Category Archives for New Art
How to Add Initial Highlights to Your Acrylic Portrait
Unlock the secrets of applying initial highlights to your acrylic portraits for added depth and realism.
Adding highlights is a crucial step in bringing your acrylic portraits to life because it adds depth, dimension, and a sense of realism to the painting. In this tutorial, we’ll explore how to add initial highlights to your acrylic portrait after laying down a toning layer, using titanium white mixed with Indian yellow for a warm, vibrant touch. Then these highlights will help define the light source, making your portrait stand out.
Materials You Will Need
Before we dive into the process, gather these materials:
- Titanium White Paint: For a bright, opaque base.
- Indian Yellow Paint: To warm up the white highlights.
- Matte Medium: Thins the paint for smoother application.
- Flat Size 14 Brush: Ideal for blocking in larger areas.
- Smaller Detail Brushes: Useful for adding precise highlights.
- Palette Knife (Optional): For mixing paint and mediums.
Step-by-Step Guide to Adding Initial Highlights
1. Mixing the Paint
The first step in adding highlights is preparing the right paint mixture. Because in this technique, we mix titanium white with a small amount of Indian yellow. Then the combination will create warm, natural highlights. So that the thin mixture with matte medium to around 50% opacity. This will also allow the highlights to blend seamlessly with the underlying layers without overpowering them.
Using matte medium ensures that the paint remains flexible and doesn’t dry too quickly, giving you ample time to work on the highlights.
2. Restoring Lost Highlights After Toning
After applying a toning layer, some highlights may have been muted or lost. Now it’s time to restore them. Start by focusing on the areas of your portrait where the light hits directly, such as the sky, the subject’s face, or their clothing. Then these areas need to stand out against the mid-tones and shadows.
Using the size 14 flat brush, gently block in the highlights. When you apply light, controlled strokes to ensure the paint doesn’t cover too much of the surrounding areas. Then keep your strokes smooth to avoid hard edges.
3. Adding Highlights to the Sky and Clouds
Begin with the sky and clouds, especially if you’re painting an outdoor portrait. Because when you apply the titanium white and Indian yellow mixture to the parts of the sky where the light source is strongest. This will create a glowing effect, giving the sky a more realistic appearance.
In this case, incorporating highlights into the clouds will help to define their shape and make them stand out from the background. Use soft brush strokes to add highlights along the edges, creating a gradual transition from light to shadow.
4. Highlighting Clothing
Next, move on to your subject’s clothing. Clothing often reflects light differently than skin, so it’s important to be mindful of texture. For smoother fabrics, such as silk or satin, use long, even brush strokes. Then for rougher fabrics like wool or cotton, stipple the highlights to mimic the texture of the material.
Start with broader highlights and then use a smaller brush to add more precise details, such as folds and creases. So remember that, these highlights should enhance the form of the clothing and help convey the fabric’s texture.
Techniques for Effective Highlighting
1. Build Gradually
When adding highlights, it’s essential to build up the light areas slowly. And then begin with lighter tones and gradually add more layers as needed. Because this ensures a more natural transition between highlights and shadows, enhancing the three-dimensional effect.
2. Focus on Light Source
Always keep the direction of the light source in mind. Highlights should reflect where the light is hitting the subject the most directly. In this tutorial, the highlights were added primarily to the face, clothing, and parts of the background, such as the sky and clouds.
3. Use Warm Colors for Depth
Instead of using pure white for highlights, adding a warm color like Indian yellow can create a more realistic effect. This warmth will help your highlights blend into the mid-tones and make the subject appear more vibrant.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
1. Overuse of Highlights
Too many highlights can make your portrait look flat and overexposed. Then focus on applying highlights sparingly in key areas where the light hits most directly. And less is often more when it comes to achieving a natural look.
2. Hard Edges
When applying highlights, avoid hard, defined edges unless you’re working on a very reflective surface like glass. Because most highlights, especially on skin and fabric, should have soft transitions to blend naturally with the rest of the painting.
Adding Final Details
As you finish applying the initial highlights, step back and observe your painting from a distance. This helps you see how the highlights interact with the rest of the painting and determine if they need any adjustments. If the highlights appear too bright or harsh, you can soften them by glazing over them with a thin layer of mid-tone color.
For areas like the face and hair, use a smaller brush to add subtle highlights that bring out the details. In the tutorial, highlights were applied to areas like the clothing, face, and even the sky to create depth and realism. For instance, on the subject’s face, highlights were applied to key areas such as the forehead and cheekbones, which receive the most light.
Conclusion
Adding initial highlights to your acrylic portrait is an essential step in creating depth and realism. By using a mixture of titanium white and Indian yellow, thinning it with matte medium, and applying it carefully to the key areas, you can restore lost highlights and breathe life into your portrait. As you continue to refine your highlights, remember to stay mindful of the light source, apply highlights gradually, and avoid overworking the painting.
