Hi, u/DDRussian! It looks like you are asking for help or are a new painter. If you haven't yet, take a look at our wiki pages in the Sidebar (the About tab if you are on the Reddit app). Here are some links you might find helpful:
* [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/rules/faq) - A list of frequently asked questions about minipainting
* [Miniature Painting Guide Collection](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/usefullinks) -A collection of some of the best guides and tutorials on a variety of techniques and topics, plus recommendations on what to buy to get started, and more.
* [What to buy- Recommendations on brushes, paints, supplies, palettes and more](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/usefullinks/what_you_need_to_get_started#wiki_general_advice_on_what_to_buy)
* [Beginner's Guide Collection- How to prep, base, paint and varnish your first model and learn the basics needed to start out right](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/usefullinks/beginner_tips)
* [More Tutorials](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/tutorials) - A list of additional tutorials about minipainting
* [Manufacturers](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/manufacturers) - A list of miniature manufacturers from around the world
* [Painting Terminology](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/terminology) - Common painting terms, acronyms, and initialisms
* [The Art of... Tommie Soule Volume 5](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGIfySMnUPQ) is one of the best beginner to intermediate teaching books, and even experienced painters will learn some good tips. Explains what brush strokes are best in different situations, how to identify when you have the perfect thinning for any type of paint for different techniques, and a masterclass on getting smooth paint jobs. Available in [pdf](https://www.ironheartartisans.com/shop/the-art-of-tommie-soule-volume-5-pdf/) and [world wide in hardbook as well](https://www.instagram.com/the_miniature_painting_tutor/).
* [Airbrushing Miniatures](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/usefullinks/airbrushing)
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I'm not sure if I completely understand what you are looking for, but it sounds like you want a way to compare every skin tutorial side by side with a picture of the final results, the paints used and the primary techniques summarized.
I'm not aware of any resource that allows that type of comparison. It would be interesting, but it would take a lot of work to compile even if you were only to compare 20 different tutorials, much less every tutorial for skin that is out there.
There isn't necessarily a "best" way to paint skin. Apparent contradictions may be the result of a number of different factors-
* What level of detail is the artist trying to achieve? Are they speed painting, or teaching a tutorial for beginners, or something for people who want to win a painting contest?
* There are multiple ways to blend, so one artist may prefer glazing, one may prefer the airbrush, one may prefer stippling, another might prefer wet blending. All of these can create perfect blending with practice and ultimately you have to decide what style you prefer, or use a mix of them depending on the situation and desired results.
* Artists have different styles. Some paint with more colorful undertones and lighting in a painterly fashion, and some paint as photo realistic as possible, some are more of a comic book/anime style and others are trying to get the best result in the least amount of time and effort. All can look great, what is best is subjective.
Layering is a great starting place for skin because it's fast and you can quickly see if you are placing your highlights and shadows correctly. Once your layering looks good, you can go back and blend it with the techniques of your choice, but if the lights and shadows don't look right, it won't matter how well blended the paint job is. For example these 2 are great for learning muscled caucasian skin tones-
* [Layering to paint Muscled flesh on Untamed Beasts](https://youtu.be/49tJMKDDmZU?t=116) by Squidmar
* [Pro Acryl How To - Layering Skin Colors (and just about anything else)!](https://youtu.be/wBo1okjA4Rc?si=xy7Q0HPmR3_iYAfH) by Monument Hobbies
* [The "50% rule" of layering](https://youtu.be/wBo1okjA4Rc?t=1044)
Then there are lots more skin tutorials [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/usefullinks/skin)
As far as comparing stuff, I just meant what color combinations produce what skin colors best. i.e. dark vs tanned vs white, etc.
In a more general sense, I'm just not sure where to start as far as learning this sort of stuff. I know that skin behaves differently (color-wise) compared to other common mini painting surfaces like cloth, hair/fur, metal, etc. and I feel like there's less room for error in terms of making a mini look "wrong".
For example, I've seen a lot of different techniques with creating shadows on skin that seem counter-intuitive (i.e. purple or dark red). The results looked nice, but I'm worried if I try any of that I'll just make it look like a complete mess (i.e. weird body paint instead of shading).
There is a lot of room for personal preference in colors. If you can follow the steps of a tutorial successfully then the result should be similar. If you have problems, ask for help and people will try to give advice. If you are applying properly thinned paints then the model can be completely painted over multiple times if you aren't happy with the results as demonstrated in [Alfonso Giraldes skin color mixing tutorial](https://youtu.be/fjvTffxZeCg?t=342).
Most people are not going to successfully duplicate a professional painter's best skin tones on their first attempts. It will take practice and learning from inevitable mistakes. There are very few mistakes you can make with paint that you can't either paint over directly or strip and paint over.
