Skin Tutorial (for the face)

Hello everyone! I spontaneously decided to create a skin tutorial today while talking with a friend. Please know that this is a very basic tutorial and only shows one light source. In reality, I don't stick with one color pallet when I color skin depending on the lighting and atmosphere of the picture. Therefore, this tutorial can be a foundation for both beginners and those who would like to expand their knowledge on skin coloring techniques. I will also be posting a journal with my brush settings shortly. The program used was Paint Tool Sai.

Mainly three layers were used: 1 for the lines , 1 for the colors, and 1 for the editing.
Step 1: Base colors. I like to use a off-white for the eyes to give a softer effect.
Step 2: Gradient can go from top to bottom as well. Use a saturated, warm color.
Step 3: Darken the shadow under the neck with a dull red/ brown color. This will create the illusion of a stronger light source.
Step 4: Give more life and dimension to the skin by adding a peach flush to the cheeks and edges of skin. Blend a cool light blue color at the high points of the face (center, forehead, chin, areas of neck) to add dimension.
Step 5: Merge the line layer with the color layer and paint over the lines so they appear softer. Then touch up messy areas and add more details as you see fit (I usually create a new layer for this). I have also used a large airbrush to add multiply and luminosity layer effects on either side of the face to amplify the light source.

Hope some of you guys find this helpful!