Whether you’re painting a sky full of clouds or the fine details on a subject’s face, mastering the art of highlights will take your acrylic portraits to the next level.
For more tips and techniques on creating realistic portraits, visit www.realisticacrylic.com. Keep practicing, and you’ll soon be painting portraits you can be proud of!
Questions? Suggestions? Thoughts? Let me know, below in the comments. Please share this post with your friends!
- How to Paint Foliage Using the Acrylic Glazing Technique
- How to Trace for an Accurate Portrait Sketch
- How to Paint Realistic Eyes in Your Acrylic Portrait
- How to Add Raw Umber Dark & Ultramarine Blue to Your Portrait
- How to Make Your Own Raw Umber Dark
- How to Paint Realistic Trees & Grass in Your Acrylic
- How to Block In Skin Tone Values Using Glazing Technique
- How to Paint Vibrant Reds in Your Acrylic Portrait
- How to Glaze Background Colors & More Acrylic Portrait
- How to Paint White Clothing in Your Acrylic Portrait
- How to Easily Transition from a Sketch to a Painting
- How to Block In Shading & Skin Tones in Your Acrylic
- How to Build Up Color on Acrylic Pet Portrait
- How to Build Up Form on Clothing with Acrylic
- How to Paint Dark Clothing Using Acrylic Glazing Technique
- How to Paint a 24 x 30 Acrylic With 30 People
- How to Do Smooth Shading with Acrylic
- How to Sketch an Acrylic Portrait with a Grid
Read more about how to paint a portrait that you can surely be proud of!
I’d love to hear your thoughts about this video. Please share it with your friends and family. Let me know if you have any further questions. I’ll greatly help you.
If you’d like to learn more, sign up for my free email tips and video class today.
Learn How to Paint Acrylic Portraits With My Free Mini-Video Course!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this tutorial and watch the video. That means a lot to me. I hope you find it very helpful in your portrait painting.
Yours for Better Portraits,
P.S. Did you find this post helpful or encouraging? If so, send it on ahead! Let others know with the share buttons below. I’d love to hear your comments. Thank you so much! Also, do you have a question on acrylic portrait painting you’d like answered? Let me know, and I’d be happy to help!
How to Blocking-in a 30″ x 40″ Acrylic Battle Scene Painting
Learn the technique of blocking-in a large 30″ x 40″ acrylic battle scene to establish strong foundations for your painting with depth and detail.
When tackling a large-scale project like blocking-in a 30″ x 40″ acrylic battle scene painting, the initial steps are crucial to setting the stage for a dynamic and cohesive composition. Because by using these combination of broad strokes and carefully placed color, this foundational layer helps you define the major forms, balance your composition, and create a sense of depth right from the start. Whether you’re an experienced artist or just starting out with larger works, mastering the blocking-in process will ensure your painting flows smoothly.
So in this demonstration, I am using a 30″ x 40″ acrylic painting I was commissioned to create, a battle scene between ancient Israel and the Amalekites. Then I asked my friends to come over to my home early in the morning, at sunrise, and model for the painting.
Yes, that’s me in the middle!
In this battle, when the Israelite leader Moses held up his staff, the power of God would flow. Then it caused the Israelite army to defeat their battlefield enemies. But, as the battle lasted for hours, Moses grew tired and couldn’t hold up his staff. Then the Amalekites got the advantage over the Israelites!
His assistants, Aaron and Hur came up with an idea. They had Moses sit on a rock. Then they held up his arms on either side, so once again, the Israelites could prevail.
This painting is meant to depict the struggle in praying, and how when others come alongside of us, they can ease the burden. And then their faith strengthens ours, and we can get the victory!
Here is my layout for the painting that I edited on Photoshop…
Now for the blocking-in video…
We start with an accurate sketch. Then, my goal is to quickly identify the major areas of contrast within the reference photo.
Then we apply a layer of raw umber dark, ultramarine blue and matte medium to the shadow areas designated on the sketch…
Tips and Techniques
- Start with Prayer & Purpose: Before beginning your painting, consider focusing on the purpose behind it. In this case, the painting represents a moment of intercessory prayer, symbolizing perseverance and spiritual victory. This mindfulness sets the tone for intentionality in your artwork.
- Use Matte Medium for Glazing: Apply matte medium to your palette before mixing in your colors. For blocking-in, ensure that your paint is heavily diluted with matte medium, aiming for a mixture that’s about 90-95% medium to 5-10% paint. This creates translucent layers, allowing for smooth blending and luminosity in the final work.
- Choose Your Colors: Use a traditional palette with earthy tones like raw umber, burnt sienna, and ultramarine blue, mixed with other colors such as titanium white for highlights. These colors create a natural, muted foundation for blocking-in shadows and light.
