Contrasting the hair and the beard.

To dose the colours of the next highlights correctly and to really perceive their force, we chose to apply to the hair and the beard their definitive contrast. Indeed, the original of this icon has a very "black" and dark hair. Thus, it is preferable to continue applying a dark colour. This doesn’t annihilate the previous work done on the locks, we will use a transparent puddle that will let these nuances reappear.

The puddle is extended homogeneously while pulling the pigments towards the external edges of the head. The colour is made out of burnt Siena with a point of viridian. Apply a transparent puddle and let it dry. It is better to apply two layers to obtain the right tint than to darken the first puddle too much...

You can notice on our board here, that the liquid of the puddle tends to run towards the right side! This is due to the fact that our board is slightly convex. To overcame this, we had to extend the puddle on one side of the head while fixing the board over the table with small ends of cardboard to maintain it flat. Then, we did the same on the other side of the head and, finally, this defect was completely compensated by a direct painting retouch (rather dry mixture) on the less coloured parts. These retouches can be done only when the puddle is completely dry...

Concerning the beard, it is necessary to start from the top (the cheeks’ base) and to extend the puddle downwards, to avoid a too brutal passage between the colour of the cheek and that of the beard itself.