Scale Aviator International Magazine Issue 3 | Page 57

MASTER CLASS in PILOT PAINTING the side of lighter application for blond pilots and heavier application for dark haired pilots. - A word about gradients: The key to creating an intriguing portrait is to have nice smooth gradients. For some reason, our eyes are drawn to a smooth gradient rather than a constant color. Always apply your pigment so that it is darker in the shadows and deeper areas then “feather” the pigment out lighter as it moves into the lighter and/or higher areas. This accents the features or “topography” of the figure and makes up for the figure being smaller. Since the figure is smaller, it can�t have shadows as dark as its full-scale counter part. Next, brush out the last color used before moving on to the next. Do NOT wash the brush. A wet brush and pastel dust is not a good thing here! Just swipe the dry brush back and forth on an old clean T-shirt until you don�t see anymore of the previous color. This is a small area to do, so it will only take a second. Load the make-up brush with Dark Rose pastel dust. Now dust that inside between the lips. This will make the lips look more natural with a dark reddish color there. Don�t go crazy, just barely change the color to differentiate the lips. Now load the brush with Burnt Siena. This is our mid-color tone, and the “work-horse” of the pastel portrait colors. This will be applied to areas around the nose, on the nose (a lot of people�s noses are more red than the rest of their face), under and up to cheekbones, under the eyes, under the jaw and around the neck. Don�t forget the back of the neck! Just give a few brushes up and down to give it some tonal change and that will do the job. You should notice the pastel clinging to the texture left by the airbrush. You should also see your pilot figure looking less anemic. A touch of Orange pastel tends to give just a touch of life to the figure. Areas to hit with orange are a touch at the temples, slight bit on the cheekbones and upper side of the chin. This is optional, but you can also apply a light yellow/orange or Pumpkin color the upper cheekbone and area between the mouth and chin. I don�t know why, but in photos some people seem to have a little of this color there. Hey, it seems to work, and it adds a more complex/richer skin tone to your pilot. The last application is Red pastel. This stuff is powerful and if you aren�t careful with it, your pilot could look like he is ready to audition for Cirque du Soleil in Vegas! Just touch a pin head bit of pastel just under the highest point of the cheek. Not a circle on the highest cheek, that will make him ready for the circus, but just under and 57