How to Paint Clothing in an Acrylic Portrait

How do you paint clothing in an acrylic portrait so it looks realistic?

As portrait artists, we give attention to many things—an accurate likeness, lifelike facial features, spot-on skin tones, that we often forget a vital part of a good painting: realistic clothing. Being able to paint clothing well can really make or break your portrait.

In this video tutorial, I’m going to show you how to use the precise placement of layers to mimic the look of folds in fabric. I’ll show you what colors to use for shadows, mid-tones and highlights and why.

For this particular demo, I am using an 11 x 14 acrylic portrait I did of three children as an example. One girl has a very detailed pink dress that creates complex and interesting shapes within the shadows. That’s what we will be painting today.

Have you found any techniques for painting clothing realistically in acrylic? Let me know below, in the comments!

I hope you found this tutorial helpful. Please visit again and I’ll be sharing more useful acrylic portrait painting tips with you!

Look forward to sharing more tips and tutorials with you.

Yours for Better Portraits,

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