are not dealing with ultra fine detail like individual hairs. So with this relatively fine brush, I can place those little marks, those tiny details, and I will do the same thing next while working on the fingernail. So you may a notice the accident with my brush falling onto the painting. It happens. I was lucky, nothing was damaged, but if something had been affected, well, that's part of the job. It would have just been calmly reworking a few smaller areas in here. I am also going to refine the side of the foam, which is really dark and completely in shadow. I am using a gray that is very close to black. It is quite intense. Of course, I make sure it blends well with the surrounding areas. This already helps make the end look even better, but what will really enhance the three dimensional effect is when we start working on the pi and that deep shadow area, which will help create the impression that the end is slightly lifted off the leg. Just above the nail area, you can see that there is a slightly darker shape, which I added to create a sub change in height between the skin and the nail. And then we can paint the nail itself. Even though it is a tiny area, there are still some noticeable value changes with slightly lighter grays that are important to add in order to make the nail look realistic. And overall, the work on the end is nearly complete. I will finish up the details on the nail, and then I will also add a few more touches in the darker area. As we said earlier, it needs to look a bit more refined. You can already see some small and slightly lighter touches. So for these light touches, I decided to add strokes that are quite a bit lighter, but by blending them into the darker base color underneath, they will naturally become a little darker and integrate nicely. And this will conclude this work on the arm and on the end, and then we'll move on to the rest of the body. 27. Painting of the belly: We have now reached the lower abdomen area. So first of all, congratulations on making it this far into the tutorial. It's already been a solid 2 hours since we started, and we have worked through some of the most complex parts of the body, like the head, which wasn't easy, as well as the end, the torso, and the upper body in general. All of these sections were definitely not the simplest. There are actually, in my opinion, the most challenging areas of the body. So now we are moving on to parts that I find a little easier, but that doesn't mean we can't let our guard down. It is important to keep the same level of focus to make sure the lower part of the body is just as well painted as the upper part. So we continue with the same care and attention. At this stage, I am applying color, and the goal is to make sure the lower abdomen connects smoothly with the upper area. You may notice that my paint is still fresh because I painted this piece almost in a single session, especially with gratons which contains a lot of white, the drying time can be several days. So that's why my paint is still workable. But if your paint has already dried and is no longer fresh, you can reapply some of the same colors over the areas you have already painted, recreating the gratons. This way, you will be able to blend all over abdomen into the upper section and create a smooth transition between the two. And if the paint has dried and you are applying a new layer on top, don't forget the fat over lean rule. Make sure that the new paint has a little more oil in it. That is an important point to keep in mind, in my opinion. So the first thing I do is apply my colors. You will notice I am working with a fairly white flat brush, which allows me to cover large areas for this part of the actual tutorial. I apply the color trying to be fairly precise with the different shades of gray that appear in the lower abdomen area. After that, we'll do the blending before moving on to work on the texture in more detail. There's nothing particularly complex in this section of the painting. The main thing is to make sure the hips are well defined, especially where the bones create a natural separation with the legs. So we'll mark that clearly using darker tones. But overall, this is the kind of zone where you can really work calmly and enjoy the painting process even more reminding yourself that the piece is evolving, becoming more realistic and that you are getting closer to the final result. It is an area you can paint without stressing over which parts are tricky or where you need to be particularly cautious. So this is like a cruise ship sailing smoothly. You just follow through with steady brush strokes, make sure your colors are well applied, add a bit of texture, and that's it. This section comes together nicely, and then you will be ready to move on to the next one. And I think I find this kind of area to paint very enjoyable. Of course, I really like when there is a bit of challenge, when there are some elements that are a bit tricky and require some technique. But it's also very cool to paint when do something that is quite easy like this. I really like to have these different kind of things during my painting sessions. Now that my areas are well blended and smoothly merged together, I can start working more precisely and correcting anything that seems off. For example, I noticed that the entire lower section isn't dark enough, so I am going to rework that by adding in some of those slightly darker tones again. I will then make sure that everything blends nicely together afterward. In this lower abdominal area around the pubic hair region, you can see that the shape is somewhat particular. So I have tried to follow that contour carefully so that later when I start painting that area in more detail, it will be easier to build up volume, especially by respecting the same light and shadow patterns that are present. And when I paint it around it, I try to stay fairly precise, but even if it's not perfect, it is still totally possible to achieve a realistic result when painting the air in this area later on. I am now clearly redefining the upper part of this area. You can see that there are some slightly darker elements which serve two purposes. First, they help connect this section