- Block-in Major Values: Start by blocking-in large value structures, such as the shadows on the figures and the surrounding landscape. Keep the application light to allow for adjustments later. Work across the whole canvas, focusing on dominant shapes and transitions between light and dark areas.
- Work with Large Brushes: Use larger, flat brushes, such as a three-quarter inch, to block-in broad areas quickly and efficiently. This prevents getting stuck in details too early, allowing you to build up the entire scene cohesively.
- Blend with Confidence: As you block-in, keep your brushstrokes fluid and in multiple directions to ensure smooth blending. Make sure to maintain a wet edge to avoid streaks and allow for easy adjustments.
- Don’t Fear Corrections: Because the paint is thin, any mistakes in the blocking-in phase can be easily corrected. You can always layer additional glazes or shift values as the painting progresses.
By focusing on blocking-in the large value structures early in the process, you create a solid foundation for your 30″ x 40″ acrylic battle scene, allowing the details to emerge naturally as you build layers.
If you’re interested in learning more about acrylic glazing or portrait painting techniques, be sure to explore the resources available at realisticacrylic.com. and download my free gift for you here.
Questions? Suggestions? Thoughts? Let me know, below in the comments. Please share this post with your friends!
- How to Paint Foliage Using the Acrylic Glazing Technique
- How to Trace for an Accurate Portrait Sketch
- How to Paint Realistic Eyes in Your Acrylic Portrait
- How to Add Raw Umber Dark & Ultramarine Blue to Your Portrait
- How to Make Your Own Raw Umber Dark
- How to Paint Realistic Trees & Grass in Your Acrylic
- How to Block In Skin Tone Values Using Glazing Technique
- How to Paint Vibrant Reds in Your Acrylic Portrait
- How to Glaze Background Colors & More Acrylic Portrait
- How to Paint White Clothing in Your Acrylic Portrait
- How to Easily Transition from a Sketch to a Painting
- How to Block In Shading & Skin Tones in Your Acrylic
- How to Build Up Color on Acrylic Pet Portrait
- How to Build Up Form on Clothing with Acrylic
- How to Paint Dark Clothing Using Acrylic Glazing Technique
- How to Paint a 24 x 30 Acrylic With 30 People
- How to Do Smooth Shading with Acrylic
- How to Sketch an Acrylic Portrait with a Grid
Read more about how to paint a portrait that you can surely be proud of!
I’d love to hear your thoughts about this video. Please share it with your friends and family. Let me know if you have any further questions. I’ll greatly help you.
If you’d like to learn more, sign up for my free email tips and video class today.
Learn How to Paint Acrylic Portraits With My Free Mini-Video Course!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this tutorial and watch the video. That means a lot to me. I hope you find it very helpful in your portrait painting.
Yours for Better Portraits,
P.S. Did you find this post helpful or encouraging? If so, send it on ahead! Let others know with the share buttons below. I’d love to hear your comments. Thank you so much! Also, do you have a question on acrylic portrait painting you’d like answered? Let me know, and I’d be happy to help!
My New Studio Set-up and Latest Art
It’s been a while since I’ve posted to this blog! As you may already be aware, my family purchased a home about a month ago (April 2019) and moved in a couple of weeks ago.
God has blessed us with a beautiful home in the country, and a separate building for a studio after renting and working out of a small apartment for 16 years. You can read more about that here…http://mattphilleo.com/2019/04/19/telling-the-easter-story-through-a-big-painting/
Fine Art by Matt Philleo studio, Town of Lafayette, Chippewa Falls, WI backyard
It was challenging to get internet access out in the country, but I found a solution through a wireless hotspot. I am finally connected!
This past week, I moved out my easel, art supplies, lighting, and computer and set it up in the new studio. I’m now at a place where I can paint and produce video tutorials again!
Acrylic portrait painter Matt Philleo in his new studio in Chippewa Falls WI, Eau Claire area by Autumn Harvest Winery and Orchard
Here is a mini-tour of the studio and a sneak peek at what I’m currently working on.
My new studio address is:
20109 30th Ave, Chippewa Falls, WI 54729 (about 1/2 mile past Autumn Harvest Winery & Orchard on County Rd. J / 30th Ave)
View of Autumn Harvest Winery and Orchard from Fine Art by Matt Philleo studio during their May 4, 2019 Season Opening Event
Have a blessed day as always and I’ll be in touch with my latest art and tutorials!
P.S. Did you find this post helpful or encouraging? If so, send it on ahead! Let others know with the share buttons below. I’d love to hear your comments. Thank you so much! Also, do you have a question on acrylic portrait painting you’d like answered? Let me know, and I’d be happy to help!