Acrylics Mongolian Skintone Recommendations

[Alex M.]

Hello!

I'm getting ready to paint a Mongol, and I was wondering if anyone can suggest some colours to work with, preferably Vallejo!

thank in advance!

Alex

 

[ChaosCossack]

In the Pegaso "Advanced Figure Painting" book there is an example of a Mongolian Archer, using Vallejo acrylics. Greg has a copy of the book at the shop or you can borrow mine if you want... text me and I'll bring it to work tomorrow afternoon

Colin

 

[Einion]

First thing I would recommend Alex is, as usual, lining up some suitable photographic evidence; thankfully this is very easily done these days with many subjects... one thing you should notice immediately is that their skin colour isn't quite as different as you might have expected.

Obviously how weathered the individual you want to depict is relevant but often you'll see that you don't need a completely new approach or anything of the sort - just a simple tweak to a standard palette would be sufficient.

Einion

 

[Gaudin]

The best moment of this thread was your avatar next to thread title. Laughed my head off.
Message Ian (Jenghiz) on PF - he collects and paints mongols only - and his collection is quite awesome, so he is bound to be able to give advice from experience.

He is also very fast to read new posts LOL cheers Ian

 

[housecarl]

This is a good reference.
Carl.

 

[Alex M.]

Thanks guys, this is all very helpful! I've exclusively painted caucasian lads to date, and have a tried and true flesh mix, so I'm trying to figure out how to alter it gently, to add that slightly Asiatic tan to it, and to, exactly as you've mentioned, make it more weather beaten, but I'd like a clear colour palette before I put paint to primer

 

[Einion]

I've exclusively painted caucasian lads to date, and have a tried and true flesh mix, so I'm trying to figure out how to alter it gently...

Well what are you currently using?

The skin colour of Asians is very broadly more toward yellow* than that of caucasians, so one of the simplest tweaks is to use a tad more yellow than you would normally, depending on how you mix your skintones to begin with of course (that's the start, you do generally have to then tone this down as well). That said, plenty of modern-day Mongolians that I've seen have skin colours that would look perfectly apt applied to a caucasian without any modification.

*Note: more towards, not actually yellowish; the difference in hue is often surprisingly small.

Einion

 

[Mike Stevens]

Hi,

The best article that I have found on ethnic skin tones is located on Coolmini or not. It has pictures and potential mixes. It's a good starting point. http://www.coolminiornot.com/articles/1310-ethnic-skintones

 

[Alex M.]

I'm usually painting with beige red as the base, up through basic skintone, and down through burnt cadmium red.
I was reading the article Colin pointed out in the book, and he just uses Flat Flesh as the base, and more brown, less red for the shadows.

 

[ChaosCossack]

As to that article, Alex, I goofed... It's a Medival Mamaluk not a Mongolian I had an elder moment, sorry.
The skintone would probably work if you dropped the olive. Sunny skintone might give that hint of "yellow" to the middle highs.

What figure is it? The mounted Mongolian Archer?

 

[Alex M.]

There's a foot Mongol as well, that's what I thought you mentioned. Are we talking about the same book - the Advanced Figure Modelling from Persicopio? With the 90mm SS guy with the Shepherd?

 

[ChaosCossack]

That's the book but I meant which fig are you painting... There was a mounted Mongol archer at Greg's, thought that might be the one.