with the upper part of the body, and second, they help distinguish it from the sides, showing that this is truly the central area of the abdomen. It will almost call it the soft area, though, in this case, our model as a well scelted body. It is this area where there is a bit more thickness in the belly. And to create this sense of depth and emphasize the difference between the center and the sides, I am adding these slightly darker tones. But even on the side, you can still see a few darker touches, just more subtle compared to what we see in the central part. Now, I am going to continue doing the same thing on the left side. Here, too, I want to make sure it connects properly with the darker area above. You can see that in the upper section, the dark element is defined by a sharp and straight line, and that is exactly what I don't want. I want it to blend even slightly with the area below, so I make sure that the elements flow smoothly into one another. If your paint has already dried, like I mentioned earlier, don't hesitate to apply a bit of fresh paint over it to achieve the blending we are aiming for. We are also building skin texture here, making this area more realistic with these irregular little touches, as you can see. As for the hips, there is a slightly darker zone, but you will notice that as the shadow moves a bit more to the left, it becomes slightly lighter and blends more naturally with the surrounding rays. So it is important to keep that in mind too, and I make sure that as you move toward the left, the tones become a little lighter as well. So now this area is almost finished, and I'm going to add the navel. What we notice about it is that the lower part is darker, while the upper part is slightly lighter with a line that softens more as it moves to the left, becoming just a bit lighter again. So I am going to add that in. But what will really make the navel stand out and give the impression of depth are the small dark elements we will place above it slightly to the side as well and underneath. These slightly darker strokes create that illusion of depth, making the navel appear more recessed. They are only a bit darker, but the value difference is still noticeable, and this is what gives the navel its form. And overall, this section is now done. I'm adding the final touches, and then we'll be able to move on to the area of David's genitals. 28. Painting of the genitals: I am going to start with the airy area and identify the gray tones. I begin by adding in the very dark elements and then all around them, you can see it become lighter. That's why I am now starting to build up. This area might seem a bit tricky. It is easy to wonder where to start and how to approach painting the air. What I decided was to first establish the dominant color in this area. We have a fairly dark tones in the lower part, while the upper part is still is generally much lighter. Still, in this lighter area, we will have some strong and well defined shadow areas. And I figured it will be easier to paint those shadows on top of the lighter elements. So to me, it made more sense to begin by laying down the to toons first, especially in this more complex zone. Then once this light base is in place, we can come back in and add the darker shadows more easily, shaping them to match what we see in the reference photo. Now that my base is really well established, I can start working on the area with more precision and add all the darker elements we can see on the reference. I am going to try to make it match what we see as closely as possible. I will aim to be fairly precise so that the dark areas in my painting resemble those in the reference photo. So I am starting by adding the darkest elements in this area, and then I will move on to adding other parts that are also dark, but not quite as intense. And it is this combination of very dark elements, slightly darker ones, and eventually even lighter ones that will help make this area look truly three dimensional. Now, let's work on the area of the penis. I start by marking the darker elements because they stand out clearly and help define the area, both at the bottom and along the side. So that is what I begin with. Next, the penis itself isn't particularly complex to paint. What we notice is that the Bytone is generally quite like medium gray in this area. So this is what I am applying a pretty light base. Then we'll add some slightly darker touches in certain places and lighter ones as well. And these small variations in tones that are what will help give it a cylindrical and three dimensional look. You can see that from the brush strokes I have already applied, and those I will be adding both lighter and darker, that I am trying to follow the shape and direction that will make the fam appear cylindrical. That is the goal here. And in the central area, we can also add some highlights, as you saw, which help to further create the cent of volume in this section. In this lower part, I start by applying slightly lighter tones that create a clear contrast with what we painted earlier. These ltotons help show that this is the end of the area and give it a slightly rounded appearance. Then in the very bottom section, I use a darker tone to reinforce the end of the penis and give it a more rounded form. And finally, in the central area, I will add some slightly well, some darker elements to define the foreskin, along with a small lightotuch that will help give it a bit more volume. And overall, with these elements, the penis itself is finished and we'll move on to working on the testicles. Let's now work on the testicle area, and I start by applying a base layer of gray. I am using a medium size brush, not too large, since this isn't a particularly white area. We can see that the lower part is quite dark while the upper part features much lighter tones, which helps us create volume in this area. Another important aspect to pay close attention to is the sal light to touches along the bottom of the testicles. That bond slide This is the bound slight, and it is essential to include it to give the area depth and dimension. You may have noticed that a I added some lighter strokes in the upper part as. It is very light, and now