1. Copying kits is a crime that hurts original artists & producers. Help support your favorite artists by buying their original works. PlanetFigure will not tolerate any activities related to recasting, and will report recasters to authorities. Thank you for your support!

Painting an Apache Skin Tone

Discussion in 'Painting Techniques' started by bucsfan21, May 14, 2018.

  1. bucsfan21 Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    I would appreciate any color mixes using artist oils for an Apache Native American please. I have not painted a Native American in a few years and would appreciate any tips, color mixes using artist oils please. Painting a large scale figure, 120mm Verlinden Apache.

    Best of Everything, Terry Martin-member of the Atlanta Miniature Figure Society
  2. grasshopper A Fixture

    Country:
    Canada
    Consider priming w mahogany mr hobby...it’s a great primer for my oils..I would play with Old Holland flesh ochre as a nice deep rust red
    theBaron likes this.
  3. winfield Active Member

    News flash, sports fans, Native Americans of any tribe are not red. No way, no how. After prolonged exposure to the elements, like anyone else they will reflect that in a darkening of the skin. This is one of the pervasive myths that infest figure work, along with the "Old Guard" being composed of old soldiers who need white mustaches and clubbed hair in miniature form, and the eternal "ragged, tagged Confederate". My ex-wife was enrolled Comanche with a Comanche father and a Kiowa mom. Her relatives ranged in skin tone from her retired military father's very dark (not dark red) skin, to her younger sisters who had very pale skin. My wife was a light golden color. No red involved. Since they lived exclusively outdoors, my take on the Apache would be a degree of sun darkened skin. No red. Unless sun burned.
  4. grasshopper A Fixture

    Country:
    Canada
    I know that....but in painting the trick is to avoid either pink,or too yellow..wasn’t thinking “red indian” style rudeness...in fact it’s an open question whether “white guys” are entitled to interpret indigenous subjects...my wife’s family gos way back with ties to Ojibwa ..I’d still be inclined to prime in mahogany, vs black...but maybe white with deep trans yellow scrub would give a better start..
  5. bucsfan21 Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Winfield and Grasshooper, What do you think would be a good base set ( using Artist Oils) of colors to start with to achieve that dark skin tone? I am thinking along the lines of an old leather like tone...I understand exactly what you mean by the varying of skin pigment tones. Would Burnt Sienna and Yellow Ochre be a good mix to start with as my base? What would you mix to a achieve the leather like hue.
    It would be great to engage in an exchange here please. It has been a while since I painted a Native American. In my past experiences I tended to have too much of a red.

    Look forward to hearing from you Native American painters out there...

    All the Best, Terry Martin
  6. grasshopper A Fixture

    Country:
    Canada
    I agree...if there may have been red indian stuff in the past, we want to get it right now...those are useful tones anyway, so I’d give em a mix..as for me, I hate Flesh tint as it’s often provided in oils..but likewise discovered coral orange in OH a neat thing when mixed with bit of other colours..
  7. John Bowery A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    This is a photo copy from Bob knee article in Historical Miniatures magazine. It is an oil mix.

    apache skin.jpg
    Hope this helps.
    Cheers
    John
  8. bucsfan21 Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    John, That is an awesome article. I'm very sure that will be helpful! Bob Knee was a member of our club. I took painting classes from him back in the day. Sad that he is no longer among our number. Thank you for sharing as I don't have the article!

    All the Best, Terry Martin
    John Bowery likes this.
  9. grasshopper A Fixture

    Country:
    Canada
    Felix..yellowcat on PF gave me a number of recipes for flesh tones, and the NA indian was yellow ochre, red oxide, mars black and some ti or lead white. Based on W&N...for other brands you could check the pigments in these and find the equivialnts from whatever you use...from what I’ve begun to understand of kagemushas methods I strongly advise using a scrub coat of a transparent darkish tone as start..rubbing most off with a makeup sponge or brush and allowing it to dry naturally as opposed to accelerated
    winfield likes this.
  10. phil_h A Fixture

    Country:
    United-States
    I like using a combination of burnt sienna, raw sienna, titanium white and burnt umber.
    For the deepest shadows, you can mix in a little bit of mars violet.

    It's a basic, simple set of colors, that work very, very well together.
    winfield likes this.
  11. bucsfan21 Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Thanks Phil! I appreciate your suggestion. (y) Best of Everything, Terry Martin
    phil_h and grasshopper like this.
  12. grasshopper A Fixture

    Country:
    Canada
    Phil knows his stuff..can’t go wrong
    phil_h likes this.
  13. bucsfan21 Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    Grasshopper, I appreciate your note as well! (y) All the Best, Terry Martin
    phil_h likes this.
  14. franceso sbarile A Fixture

    Thank so much by me also, very useful .
    Francesco
  15. chippy Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-Kingdom
    Naples yellow is a better for high lighting than white on dark skin .
    chippy
  16. grasshopper A Fixture

    Country:
    Canada
    I use it to mix highlights...lighten a purple say...rarely do I find white much help...
  17. bucsfan21 Well-Known Member

    Country:
    United-States
    John, I would like the other page to the article by Bob Knee from Historical Miniature Magazine please? Appreciate it,

    Terry Martin-Member of the Atlanta Miniature Figure Society
  18. Landrotten Highlander Well-Known Member

    Ditto...

Share This Page

planetFigure Links

Reviews & Open Box
Buy. Sell & trade
Articles
Link Directory
Events
Advertising

Popular Sections

Figure & Minis News
vBench - Works in Progress
Painting Talk
Sculpting Talk
Digital Sculpting Talk
The Lounge
Report Piracy

Who we are

planetFigure is a community built around miniature painters, sculptors and collectors, We are here to exchange support, Information & Resources.

© planetFigure 2003 - 2022.