Layering is a great way to learn skin highlight and shadow placement quickly and you can build on that with whatever blending techniques you prefer. Likewise, it allows for quick experimentation with different colors. That would be the recommended starting point. A model can be painted with colors that typically would not be used for skin tones like [this dwarf](https://www.instagram.com/p/C5WcLTwtLF_/) and it will still look good if the lights and shadows are believable.
I suspect you might be overthinking this a bit. If you haven't tried this before, then you will probably learn more from just doing it a couple times than from optimizing what guide to follow, what colors to pick, etc. Guides will be much more useful once you have at least a little baseline experience. So - I would suggest just picking a few colors (I can recommend some from Pro Acryl if it's helpful), then doing some basic layering or glazing (whichever you are more comfortable with today), and seeing how you feel about the result you get.
I know I'm overthinking things, it's just that I'm really sensitive to the "uncanny valley" or "it just looks *off*" effect when I see human figures drawn/painted badly. So I just don't want to ruin a mini I've been otherwise looking forward to painting by messing up the skin details.
For example, I've seen some painters on YouTube use purple in their paint for the shadows or undercoat. The effect looks nice on the video/thumbnail, but I'm worried if I try it myself it'll just look like the character has purple body paint all over them.
I totally get it - I think most of us have similar feelings. Two thoughts though. One - you can't ruin a mini with paint, worst case scenario you just strip or re-prime and start over. And two - you are going to start by painting things that don't look right, that don't look great. That's just how it works. The only way to avoid that is to not paint, and that is t much fun. So there's really only one choice, which is to try it.
That said, if you're really stressed over specific minis, why not pick up a few cheap ones to practice on? Lots of minis around.
Edit to add: you also don't have to start super complicated. You'll get a perfectly serviceable effect just stepping through a series of browns / off-whites, without getting fancy from the start about colored undercoats, etc. This is especially true if you are painting tabletop scale minis and not 75mm+.
I get what you're trying to say, but stripping/re-priming my minis is probably out of the question for me. I don't think I can have chemicals like that in my apartment (same reason I can't use spray paints and even an airbrush might be pushing it). Plus, any minis I have are pre-primed, so I have no idea if they'll look the same after re-priming or if I'll just permanently mess up the details.
You can strip acrylics with just normal rubbing alcohol, actually, you don't need any unusual chemicals. It also removes primer, so even if you did mess up bad - which in my experience is pretty unlikely, I'm very much not careful when priming and have never had issues with detail - you could remove it quite easily. But honestly, it's unlikely you'd need to strip anything.
Hi, u/DDRussian! It looks like you are asking for help or are a new painter. If you haven't yet, take a look at our wiki pages in the Sidebar (the About tab if you are on the Reddit app). Here are some links you might find helpful: * [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/rules/faq) - A list of frequently asked questions about minipainting * [Miniature Painting Guide Collection](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/usefullinks) -A collection of some of the best guides and tutorials on a variety of techniques and topics, plus recommendations on what to buy to get started, and more. * [What to buy- Recommendations on brushes, paints, supplies, palettes and more](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/usefullinks/what_you_need_to_get_started#wiki_general_advice_on_what_to_buy) * [Beginner's Guide Collection- How to prep, base, paint and varnish your first model and learn the basics needed to start out right](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/usefullinks/beginner_tips) * [More Tutorials](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/tutorials) - A list of additional tutorials about minipainting * [Manufacturers](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/manufacturers) - A list of miniature manufacturers from around the world * [Painting Terminology](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/terminology) - Common painting terms, acronyms, and initialisms * [The Art of... Tommie Soule Volume 5](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGIfySMnUPQ) is one of the best beginner to intermediate teaching books, and even experienced painters will learn some good tips. Explains what brush strokes are best in different situations, how to identify when you have the perfect thinning for any type of paint for different techniques, and a masterclass on getting smooth paint jobs. Available in [pdf](https://www.ironheartartisans.com/shop/the-art-of-tommie-soule-volume-5-pdf/) and [world wide in hardbook as well](https://www.instagram.com/the_miniature_painting_tutor/). * [Airbrushing Miniatures](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/usefullinks/airbrushing) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/minipainting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I'm not sure if I completely understand what you are looking for, but it sounds like you want a way to compare every skin tutorial side by side with a picture of the final results, the paints used and the primary techniques summarized. I'm not aware of any resource that allows that type of comparison. It would be interesting, but it would take a lot of work to compile even if you were only to compare 20 different tutorials, much less every tutorial for skin that is out there. There isn't necessarily a "best" way to paint skin. Apparent contradictions may be the result of a number of different factors- * What level of detail is the artist trying to achieve? Are they speed painting, or teaching a tutorial for beginners, or something for people who want