I am adding some brush strokes to create the blend between the two contrasting areas together. Then within this darker section we worked on earlier, there are some even darker details to add. So we'll go ahead and paint those in now using small and controlled strokes. And overall, this isn't a particularly complex area to paint. There are just a few more lighter and darker elements to add in order to build volume. And also, it is important to mark the separation between the two testicles with a central line that I am adding in here. And with that, this part of the body will be complete in a few seconds, and we'll move on to working on the legs. 29. Painting of the thigh: Now let's move on to painting the thigh. And here, the whole challenge with painting this leg is to achieve several things. First, to show that it is a fairly muscular pi to make the muscle stand out a bit. Even if we are not dealing with oversized or exaggerated quadriceps, it is still a strong pi. Then it is also important to give the pi a slightly cylindrical appearance. That involves working with the movement and trying to give the pi a rounded shape. And we will achieve that by carefully placing our shadow areas and making sure they follow a specific trajectory across the surface. That is the main challenge and interest when painting this file. So let's begin and to start, I'm going to lay out a different zone, starting with the simplest and most obvious ones. Among those, we have the darker areas, especially around the inner phi. We'll also have some dark zones running through running along the length of the phi. These dark areas will be important for creating that rounded and cylindrical effect we just talked about. It is also a good idea to have shadows between the fingers of the end because those darker touches will help the end appear slightly more raised and three dimensional. So it is really important to include those as well, and that's what I will be doing next. In this slightly darker area, I can also work along the entire lower part and stop at the knee area. The knees will be painted later. So here I am applying this slightly dark color along the whole left side and in that zone. Now, it is true that this gray might look a bit darker than it will actually appear in the final version. But I am thinking that once we blend it with the lighter colors later on, the tone will soften and seem a little less dark. Then we'll also add some of these darker color to the upper part on the left side. And with that, I would say that we are good for the dark elements, and we can move on and start applying lighter colors across the whole area. I can now apply some slightly larger colors on the rest of the pi, not necessarily very light everywhere, since you can see that in the central area, there is still a fairly noticeable shadow. That is why I used this medium gray here. Then between the darker grays I have already applied, I can go in with something much lighter, and this creates a strong value difference and a noticeable contrast. So I apply it, and as you can see, I am using this flat brush, which allows me to make broad strokes and cover large areas. Since the pi is a big surface. The flat brush feels really appropriate and well suited here. It lets me apply the colors with enough precision while still working efficiently. And then just like we have done many times throughout this course, I can blend everything by making broad back and forth strokes with my brush to mix the colors and create a smooth gradient with seamless transitions that appear almost invisible. Now that I have achieved a decent blend on the file, I'm going to focus on refining the area a bit more, looking for spots where there might be slightly darker touches within the lighter zones and slightly lighter touches within the darker ones. This is how we'll manage to make the texture look truly realistic and close to the final result by adding lots of small strokes here and there and blending them into the rest. In the end, the phi is unnecessarily the most detailed element. It's not as complex, for example, as the end we painted earlier, but we still need to build it up with many scattered little touches to get a texture that is close to that of a reference. So take your time and make sure to add those slightly irregular marks throughout the whole phi. I am going to enhance the highlighted area on the lower part of the bid because the shadow zone was too large and this highlight is important to properly define the fine muscle in that area. And right after applying the color, I make sure it blends well with the surrounding tones. I forgot to mention it earlier, but the pi isn't an isolated element. It fits naturally into the overall structure of the body aligned with the pelvis. This is why I make sure that the pi blended smoothly with the darker elements I had painted earlier to define the pelvis. And so we keep working on the file because even though it is a cylindrical shape and not necessarily very complex to paint, there are many subtle volumes related to the underlying muscles, and to make it all look realistic, we must avoid over smoothing it. It is important to keep a few small breaks and irregularities that help the muscles show through the skin. It's really the addition of these micro touches, these irregular marks, the tiny variations in value and color that bring authenticity and make the fire appear truly lifelike. An Right now, I find that the lighter areas of the leg aren't standing out enough. They are still too dark overall. So what I am doing now is taking pure white and applying it directly over the areas I already painted. Then I make sure it blends nicely with the rest. And by adding these very light touches, the entire area will brighten up overall. I will blend them in softly. And with that, this part of the body will be finished. After that, I will paint the other five, but that will be done off camera since it is essentially the same process and even a bit simpler. The shapes are less pronounced and it is more exposed to light. Once it is done, we'll meet back here to paint the knee of the leg on the right, which is a slightly more complex area. And I will show you how to approach it. In a few seconds, you will see the other fine already painted. This way, you can use it as a reference to paint your own. And so take your time on this part. It's not a very difficult section to paint, and I am confident that you will do just fine. But still, it deserves the same care and attention we have applied to everything so far. Human. 