Painting Portraits: Skin Tone, Age & Gender

Every individual has a distinct visual appearance and personality—capturing these details is a crucial skill for any portrait artist. However, there are common patterns of variation that arise when considering different skin tones, age groups, and the differences between male and female portraits. In this lesson, artist and instructor Brian Neher will guide you through how to observe and incorporate these variations into your portrait paintings. While Brian uses oil paints for this lesson, the principles apply to any medium an artist prefers.

To begin, you’ll learn how to represent a wide range of skin tones as Brian demonstrates how to mix paints to create a variety of rich, warm, or cool hues for different ethnic backgrounds. He walks you through his step-by-step technique for mixing these colors. Then, Brian addresses the typical differences between the faces of younger and older individuals and the challenges these variations present. He’ll provide clear examples and show specific techniques for using paint and brushstrokes to define the age and gender of your subject.