Painting Beautiful Skin Tones with Color & Light [Hardcover]

 

 

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I bought this book based on the reviews so I think it is just right to give my own feed-back now.
If you are into portraits in whatever medium and you can only afford one book, buy this one, because if gives you more (unlike the title suggests) than just tips about skin colours. The introduction about the five elements in painting (drawing, value, colour, edges and composition) is clearer and more practical than in many other books I have ordered (I ordered 7 art instruction books in total). For example, Chris Saper presents colours theoretically with a colour wheel and the definition of the terms hue, intensity, but also gives you practical advice on which colours to buy first to make your palette and on how to mix them to make the different skin colours (hispanic, caucasian, black/african, asian/pacific). She even gives you a different receipe for mixing colours whether you're painting a brunette, redhead or blond type caucasian. Better than others she explains you the difference between cool and warm shadows, the colour and temperature of light and shadow, colour harmony and more importantly the three fundamental problems to overcome when working from photographs. The other books I've ordered that dealt with these items, did it often in a less accessible, practical or complete way. The second half of the book gives you mini-demonstrations and step by step demonstrations always with a materials list and colour reference.
The book doesn't explain you how to draw portraits, so you should already have acquired some ease at that in order to benefit completely from this book, because it is of course useless to know how to colour a face if you can't draw that face in the first place ! Then again, in my opinion, the drawing is the lesser important part because you could just transfer the contours from a picture and still make it artistically worthwile by your composition and use of colour. That's why I would rather buy a book like this one than one about how to draw faces if I could afford just one.
I you want to get even further into the matter of portraiting I would recommend the book "the Artist's complete guide to facial expression" of Gary Faigin that not only gives you a hint on how the facial muscles are related one another to form our expressions but also gives you a very complete explanation of the proportions of the head, the skull, the eyes, and the position of the gaze in different situations and positions that will help you draw faces more realistically and internally coherent.
If you want advice about design & composition about more than just portraiting and just one artist's point of view, I recommend "design & composition secrets of professional artists" from international artists.

I asked for this book for a Christmas gift largely on the basis of the very positive reviews presented here. Now that I've had it for a month, I can't recommend it with the same enthusiasm. I certainly don't regret having the book. I'm sure I will learn something from it, making it worth the reasonable cost, but I offer these thoughts as a counterpoint that might be of help to another student artist contemplating the purchase.

My general feeling is this book doesn't deliver on its promise. I know this is an odd thing to say about a book entitled "Painting Beautiful Skin Tones...," but the skin tones painted by Chris Saper don't strike me as beautiful at all. With a few exceptions, most seem flat and in some cases almost unpleasant. There's a green tinge to many of her portraits that I just don't care for and that I would not want in my paintings. To see skin tones that truly are beautiful and glowing, look at any of the gorgeous pastels in Harley Brown's fine book "Eternal Truths for Every Artist", or at the cover painting and oil demonstrations of John Howard Sanden's "Portraits from Life in 29 Steps." Saper's work isn't in the same league with these examples, in my opinion.

The most striking thing to me is that Saper's portraits lack strength. Frankly, much of her work is very ordinary. I am acutely aware that it's hard to reconcile a statement like that with all of her awards and credits listed on the back cover leaf, but I can't avoid making the observation. There are a few works that rise above average, but just as many seem amateurish. Even those better examples are not impressive. Saper apparently paints a lot from photographs, as do many of us. Often the photos we have to use are not well lit, sometimes taken totally in shade without the fill light that adds dimension and color contrast. The problem is that, despite a chapter on "Breaking the Chains of Photo Slavery", her resulting portraits look like the photos they might have been taken from; flat, without contrast and with a pall over the colors. The demonstration using an Hispanic female model is an example. Comparing the fairly good source photos with the final painting shows that far from capturing beautiful skin tones, she has painted the life right out of them. Finally, the two watercolors included in the book are just plain bad. They are neither good examples of portraits in watercolor (see Charles Reid's book on that subject for better examples), nor are they good skin tone examples. Both are strangely washed out, and one is little more than a sketch.

Finally, I also noticed that the color control in the book is not consistent. For example, one demonstration is done on pastel paper that ranges in the series of photographs from a medium value warm gray to a medium value cool blue-gray to a very warm light value gray. In a book on color, that's not good.

All in all, this isn't a bad book, nor is it a waste of money. I guess I have made it clear that I am not crazy about Saper's art, but that doesn't mean that the book it isn't worth having. There are some interesting discussions on color, lighting and the skin tones of different races and ethnic groups in the book. Readers may find that information of value. I just have a hard time getting past the mediocre art; I expect more from a teacher.

I felt that there were a lot of good things to consider in this book. The author addresses several issues and explains them regarding lighting ('temperature', position, and corrections), color theory (warms, cools, and use of each in same portrait), the importance of pre-portrait sketches, the use of photos, composition, as well as other technical things. These I felt were important to know. However, I desired a text that would emphasize the use of oils. The larger majority of the illustrations are in chalk pastel. Although you can make pastel look like an oil, I would have liked to have seen more oils and technique. There are very few water color examples.
Her portraits are lovely but I think that there is a similar look to most of them that is recognizable. Some of the examples are too smooth in the layout of color (the skin looks perfect). I did not feel that some of these portraits were true to the person pictured. Perhaps this was a flaw in printing or the client wanted to be painted flawlessly.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for Learning Portraiture
I have just purchased this book, and it is my favorite one on portraiture! The author gives excellent step by step instruction on painting portraits in all mediums... Read more

Published on May 24 2004 by Valerie W. Griner

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting
could be better, but worth the $

try McDaniels book, superior in every way

Published on Oct 10 2002 by Deipnosophist

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book in my Art Library.
Here are a few quotes in Chris Sapers' book that changed my view point on how to chose the correct colors in any painting. Read more

Published on Sep 10 2002 by ronintel

5.0 out of 5 stars The title says it all, a book about how-to paint skin color
As a watercolorist this book doesn't give my so much about portrait painting, but it is a very good source about getting the right colors for skin tones! Read more

Published on Aug 23 2002 by Claes Tegenfeldt

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the "bible" on skin tone!
Chris Saper really knows her stuff and can explain it at a level that makes it easy to understand and apply. I recommend this book for any portrait artist - beginner or pro.

Published on April 19 2002 by Painter

5.0 out of 5 stars A GEM OF A BOOK!
After poring through scores of art books for the many years, it doesn't take me long to spot a good one. Read more

Published on Mar 18 2002 by Margaret

5.0 out of 5 stars Painting Beautiful Sin Tones With Color, et al.
A Superb resource for any artist on any level. Confirming for professional artists and a wealth of knowledge for the budding artist! A thumbs and toes up!

Published on Mar 13 2002

5.0 out of 5 stars Skin Tones is Like Taking Private Lessons...

Painting Beautiful Skin Tones with Color & Light in Oil, Pastel and Watercolor

Chris Saper, the author of this outstanding, new book is a member of the Palette & Chisel and... Read more

Published on Feb 5 2002 by The Palette & Chisel Academy o...

5.0 out of 5 stars Must Have Resource for Portrait Painters
This book is overflowing with useful information. No matter what medium you work in the descriptions of colors and values are clear and concise. Read more

Published on Jan 10 2002 by Linda Pullinsi

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Portraiture
If you are aspiring to be a portrait artist, or wish to improve your skills, this is the book for you. Read more

Published on Oct 30 2001 by Beth Page

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