30. Painting of the knee: Now let's take a look at how to paint the knee. And like the thigh, the knee isn't a smooth and cylindrical surface. It is a slightly complex transition zone between the fi and the lower leg with visible tension in the tendons. There are clearly defined bony protrusions, along with some folds, hollows, and bumps. So it is a particularly interesting area to work on, and we need to be quite subtle with our value shifts to suggest all that relief in the area. Here, we have got some very pronounced angles, and that is what we are going to try to bring out. As always, we'll begin with the simpler elements. In this case, I think that the slightly darker areas stand out quite well. So I am choosing to apply those first. Then I figure it is a good idea to paint the elements right next to them. And so I lay those in too. And since we are in a failing our area, I think it also makes sense to blend the elements together right after applying them so everything transition smoothly. Now I can paint this area on the left. It is a dark area but slightly less dark than the other dark elements we painted at first. The value difference is quite subtle, but now thanks to your painter's eye, you are able to see these different values, something most people wouldn't even notice. And honestly, I wouldn't either unless I wear painting. You just don't pay attention to those value shifts otherwise. But here, that shift is important because it helps show the difference in depth, the change in height between this side area and the central part. So this is a subtle element, but a really important one. And then at the top, we have a very bright area, one that really stands out. So I go in with my brush and apply it like this to make sure it really pops. And you can also see that within this bright area at the top, the gray value isn't completely uniform. Some parts are very light, while others just above are slightly less so. So it is important to pay attention to that shift as well in order to properly define the form of the knee. Then on the other side, there is an area that is really quite bright. So I started by applying that what I can do next is make sure that all these elements blend nicely together that we get smooth transition between each other. Then to reinforce those transitions and enhance the area, I am also going to add some slightly darker touches to build texture which will help improve the transition even more. Now I am adding a little bit of small touches here and there, some slightly darker ones to create some texture. There will also be a few lighter touches that need to be added to really make the form stand out. Among these lighter touches, one will be especially important, the one placed on the lower part just above this dark line. This particular highlight will really help define the separation between the knee and the calf, and it will be key in creating the sense of depth and volume in this area. I am going to keep working in the same way. You can see that this small dark stroke on the side is also important. It helps define the different bones and hollows in that area. And overall, the knee has really taken shape now. The volume is there, and all that is left is to enhance the area by adding a bit more texture. You might notice I already painted the overleg, the first knee on the left. It is essentially the same process, which is why I figured it wasn't necessary to show the video for this part. So take your time when painting it. After that, we'll move on to the lower parts, the sin, and the feet, and to really complete the figure. And I know that by now, the tutorial has been going on for quite a while with nearly 3 hours of video already. So it is completely normal if you are starting to feel a bit tired or fed up with this culture. It's a long piece to complete. If you feel fatigue or boredom setting in, take a break, step away from the painting for a while, and come back to it in a few hours or even a few days once your mind is clear and you're ready to return with a renewed energy. It is absolutely normal to hit a point where you need to pause. I experience it, too. When it happens, I step outside for a bit, get some fresh air, and usually come back with a fresh motivation and the desire to keep going. Because what you really want to avoid is having the upper part of the body beautifully painted, and then a lower part that feels rushed or neglected. That kind of imbalance would be a real shame, in my opinion. 31. Painting of the feet: Let's now continue our work with the lower part of the leg, focusing on the area with the tibia. What we notice here is that the sides are going to be avdard while the central part features a highlight that appears as a fairly straight and slightly lighter band. It is important to make sure to apply these correctly. That light to strip represents the tibia bone, which we can clearly feel when we touch this part of the leg. So as a first step, I begin by applying the darker areas. There's also a dark area on the right side. It is small, but it helps define the calf muscle and gives it a slightly bulging look. So I go ahead and apply that and we continue with the color application. This part of the leg, particularly the tibia area isn't one of the most complex to paint. It is a bit like I mentioned when we were painting the lower abdomen, it is the cruise phase of the painting process, meaning we can move forward smoothly through a less complex area. It is nice to work on zones where there isn't much volume or detail to add, and yet we can see our artwork gradually coming to life. So we keep going applying our brush strokes to make this area look realistic. Of course, the calves aren't separated from the knees by your sharp line. So I make sure to blend my colors well when I reach the knee area and create a soft transition between the two zones. This area of the