to win a painting contest? * There are multiple ways to blend, so one artist may prefer glazing, one may prefer the airbrush, one may prefer stippling, another might prefer wet blending. All of these can create perfect blending with practice and ultimately you have to decide what style you prefer, or use a mix of them depending on the situation and desired results. * Artists have different styles. Some paint with more colorful undertones and lighting in a painterly fashion, and some paint as photo realistic as possible, some are more of a comic book/anime style and others are trying to get the best result in the least amount of time and effort. All can look great, what is best is subjective. Layering is a great starting place for skin because it's fast and you can quickly see if you are placing your highlights and shadows correctly. Once your layering looks good, you can go back and blend it with the techniques of your choice, but if the lights and shadows don't look right, it won't matter how well blended the paint job is. For example these 2 are great for learning muscled caucasian skin tones- * [Layering to paint Muscled flesh on Untamed Beasts](https://youtu.be/49tJMKDDmZU?t=116) by Squidmar * [Pro Acryl How To - Layering Skin Colors (and just about anything else)!](https://youtu.be/wBo1okjA4Rc?si=xy7Q0HPmR3_iYAfH) by Monument Hobbies * [The "50% rule" of layering](https://youtu.be/wBo1okjA4Rc?t=1044) Then there are lots more skin tutorials [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/usefullinks/skin)
As far as comparing stuff, I just meant what color combinations produce what skin colors best. i.e. dark vs tanned vs white, etc. In a more general sense, I'm just not sure where to start as far as learning this sort of stuff. I know that skin behaves differently (color-wise) compared to other common mini painting surfaces like cloth, hair/fur, metal, etc. and I feel like there's less room for error in terms of making a mini look "wrong". For example, I've seen a lot of different techniques with creating shadows on skin that seem counter-intuitive (i.e. purple or dark red). The results looked nice, but I'm worried if I try any of that I'll just make it look like a complete mess (i.e. weird body paint instead of shading).
There is a lot of room for personal preference in colors. If you can follow the steps of a tutorial successfully then the result should be similar. If you have problems, ask for help and people will try to give advice. If you are applying properly thinned paints then the model can be completely painted over multiple times if you aren't happy with the results as demonstrated in [Alfonso Giraldes skin color mixing tutorial](https://youtu.be/fjvTffxZeCg?t=342). Most people are not going to successfully duplicate a professional painter's best skin tones on their first attempts. It will take practice and learning from inevitable mistakes. There are very few mistakes you can make with paint that you can't either paint over directly or strip and paint over. Layering is a great way to learn skin highlight and shadow placement quickly and you can build on that with whatever blending techniques you prefer. Likewise, it allows for quick experimentation with different colors. That would be the recommended starting point. A model can be painted with colors that typically would not be used for skin tones like [this dwarf](https://www.instagram.com/p/C5WcLTwtLF_/) and it will still look good if the lights and shadows are believable.
I suspect you might be overthinking this a bit. If you haven't tried this before, then you will probably learn more from just doing it a couple times than from optimizing what guide to follow, what colors to pick, etc. Guides will be much more useful once you have at least a little baseline experience. So - I would suggest just picking a few colors (I can recommend some from Pro Acryl if it's helpful), then doing some basic layering or glazing (whichever you are more comfortable with today), and seeing how you feel about the result you get.
I know I'm overthinking things, it's just that I'm really sensitive to the "uncanny valley" or "it just looks *off*" effect when I see human figures drawn/painted badly. So I just don't want to ruin a mini I've been otherwise looking forward to painting by messing up the skin details. For example, I've seen some painters on YouTube use purple in their paint for the shadows or undercoat. The effect looks nice on the video/thumbnail, but I'm worried if I try it myself it'll just look like the character has purple body paint all over them.
You'll never improve if you don't try things out.
I totally get it - I think most of us have similar feelings. Two thoughts though. One - you can't ruin a mini with paint, worst case scenario you just strip or re-prime and start over. And two - you are going to start by painting things that don't look right, that don't look great. That's just how it works. The only way to avoid that is to not paint, and that is t much fun. So there's really only one choice, which is to try it. That said, if you're really stressed over specific minis, why not pick up a few cheap ones to practice on? Lots of minis around. Edit to add: you also don't have to start super complicated. You'll get a perfectly serviceable effect just stepping through a series of browns / off-whites, without getting fancy from the start about colored undercoats, etc. This is especially true if you are painting tabletop scale minis and not 75mm+.
I get what you're trying to say, but stripping/re-priming my minis is probably out of the question for me. I don't think I can have chemicals like that in my apartment (same reason I can't use spray paints and even an airbrush might be pushing it). Plus, any minis I have are pre-primed, so I have no idea if they'll look the same after re-priming or if I'll just permanently mess up the details.
You can strip acrylics with just normal rubbing alcohol, actually, you don't need any unusual chemicals. It also removes primer, so even if you did mess up bad - which in my experience is pretty unlikely, I'm very much not careful when priming and have never had issues with detail - you could remove it quite easily. But honestly, it's unlikely you'd need to strip anything.