ndidi

threw together a quick guide for @lifeofblink and anyone else who may wanna see how I render lips! note that I didn’t use a reference and I am by no means a professional so use that as you will!

1) I use black lineart on a layer set to overlay so it corresponds with whatever color is underneath. I color on a separate layer below the lineart!

2) I set my brush to vivid as a fast way to find a warm tone for lips. In general, when I paint faces, I use this method for warm tones on the mouth, cheeks and nose.

3) This may be a general tip but since I primarily paint darker skin tones, I make the upper lip darker and add a paler pink to the bottom one. I pick the darker tone from the lineart, since that’s now a darker red. I make sure to use a soft brush to blend the bottom lip.

4) Here I refined the shape more and added deeper shadows. I also sometimes add lines for a bit of realism on the bottom lip, but not always. I toned down the pink a little using the base skin tone.

5) I used a mostly hard brush for highlights to contrast the soft blending on the bottom lip. The finishing touch for making plump and inviting lips! 

I’m not sure what specific part you’re wondering about, so here’s a run-through of my process from sketching to painting!

1) The first thing I do is simplify the nose into a few basic shapes to get a prism-like block, like so:

2) I can now easily draw the prism shape in three-dimensional space depending on the angle and rotation of the head.

3) Using the guidelines/planes I can draw a proper nose in any angle! There aren’t many tricks or shortcuts for this step, unfortunately (other than practicing lots). I recommend using references, they’re always helpful :)

4) Really important to note: all noses vary greatly, especially from different ethnicities! A high-bridge “aristocratic” sort of nose or a ski-slope button nose might be accurate for some people, but definitely not everyone. Compare differences in size, width, a hooked or button nose tip, high or low nose bridge, and so on:

5) Then I paint! I have a skin tone tutorial here, if it helps. Take note of the lighting, skin tone, etc. Here are some things I keep in mind:

For pale skin tones, the nose sometimes has a redder colouration than the rest of the face because of increased blood flow.

The nose also usually has highlights (due to oil). These are located on the tip of the nose, the nostril groove, and where the base of the nose meets the flat area of skin around it!

Sonal Nathwani on Instagram