body is still quite dark on the sides in particular, so don't hesitate to apply fairly dark grays to make it stand out well. A common mistake among beginners is being afraid to use dark values, and as a result, the areas don't stand out enough. So don't be afraid, go ahead and darken certain parts to make them pop. Always remember that with old painting, you can modify your results at any time. Mistakes can be corrected quite easily. So yes, this area is rather dark, and because of that, even though the highlight will stand out, it won't be extremely light either. It will be more of a mid gray, a fairly intermediate tone, but since it is surrounded by darker grays, it will stand out nicely. And so I continue applying the colors, blending between the different elements. I don't always repeat it because I have mentioned it many times before, but make sure to wipe off the excess paint that builds up on your brush. Otherwise, it becomes difficult to achieve a smooth bland. In this area, the process is basically the same. We apply our color. We make sure there is a smooth transition between the different elements and add a bit of texture with a few small brush strokes here and there. Overall, the scene has taken shape nicely, and that's enough. It looks quite realistic. There's no need to overwork the area. Usually, a good and clean application of colors is more than enough to get the results we are aiming for. That is to say, a result that looks quite realistic. So as I was saying, we don't need anything too light for the highlights here I am applying this slightly meton gray, and then I will make sure it blends nicely with the surrounding elements. And after that, we'll be ready to move on to the painting of the foot. Oh. Now, let's move on to painting the feet. We are going to see how to paint both feet. As for the other cloth, I have to admit I skipped the video because, again, it is quite repetitive and it's not the most complex area to paint, and I'm sure that you will manage it just fine. So let's just start with the feet. Feet are like hands, not the easiest area to paint because each toe has multiple joints. There are also all the toes to paint, and they need to be done quite precisely. There are two nails. There is volume and various raised areas. So it's not necessarily the simplest part. It's also not the most glamorous, I will admit, but it is a technically interesting area that can really help you progress. To be honest, feet aren't something I particularly enjoy painting. Often they are painted at the very end of the piece, the last part of the work, and by then, you might feel you might be a bit tired of painting and ready to move on to something else. So you end up with an area that might not be the most beautiful or the most flattering in the whole image. And yet it is a somewhat tricky area, but you really need to treat it with care. If the feet are well painted, they contribute to the overall harmony of the piece. It might not be the first thing someone notices, but if the feet are poorly done, the eye will almost immediately be drawn to them, and it will feel wrong, like, No, that just doesn't work there. That's why you need to paint them with as much seriousness as possible and stay focused all the way to the end when working on the feet to make them look as beautiful as you can. As usual, I try to keep things simple when applying colors. We start by simplifying the elements in the way we apply the colors. So I began by marking the slightly darker areas found on the upper part of the foot and along the side. There is the central area that is overall very light, which really contrast with the top and the side helping to create a hollow effect on the right hand part. So I begin with this color application, and as we move to the left, you will notice that it gets a bit darker, so I made sure to darken that area a little more too. Now I have established a good base for the foot and I can start defining the areas a bit more precisely. So here we have this dark element I just painted, which clearly outlines the shape of the ankle, so I am adding that in now. And for the time being, I also decided not to work on the toes because applying colors in that area is quite tricky and needs to be done precisely. I was also afraid that if I applied color across all the toes too soon, we would lose the lines that define each one individually. And after that, I would have had to guess therewith as if I were painting blindly. And all the work I did in the drawing stage would have been pointless. So I figured I would leave the toes part for later and come back to it. And so I am now continuing the work, and you can see I am adding quite a few small dark touches. These are really helping to define the area well. And you can see that in the rpa zone, the volume is starting to take shape nicely, and the foot is becoming convincingly three dimensional. Now I can start working a bit more on the top of the foot. And in that area, you will notice there are quite a few visible veins. The toe joints are also clearly visible, so that is what I am focusing on now. These joins appear as slightly dark lines, more or less pronounced depending on the area to make them stand out accordingly. And I am working with this medium gray, and I will make sure my lines blending well with the rest. Between these zones, I can also add a few small touches like this to help make the different joints visible and create some dimensional relief in that area. Maybe I will also need to brighten the lighter zones between the joins a bit more to emphasize the volume. Anyway, we will see how it looks once it is done. You so now it is time to move on to painting the toes, and we can clearly see the big toe here. It is quite prominent. So I started by marking a fairly dark area at the base. You also saw that I painted a small dark line just underneath it, which helps to create the shadow cast by the toe and gives it a more three dimensional look. Overall, when it comes to painting toes, there is no need to add lots of detail. Just a few well placed touches like these and are enough. You can see here we have managed to create a sense of volume for that toe, and so now we can move on to the next