"Tarleton" helmet variations of black?

[DCH]

Hiya,

I'm currently working on the Tarleton bust from Verlinden. Between the leather helmet/brim, plume, turban, and bearskin, there's a whole lotta black and I've been looking for some ideas on how to vary the colors. I've read about using a tad bit of Raw Umber in the black for the leather parts. I'd also like to play with a brownish black for the bearskin - but not so brown as to make it look like Kodiak vs. Black bear fur. I'm also curious about how I could treat the plume. Some sort of bluish black, perhaps?

Any ideas would be much appreciated.

Thanks lots!

 

[frank h]

Hi Doug,

The thing with painting black is not to use it on it's own.
Either alter it with red's or blues, or approximate your own
dark colour by mixing dark blues with dark browns.
The result being very dark colours that look black but are actually
dark browns or dark greys

Black straight from the tube/bottle can then be used for only the darkest
recesses and shadows.

Hope this helps

Frank