one. There is a fairly dark line that separates these two toes. I work on that, and then I apply small touches like this. What really matters is the contrast in value between the two sides of the toe. One is the longer face that rises up toward the rest of the foot, and the other is the smaller side that is almost resting on the ground. And to show the difference between these two planes, you need a change in value for the two nails, sorry. You can see that I first painted the whole area with a light gray. Then with this darker touch, I had this darker touch on top to define the outline of the nail. And that's how we paint the toes. So basically, we have done these two toes together, and the rest we follow exactly the same method. So I will do it. I will do them off camera and we'll meet back here to paint the other foot. Now it is time to paint the over foot, which is also interesting to work on because the approach will be a bit different. The foot is viewed more from the side and less from the front. So I thought it would be useful to see how to paint this one, too. So I start by applying the different shades of gray in a rough manner, just blocking in the main areas of value. You can see that on the side, there is a fairly dark zone, which is really important because it helps define the volume of the hill. So that's what I focused on first. Then we get into more medium grays in this area here, and you will find the same kind of tones along the side of the foot. This help to give the food its three dimensional form and show that we are now dealing with the side of the foot, not the top like before. For the top of the foot, we'll use lighter grays again similar to what we did on the other foot. So this stage is all about applying the base color. Next, it will be interesting to see how to approach the toes from this angle and also how to work on the little vein. So once again, we've got a few subtle but interesting details to work on, and it is quite a nice part of the process to make some progresses. So I have applied these various slightly darker grays, and now I can make sure that they blend smoothly into one another, so the transitions appear almost invisible and everything feels well connected. Next, I will apply my base color to the rest of the foot area. For now, I won't focus on the toes just like before. I want to keep the pencil lines clearly visible to maintain a good separation between the toes, and I think I will only paint them at the very end. I did paint the darker shadow areas, though, especially around the toe, since they help clearly define the contours anyway. That's why I decided to leave those as they are for now. And this is about where I will stop with the lighter tone once I will have applied it. And we will focus now on working the whole area to give volume and realism to this foot. So when you apply the painting, always make sure to spread the paint well so that you can work on it easier, more easily afterwards and make the blending easier. Now we are going to refine our work a bit more and make this foot look a little more realistic. One of the things I can do here is to work more on the ankle joint. You can see that we've got some slightly pronounced shadows on the left side, like the one I have just added. There is also a small one on the right side. It is quite subtle. You don't see it very clearly, but it is important for defining the ankle properly. So I will go ahead and add that in afterward. And all these little additions are what will help make the foot look more realistic. Among the darker areas I can include, there is also that narrow band along the left side of the foot, which helps emphasize the depth and height differences across the surface. So this is why it is important to add it. And I'm going to make it fairly dark for now, but I am thinking that once everything is blended together, it will still appear slightly lighter overall. And to finish of the ankle area, I can tap in a few darker touches here and there with the brush, and that will give us an irregular skin texture, just like we did earlier for the rest of the body. Now that the ankle area is nicely finished, I can move on to refining the section on the left side of the foot. Earlier, we had that slightly darker band, but you will notice that the entire area is actually a bit darker than it currently appear. So I'm adding small and darker touches, and I make sure that they blend smoothly with the surrounding tones. Same thing for that dark band you saw me add before. I don't want it to have a sharp edge. I want it to merge seamlessly with the rest of the foot. So that's what I am working on now. Then I can keep building up little details here and there. One important detail is the small dark zone I will be adding around the big toe. It clearly helps define its volume clearly. So I will go ahead and add that, and you can see that little by little, the foot is really starting to take shape. I am now going to work on this big toe in more detail. I make sure that the light area blends well with the darker zone I painted earlier. Next, I will add the small details. The little creases, you can see in various places which helped make the toe look more realistic. For the toenail on this big toe, I'm going to use the same approach as I did on the other foot. That means I first to paint the whole nail area using a medium gray, and then I had a slightly darker outline on top to give the nail more depth and three dimensional effect. And to enhance this even more, I had some small highlights using pure white, and I make sure that this white blends nicely into the rest. So I have something lighter but not white. And I continue refining a few elements like the outline of the nail, which I didn't find quite dark enough. And I also add a few small touches on the side of the toe here and there. But overall, this toe is done, and I can now move on and finish working on the central area of the foot because you can see that there is still some volume missing. That part is still made up of very light tones only, so I am going to work on it a bit more. Over the right hand side, we can see the slightly darker touch, which is also important for adding realism to the piece and more volume. So I add that now, and then I will place a few darker texture elements here and there to contribute to the overall improvement of the foot. So I have added that, and now I will keep working on the rest of the foot, adding small touches and fine details here and there. But overall, the foot has taken good shape, which is great. Next, we are going to see how to paint a new toe, the one right next to the big toe. We'll work on this one together. Then the remaining three toes will follow exactly the same method, so I will paint those off camera as well. You will be able to see the final result in the next video of the course where we will paint the platform David is standing on. And hopefully that will give some inspiration and help you in painting those last three toes. So let's begin painting disto, and I start by applying a base of medium light gray. Then we'll bid on top of that to define the shape of the name. You will also notice that the dark elements I added earlier for the shadows, I make sure they blend well with the rest of the tone so that everything connects naturally. But here's the thing. Once I blended everything, those dark areas faded a little too much and no longer stand out clearly. So now I am working them. That's part of the process. And often you blend dark and light areas together, the darks become lighter, so they need to be adjusted again. You I have laid down a solid base, so now I can define the nail just like we did earlier with a small dark touch. This darker stroke like before, helps outline the nail, but most importantly, the contrast between this dark mark and the light highlight I am adding now helps show the height difference between the nail and the surrounding skin. It is that contrast in value that gives the nail more volume and realism, and that's pretty it for this little toe. I am just adding a few darker touches here and there to build up some texture, and with that, it will be done. Now it is just a matter of painting the remaining three toes with the same level of care, and then we'll be ready to move onto the platform that David is standing on. 32. Painting of the support: We have the fifth finished. We can now move on to painting the platform that David is standing on. This is the final element. It is tempting to rush through it just to see the fully completed result, but it's really important to take the time to carefully build a structure, which isn't necessarily the easiest part. You have to pay close attention to all the value changes in order to create the necessary volume of the stone and the different levels in the surface. I am starting by applying my colors, trying to identify the main areas here and there, light zones, dark zones to start shaping the relief. So take your time, really observe the value changes because that is what will add the final touch of depth and realism to the piece, right before we move on to painting the background. Since this area is fairly large, I am going to work mostly using brush strokes with my flat brush, making sure to stretch the color well. This way, when it is time to blend these colors together and had little bits of texture, it will all come together more smoothly and more easily. Oh human. Now that I have a solid base with well applied and well blended colors, I can start adding some slightly darker touches here and there, carefully observing my reference. These small touches are what will give the stone its depth helping to suggest that certain areas are raised while others recede slightly. As I add them, I make sure they blend smoothly into the rest of the surface. It is also important to pay attention to the subtle value changes that can occur within a single element. For example, with this darker patch I have just added, you can see that it's not equally dark throughout. Even within that gray zone, I am adding a few darker accents, like the one I am placing now. While keeping the surrounding area a bit lighter, so be sure to observe those subtle variations in value. Then we'll go through and identify all those small areas where we can place these darker marks, which will really help finalize the work and bring out the layer, the texture look of the stone. Human. By the way, I just realized I hadn't mentioned this yet, but once the pedestal is done, once we have painted the element behind David, the only thing left will be the background. Personally, I chose to paint it white simply because it makes the statue, the sculpture stand out nicely. The actual background in the photo would have taken a lot of time to reproduce. And since this piece isn't meant for sale or to hang in my home as more of a study, a way to work through the subject and create a tutorial foo. I didn't see much point in spending extra time on it. So it is a practical choice, but also an aesthetic one. Of course, you are free to do the same and go with a white background. Or if you have the time in motivation, you can absolutely paint the original background as it appears in the reference photo. I would say that at this point, the stone has really started to take shape nicely, and now what I can add is the cast shadow of the foot, that black shadow that helps make it clear that the foot is raised above the stone, that there is some depth and that the heel is lifted off the ground. So I am adding it now using pure black, and then I will make sure to blend this pure black carefully with the surrounding tones. It can be a bit tricky when you are blending black with the light of graze next to it. So to get a smooth transition, you really need to take your time and use very small touches, light strokes with the brush, so the blend looks soft and natural. This black line needs to be worked all the way to the big toes, and you have to make sure it blends in the same way across the whole edge. Once those elements are painted, we can move on to painting the lower part of the rocks. In this area, we have these slightly lighter vertical lines that are important. They help show the breaks between the different rock levels and indicate that the surface isn't one continuous piece along the entire bottom. This is why it was essential to have those slightly vertical and lighter lines. Next, we can start working on these darker rock faces. You will notice that on the right side of each face, the values are quite dark and gradually we transition towards something lighter as we move to the left up to that very light line we painted earlier. And even though the left side gets lighter, the contrast with that bright edge still needs to be strong. It is important to maintain that value difference between those elements. And as you can see, I apply very delicate touches to make sure the elements blend naturally into each other. And then I can continue refining this rock surface and add little touches here and there to avoid ending up with a completely uniform gray. And so that's what I will do, add some slightly darker accent for variation and create a bit of rock texture. For the rest of these rocks, we'll follow the same method, start with a darker value on the right, and gradually transition to something lighter. So I have painted the remaining rocks off camera, and next, we'll move on to the element you can see next to David's leg. So feel free to pause the video and take your time as you work through painting these rocks on your own, and you can see how I did it right here. So feel free to pause, and we'll see how to paint this last element next to the leg. Now, let's move on to the final part of our subject. I'm not exactly sure what this object is. Maybe it's a piece of carved wood or something else, but really it doesn't matter. We don't need to know what it is to be able to paint it properly. What matters is that it is an interesting element to work on because it has a lot of small raised areas and a very particular texture with all these fine lines. So we need to handle it carefully, and that's what we are going to look at right now. So here I am starting by applying my base colors. I am trying to identify the main areas, and we can see that along the entire right side, we have some fairly dark sections. There are also darker areas on the far left edge of the object, so I will add those in as well. The goal here is to create a sense of volume within this form and to build up that texture using these fine lines. We'll see how to do that in a few moments. In the center of the object, you can also notice what looks like a rounded shape of molasses almost like a small bulge, and to give it volume, I marked that curved slightly darker edge earlier. So we are making progress with the color application. Next, we'll take a closer look at how to bring this object to life and make it look really realistic and textured. Um Now, as usual, I am going to blend the different colors together using small touches, short brush strokes here and there with lots of back and forth. Don't hesitate to wipe off any excess paint from your brush as you go so you can get a nice clean result. What I will also do is define that dark area between the object and David's leg using pure black. This will really help it stand out and give the necessary depth and volume to that part of the composition. Now that I have a solid base on this element, we can start working on it in more detail. And the first thing I can do is make this round feature stand out more to give it more volume. To do that, I am working around the edges, adding small darker touches like this. Inside the shape, you will also notice a darker spots that really pops things to the contrast with the lighter areas around it. And under the entire left side of the circular form, there are also some darker elements. And as I work on those, I also start developing the texture by adding small touches here and there, making sure that you blend gently with the surrounding areas. I want the lines to be noticeable, and I want to create a texture that feels similar to wood or something that looks a bit like wood. That's what I am working on now. I'm adding these dark lines first, and then I can extend them outward. And as I extend them, well, inward, sorry. And as I extend them, they naturally become lighter because there is less paint on the brush, and I am blending into the color that is already in place. And if needed, I can also always reload my brush, and reword this area afterwards. But overall, for this upper part, I would say it's coming together quite nicely. We'll work a bit more on it later on. Now I am going to touch up this area on the left side. I find it's not quite dark enough, so I am deepening it just a little. Then I will work in some more texture and add a few lines here and there. For the lines of this object, there is no need to be extremely precise. It is enough to add a few well placed lines and play with value variations within them. A few lighter touches between the darker lines also are all it takes. And looking at the top section now, right in the middle, I think a few lines need to be slightly more visible, but not as dark as the ones on the left. So you have adjusted those a little. I am continuing with the lower part where I am going to add more strongly defined lines. Then I will add a few lighter ones in the central area, and I am also going to work between the lines in the upper section and add a few slightly lighter touches to make the whole texture stand out more. And overall, that will complete this element. Next, we'll need to do the same with the one on the left. It's the same object, the same type of texture. So I have done that part of camera. And that will bring us to the end of this tutorial to work on this wooden element or at least what looks like a wood. And here we are at the end of this major painting of David. It was a big and ambitious subject, full of complexity and technical challenges with many steps that require precision, observation, and focus. So if you have made it this far, congratulations. You have done an incredible job. You can be proud of everything you have accomplished. There is just a small part left to complete, and I strongly encourage you to push through and finish it. Even if you are feeling a bit tired, you absolutely have what it takes to do it. So take your time, go at your own pace, but bring this painting to completion. It is truly worth the effort. Once again, bravo for your persistence and commitment, and I will see you very soon for the next project.